Page 6 of All You Need is Greece

‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ says Judith. ‘We’re honoured to be in the presence of world champions.’

‘Thanks.’ Doll shrugs. ‘It sounds a bit like bragging to me, introducing yourself as a triple world champion, so I tell people I’m a dancer to begin with. Michael, on the other hand, likes to let everyone know from the get-go!’ She laughs.

‘Too right.’ He grins. ‘All that blood, sweat and tears to get where we are, I want everyone to know what we have achieved.’ He laughs. ‘Although I wouldn’t have it any other way, or I wouldn’t have met you, my love.’ He gives her a kiss on the cheek and she smiles.

‘Anyway,’ continues Doll. ‘It can get a bit exhausting now that we are getting a little older, although obviously we keep ourselves fit. Being here in the forest is the perfect place to recharge and relax, away from the glitz and sparkle of the dance world. I mean, I know it will be hard work looking after the animals, but it’s a different type of exertion.’ She smiles at Judith, letting her know she doesn’t underestimate the hard work in looking after the animals.

Doll and Michael tell us some funny stories from their early competition days, including a malfunction with an outfit, involving a see-through dress that Doll was unaware of when she went braless during a competition dance.

‘No wonder we won that one,’ jokes Michael. ‘Most of those judges were blokes. You probably made their night.’

‘Oh, behave.’ Doll rolls her eyes. ‘We were by far the best that evening.’

‘Just teasing, my love. Of course we were the best, no contest.’ He takes a sip of beer.

Hannah says little throughout the evening, preferring to just listen, joining in the conversation every now and then and smiling in all the right places. Just after ten o’clock, she stands and wishes everyone a goodnight.

‘Oh, I was about to bring out some melon,’ offers Judith, but Hannah politely refuses.

‘I always read before bed, so I thought I might get a couple of chapters of my book in now.’ She smiles. ‘I imagine it’s an early start in the morning.’

‘Well, you are right about that,’ agrees Judith. ‘The animals aren’t ones for having a lie-in.’ She smiles. ‘Goodnight then, see you in the morning.’

‘Probably sensible,’ I say, although, in truth I could sit here all night, chatting to the interesting people sitting around the table. It’s a world away from my life back home, and already I am savouring the change, absorbing every minute of this new environment.

‘I won’t be far behind you, and don’t worry, I won’t chat.’ I wink at Hannah, suddenly wondering if us sharing a room is going to be a good match. I needn’t have worried, though, as half an hour later, when I retire, I smile to myself at the sight of Hannah snoozing gently, her book open on the top of the covers. I quietly place it on her bedside table before sliding into the bed on the other side of the room myself.

It doesn’t take long for me to start drifting off, but before sleep comes, I can’t help but smile at my time in Greece so far. Something tells me I am going to like it here.

FIVE

Four volunteers arrive the following morning to walk the dogs as the sun makes an appearance once more in a clear blue sky. A handsome couple from over the road also appear to take some of the dogs out and Judith introduces the woman as her niece, Tania, and her boyfriend, Nicos.

‘So pleased to meet you all.’ Tania beams a welcoming smile. ‘Things have suddenly gotten a little busy again here at the rescue, but my aunt lives and breathes the dogs,’ she tells me as we walk and fall into step together.

Hannah is walking a little behind, with two small dogs on each lead, chatting away to them as she walks, which makes me smile.

‘Judith’s wonderful, isn’t she?’ I say to Tania. ‘And Lars was telling me all about how they found romance and recently got engaged. It’s such a lovely story.’

‘It really is. I’m thrilled for her, she never thought she would meet someone else over here. Her whole life has been the animals since my uncle passed away.’

‘I imagine they were a lot of comfort to her. It’s obvious how much she cares for them.’

‘They were. The dogs were like family to her and to my uncle Ray, as they never had any children,’ she reveals.

We stroll along, watching the sun filtering through the leaves of the trees, casting moving patterns on the road below. One or two of the trees have leaves that are slowly turning a pale yellow, others in various shades of green like jewels decorating the branches. I take lungfuls of the invigorating mountain air as we walk.

‘I was engaged recently,’ I find myself telling Tania as we chat about Judith’s upcoming wedding.

‘You were?’ She turns to face me and suddenly the whole marriage thing comes tumbling out and, to my surprise, I can feel tears building in my eyes. Although we have only just met, Tania is so easy to talk to. Too easy. If only I didn’t miss Marco so damn much.

‘That’s a tricky one.’ We’ve arrived at a field, which Tania tells me is an unofficial dog park, adopted from some unclaimed land. She lets the dogs she is walking off lead and throws a ball. They all race off after it at top speed.

‘Tell me about it.’ I sigh. ‘If either one of us had compromised, then we would be sacrificing our beliefs. I miss him, though I kind of wish I didn’t. It’s part of the reason I came here, to put a little distance between us.’

‘You’re bound to miss him. You can’t just switch off your feelings for someone,’ she says kindly, touching my arm. ‘But then it’s hard not to stick by your beliefs too, I guess.’

Nicos is walking up ahead chatting to another bloke of a similar age. Tania tells me all about how she met him when he inherited the pink house across the road from the rescue.

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