Page 25 of Old Girls Go Greek
‘They could hear you screaming from here,’ Anita said, ‘but it doesn’t seem to have put them off.’
I gave Tassos a little wave as we walked away.
‘Thanks, Tassos, that was great fun,’ I called, and I meant it.
* * *
‘In England we would have a reviving brandy,’ Anita said, ‘so let’s have Metaxa.’
‘Why do you need reviving?’ I asked. ‘You didn’t do anything.’
‘In support for your achievement,’ she said with a grin.
We returned to the little bar and pulled ourselves up onto the barstools. Four small glasses of amber liquid were placed in front of us along with a dish of salted almonds.
‘We didn’t order those, did we?’ Anita asked.
‘They’re complimentary,’ Effie said.
‘Oooh, you do look nice today,’ I said, and the others groaned at the old pun.
Generally, brandy wasn’t a drink I liked, but somehow in the warmth of a Greek afternoon and in the company of my friends, the Metaxa was delicious. It tasted of honey and spice and sunshine. Something else I had discovered; life really was full of surprises.
‘You know we should be painting, don’t you,’ I said at last. ‘None of us have done anything.’
‘Dennis has,’ Anita said. ‘I heard him saying he had finished two paintings and several sketches. He will compensate for our sloppy ways.’
‘Tomorrow,’ Beryl said, ‘we will set to tomorrow. I’d quite like to do a painting of the hotel. It’s very picturesque.’
‘As long as you put Costas and Nina in the picture too,’ Effie said.
‘And the kittens on my balcony.’
‘They never come on to mine,’ Anita said, pouting.
‘Meg stole a slice of ham from the breakfast buffet for them. I saw her do it, so why would they bother coming to see you?’ Effie said.
‘Did you?’ Beryl said. ‘I bet they think all their birthdays have come at once.’
I decided to change the subject. ‘I was looking at Costas this morning over breakfast. He really is quite lupine. All that hair.’
‘Lots of testosterone,’ Anita said, ‘that’s supposed to be what it means. Although Rick isn’t at all hairy and I’ve got no complaints. Well, maybe a few but they are nothing to do with his level of chest hair. Gosh, I do miss him. I didn’t think I would, but I do. I hope he’s seeing lots of rare birds up in Scotland, that will really make him happy.’
‘How long have you been married?’ I asked.
‘Thirty-seven years. I would have got less for murder.’
‘And what about you two?’ I asked Beryl and Effie, who were bickering gently about whether to have another round of Metaxa.
Effie chuckled. ‘Oh, neither of us are married now. We’ve had several goes at that, haven’t we, Beryl? I’ve had sandwiches I’ve enjoyed for longer than some of my relationships.’
Beryl huffed a bit. ‘I remember when my second husband introduced me at a party as a “domestic housewife”, and I remember wondering if that meant there was such a thing as a “feral housewife” and if there were, that’s what I was going to aim for. Anyway, after three attempts, I’m certainly not doing that again. Can you imagine us on Tinder or whatever it is people do these days to hook up?’
‘Holidays are the place to find someone,’ Anita said. ‘My friend Kim met a really nice man in Mallorca on Juliette’s hen holiday. That was a real gathering of the Old Ducks. There was a stag group in the villa next door to theirs and Vince was a friend of the groom. That looked such a gorgeous place. And so romantic. Kim met Vince and I didn’t take to him at first when I met him. He was always going on about purple swamp hens and tits – the feathered kind, but then I realised what a nice man he was. And Juliette’s cousin Denny – it was the strangest thing. She knew another of the stags from years before, and they have been together ever since. I think there is some sort of magic when one or more Old Ducks are gathered together. We will have to make sure you and Will don’t break the run of luck.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ I said, ‘I don’t think he is the slightest bit interested in me.’
‘We’ll see,’ Anita said, and she gave a little smile. ‘I think you’re wrong. Anyway, that’s your mission – should you decide to accept it, and let’s be fair, you’ve got to because now we all want to find out more about him. All I know is he is an expert in ancient history and he wears sunglasses all the time. And quite often a Panama hat.’
