Page 24 of Footprints in the Sand
“Maybe I don’t,” Eva said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
The sun had begun to set, casting the field and coastline in a beautiful orange light.
“Everyone does,” Jean-Paul asserted, his eyebrows raised. “Stay for a glass of wine?”
Eva felt she couldn’t go anywhere. She didn’t want to go back to Dimitra’s place, where she could feel the love Dimitra had lost when Kostos passed away.
Here at the table outside Jean-Paul’s marble shop, nothing felt grim. Everything felt open to possibility. She felt like somebody else.
She wondered if it was partially because she’d allowed herself to try something new. The marble bowl was not good in the slightest. But it had opened her heart to something else.
Jean-Paul poured two glasses of white wine and raised his. “To trying new things.”
“To social media,” Eva said, then laughed at how ridiculous it sounded.
Jean-Paul wrinkled his nose but thought for a moment. “I can pay you. For the social media, I mean. If that is what you really want to do here in Greece. I need help.”
Eva’s heart opened. “Really?”
Jean-Paul raised his shoulders. “Why not? I cannot pay you a lot.”
They agreed on ten hours a week at a rate that would have made her mother cry. But it was enough for groceries and Eva’s other expenses. Greece was far cheaper than Massachusetts anyway.
Plus, it would allow her to spend more time with Jean-Paul.
Had Aphrodite known they would hit it off like this? What about her brother, Nico? Didn’t she know something was brewing between Nico and Eva as well?
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Eva. You aren’t juggling two European men. You’re meeting new people. It has to be enough.
Eva had never been one to date around. Perhaps that was why she’d made her relationship work with Finn for so long. Had she been frightened of what was out there? Or just complacent?
“Tell me,” Jean-Paul said, pouring a little more wine into both of their glasses, “how did you come to be on Paros? What is your origin story?”
Eva knew to keep it simple. She didn’t want to get into the complications of what Finn had done, nor how heartbroken she now was. If Jean-Paul wanted to flirt with her a little bit here and there, she didn’t want to give him any reason to doubt it.
So she said, “I needed a change of pace. I needed a way to see myself in a different light. My cousin had met a Greek woman who needed a similar mix-up, I guess, and she suggested that we swap houses for the summer.”
Jean-Paul cackled and slapped his knee. “How wonderful. It’s like a film.” His eyes were lit up.
“But when I got here, I found out that I lost my job,” Eva said, trying to make light of it. “The owner of the company did a bunch of money crimes, I guess. I’m sort of at a loss.”
Jean-Paul shook his head sadly. “Corporate greed is going to destroy us all,” he said. “I am sorry to hear that.”
Eva smiled sadly. “Aphrodite’s so convinced I’ll fill my life with art, but I really need a paycheck.” Especially after what Finn did.
“Aphrodite has only ever really lived on this island,” Jean-Paul said. “She does not know about the real world. Not that I do, either. You know the sad state of my social media. You know how difficult it is for me to sell my sculptures.”
“We can fix that,” Eva said. “The sculptures speak for themselves. People just need to see them. They need to know they’re there.”
Eva took a few minutes to set up social media profiles for Jean-Paul and his workshop. It was simple for her, like pressing “play” on skills she’d honed for years. In half an hour, she had a few advertisements running, hoping to bring tourists from neighboring villages to the workshop to learn from Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul was amazed, watching over her shoulder.
Eva promised to keep it up, and Jean-Paul touched her shoulder in thanks. It was both intimate and alarming. Eva darkened her phone and took a sip of wine.
The sun was falling lower in the sky.
Suddenly, Jean-Paul asked, “Who is the Greek woman you swapped with? On Paros, I know just about everyone.”
“Dimitra,” she said. “From Aliki?”
