Page 74 of For One Moment With You
Pulling the curtains back, Adam looks at me. ‘Shall we go?’
Just then, Athina reappears with a bag containing my medication. She holds it out to me. ‘Take care of yourself.’
‘Thank you,’ I say, a lump suddenly in my throat. ‘Thank you for looking after me. And for everything.’ Holding my arms out, I hug her.
Taking Adam’s arm, we make our way outside. It feels surreal, as if I’ve been removed from the world – which in a sense, I have, for almost three weeks. But it’s left my senses more acute. The air is clean and crystal clear, a weak sun just above the trees. There are glimpses of sea between the white-painted buildings; the sound of voices reaching me, chattering in Greek. Taking it all in, I’m mesmerised. And I want to stay that way, I’m realising. Mesmerised by the magic of being alive.
Adam’s car is a small and battered Fiat.
‘I’ve borrowed it. My car is off the road.’ He opens the passenger door. ‘I can’t find anyone to fix it.’
‘I like this one. It’s cute,’ I say.
‘I’m glad. Personally, I find it noisy,’ he says, getting in and starting the engine.
And I see what he means. I wind the window down and the noise gets louder, but it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling the cool air on my skin as if I’ve never felt it before; the softness of the warm December breeze.
On the way back, when we stop at Andreas’s place to pick up my stuff, it feels like weeks ago that I was last here. Then we carry on to Adam’s place. It’s as he said it was, a few metres from the harbour. Once parked, he helps me out, taking my arm again. Oh, I like the feel of his arm through mine. I like it far too much.
He unlocks a door and shows me into a cool hallway with a tiled floor and a staircase. ‘Ah. I can’t believe I didn’t think about this.’ Putting down my bag, he picks me up.
‘You can’t carry me,’ I say.
‘I think you’ll find I already am.’ Before I can say anything else, he carries me up the stairs. Then gently putting me down, he unlocks the door into his apartment and taking my arm, leads me inside. ‘Make yourself at home. I’ll get your bag.’
Now, I’m kind of oblivious as he says that. You see, when he said apartment, I was expecting a holiday home on one floor with a balcony that’s just about big enough for a table. Not anything remotely like this.
The living space is huge and airy, simply furnished with a pair of huge pale sofas arranged to face the fireplace, the light pouring in through shuttered windows that give a view over rooftops of the sea. Tentatively making my way over, I push one of them open and just stand there.
It’s like I’m in a dream. Maybe I am. Maybe I did die and this is what heaven looks like. My reverie is interrupted by the sound of the door closing. I turn to see Adam standing there.
‘Your place is so lovely,’ I say wistfully. ‘If it were mine, I’d never want to move away.’
‘Thank you. I really want you to treat it like your home.’ He comes over and stands next to me. ‘It’s been empty far too much.’ He pauses. ‘Shouldn’t you be sitting down?’
‘I’m enjoying the view,’ I say. ‘So much. It’s weird. Everything feels different since I fell.’
‘It isn’t surprising, is it?’ His eyes gaze into mine. ‘After what you’ve been through…’ He breaks off.
‘I nearly didn’t make it, did I?’ I say in a small voice, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
‘You came close,’ he says. ‘But you’re still here.’ He takes one of my hands and leads me over to one of the big, squishy sofas. ‘Why don’t you sit down? I’ll make some coffee. And lunch – if you’re hungry?’
‘Thanks,’ I say. And I probably should eat something. But I’m not sure how to explain that it isn’t food I’m hungry for. It’s life.
* * *
This may seem a rather unnecessarily long-drawn-out end to a story that should probably be winding up right now, but it isn’t over yet. First, I want to share a little of what unfolds next, because we all need reminding of the magic in this life. It proves that after the darkest times, the sun still shines. That it never really went away; I just lost sight of it, for a while.
Out of the blue, I get a message from Elena. Then she comes out for a couple of days, which is the perfect time for us to have a catch-up.
‘It’s been quite literally like a crash course,’ I tell her. ‘It feels like my brain has been downloading all this stuff.’ I frown. It’s exactly how it feels. ‘Whatever. I don’t see anything the same way any more.’
‘It isn’t surprising,’ Elena says. ‘So much has happened.’ She pauses. ‘You look different.’
I roll my eyes. ‘My hair’s dreadful.’ Old habits die hard. But some of it was hacked off before I had surgery for my bleed. It’s going to take time to grow back again.
‘Your hair is fine. And you’re lucky. It grows really quickly.’ Then Elena frowns. ‘You seem really calm.’
