CHAPTER TWO
THE emotional warmth given out by the revellers, tourists and islanders in Giorgio’s Taverna welcomed and wrapped around Tanya as if she’d never been away. As a small girl she’d been carried in here many times by her parents, elder brother, uncles, cousins and had often fallen asleep on somebody’s lap, the music lulling her to sleep as the evening progressed. She would wake up in her own bed either at home with her parents or at Grandmother Katerina’s, wondering how she’d been transported there.
Her brother Costas, who like his friend Manolis was eight years older than she, would sometimes tell her the fairies had carried her home in a special coach that ran over the cobbles without a sound. She’d liked to think that was true and whenever she found herself falling asleep at the table she’d made an effort to stay awake so that she could enjoy the journey home. But, however she’d tried, sleep had always got the better of her.
Manolis was trying to guide her to a table, one hand gently in the small of her back, but many people wanted to talk to them as they passed by.
“Dr Manolis, come over here! There’s room on my table.”
“Thank you…I’ll see you later on…” Manolis was smiling as he repeated his friendly phrase and moved on between the tables.
“I’m heading for that table in the corner,” he whispered as he stooped down towards her.
Tanya was aware of the many glances in their direction. One middle-aged lady put out a hand to detain her.
“It can’t be!” she said in Greek. “You’re Katerina’s granddaughter, aren’t you? You’re the absolute image of her when she was young and beautiful like you. Apart from the colour of your hair. You got that from your lovely mother, didn’t you? I remember when she arrived here from England. Very soon she was going out with your father, our young Dr Sotiris. Ah, he was such a handsome man.” She giggled. “All the girls fancied him. Including me!”
The giggle turned into joyful laughter.
Tanya smiled, wanting to give the lady her full attention even though Manolis was making his impatience to move on very obvious
“How is your father? Still living in Australia?”
Tanya swallowed hard. “He died of cancer five years ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. How’s your mother?”
“She’s married again to an old friend. She’s happy.”
She felt Manolis’s hand putting pressure on her to escape if she could.
“Lovely to see you again!” Tanya moved away, still smiling as she and Manolis finally reached the corner table.
Giorgio’s son had seen them making their way through the crowded taverna and was already standing over the table they coveted, fending off potential occupants.
“Efharisto. Thank you, Michaelis,” Tanya said, as she sank down on to the seat that was being held out for her.
“Good to see you back, Tanya. Have you come to work with Dr Manolis in the hospital?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do. First I need some holiday and then…who knows?”
Manolis smiled. “I’m trying to get her interested in applying for the newly vacant position.”
Michaelis shrugged his shoulders. “What is there to think about? Tanya, you would be ideal as an island doctor. We have a beautiful hospital now. Not like the old days when your father had to cope with a small surgery and not enough medical help. Come into the kitchen to decide what you want to eat. Mama has got everything laid out on top of the ovens. The chicken in mataxa brandy is very good!”
“Did your mother make it?” Tanya asked.
“Of course!”
“Then I’d love to have some.”
“Me too!” Manolis said. “And bring us a small selection of meze to start with, parakalor.”
The sound of Giorgio playing on his accordion drifted over the happy voices. In spite of the general clamour, as she looked across the table at Manolis she felt as if they were the only two people in the room. It was almost as if they were back in their favourite Greek restaurant on the outskirts of Sydney.
A bottle of wine was placed on their table. “On the house,” Michaelis said. “It’s from my father to welcome Tanya back to where she belongs.”
Tanya looked across and mouthed her thanks to Giorgio. He raised a hand from his accordion.
“What a welcome!” Manolis said as he poured the wine. “Does it make you want to live here permanently?”
“As I told you, I have no plans at the moment,” Tanya said. Her words came out more sharply than she’d intended.
Manolis reined in his enthusiasm. Tanya had always had a mind of her own. “I didn’t intend to upset you,” he said evenly.
“I’m not upset. I just need time to think. I came here for a holiday and I don’t want to have to make any decisions while I’m still jet-lagged.”
“Of course you don’t. It was just an idea. Take all the time you need regarding the vacancy at the hospital. The post has already been advertised and we’ve had a couple of applications. The current doctor is returning to England to take up a post in London. He’s not going until the end of the month but we’re expecting an influx of tourists very soon.”
Michaelis poured wine into Tanya’s glass. Manolis put a hand over his. “I’m on call tonight, Michaelis, so would you bring me a bottle of still water?”
Michaelis called the order to a young waiter who threaded his way through the tables and poured a glass of water for Manolis.
Manolis was anxious to return to their discussion about the vacant position but he waited until they were alone before continuing.
“We particularly need someone who knows the islanders and someone like you who was born here is absolutely ideal. In the past we’ve had outsiders who didn’t really understand what working on Ceres involved. So, at the last meeting of the hospital board it was decided that if we could find an islander with good medical qualifications, that would be the candidate we would take. As I say, you would, of course, be ideal but it has to be your decision. I know you have a mind of your own.”
He gave her a wry smile as he said this. For a few moments neither of them spoke. Tanya knew what he was referring to. She remembered that fateful day when she’d turned down his second proposal. How different her life would have been if she’d said yes.
She looked across the table. He lifted his glass towards her. “Here’s to your stay here on the island, whatever you decide.”
She raised her glass and took a sip. “I would have to be approved by the hospital board as well as you, wouldn’t I?”
“Of course. We now do more operations than we used to. We’re licensed to perform emergency operations when it would be counterproductive to try to get the patient over to Rhodes. And we do some elective surgery as well. So I’m still able to make use of the surgical skills and qualifications I needed in my previous London job as head of surgery. Our hospital grew from a very small surgery not so many years ago, as you will remember, so our rules here have to be more fluid than on Rhodes or on the Greek mainland.”
He could feel his hopes rising as he saw the expression of increasing interest on her face. “But knowing the excellent grades you got in your finals and the fact that you’re an islander born and bred, I know—”
“You know an awful lot about me.” She looked across the table, her gaze unwavering. “Did you check my exam grades?”
He leaned back against his chair. “I contacted Costas around the time