Page 81 of For One Moment With You
‘He was good for me too.’ I gaze at Nicos. ‘Maybe I will see you again – back in Crete.’
‘I think that is likely.’ Taking one of my hands, he kisses it. ‘If you do not find Adam, you can go to Andreas’s house. Now, I must go to my mother.’
‘See you, Nicos.’
I watch him make his way towards the exit, then for the next twelve hours, I wait. It’s all any of us can do. There are no flights in or out of Athens; no trains or buses. Instead, all transportation seems to have ground to a standstill.
But the storm passes. Storms always do – my mum was right when she said that all those years ago, even though she wasn’t talking about the meteorological kind. The sound of the wind gradually lessens, the intensity of the rain reduces to a drizzle before the clouds lift, thinning out as glimpses of blue appears.
Just before darkness falls, at last the airport reopens. So it is that fifteen hours later than anticipated, I’m on a flight as it takes off for Crete.
26
After Every Storm There Is a Rainbow
You can’t see rainbows in the darkness. But I figure that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. And maybe rainbows are like the wind – just because you can’t see them, it doesn’t mean you can’t feel them. After a rocky approach and my flight lands in Crete, I imagine a giant rainbow arching over the island, underneath which, somewhere, Adam is safe.
The airport terminal is crowded with delayed passengers waiting to leave the island. Making my way outside, the road is littered with debris from the storm as I head for the taxi ranks. And it’s mad, really, but until now, I haven’t thought any further ahead than actually getting here. I don’t even know for sure that Adam’s still here.
I give the driver Adam’s address. ‘It’s a friend’s house,’ I explain. ‘Will you be able to wait? If he isn’t there, I will stay with another friend.’ I try Adam’s number again, but the line is dead. It’s the same when I try to call Andreas.
‘There is no signal,’ the driver tells me. ‘No electricity, either. The storm has knocked everything out.’
‘Oh.’ I’m taken aback. There was no indication of any power outage at the airport.
‘The airport has generators,’ the driver explains, slowing down and stopping at a tree that’s blown across the road. ‘We will have to take another way.’
Crete is far from how I remember it, the little houses in darkness, no streetlights lifting the gloom. Even the street where Adam lives looks different when we reach it.
The driver stops outside his door. ‘You see if your friend is there. I will wait.’
‘Thank you.’ Getting out, excitement flickers through me as I cross the street and knock at his door. When there’s no reply, I knock again, then try the handle. But it’s firmly locked.
My heart sinks. But it’s late. Too late to hang around. I get back into the taxi. ‘He isn’t there. Can you take me to this address?’ I tell him where Andreas lives.
He sets off. Then as we reach the end of the street, I see a beaten-up Fiat I think I recognise, slowing down before it parks at the roadside. ‘Stop,’ I cry to the taxi driver.
He slams the brakes on and I leap out of the taxi, running over to the car, trying to work out if it’s Adam’s or not.
Getting out of the car, he freezes. ‘Tilly?’ There’s amazement in his voice. ‘What are you doing here?’
Reaching him, I fling my arms around Adam. ‘I’ve been so worried.’ Suddenly I’m aware of tears streaming down my cheeks. ‘I’m so glad you’re OK.’ Pulling back, I gaze at him. ‘You are OK, aren’t you?’
He smiles, gently wiping the tears off my face. ‘I’ve never been more OK in my life.’ He pauses. ‘I love you, Tilly.’
A kind of magic weaves itself around my heart as he says that. They truly are the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard. ‘I love you, too,’ I say softly. ‘I think I’ve always loved you.’
‘You’re not going to disappear again, are you? It feels like I’m putting my heart on the line, but you and I… Have you ever wondered why we shouldn’t do this?’
‘I have,’ I say softly. ‘Only about a hundred million times.’
‘It’s just that right now, there isn’t anything in the way any more, is there?’ He looks slightly anxious.
‘There isn’t.’ It feels like I’ve waited all my life for this moment.
‘You have no idea how that makes me feel to hear you say that.’ He gazes into my eyes. ‘I didn’t finish telling you the story in the hospital, and it isn’t that interesting. But the reason something was always missing with Louise was because of you.’
‘Oh.’ Pulling back slightly, I look at him, shocked. ‘Did I do something?’
