Page 45 of Take a Chance on Greece

We buzzed the intercom and after a brief pause, Eleni leaned out of a window three floors up.

‘Ela, come straight up,’ she called down into the street. ‘I will not climb down the stairs to greet you, if you don’t mind. I am not sure I will make it back up again.’

‘I don’t blame you, you should put your feet up,’ I replied, leaning back against Alexis as I shouted up to her. He responded by bending his head and placing a kiss on the nape of my neck, which made me want to abandon the party all over again. I forced myself back into sociable mode.

‘Maybe we should have offered to bring food, instead of just bringing flowers. The last thing Eleni probably feels like doing in her condition is cooking for everyone.’

‘She would be most offended if we had brought food,’ said Alexis, holding the door open for me, and slowing his pace to match mine as we climbed the stairs. ‘She was very clear in the invitation that she would be host and I know how much she enjoys looking after everybody. But I agree, I hope she is putting her feet up.’

Of course, when we arrived at Eleni’s apartment, we realised she was doing anything but. She instantly clocked the fact that Alexis and I were holding hands, and pounced on him kissing both his cheeks and talking enthusiastically in Greek. I understood about one word in twenty, but my comprehension was still better than it had been when I first came to the island. And I was confident that it would improve still further, now I was going to be spending much more time with my personal tutor.

Eleni’s husband smiled indulgently at his wife as she chattered. When she finally paused for breath, he made his own greetings.

‘You must be Lydia,’ he said, leaning forward to kiss my cheeks. ‘I am Stephano. It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard so much about you.’

‘Good things, I hope.’ I smiled.

‘You are helping by doing my wife’s job now she is too pregnant to do it. Of course, I have heard many good things about you.’

Eleni turned to me and gave me an enthusiastic hug. I only just managed to stop the flowers being crushed.

‘These are for you,’ I said, handing them over before they suffered any further damage.

Eleni went into paroxysms of delight and spoke very quickly again. I managed to keep up as far as the first ‘thank you’ but after that I lost the thread.

‘I’m sorry, my Greek still isn’t quite up to scratch,’ I apologised.

‘It is I who should be sorry,’ replied Eleni. ‘I am so excited to see you both together that I am getting carried away. I will repeat what I said before. Thank you so very much for the beautiful flowers. You are a generous and kind person, and I hope you and Alexis will be very happy together. I am only disappointed that he did not come to his senses sooner.’ She winked up at Alexis and I swear I saw him blush. ‘I hope you are very hungry because I have prepared a feast for us.’

She hustled us into the tiny flat and down a dark corridor. ‘I thought as a treat we could eat outside. We have been working on something very special which I am dying to share with everyone. That is why I told Stephano we needed to have a dinner party, but of course the real reason was to make romance happen. Come, follow us. It is probably best that you go first. If I go and get stuck, that will cause problems for everyone.’

Stephano reached up and undid the latch on a hatch in the ceiling which I hadn’t spotted before. He pulled it down and a set of wooden steps slid into the room.

‘You don’t…’ said Alexis.

Eleni clapped her hands together. ‘We do, we have created a roof garden. Our own little piece of paradise. Come, come, you must look.’

She gestured up the steep steps.

‘After you,’ said Alexis.

I hesitated. The steps were closer to a ladder than actual stairs. But if Eleni could manage it while heavily pregnant, then there was no excuse for me not to have a go.

‘I’m right behind you. I won’t let you fall,’ said Alexis.

I took courage from his reassurance and started climbing.

We emerged into an explosion of colour. Dozens of pots overflowing with lavender scented the air, and lush green undergrowth trailed onto the chalk-white roof. The waist-high parapet was barely visible behind the dancing foliage.

‘I am speechless,’ said Alexis. He turned and helped Eleni up the final step. ‘You are a miracle worker. How did you keep this quiet?’

‘Ah well, I am very good at keeping secrets, as you know.’

‘Don’t forget to enjoy the view,’ said Stephano, emerging behind his wife holding a tray of drinks.

I was glad he had pointed it out. I had been so absorbed in admiring the beautiful garden that I had completely failed to notice what was beyond the rooftop. The whole of Sami was laid out before us, bathed in the beams of the setting sun, fairy lights twinkling from balconies.

Eleni smiled. ‘It is very special, is it not?’ she said. ‘Every day I get up and I think how lucky I am to live in this place.’

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