Page 28 of All You Need is Greece

‘So are you going to reply to the text?’ asks Hannah.

‘Not just yet. I need to figure out what to say. You have reminded me of our different views on marriage. If I say I miss him too, where do we go from there?’

I pop my phone on to charge as I finish getting ready. I can think about that later.

‘Right, what’s next on the list,’ I say, heading outside to do a final check on the donkeys as we will all be out for a while this evening. Eric has spent a lot of time in his shelter today and Freddie, with the damaged leg, has been walking a lot, but both seem content enough.

I finish my look-in, but before going over to Tania’s, I head upstairs and pull my phone from the charger and decide to send a reply to Marco. I’m not sure I can find the right words. First, I simply select a thumbs up emoji, before deleting it, as it seems entirely inappropriate. Unsure again, I pop my phone into my small clutch bag, deciding I will deal with it later. Tonight, I am looking forward to mingling with some new friends. Maybe, as Artemis once said, I need to have faith that things will work out just the way they are meant to.

SIXTEEN

‘How are you enjoying being here in Crete?’

Tania passes me a glass of white wine, the smell of lamb steaks filling the air as they sizzle on the BBQ that Nicos is overseeing. I glance around the garden, the terracotta pots filled with pretty flowers, and the grapes above my head growing down through the pergola. Across the sloping valley, the tall trees rise into the distance, giving just the slightest slice of sea in the background.

‘I love being here, who wouldn’t? And I knew the dogs would help me feel a bit better about things. I just adore them.’

That is, until Marco has just popped right back into my head, I think to myself.

‘I’ll introduce you to Annie and Smudge properly later, I know you have only seen them over the fence.’

‘Where are they now?’

‘They are currently crunching on a bone in the stables to stop them howling. Well, Smudge mainly.’ She laughs.

‘I can’t wait.’ I smile. ‘Lars told me that you take them out walking with the other dogs’.

‘Sometimes we do, yes, but honestly? It’s easier if we take them alone, or things can get a little crazy. They do join up with the dogs at the dog park, though, and have a run around with them. They do love their canine buddies.’

Judith and Lars are chatting to Helena and Panos, who we were surprised to see but learnt that their bar shuts early on a Monday. I stroll over with Hannah to join them when Tania goes to assist Nicos. As she approaches, Nicos snakes his arm around her waist with one hand and kisses her on the top of the head, before she goes off to refresh people’s drinks.

‘Judith, I wonder next week would you like some girls’ drinks at the bar?’ Helena asks. ‘You know, before the wedding?’

‘Oh, you mean like a hen party?’ Judith looks completely surprised.

‘Yes, yes, a hen’s party. I could decorate the bar, have a little music,’ she offers earnestly.

‘That is really thoughtful of you, Helena. I will think about that.’ She nods. ‘In fact, no, I won’t think about it, I will say yes and thank you.’ She claps her hands together, looking delighted. ‘A hen party, how wonderful. It’s not something I would have even considered.’

‘Perfect. Next Friday, then? Six o’clock. I think maybe my grandmother will be thrilled. She was only just saying that no one has parties anymore.’ Helena grins.

‘Gosh that’s a great idea, Yolanda will be thrilled too,’ says Tania, when Judith tells her what Helena has just offered. ‘She also said she missed parties, and has been so looking forward to this evening’s BBQ.’

‘I’m sure she will be thrilled,’ says Judith. ‘She has been complaining that she still hasn’t had a chance to wear the new dancing shoes she bought in Heraklion after our last shopping trip.’

Doll and Michael have just arrived, looking glamorous, Doll in an eye-catching black and white dress and Michael in a cream-coloured linen suit. Doll is carrying a huge cheesecake that she had been busy preparing this afternoon.

‘Wow, that looks amazing, thank you,’ says Tania, taking the cheesecake, which is topped with juicy strawberries and raspberries, and swirls of cream.

‘Thanks, I probably won’t eat any of it, though. I always eat too much sweet stuff when our dance tours have finished.’ She grins.

‘Well, it’s good to treat yourself, my love,’ says Michael. ‘Just not too much, hey,’ he adds, and I can’t help thinking of those donkeys she was secretly passing all those treats to.

Just then, another guest arrives, and Tania passes the cheesecake to Nicos and asks him to pop it in the kitchen.

‘I am sure I will enjoy some of that later,’ I hear Panos say to Hannah. ‘But maybe it will make me fat.’ He smiles and Hannah almost spits her drink out.

‘Will you ever let me forget that?’ she says, and he gives her a cheeky grin.

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