Page 26 of Greek Island Fling to Forever

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Arianna arrived at the pool at ten thirty the following morning, clearly in no rush to get started because she sat down in the chair next to Ben’s and when he offered her a drink she accepted it readily, choosing a cocktail of different fruit juices from the bar menu.

‘You’ve brought your bathing suits with you?’ she asked, almost as an afterthought, as they walked down to the dock, and Ben nodded. He’d heard that swimming at the Lava Lake was an experience not to be missed.

She had a child-sized life jacket for Jonas, and made sure that it was fitted correctly, before starting the engine of the boat and speeding towards Kantos. She made a circuit of the island, so that Jonas could see it all from the sea, and then slipped into a secluded inlet to moor the boat. Putting on a wide-brimmed sunhat with a blue ribbon that matched her dress, Arianna caught up her straw bag, looping it over her shoulder, before leading them along a gently sloping path.

‘How are you doing?’ The path had become steep and rocky, and Jonas looked as if he was getting tired. ‘You want a lift for this last bit?’

Jonas nodded, and while he was lifting the boy onto his back, Arianna picked up the bag that contained their towels and swimming trunks and they toiled their way up the hill.

‘It’s worth it when we get there.’

‘Yep.’ Jonas seemed to be getting both taller and heavier by the hour, these days. And his excited wriggling wasn’t helping much either.

‘Wait and see...’ Arianna seemed to be walking faster instead of slower now and Ben lengthened his stride to keep up with her.

‘Woah, Dad!’ They got to the brow of the hill and a picture-perfect view revealed itself. The water was the deepest blue he’d ever seen, and the large lake was surrounded by steep slopes, some of them sparkling in the sunshine from the seams of crystalline rock formed by the intense heat of a long-dormant volcano.

‘What do you think?’ Arianna was looking up at him with shining eyes.

‘Spectacular. Far better than I’d expected.’

They slithered down the steep slope to the water’s edge, Ben keeping a tight hold on Jonas’s hand and reaching for Arianna’s when it looked as if she might lose her balance. When she took it, she held on tight.

Jonas ran down to the water’s edge, picking up a shiny blue stone. ‘Look, Dad. I’m going to take it home.’

Ben shook his head. ‘No, we leave everything as we find it. The next person won’t be able to see that stone if you take it away with you. You can take some pictures, though, if you want.’

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave it to Jonas, who dropped the stone and started taking pictures.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Arianna murmured, pointing to a glistening blue cliff on the other side of the lake. ‘There’s plenty left. That’s where they’ve taken little pieces of stone off for the souvenir shops. They’re only allowed to take so much, but taking a little has uncovered what’s been hidden by shale and vegetation.’

‘It’s the principle. He’s happy taking photographs.’

When Jonas had finished taking photographs of different shaped stones, he decided that he wanted a few selfies. He posed for a while, and then tired of that. Arianna took the phone from his hand, holding it out and taking a shot of the two of them, and then Ben was dragged away from the view to join them. He felt her curls brush his cheek as he leaned in close. Just like a happy family.

He shouldn’t think like that. But when he held the phone out to get a shot of the three of them, with the lake as a backdrop, he couldn’t help it. He took another shot of Arianna and Jonas, standing at the water’s edge, and then managed to capture Arianna in a perfect star jump, her dress flapping around her legs in the breeze. Ben wondered if he’d ever tire of this, but finally Arianna called a halt.

‘Shall we rest a while? Then we can go swimming.’

‘Sounds good.’ Resting generally meant food and a lazy siesta, and this time was no different. Arianna found a grassy spot, shaded by trees that grew almost horizontally out of the sides of the slope, spread out a light quilted groundsheet and proceeded to unpack plastic tubs of food from her bag. Ben took three bottles of water from his bag, and they sat down to eat. Bread to dip into the tubs of tzatziki and hummus, with salads and chicken on paper plates.

When Arianna had collected up the remains of the meal, Jonas curled up beside her, ready to take a siesta now. Ben watched as she lay down beside his son, her arm thrown protectively across Jonas’s chest.

This was his for the day, with photographs to remember it by. The pretence of a happy family, just like the one that he’d allowed to slip through his fingers. It might not be his to take, but he could allow himself to enjoy the feeling for a little while.

* * *

Ben had been watching over her as she slept. She’d seen him, through heavy-lidded eyes, as she’d dozed, and the knowledge that he was there had chased away her dreams.

He was right. This weekend had been harder than any other, but she was finally facing the feelings she’d been bottling up for years. If Ben hadn’t been here she would have retreated into her work again, and pushed them all aside, but now they were bubbling to the surface like a volcano, threatening to explode.

When Jonas began to stir against her, Ben was still leaning on his elbows, still there. Arianna climbed across the rocks, finding a place where she could change into her bathing suit, and then raced down to the water’s edge. Ben and Jonas were already there, trying to get each other as wet as possible in as short a time as possible.

The man had everything. Physique, tone, good looks. His blond hair and pale skin were almost golden in the sunshine, and the rivulets of water running down his chest... She just couldn’t look. If she looked, then she’d stare.

‘It’s very quiet here,’ Ben remarked as they both bobbed lazily in the water, while Jonas splashed around, doggy-paddling backwards and forwards, never more than

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