‘It’s fine here.’ I smile. ‘Does it get cold here in the winter months?’ I ask him as I dive into a slice of feta pie, my paper napkin catching flakes of the delicious filo pastry.
‘A little cooler, although we do get cold winters from time to time,’ he informs me. ‘Although not generally.’
Glancing around at the shimmering sea, and the dazzling blue sky above, it seems hard to imagine it during the winter months.
We finish our delicious picnic, and take a walk along the sand and shingle beach, Andreas occasionally stopping and picking up a stone or a piece of interesting-looking glass, often discarding them.
‘Look over there.’ I point to a piece of driftwood at the water’s edge that resembles a snake as the foamy sea water washes over it.
‘Well spotted, that is a nice piece,’ says Andreas, picking it up and dropping it into his bag.
Half an hour later, Andreas has found some green-and-blue coloured sea glass, another piece of driftwood and some interesting-looking pebbles.
‘What will you do with the wood?’ I ask as we walk. ‘I imagine it isn’t the type of wood to fashion a sculpture?’
‘You are right, I mainly use olive wood for that. This type of wood I can use for picture frames, maybe an interesting lamp stand. Here, let me show you something.’
He takes his phone from his pocket and shows me a picture of a stylish black table lamp, with a driftwood base.
‘You made that? It’s very impressive.’
‘Thank you. I sold that in the shop.’ He smiles.
‘Well then, you really ought to think about opening a workshop,’ I encourage him. ‘You could take commissions for one-off bespoke pieces, which is what people love.’
‘It is true that people like exclusive pieces,’ he agrees. ‘Especially if they have money to spend. Perhaps I ought to take your advice, and look for somewhere to work, and sell some of my products.’
‘Hopefully you make the decision sooner rather than later,’ I tell him. ‘Life slips by so quickly, we often end up doing things that don’t really set our heart on fire.’
‘That is very poetic,’ he says as he stops and faces me. ‘And also, very true. But you must remember to use your gifts too.’
His comment makes me think of how easy it is to give other people advice, rather than address our own needs.
We walk quietly, enjoying the fresh sea breeze and looking for beach treasure, until we finally reach the foot of the steps that lead back up to the main street.
‘This is the bit I often forget about,’ I say, glancing upwards at the many steps. ‘But what goes up, must come down, I guess.’
I can feel the pull on my calves as I walk, resolving to do a little more hill walking when I get home, but it isn’t as bad as I feared. Soon enough, we are back on the high street and heading towards the car park.
Driving back, I feel completely relaxed, and not quite ready to head back to the apartments. I realise I haven’t thought about Christos once today, and a quick glance at my phone reveals that he obviously hasn’t thought about me either. Which, I realise, I actually don’t mind. I have enjoyed my time with Andreas so much that I really don’t want the day to end.
‘Would you be interested in seeing some more of my sculptures?’ asks Andreas, as we approach Fira. ‘If you do not have to rush back, that is.’
‘I don’t, and I would absolutely love to,’ I tell him, feeling pleased to be spending more time with him. ‘It makes a change from “would you like to come up and see my etchings?”’ I laugh.
‘Etchings?’
‘Yes, you know, drawings.’
‘People say that?’ He laughs. ‘I have never heard it before.’
‘They used to, according to my mum. Then it changed to “are you coming in for coffee?” After a night out usually, which was often a code for “would you like to have sex”.’
‘Oh my goodness, I am not trying to do that.’ Andreas looks aghast.
‘I know you are not.’ I burst out laughing. ‘Although there is no need to look so horrified at the thought.’
‘No, of course, I am not. Nothing would make me happier. Wait, no that is not what I mean,’ he says, shaking his head and tying himself up in knots, which makes me laugh even more.
