Page 26 of Old Girls Go Greek
‘Like a celebrity, trying not to be spotted.’ Effie nodded.
‘He does look a bit familiar, don’t you think?’ I said, suddenly eager to talk about him.
‘Perhaps he’s been on television, talking about Vesuvius. I’ve seen a lot of programmes about Pompeii recently. Perhaps he’s an expert on pyroclastic surges?’ Beryl said.
‘That sounds rude.’ Effie giggled. ‘He’s very handsome. If I hadn’t taken the vow of celibacy I might have some surges of my own in his direction.’
‘Effie!’ Anita spluttered.
‘I’m old, not dead,’ Effie said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with finding a good-looking man attractive. I may not have had much luck but there are plenty of fish in the sea, but then there are a lot of plastic bottles too, so you have to be selective. Now then, one more of this lovely Metaxa for the road, and then let’s go back to the hotel. This swimming costume under my clothes is a bit restricting and damp. And if I want to go to the loo I’ll have to strip off completely.’
‘Agreed,’ I said, wriggling in my seat.
And so, we sat there for another half an hour while the sun dipped low towards the sea, and once more I thought how happy I was to be there, swinging my legs on the bar stool, doing nothing particular. But then I realised, perhaps that was what friendship was all about, enjoying doing something with people or doing nothing, it didn’t make any difference. It was the sharing of the experience that was important. The fun to be had in so many small ways which was somehow magnified when other like-minded people did it with you.
Laughter, new horizons, friendly encouragement and fun all mattered so much. I began to see how I had been cutting myself off from all that in the last few years, because I had lost confidence in myself. I might have declared that my divorce was a relief, that I didn’t care very much, but I had to admit, it had affected me. Perhaps it was time to realise that there was life after divorce. It might be different and sometimes perplexing, but perhaps I needed to change the way I approached things. A challenge was also an opportunity after all.
I thought about Will for a moment, and yes, I did find him attractive, and more than that, interesting. There was something about him. I wanted to discover why, unlike everyone else in the group, he was so reticent; why, just as I had over the last few years, he kept himself to himself. He didn’t seem ready to interact with the group with any enthusiasm, and yet I recognised something of myself in his shyness. I felt quite excited as we reached the hotel and I saw him through the doors to the inner courtyard, sitting on his own, his laptop open on the table in front of him.
‘I’ll be up in a minute,’ I said, and I made a beeline for him, ignoring the chuckles from my three companions as I did so.
‘Had a good day?’ I said.
He looked up, slightly startled.
‘Pretty good,’ he said, ‘you?’
‘Effie and I have been ringo-ing. You know, sitting on a rubber ring behind a speedboat. I didn’t think I would like it much, but I did.’
He smiled. ‘Sounds like you had fun.’
‘It was. You should try it. Knock it off your bucket list.’
‘It’s not actually on my bucket list.’
Feeling slightly emboldened, I pulled out the chair next to him and sat down.
‘No, it wasn’t on mine either, but – well, I ended up doing it anyway. What have you been up to?’
‘Working,’ he said as he closed his laptop and put his sunglasses on. Again.
Which was a shame in my opinion, because he had beautiful eyes. Closeup they were a wonderful blue flecked with green.
I think he realised that I had been trying to see what he had been doing, which was very nosey of me, but I couldn’t help it. There seemed to be a great many closely typed words and a spreadsheet with a lot of coloured squares.
‘That’s not on at all,’ I said. ‘I thought you said you were retired. You’re supposed to be on a painting holiday.’
He gave a little laugh. ‘Well, so are you!’
I sighed. ‘I know, and I haven’t done a thing yet. I should be ashamed.’
‘And are you?’
‘No. Not even a tiny bit. I’m having fun instead,’ I said.
‘That sounds great.’
He looked a bit sad then and I wondered if perhaps he needed the support and company of a friendly face, just as I had. I didn’t think he would have much in common with Dennis, after all.
