A young fisherman, in a checked shirt, altered the angle of the sail, whilst his grey-bearded man companion wrapped the boys in towels and passed me a spare one. He avoided my eye. Ah yes. Of course. Just remembered my outfit consisted of one lacy bra and high-leg knickers. I wrapped the towel around my body, sarong-style, and wiped my mouth. Urgh. I hated that salty taste, and was that a slimy lace of seaweed down my back? My hair hung in rats’ tails, the tight bobble lost, as I slipped my arms around the children and cuddled them tight. My cheeks pricked and tingled like only fair skin does under the sun. Niko spoke to the crew, a couple of whom had clapped him on the shoulder.
Whilst the boat swayed from side to side, I spotted two adults with Mrs Dellis, on the beach. All three waved madly. As we neared I could see their tear-stained faces. The young couple must have been the boys’ parents. A bigger crowd had assembled near the old jetty. As the boat hit the sand, the boys’ mum and dad rushed forward, wading into the water. Old Mrs Dellis was still wailing and wringing her bony hands.
‘Efharisto, efharisto,’ the boys’ family kept saying to me and Niko. In turn, we thanked the fishermen.
A while later, Niko gave me a wry smile. ‘So here we are again,’ he muttered.
Having escaped the congratulations of the crowd and beady eye of the local doctor, we stood under the fig tree, me back in my shorts and blouse. I picked up my hat and glasses. He leant forward and ran a thumb over my cheeks.
‘They’ll be painful later. Grandma swears that yogurt helps sunburn.’
I shrugged and turned to go, like I had a couple of hours before.
‘Pippa… No leave it like this…’ He held out a hand. ‘How you see me… it is not true. I’m no playboy. It’s just… I’m so pleased to see you again. Stay a while. Tell me about your life. Let’s catch up on the time we’ve been apart.’
I fought the urge to slip my hand into his.
‘Look, it’s great to see you too,’ I said, now over the shock of the change in him. Almost losing those boys gave a bit of perspective. ‘But I’m a Londoner now – part of the rat-race. An office worker. A suit wearer. Whereas you…’ I gazed around at the island… the lapping waves… the squawking seagulls… ‘We couldn’t be more different. And I’m here to spend time with Henrik. I mean, you are happy with Leila, right? Committed to spending the rest of your days with her?’
‘Of course,’ said Niko quickly and for some reason averted his eyes.
‘Just like I am committed to honest, caring Henrik,’ I continued, shifting uncomfortably. Well, I hadn’t made my mind up yet.
‘Henrik? Honest? Pah, I can keep quiet no longer.’ He sneered. ‘This Dutch giant is up to something. Back in January he kept meeting Stavros Lakis, our local mayor. He is a sly figure, well-known for zooming around in his new white Range Rover, smoking fancy cigars and tricking people out of money. Wake up, Pippa, your tall, handsome boyfriend whose charm is legendary, is in fact a scoundrel, making some deal with the most corrupt man on the whole of Kos island…’
I wrapped my arms around Niko’s neck. My fingers played with his curls. The teasing mouth quirked into a smile and like a mirror reflection, I’m guessing my lips quirked back. I couldn’t be more grateful to him, for pointing out the dark ways of clearly unwholesome Henrik. I mean, fancy him speaking to the dodgy town mayor. Without hesitation, I stripped off and lay down on a carpet of fallen fig leaves. Holding my hand up, I muttered ‘Ravish me, my little sea urchin… let your feelers do their work…’
Hmm. As if that was going to happen – me play right into that gigolo’s hands? Yes, “gigolo” – all civility had left me the moment he insulted my boyfriend. I’d snorted in Niko’s face and flounced off, dignity lacking due to my high heels wobbling in the sand. It was laughable. Henrik talking to an underhand mayor meant nothing, because as everyone else on this planet knew, corruption throughout the Greek establishment was rife. In fact it would be more suspicious if Henrik had talked to an official whose reputation was still intact.
I glanced sideways, across the shell-white pillows. Slowly Henrik’s chest rose and dipped. Yesterday we’d spent just a quiet Sunday together, by the pool, managing with basic food provisions and… okay, if you must know, we finally made love again and it was… nice.
Aarggh, and now I’d used a word that reminded me of Niko. But me realising what a jerk Niko had grown into, forced me to abandon my doubts and realise Henrik really was a catch. My head told me to grow up – that like oysters, not all men had something priceless inside. My man had lots of good qualities, like his honesty, and that should be enough.
I jumped as someone knocked at the villa’s front door. Henrik yawned and went to sit up. I shushed him, slipped through a gap in the mosquito net and headed towards our little blue-painted front door, which I unlocked and pulled open.
‘Ya sou, Theo!’ I squinted in the sunlight and bent down to ruffle the black hair. The little boy stood next to his dad.
‘Miss Pattinson…’ Mr Dellis bowed his head.
‘Please, call me Pippa.’ I smiled and smoothed down my nightdress. Eek, by the position of the sun, it must have already been late morning. I yawned again. ‘Excuse me – we got woken up by the fire station last night.’
‘Ah yes… There was a fire in a nightclub, further north – our crew went to help out. My brother is one of the team. Fortunately no one was hurt.’ Mr Dellis cleared his throat. ‘Pippa… again… Saturday – efharisto. It was dangerous. Like firemen, you risked your life – for my boy.’
‘Efharisto,’ mumbled Theo, in a shy voice, from under the green sunhat he’d just put back on.
‘No problem,’ I said, chest glowing.
‘But as a thank you, we put on a little meal tonight and have booked Taxos Taverna for eight o’clock. Please say you and your boyfriend will be there. My family and I will treat you and Niko like the greatest of gods.’
My stomach twisted. Niko? Could I really face seeing him again, without my temper urging me to shower him with retsina and…. Oh no. Did I really just imagine what it would be like to lick it off?
My ears burned. ‘There is no need, honestly–’
‘That is exactly what Niko said.’ Mr Dellis took my hand. ‘My wife and I, my mother… so grateful. Please. Let us honour you in this small way. We have arranged for Georgios and Sophia to put on a modest buffet.’
Bags bulged under his eyes and his nails had split, no doubt from working the land. ‘Okay. Um… lovely, thank you. But please let me bring something… for dessert.’ I didn’t want to hurt his pride by saying don’t spend money you can’t afford.
His face lit up. ‘We look forward to it. Eight o’clock. Until later!’
I closed the door. How great to see Theo looking so well, although I doubted he’d go back on a lilo any time soon.
As I walked through the hallway, gentle snoring wafted out from the spare room. Both Henrik and I had slept like exhausted Olympic torchbearers since arriving in Greece – no doubt the months of a hectic London life catching up with us. Humming, I headed into the kitchen and filled the coffee maker. Mmm, those ground beans smelt good. Soon it was percolating and energised by just the aroma of caffeine, I opened one of the cornflower-blue cupboards and took out the flour, butter and sugar that Henrik and Leila had bought on Saturday afternoon. We were almost out of milk, but I wouldn’t need much for even a large batch of scones.
Leila. How long had she been going out with Niko? Did they laugh together like I used to with him? Who’d made the first move? Did she, too, like wildlife?
My