Page 106 of Better Than Gelato
I use the tourist map and lead us to our destination.
“We’re having dinner at a hotel?” Jake asks.
“Just wait,” I say, taking his hand and pulling him into the elevator.
The Athens Gate Hotel has a rooftop restaurant with a 360-degree view of Athens. A hostess leads us to our table, and I watch Jake’s face as he looks around him. The whole city is laid out below us. Purple clouds have formed behind the Acropolis making it look especially dramatic. He turns to me with a huge grin.
“Wow,” he says.
“I know!”
“How did you find this place?” he asks, turning to look at the view behind him.
“An old woman came to me in a dream and told me about it.”
“Really?” His eyes are huge.
I laugh. “No. I found it on the Internet.”
“Well, it’s the coolest restaurant I’ve ever been to.” He squeezes my hand, and I feel pretty proud of myself.
We devour pita with house-made hummus and flavorful tzatziki sauce, mushrooms stuffed with spinach and garlic, and grilled pork skewers so juicy I have to lick my fingers and hands. I eat so much it’s physically painful, but I have no regrets.
We stay at our table and enjoy the view as the sun sets, the white marble of the Parthenon turning pink in the sunset’s glow.
“Thank you for an awesome day today,” Jake says. “I loved all the things we saw.”
“I can’t take all the credit,” I say. “The people who actually built the monuments did their part too. But you’re welcome.”
The check comes and Jake takes it. I take it back. “It’s my night to treat.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that,” Jake says. “It seems so silly for you to pay.”
“But we agreed.” I say. “I worked hard and saved for this.”
“I know you did. You’re amazing. But what if you used that money toward a plane ticket to visit me in New York?”
“I’m going to get a job when I get home,” I say. “I can save more money.”
“Do you have a job lined up already?” he asks.
“Not exactly,” I say, heat creeping up my neck. “But I was going to talk to the manager at Jamba Juice and see if I could get my old job back.”
“I think it would just be easier this way,” Jake says. “I would rather pay for stuff here so you can fly out to Columbia later and not put a strain on your finances.”
I hand him the check just so we can be done with this conversation. I was excited to pay for dinner at this fancy restaurant tonight. I felt really cool and mature. Now I feel small and lame. I know Jake’s trying to be kind, but for the first time, he seems like a rich guy paying for his girlfriend because she’s too poor to pay for herself.
“I’m going to use the bathroom,” I say. “I’ll be right back.”
I take my time. I admire the bright blue tiles around the mirror. I take some deep breaths.It’s not a big deal.Jake is literally the nicest guy I’ve ever met. I head back to the table and resolve to get over it. And it’s easy. Jake is sweet and the view is amazing and as we walk back to our hostel, I marvel at how lucky I am.
That feeling only grows over the next two days as we explore ancient and modern Greece and gorge ourselves on unbelievably yummy food. We bid farewell to the city of Athens from the deck of a ferry headed to the islands. The sun shines, the sea shimmers, and everything about the world is golden.
We disembark in Naxos and follow the other passengers down a long dock. I foolishly imagined the Greek islands would look like Hawaii. They don’t. Naxos is an island of craggy cliffs and scrubby shrubs. Less palm trees and more pine trees, and the air smells like maple syrup. We stroll through a town square and up a hill, then Jake stops in front of a group of white condos.
“This is us,” he says.
It’s not big, but it’s got everything we need. Two bedrooms. A bathroom with a shower and tub. A small living room and a kitchenette. From our balcony, we can see all the way out to the ocean.
