CHAPTER 4
Jackie
I told myself if anything looked off I’m pulling the plug on this idea, but so far so good.
I’m not a material girl, but I wasn’t about to get into a run down car. Well, he definitely didn’t have that. He had a sleek, black Range Rover that looked and smelled new. Not only that it was in long term parking which was in line with everything he’d told me.
I set some emergency apps on my phone to alert the local police and the police back home if anything happened to me. I even typed in the license plate number, which I was careful to memorize before I got in the car. Technology is incredible these days, but it still doesn’t make up for stupidity.
And as much as this whole idea sounded crazy, it somehow didn’t sound stupid.
The whole ride to my accommodation he asked me questions about myself and the States as he listened intently. That was a welcome change from what I was used to. Maybe it’s because he was older. Or maybe it’s true what they say about Europeans often having good manners. Or maybe it’s his experience with women and raising a daughter in particular. I wasn’t about to dissect it. Right now I was just glad he was so nice. I was already feeling kind of sad about arriving and not seeing him again during my visit.
I guess some people come into your life for a reason, and he was one. Right place and right time. It will be a nice memory to have after everything that’s just happened to me. It’s good to know that there are nice guys out there. And some of them are smoking hot too.
Even his little daughter didn’t interrupt. She just sat there in the backseat next to me and listened. I caught her staring at me a few times. It was cute. She’s a kid and the whole world must be so interesting to her. I remember those days.
And I appreciate that he didn’t lock my door. He locked Sophia’s door, but it was very apparent he didn’t lock mine. At any stoplight I could just jump out and be gone. Okay, he’d get away with my luggage, but he almost already did that at the airport. I’m still laughing at how that went down…and how this is all going down.
We arrive in front of the place and he quickly stops and opens the trunk.
“Well, it was nice meeting you,” he says. “Will the manager of the flat be arriving soon?”
I remember that Europeans call apartments flats, and I also think about how my mood quickly levels off at the idea of him leaving. But it doesn’t just level off, it drops. I was on a euphoric kind of high thinking about how fun and adventurous my trip is starting off, but the idea of him not being there suddenly brings me back to reality. I need to eat, shower, and figure out what’s going to happen over the next ten days before I go back.
“Yeah, he should be here soon I think. I just messaged him on Airbnb and texted him. He hasn’t replied yet, but it shouldn’t be long.”
“Okay, I’ll wait with you until he arrives.”
“No, no. It’s okay. I’ll be fine really. If everyone in Greece is as friendly as you then this trip is going to be perfect.” I may be laying it on a little thick, but oh well.
“Well, we certainly are friendly people,” he says.
He gives me some pointers on where to go and where to eat. He tells me the places I have to see and how I should come back in the summer and check out the world famous islands. He says I’m welcome to come stay at his place on some island that he named so quickly and with a Greek pronunciation that I couldn’t even understand. I’ll have to ask for his number when the apartment guy shows up.
But he doesn’t show up. A full thirty minutes go by and I send some more messages including WhatsApp. That way I can see if he’s receiving and reading my messages.
It looks like they’re going through but he’s not reading them.
“Are you sure he’s renting during this time of year?” he asks. “Many of the rentals in Greece shut down for the winter and then reopen in the spring. Maybe he just forgot to take the listing down.”
I scroll through the reviews and see the last review was left in August. Maybe he’s right.
“I’ll just wait a little longer,” I say. “I’ll go grab a coffee at the place you recommended so you and your daughter can get on with your day. Thank you so much for--”
He raises a finger to my lips. He doesn’t touch them but he’s close.
“Please. Stop with this crazy talk,” he says. I smile immediately at his sense of humor. “We will not leave you until the person from the flat arrives. It’s not how we do things here,” he says.
I could get used to ‘the way they do things here,’ I think to myself. What a gentleman he is.
“Sophia and I need to eat ourselves. Would you care to join us? If the man arrives you are welcome to leave immediately. I think they can even wrap your things quickly in a takeaway container.”
What cloud did this guy fall off of? And why did he land right in my life? I’m certainly not complaining. This is too good to be true.
“If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” he says. “Just one second.”
He walks over to the Range Rover and opens his daughter’s door. They come back to my side and we walk down the cobblestone street towards the restaurant.
“I’m very sorry about my manners,” he says.
“Your manners? You’ve been nothing but amazing,” I say.
“Thank you, but in the haste of everything I forgot to introduce myself. I am Nikolaos, but you can call me Nick. And this is my daughter, Sophia.”
“Nice to meet you, Nick. I’m Jackie.” I bend down and get on Sophia’s level. “Nice to meet you, Sophia.” I say. I extend my hand and she takes it right away. She doesn’t seem too shy at all right now.
I give her hand a little shake and she laughs. Suddenly she shakes my hand really high and then really low. We both laugh. Wow! She’s really fun. I’ve always wanted to be a mom, but never really spent much time around kids. No one in my family has kids so I don’t have a lot of experience around them. Sophia shows me just what I’ve been missing.