Page 54 of All You Need is Greece

Soon, we arrive at the section of the road near the bend, where Artemis almost knocked us over, and I recall Hannah flying into a panic when I strode off ready to give him a piece of my mind. I’m not sure she would do quite the same thing now. In fact, maybe she would be the one to give him a dressing down.

‘Remember when Artemis almost mowed us down,’ she says then, guessing my thoughts as she frequently seems to do.

‘How could I forget? Who would have thought he would turn out to be a good friend? I’m glad we ran into each other, even if it was almost literally.’

‘Well, as you say, life does present us with unexpected opportunities, doesn’t it? And maybe you’re right in saying that we ought to be a little more open to them.’

‘We’re all different, and I get that. But at times, it’s no bad thing to take a leap into the unknown.’

TWENTY-EIGHT

Lars is in the pool and the rest of us are sitting around, Hannah lying in the sun, drying off having already had a swim. Lars does numerous lengths as usual, and Judith says she wonders where he gets his energy from.

‘I wish I could do half of what he does,’ she says, smiling as she watches him.

She sips a glass of home-made lemonade, before diving into a slice of home-made carrot cake.

‘Maybe he is getting himself fit for the wedding night,’ says Yolanda with a wink and Judith slaps her on the arm. Hannah and I can’t help laughing.

‘He’s been missing half the morning,’ Judith lets slip. ‘Then Doll disappeared, saying something about having to nip out and see someone. I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but they seem to be spending rather a lot of time together. Not that Michael seems to notice.’ She takes a sip of her lemonade.

I’ll be glad when Lars dances at the wedding and is able to reveal the reason for his frequent disappearances. I hate Judith having any unfounded suspicions.

We carry on drinking lemonade and eating cake, and Yolanda tells us how much she is looking forward to the hen party at the village bar on Saturday.

‘Last year I bought dancing shoes. They have not been out of the box yet. And now, I will wear them twice.’ She holds up two of her fingers. ‘For the hen’s night and the wedding,’ she says with satisfaction.

‘Sometimes I can hardly believe I am marrying again at my age. Life can really take us by surprise at times.’ Judith sighs, and I glance sideways at Hannah. ‘I suppose we ought to be open to opportunities life presents us.’ She smiles. ‘And really, I shouldn’t be eating cake.’ She places the half-eaten piece back onto a plate. ‘I have a wedding dress I want to fit into next week.’

‘You not worry.’ Yolanda bats her hand away at the very suggestion. ‘You have the nice figure. Lars is a lucky man. I hope you have saved yourself for the wedding night.’ She laughs loudly.

Judith gave us girls a sneak peek at her wedding dress the other day and it is absolutely beautiful. It’s a gorgeous oyster-coloured shift dress, embellished with pearls and jewels at the hemline and a sheer bolero-style cover up. The visitors from the holiday cottage will be flying in two days before the wedding, having been invited. Monica is a hairdresser who will pin Judith’s hair up into a glorious topknot that she looked so beautiful with when they did a trial the last time she was here.

Once more, Judith taps her friend on the arm, slightly embarrassed in front of me and Hannah, as though we were her daughters.

Lars climbs out of the water then, and passing the table we are sitting at takes a piece of cake and pops it into his mouth. ‘Delicious. And I think maybe I have burned enough calories to have it.’ He winks before he heads off to get dressed.

‘I joke,’ says Yolanda, with a mischievous grin, once Lars has left.

It really is lovely to see how she interacts with Judith. When we were out walking and talking of Artemis one day, Tania told me that Yolanda has been like a new woman since she got her moped, and began seeing Judith a little more. I suppose it’s easy to isolate yourself as you get older, which is probably the worst thing you can do. Although I was slightly surprised it could happen in a small village, but Yolanda’s house is at the top of the hill I suppose. Yolanda has neighbours who I met at the party, but their English isn’t quite as good as Yolanda’s, and they seemed to be on good terms, but maybe they just weren’t close before.

As the afternoon draws to a close, my tummy is turning over in anticipation of my meeting with Marco this evening. Should I call it a date? Is it a date? I was so thrilled to see him. And his kisses had the same effect they always did. Gosh, I’ve missed him so much.

Heading upstairs to my room to get ready later, I see Doll and Lars chatting at the donkey area, under the watchful eyes of Judith, who is picking some rosemary from a pot growing in the garden. I wish I could tell her what is happening between them, especially as she mentioned things to Yolanda earlier, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. I can just imagine Judith’s face when he takes her in his arms for a waltz, although maybe I ought to suggest Lars show a little more discretion.

I shower and try several outfits on, before I finally settle on a white knee-length dress that shows off my light tan. I pull my pink denim jacket from my wardrobe, as it is getting a little cooler in the evenings now. Standing in front of the mirror, looking at my reflection, my hair long and loosely curled, I feel those butterflies once more.

‘You look really lovely,’ says Hannah as she enters the room, carrying a book.

‘Thank you. So what are you up to this evening?’ I ask.

‘Take a guess.’ She smiles, holding up the book. ‘This is a real page-turner. As soon as dinner is over, I’m going to take a shower and settle down with it. Are you looking forward to seeing Marco?’

‘I am, yet I feel inexplicably nervous. Silly, I know, I was with him for years, yet it feels like I am going on a first date.’

‘I suppose you are in a way. Well, it’s the first date since you broke up. I hope it goes well.’

‘Thanks, Hannah, me too.’

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