Page 37 of Take a Chance on Greece
‘Onto the next,’ said Amira. ‘That’s what Kat would say, that’s what the girls here think, and I am in complete agreement. Why don’t you go and see your bookshop friend? He always seems to cheer you up.’
‘Maybe,’ I said, because Amira was in full on ‘doctor knows best’ mode and I knew from old that when she was like that, it was best to appear to go along with her. But in reality, going to see Alexis felt like adding an even greater complication into an already emotional situation. It didn’t feel fair to burden him with yet more woes from my dating trials and tribulations. We were still texting each other, of course, but I was deliberately keeping things light. The poor guy had enough to be thinking about running his business without me constantly crying on his shoulder and needing his help. Going on the date with Absent Andreas had been my way of trying to move on from my growing tenderness towards Alexis. Running back to him now was not going to help that situation. And didn’t a part of me worry that if Alexis heard too many of my dating disaster stories that he’d never change his mind and see me as more than a friend? Not that that scenario was a realistic possibility.
Amira did her best to get me fired up again before she had to dash back to her patients. It was good to talk to her, and by the end of the call, I was able to view the situation more dispassionately. But her hard work was undone when I hung up the phone and realised another text had arrived from Jim in the meantime. Why did bad things always have to come in batches? It was tough enough dealing with a Jim text when I was feeling good. To have one arrive in this slump was like kicking me when I was down. He was trying a different tactic now. Instead of the arrogant presumption that I’d be returning to him any day, he actually said he was missing me and that the house felt empty without me. I somehow doubted that was the case given that technically I’d only lived with him for less than twenty-four hours, so he couldn’t possibly be missing what he’d never really had, but I couldn’t help feeling bad that he still seemed unhappy. And although I knew this was an unhealthy attitude to have, in the conspicuous dearth of communication from Absent Andreas, it was gratifying that someone at least was thinking about me in a relationship context.
It was that thought which spurred me on to get myself out of what could rapidly become a negativity spiral. I volunteered to do an extra shift on Reception, hoping that processing the new arrivals would keep my mind off my phone, and stop me doing something stupid like texting Absent Andreas again, or worse, succumbing to Jim’s plaintive plea to reply to him.
Yiota eyed me suspiciously when I offered my services. She may be a hard taskmaster, but, to give her credit, she was very much a believer in taking proper breaks, a new but welcome experience for me in the professional environment. Today of course I wished she was slightly less diligent about it.
‘Why are you wanting to do more work?’ she asked, folding her arms and giving me a searching look. ‘It is not healthy. It is a beautiful day. You have done your bit, now you should go out in the sunshine and enjoy it.’
‘Maybe I’ve had a little too much sunshine,’ I said without conviction.
She pursed her lips. ‘You are upset. What has my brother done?’
‘Nothing, honestly,’ I said quickly, amused that she had instantly leaped to the conclusion that it must be something to do with her sibling. ‘Alexis has been nothing but kind to me. You are very lucky to have him as your brother.’
‘That is Alexis all over, always bringing home stray animals.’
I couldn’t help laughing at Yiota’s bluntness, which I suspect was her purpose.
‘That is better, I cannot have a sad person sitting on reception. It will give the guests a wrong impression of our lovely hotel and island. People cannot be sad on Kefalonia for long. If you insist, you can do some work in the back office. But I cannot pay you overtime, and I still think you should go and sit on the beach instead.’
Memories of the beach with Alexis confirmed my desire to keep myself occupied.
‘That’s OK, I just want to keep busy for a while.’
She didn’t push me to find out why, but instead set me up at a computer with a pile of room tabs to go through. It felt strange to be doing something akin to my former role once again, but it was a good distraction to lose myself in the satisfaction of crunching numbers and balancing columns for a few hours. If only it was so easy to create order out of chaos in other aspects of my life. By the time I’d tallied the last bill, my neck was aching and I was ready for a break. But it was good to feel that I hadn’t lost my skills. The time in front of the computer screen had clarified a few things for me, namely that Absent Andreas wasn’t worth a millimetre of my headspace, and that whatever happened next, I would not be returning to life as a full-time accountant. I could stomach it for a few hours, but it was time I sought a profession that made my heart sing. And if I could find a permanent role here in Kefalonia, then that would be even better. But I was not going to achieve that unless I significantly upped the ante with my Greek skills. Without allowing myself to think about it too much, I sent Alexis a text asking if he was around tomorrow afternoon so I could take him up on his offer of language assistance. I told myself having a Greek lesson with him was very different to leaning on him for emotional support. It was time to take some positive action.
Chapter Nineteen
Alexis absolutely refused to charge for my Greek lesson. In fact, he sounded rather offended that I’d even suggested such a thing.
It will be my pleasure, he had insisted, immediately moving the text conversation on to something else completely in a manner which brooked no argument. But I’d been equally determined that his kindness towards me should not go unmarked, so before we met up, I popped along to Maria’s Taverna to see if she could supply me with the makings of a thank you picnic.
‘Iassou, Lydia,ti kaneis?’
She bustled out of the kitchen, greeting me with a broad smile, and I was pleased that I could reply to her question about how I was with some Greek of my own. With much assistance from my phrasebook, I stiltedly managed to explain my idea. Before long, she’d filled a basket with a loaf of freshly baked bread, a salad bursting with juicy tomatoes and slabs of feta cheese, and a tub ofdolmades, which turned out to be a herby rice mix encased in vine leaves. Finally, she added a pot of my favourite garlicytzatziki,two slices of honey-soakedbaklava, and a bottle of homemade lemonade. I quickly scribbled down the new Greek words in my notebook and then went on my way.
As I walked towards Alexis’s shop, I realised that I had butterflies in my stomach. I told myself that it was because I was nervous about the lesson. The last language classes I had attended were at school, and about the only thing I could remember from them was how to ask directions to the train station in German. As I’ve never visited Germany and am hopeless at following directions even in my mother tongue, it’s been of limited use. At least now I had a much greater incentive to pay attention to my teacher as I was actually living in the country whose language I was trying to learn. And it didn’t hurt that Alexis was much better-looking than my German teachers had ever been.
‘Lydia,mou,’ said the man himself, waving at me from across the street.
I found myself blushing, as embarrassed as if my interior monologue about his good looks had been said out loud.
‘You are too hot,’ he said, his voice full of concern. ‘Come, let us go into the shop so you can get out of the sun. May I help?’
‘Thank you,’ I replied, still feeling flustered. He took the picnic basket and my bag of learning materials, and walked by my side, subtly positioning himself so that his shadow was providing me with some shade.
‘This smells delicious,’ he said, lifting the basket.
‘It was going to be a surprise, but there’s no concealing the wonderful scent of Maria’s food. It’s just a little thank you for the language help.’
This time it was Alexis who looked rather flushed. ‘You did not have to do that. As I said, it is a pleasure to share my language with you. But I’m not going to say no to an opportunity to enjoy a meal with you, especially when it’s come from Maria’s Taverna.’
The shop bell tinkled as we went in. I hovered in the doorway, the nerves returning as Alexis placed the bag containing my dictionary and notebook behind the counter.
He caught the worried expression on my face and smiled reassuringly.
