I hear him yawn a minute later, so wish him goodnight, even though I hate putting the phone down.
THIRTY-FIVE
I keep looking at flights and am almost tempted to return to Greece the following weekend. But I am sustained by video calls from Dimitri, and manage somehow to not allow my heart to rule my head.
‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ my mum reminds me as I have Sunday lunch with my parents. ‘Don’t go running over there every five minutes, you don’t want to appear too keen,’ she continues as she thinks men ought to do all the running. ‘Faint heart never won fair lady, and all that. Besides, you need to have a chance to miss each other,’ is another piece of her advice.
‘Do you think so? Isn’t there also a saying, “Out of sight out of mind”?’
‘Oh, don’t be silly.’ She laughs. ‘You have only been apart for five minutes. Your grandfather went to war you know, and all my mother had for years was letters. True love can survive anything.’
‘Maybe you’re right, but I suppose only time will tell.’
Is it true love? I wonder. If it is, then maybe it really can survive the distance.
I’m halfway through Mum’s delicious apple crumble and custard for dessert, when Mum takes a call from Josh.
‘Oh, that’s marvellous! Your sister is here, do you want to tell her too?’
I take the phone from Mum, who is smiling from ear to ear and Josh tells me that they have had an offer accepted for the house near Manchester.
‘And we’ve had a lot of interest in our place here, so fingers crossed we should be in before the end of the year.’
I daydream of us all sitting around the table at Christmas, little George playing with his toys.
The following week in work passes in a blur, as it is the height of the holiday season and more passports than ever are being processed, along with the usual last-minute applications from people who make daily calls for updates.
It’s a Friday work from home day, and at lunchtime I’m sitting in my tracksuit eating some lunch and thinking about messaging Dimitri. I imagine him out in the sunshine, chatting to tourists on the boats, and have a yearning to be there too. But maybe Mum is right, about appreciating time together even more if you spend time apart.
I’m thinking about this, when I receive a message from Dimitri, telling me an Amazon driver is trying to deliver a gift to me, but cannot find the apartment.
‘A gift?’
‘Yes. He has called my number, saying he cannot find the apartment. Maybe you could go outside and look for the van.’
‘Sure, it’s perfect timing, as I am just taking a break. I’ll call you back shortly.’
I walk downstairs, excitedly wondering what gift Dimitri might have sent me. Maybe it’s something Greek to remind me of Corfu. Or perhaps it is something more personal, like a piece of jewellery.
I take a glance outside, then walk to the end of the path, in search of the delivery driver. Whatever I was expecting, it certainly wasn’t what I find, strolling towards me in the street.
‘Dimitri!’ My hand flies to my mouth as I am almost rooted to the spot. ‘It’s you, it’s really you!’
I practically run to him, before sinking into his soft embrace, wondering whether I am actually dreaming.
‘So, are you going to invite me in?’ he asks, after kissing me right there on the doorstep. ‘It’s freezing out here.’
‘I can’t believe you are here.’
I can’t stop looking at him, wondering if I close my eyes, he might just disappear.
We are sitting on the sofa, him clutching a coffee.
‘Oh, and if you think it’s cold now, just wait until December.’
‘I had to come. I heard Liverpool are playing an important match tomorrow.’ He grins.
‘Ah so you really are crazy about them?’
