‘See you tomorrow, bright and early if you have time,’ says Dimitri, putting his sunglasses on and letting his hair loose from the band it was in. I feel almost guilty agreeing to go out withPhoebe and her granddaughter tomorrow, but at least I will be here for a little while, and I am paying them to do the job after all, I remind myself.
That night, I climb into bed exhausted after a shower, and smile at some photos Josh has sent me from Chester Zoo. Mum and Dad have beaming smiles on their faces, and I hope they have enjoyed a lovely day. It must be so nice for them having their son and grandson around to have a day out with, not something they can do on a regular basis given the distance between them. I sink into the bed with its freshly laundered white cotton sheets and I am soon out like a light.
SEVENTEEN
The sun streaming through the pale curtains has me rising the next morning at six thirty. I make myself a coffee, then push the door open to the small balcony. To the left I can glimpse an allotment area being used by some of the locals, where they grow courgettes, corn, tomatoes and a variety of fragrant herbs. Next to that, a caged area has chickens that are already awake and clucking. I lean over the balcony and on the right side, I can see the white church, with its dark bell tower. It’s so beautiful and quiet at this time, although the sudden sound of a cockerel crowing loudly breaks the silence. Straight ahead, I glimpse the sea as the sun begins its ascent, a gentle orange hue rising slowly above the horizon.
Sitting on the tiny balcony, I think of how this place is a world away from back home, where my balcony there gives a view of apartments, and a railway track. Tonight, I plan to sit here and read a book, and realise it’s been so long since I’ve actually done that back home, often starting one but never having the time or being in the right frame of mind to finish it, with so many distractions around, including Netflix and the temptation to scroll through social media on my phone. I vow never tomeet anyone that way again though, after my last miserable experience.
I dress and shower, then nip to the bakery for some cake for the picnic.
‘Kalimera,’ Thea greets me brightly. ‘So how is the build going?’ she asks as she finishes serving a local with some bread rolls.
‘Good, I mean, it’s early days really, and I probably shouldn’t be sneaking off for a picnic with my new neighbour, but it’s such a gorgeous day.’
‘You are paying the builders to do the job for you,’ she says, echoing my own sentiments and making me feel better. ‘And I am sure they can be trusted. My nephew is a good man. He must be, to be working on a Sunday.’
‘Of course.’ I smile, selecting some slices of cheese and spinach pie calledspanakopita. I buy a cake topped with icing and a jelly sweet for Phoebe’s great-grandson too. ‘And I’m very grateful.’
‘Have a good day. I will check on the house later if you like?’ offers Thea, but I don’t want the guys to think I am checking up on them.
‘Don’t worry about it, but thanks anyway,’ I tell her as I head off.
I knock at Phoebe’s with the food at eight thirty and she receives it gratefully, before putting it in her fridge until her granddaughter and great-grandson arrive.
‘Did you have a lie-in?’ Dimitri teases as I arrive at the villa. It’s something I am learning he seems to do rather a lot, although I realise that work starts early before the sun gets up in the afternoon.
‘Well, it is Sunday.’
‘For some of us,’ he replies, a grin on his face. ‘I am teasing, I hope you have a nice morning at the park.’ He smiles. ‘It is good that you trust us to get on with things.’
‘Of course I do.’
‘Oh, and I hope you have your mosquito spray, especially if you go near the lake in the park.’ I don’t think he is joking about that, but luckily I do have a spray in my bag.
I pull on some gardening gloves and get stuck in pulling up some weeds from the rear garden.
‘You don’t want to ruin your outfit, please leave it to us,’ says Dimitri. ‘By the way, you look nice,’ he adds, flicking his eyes over my knee-length white cotton dress; my hair is loose and over my shoulders this morning.
‘Thank you.’ I almost add, ‘So do you,’ but as he is in his usual work gear, it doesn’t seem appropriate.
An hour later, Phoebe appears outside as a young woman is walking up the slight incline of the road, holding a young boy’s hand. She has almond eyes, and her blonde-highlighted hair is tied back. Phoebe introduces her granddaughter Sofia when I join them.
‘Nice to meet you,’ she tells me outside the gate. ‘And this here is Jason.’ She introduces the adorable little boy who politely says hello. ‘I hear you will be my grandmother’s new neighbour,’ she says warmly.
‘Eventually, yes.’ I gesture to the house next door, with the half-constructed roof and surrounded by scaffolding. ‘And it’s nice to meet you too. I’m Claudia.’
‘Gaia,’ says the little boy as he greets his great-grandmother and runs into her arms. She speaks to him in Greek and covers him with kisses.
A short while later, we take the walk down the sloping road to Sofia’s car that is parked at the bottom. Phoebe insists I sit in the front seat next to Sofia, whilst she sits in the back with Jason.
Sofia is so easy to talk to, I feel like I have made another new friend, although she tells me she lives around a forty-minute drive away in a small village.
‘I invited my grandmother to live with us, but she loves Roda. I cannot say I blame her.’ She smiles. ‘I would like to live around here too, but we could never afford a house here,’ she tells me, which makes me feel guilty for having the means to buy a holiday home here. I wonder if I will be viewed with disdain, like those people who buy second homes in Cornwall and the Lake District, forcing prices up and the locals out?
I try not to think about that as we turn out of the village. As we drive through tiny hamlets, Jason is chattering excitedly and pointing things out in the distance. He laughs at a braying donkey, its head hanging over a fence in someone’s front garden.
Soon enough we are on the open road passing verdant fields and rolling hills with farmhouses dotted in the distance. Eventually we arrive at a pleasant-looking park, fronted with wrought-iron gates and a giant palm tree.
