Thirty-two
‘I rolled a baby over a bed!’ Sonya slurred as she strapped the motorbike helmet over her head, tucking in the stray bits of hair Baby Leto had pulled out earlier. ‘I really rolled a baby over a bed.’
Babis had been called back up and they were outside Isadora’s house getting ready to leave the dinner party. The sky was pitch-black, the lack of light pollution making the stars shine out like a million fairy lights strung across an ebony canvas.
‘Who knew that could be a tongue twister,’ Tess responded.
‘What?’ Sonya asked.
She shook her head and looked back at the rustic door, willing Andras to walk through it. ‘Nothing.’ She was longing for her hard, single bed in the humid, stale air of their room at Kalami Cove. Just a bit of quiet – aside from Sonya’s snoring – no one making her feel unwelcome or uncomfortable, or making her remember her life prior to being Miss Six-Weeks-And-Completely-Self-Reliant.
Babis started up the moped and Sonya let out a shriek. ‘Whoa! Sorry! I just didn’t want you to take off before I was ready.’
‘It is not an aeroplane,’ Babis called, grinning.
Tess looked to the door again then back to Sonya. ‘Have you got the key?’
‘Yes,’ Sonya answered.
‘You should go on,’ Tess stated. ‘I’ll be right behind you as soon as my moped driver turns up.’
‘Are you sure?’ Sonya hiccupped. ‘Sorry.’
‘Yes, go and put the kettle on or open some more wine.’
‘Ooo, I bought some baklava bits in the supermarket, we could have those with it.’
Tess nodded. ‘Good idea.’
‘We are ready?’ Babis asked Sonya.
‘We are ready,’ Sonya replied, putting her hands on his hips.
Throttling up the bike, Babis span the moped around the circular drive, showering the surrounding vegetation with pebbles as he zoomed out of the property, Sonya’s squeals breaking through the warm air.
Tess let out a sigh. What was she supposed to do now? Andras had said he was ready to leave, she and Sonya had made their way to the front of the house, and now she was just waiting, on her own in the dark, the only sound the bugs in the trees and some faint barking of dogs. Her skin prickled in response to something – perhaps the balmy air – or the fact she was alone here, in the quiet, black night on the side of a Greek mountain. There were no street lights here or the hum of traffic, just perfect, calming tranquillity. She wasn’t used to it. She wasn’t sure how to be in it. What did you do when there was nothing to do? Even just for a minute?
She quickly reached into her bag and took out her phone. There was signal: 4G and phone signal allegedly. Looking at her access to the world, she wondered what app she should look at first. Dating? Facebook? Work email? Instead she found her finger hovering over the photos icon. She pressed and up came the selfie she had taken earlier with Sonya. After the so-sweet dessert they had walked across Isadora’s grass to the very edge of the land. Stopping at the tiny fence meant to prevent a fall down the cliff side, they had carefully positioned themselves so the rapidly disappearing sun was visible behind them, together with the shimmering sea, and the beautiful flora and fauna of the mountain, then adopted their best poses. Tess smiled at the picture now. Sonya looked happy, almost worry-free. She knew that wasn’t truly the case, but perhaps this mad, ridiculous dinner party had been a tonic for her friend.
Tess swiped left and her breath caught in her throat. There was the photo she had snapped with Andras on the boat earlier that day. Those eyes! That smile! He was utterly divine to look at. And she didn’t look too shabby either. Ideally she would have reapplied some lipstick or lipgloss at the very least before the picture but she looked OK. She flicked her vision to the top of the phone. It was still showing 4G. Maybe now was the time to post this photo of her new squeeze. It had been far too long since she’d posted coupledom on Facebook. She pressed the icon to share … and then stopped. She took a deep breath, thumb still hovering. What was she waiting for? She hadn’t posted a couple’s picture since Tony at the Radisson. He’d positioned two croissants over her robe-clad chest and made a comment about them being moist and buttery. She’d edited the photo so it was just a headshot. Her hair had looked nice and Tony’s tan looked more teak than mahogany.
‘Tess, I am sorry.’
Andras’s voice made her jolt for the home button. She stabbed at it and dropped the phone into her bag in one motion. She turned to face him, shoes crunching the stones a little.
‘I was trying to get away and then Spiros, he is drunk, he is trying to talk to the donkey and my mother is warning him he will go the way of Uncle Dimitri and …’
Tess smiled. ‘It’s fine.’
‘No,’ he said, stepping closer to her. ‘No, it is not fine.’ He sighed. ‘Nothing about tonight was fine.’
‘Well,’ Tess began, ‘I thought the food was very nice.’
‘I am ruining your holiday,’ he stated softly. ‘You came here to Greece to see Greece, not to get involved with a complicated family and spend your break being insulted.’
‘If I’d wanted that I could have auditioned for Coach Trip.’
‘What?’
‘Sorry,’ she smiled. ‘You did promise another day out and a large device.’
‘A what?’ he asked.
‘A laptop,’ she replied.
‘After tonight, somehow it does not seem enough,’ he stated, those dark eyes fixed on her.
Her stomach revolved, the flirtatious answer already on her lips. ‘That depends how many inches it is.’
She watched him react to her reply. He was unmoving, just holding her gaze, his chest rising and falling underneath his shirt, torso still. Sonya was halfway down the mountain. Andras didn’t do dating. This would be just physical connection pure and simple. She tilted forward slightly, her shoes scuffing the stones. And then Andras took a step back.
‘I should get you back to your apartment.’
She quickly reached for the strap of her handbag in a weak show of play-acting. ‘Yes. Babis rode off with Sonya a good five minutes ago.’
He passed Tess her helmet. ‘Then shall we?’