Page 12 of All You Need is Greece

‘That isn’t something a lot of English people say, apart from Del Boy,’ I say.

‘Yes!Only Fools and the Horses! My grandmother watches it. I learn a lot of English from TV programmes.’ He smiles proudly.

‘Oh dear,’ says Hannah. ‘Let’s hope he doesn’t make any politically incorrect remarks if he watches those old shows.’ She giggles, when Panos heads to the bar.

He returns with some olives and crisps in bowls and places them on the table.

‘Efcharisto,’ says Hannah and he replies with‘Parakalo’, which means ‘welcome’.

‘Is the word “olive” the same in Greek?’ asks Hannah.

‘It is “elia”. You say “el e ya”.’

‘And “crisps”?’

‘“Tsips”. You say “teeps”.’

‘Thanks, I think I will remember that. “Tsips” sounds a bit like “crisps”.’

‘My pleasure,’ Panos says, smiling, before going off to serve a couple of people who have just arrived at the bar.

Sitting beneath a tall olive tree, we watch a few other people come and go. Soon enough, there is only Hannah and me left in the bar, just after nine fifteen. Helena begins to wipe nearby tables and glances at her watch.

‘I think it’s time for us to call it a night,’ I say, finishing the glass of wine that Artemis left. ‘Helena and Panos seem far too polite to tell us to leave, but Judith did mention that the bar closes early. Don’t forget to give Panos your email address,’ I remind Hannah.

‘Oh, I’m not sure,’ she says, but Panos is already striding towards us.

They exchange contact details, and Hannah is smiling shyly as they do.

‘Goodnight then,’ we say to Panos as we gather our things.

‘Kalinychta,’ says Panos.

‘Kalinychta,’ repeats Hannah, picking up her bag with a smile.

‘That was nice,’ I say to Hannah as we walk home, feeling mellow. It’s a little cooler now, so I pull on my denim jacket.

‘It was,’ says Hannah.

As we walk, passing through the trees, we listen to the sound of chirruping crickets that sound every evening here. The path towards the rescue is quite dark, so I find the torch on my phone to guide us home, and Hannah does the same. In the distance across the valley, lights are glowing in the houses like flickering candles.

‘Maybe lacking a cocktail menu, but the wine was decent enough.’ I smile.

‘Don’t worry, I’m sure you will find a cocktail bar tomorrow evening when Artemis takes you out,’ says Hannah.

‘That’s if I decide to go with him. I haven’t actually made my mind up yet.’

‘Yeah, right,’ she says, smiling at me.

Just then, a rabbit darts out across the road and we both scream, before bursting out laughing.

‘It seems it isn’t just drivers who like to speed along these roads,’ I say, linking arms with Hannah as we stroll downhill with our flashlights.

EIGHT

The sun burns brightly in a clear blue sky once again the following day. Just seeing it instantly lifts my mood. I’m happy to soak up the hot weather at the moment, and like the thought of going home with a nice tan. The forest will be bathed in a soft amber glow in a month or two, as some of the leaves change colour, creating a tapestry of autumnal shades alongside the evergreen pines.

I’m enjoying the warmth while stroking Freddie, the poor donkey with the bent leg, who, despite this, is cheerful and loving. There are several other donkeys at the rescue, including Willow, an elderly female who has recently retired after a life of transporting goods and people throughout a village. She was found cast aside wandering, as some are once they are of no use to their owners. But today, she is enjoying the sunshine, only recently having ventured from her stall.

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