‘I see,’ he says, glancing down at his shoes for a moment. ‘Then I guess this is goodbye.’
‘For now,’ I correct him. ‘It won’t be long until I return.’
Just then I hear someone call my name as Irene and Patsy come bounding across the road.
‘Oh, my goodness, you’re back,’ says Irene excitedly. ‘So how did it go?’
‘I will leave you to it.’ Andreas smiles, before wishing us all a safe flight, and saying he will be in touch, before he climbs into his car.
As I wave him off, I can’t help wondering what might have happened if Irene and Patsy had not appeared when they did.
‘So go on, tell us how it went,’ insists Irene as we link arms and head into the apartments.
‘Well, you are never going to believe this, but…’
THIRTY-ONE
‘I still can’t believe you have landed yourself a job here,’ says Irene the next morning as we pack our cases into the hire car. Thankfully, I hired a large car with a boot that can comfortably store our three cases.
‘Me neither,’ says Patsy. ‘But you go for it. I wish I had taken up more offers when I was young.’ She sighs.
‘The world was a different place then,’ Irene reminds her. ‘Once you had chosen your career path, that was that, you were pretty much stuck with it forever. I loved working as a nurse though,’ she reflects.
We had said goodbye to the staff at the Sea Breeze earlier, and are thrilled to see them standing outside the restaurant and waving us off as we drive past. I give a toot of the horn in response as we wave our arms out of the windows.
‘I will really miss that place,’ Irene says sadly. ‘Everyone was so lovely. The food portions were so large it was pointless trying to diet.’
‘Nobody watches their weight on holiday, Irene,’ says Patsy, lighting up a vape that smells of blueberries. I ask her to keep the window open as I am not fond of the smell.
‘I realise that, especially in a place like Greece where the food is so delicious,’ agrees Irene. ‘I will be joining that slimming club as soon as we get home though,’ she says with determination.
‘And I might actually have a go at quitting these vapes when I get home,’ says Patsy.
‘You would think it was New Year with all these resolutions.’ I laugh. ‘Although I can add to that as I resolve to concentrate more on my singing.’
At the airport, having dropped the car off, we wait around for our check-in desk to open and the pull to return to Perissa is so strong I almost walk off in search of a taxi, before giving myself a reality check. I have no money to stay on here just yet, plus I am keen to see my family and to tell them that I have secured a singing contract and will be returning here in a few weeks. I hope they will be happy for me, and maybe they will decide to take that trip to Greece after all and watch me perform. That would make me so proud and happy.
I’m sitting looking at my phone, when I suddenly hear a familiar voice call my name.
‘Andreas, what are you doing here?’ I ask as I stand to greet him.
‘I just wanted to say goodbye to you properly,’ he says, taking hold of my hand. ‘I felt I didn’t do that earlier.’
Irene and Patsy are watching the scene unfold, while pretending to hide behind the novels they are reading.
‘And I was wondering,’ he continues. ‘How would you feel about us spending some time together when you return?’
‘You came all the way here to ask me that?’ I smile, feeling thrilled by his presence.
‘So, what do you think then?’ he asks.
‘I think I would like that very much,’ I tell him.
‘You think?’ he says as he moves closer.
‘I am sure I would like to spend some time with you. Is that better?’ I say, my heart beating as he pulls me to him.
‘Much better,’ he says, before his lips finally meet mine. And the wonderful thing? I still get those tingles but without any feelings of uncertainty. I trust Andreas. It just feels right.
