Page 6 of Greek Island Fling to Forever

‘Of course I did. You were my superhero, appearing out of nowhere to save me and then disappearing again. Whatever makes you think I wouldn’t look?’

He wasn’t the hero that Arianna thought he was. He was flawed, capable of the best and the worst, and pretty much everything in between. Maybe this was why he’d decided to come, after all the heart-searching and uncertainty. He wanted to get back in touch with what he could do. It was a way of believing in himself again.

He began to tell the rest of his story. How the hotel where they’d been staying had heard that the ferry had sunk, and sent out a boat to bring them back to the mainland. How the holiday had ended and he’d gone back to England. Back to school, and then onto medical school.

‘What made you want to be a doctor?’ Arianna shot him a quizzical look.

‘The same as anyone, I suppose. I wanted to make a difference.’

‘Because you already knew that you could?’

‘That day on the ferry... I’ve never forgotten how it felt. When I was younger, I thought my whole life could be like that.’ Ben quirked the corners of his mouth down, knowing how naïve that teenage notion was now. He hadn’t really meant to discuss this with Arianna.

‘It changed you, then. You wanted to feel that way again.’

‘Yes, it did. It meant a lot to me.’

It was as close as Ben could get to telling Arianna how much he needed her now. Her gaze was steady on his face and perhaps she understood a little of what he hadn’t said, as well as that w

hich he had.

‘And after medical school?’

That all seemed easier to say, now. ‘I did most of the usual things. Got a job, worked hard. Fell in love and got married. We bought a house and then our son, Jonas, came along, and redefined the meaning of tired.’

‘I’ve heard they do that. Are your wife and son here in Greece? I’d love to meet them.’

‘Jonas is here. We’re staying at a hotel on the mainland with my sister and her family. My wife, Emma, died in a car accident four years ago, when Jonas was a year old.’ The words had lost their sting now. Time was a healer, which had softened the pain of grief. The pain of guilt was a different matter, and Ben never talked about that.

Arianna’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh. I’m so sorry, Ben.’

‘It’s...’ He shrugged. ‘It’s not okay, but I live with it. Maybe you feel the same about your brother?’

She thought for a moment. ‘I never quite accepted that I was the one who survived.’

That was how Ben felt too, and he had good reason. It had been his fault that Emma was alone in the car with Jonas, and her quick and selfless reactions had meant their son had escaped the crash unharmed. No amount of guilt and regret was going to change that now, and no amount of sharing would either.

Arianna’s eyes glistened in the setting sun, and Ben fancied that he saw tears. There was something that Arianna wasn’t saying, but he wouldn’t press her. There were things he wasn’t saying as well.

‘Being the one that’s left behind is difficult, isn’t it?’

She nodded. ‘How do you deal with it?’

He didn’t. That wasn’t for anyone to hear either.

‘Let’s just say that it took the edge off my belief in being able to change the world. The first year was very hard. The following one was better and then...one evening about six months ago, after I’d put Jonas to bed, I was searching the internet for some ideas on child-friendly holiday destinations. Ilaria came up and it reminded me of you. I couldn’t resist searching one more time for information about the passengers on the ferry that day, and found an old newspaper article. I didn’t understand it, it was written in Greek, but there was a picture of you and your family. Once I knew your name, I had to find you.’

‘And you turned up and saved the day for Helen. As soon as she could talk, she told me how kind you’d been to her.’

Ben shook his head. ‘I don’t believe in turning up and saving the day any more.’

He had, once. But he’d neither turned up nor saved the day for Emma. It had been a salutary lesson.

She leaned forward, taking a matchbook from the holder on the table and lifting the glass shade from the candle that stood next to it. The match flared, and in the candlelight Ben thought he saw hope reflected in her eyes.

‘Maybe you should. Ilaria’s taught me a few things since I’ve been here. It might have some things to teach you too.’

Maybe. Ben wouldn’t bet on it, but he wouldn’t have bet on Arianna having given him a second thought over the years either. Perhaps this was a place where anything was possible.

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