He removes the sheet with a flourish, and I stare at the intricate, black metalwork of the balcony. It looks even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, even though I had been shown a photograph. In between the curls and patterns are one or two tiny birds.
‘It’s wonderful,’ I say, almost holding back a tear as I slide my hand along the metalwork, and gazing out at that distant sea view. It’s everything I have ever dreamed of.
Downstairs, Phoebe has made tea and set out fruit loaf, which she spreads with butter, and it’s so delicious I ask her for the recipe. I think about the old recipe book in the drawer then.
‘So, it would seem that my work is here is done,’ says Dimitri later as I walk him outside.
‘It is, and I can’t thank you and the team enough for your hard work.’
‘You have paid us well,’ he reminds me. ‘And the Metaxa went down really well with my father.’
‘It was nothing, I’m glad he enjoyed it.’
We hesitate for a moment, neither of us seeming to want to leave, unless it’s just me who feels that way.
I want him to say something, as I can’t believe that’s the end of our time working together, but the fact is he was hired to do a job. After hesitating, I decide to bite the bullet and ask him over for dinner.
But as I am about to do so, his phone rings.
He covers his phone with his hand for a second, before wishing me all the best for the future.
‘No doubt I will see you around,’ he says, before quickly shaking me by the hand, and then he’s gone.
THIRTY
I unpack a few bits and piece and place them in my new home. A few books on the bookshelf, purchased at Manchester Airport, a silver frame containing a family photo, and a paperweight that Evie bought me. I fling the French doors open upstairs and stand on my balcony, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. Not to mention trying hard to shake Dimitri from my mind.
I place some toiletries in the bathroom, before flopping down on the bed and trying it for size. It’s perfectly comfortable.
An hour later, Thea from the bakery taps on my front door, and asks me if I fancy going for a drink at the village bar.
‘Gosh, I’d like nothing more, thanks, Thea.’
‘Although, you know, I do not have late nights. I open the bakery very early in the morning, and stay open later than usual in the summer, with the resort being busy,’ she explains.
‘Of course. Please come in,’ I offer.
I show her around the villa, and she confesses her nephew has shown her some of the progress since my last visit.
‘He talked about you a lot,’ she reveals as I grab my handbag from newly erected black metal coat hooks in the hall – something I managed to put up myself.
‘He did?’
‘Yes. It was Claudia this, Claudia that.’ She looks at me knowingly.
‘I’ve probably talked a lot about him too, back home, but usually about the work he has been doing.’ Which is true, of course. There is no need to tell her that I was keen to drop his name into the conversation at any opportunity.
‘Look. This will match perfectly.’ I pick up the photo she gifted me from the hall table and place it against the white wall. Some bright flowers in a vase on the hall table will set it all off nicely, I think.
‘I see what you mean. Maybe some flowers on the table,’ she says, reading my mind, and I laugh and tell her I had just had the exact same thoughts.
We walk to the bar, order our drinks and take a seat outside in the early evening sunshine. It’s pretty quiet at this hour, some people still down at the beach now that the summer is here, the bars becoming livelier as the sun goes down. Maybe tomorrow evening, I will take a stroll down to the beach myself, maybe even persuade Phoebe to take a walk with me.
‘I met Dimitri’s aunt when I was here last, who I have only just remembered is your sister.’
‘Yes. It is nice having family nearby. I guess we are all pretty close. You are bound to see Dimitri around.’ She smiles.
‘Does he live nearby too?’