by Mandy Baggot
‘No, not far,’ he told her.
‘How far? Because I’m so full of dinner I might need to lie down soon.’
‘Lying down is definitely a requirement for tonight.’
‘Sexy,’ Becky said with a giggle.
‘I hope so,’ he whispered in her ear again.
He was buzzing tonight after a successful online meeting with Chad, Kristina and Kristina’s lawyer. They had all talked openly, frankly and honestly and made a great deal of headway towards a finalisation of the divorce agreement. Once the police had arrived at Villa Selino three days ago and Elias had explained the situation with the valuable goods – and attempted to explain the situation of Lazarus’s facial bruising – the bedroom cupboard was finally opened revealing a wealth of extravagant spending Kristina had been doing in secret. Paintings, sculptures, relics from far-flung lands and all manner of collectibles were stored high and wide, plus the two vehicles in the garage and apparently a third in storage at the port… Everything was out in the open, both parties had agreed to be completely transparent and Elias had suggested to Chad that this settlement must now not be about the ‘winning’ but about the fair resolution of this chapter in his life. That was what he wanted for his business now. Honest. Just. Honourable. The him he had been before a broken heart had altered his axis.
‘No confined spaces though?’ Becky asked, her voice catching a little.
‘You are concerned about being in a confined space when I am here?’ he asked. ‘It might be fun… a tight space, our two bodies very close together, sharing each other’s air…’
‘As much as I love you, Elia, you’re making it sound like a double coffin and that really really isn’t sensual.’
He stopped walking then and gazed at her, his heart in his throat, his mouth dry. ‘You… love me.’
Becky’s eyes were still closed and he watched the rise and fall of her chest, her lightly bronzed skin moving against the neckline of her cream-coloured sundress. She wasn’t saying anything yet, perhaps it had simply been a figure of speech…
‘I do,’ she whispered. Then quieter still. ‘Is that too soon? Do you think I’m rushing things and—’
Elias answered her with a kiss, a delicate, but definite, touching of his lips on hers to ensure there was no misunderstanding. She kissed him back, one hand smoothing over the back of his neck, her fingers tickling his hairline. He wanted to hold her forever… and wasn’t that what love was?
‘Can I open my eyes now?’ Becky asked him, ending the kiss.
‘No,’ he replied. ‘Not yet.’
‘But I want to look at you.’
He was enjoying looking at her, her gentle, sweet, beautiful, soft perfection shining from the inside to the out. He really had never met anyone like her before. And, more than that, she had helped him to find himself again. He put his hands on her shoulders and guided her forward once more, along the path, past his father’s newly dug allotment, along by the chickens and the goats, to the final part of his father’s land, a bamboo-ringed clearing. He smiled to himself as he looked at the tepee he had constructed with his father earlier. Made from some old sheets he had managed to obtain from Areti, over long sturdy bamboo canes tied together at the top with strong wire, it was like the fortress he had made when he was young. Except back then the tent had been filled with dinosaur toys and card games. Tonight it was filled with blankets and pillows and surrounded with strings of fairy lights.
‘Open your eyes,’ Elias breathed, turning Becky so she was facing the tepee.
*
Becky’s heart was thudding in her chest, wondering what she was about to look at and thinking that although Elias had kissed her when she admitted she loved him, he hadn’t actually acknowledged it with words of his own. She was telling herself it didn’t matter. It didn’t. This relationship was very new and they were both a little damaged from relationships past. She was overthinking things.
‘Becky,’ Elias said. ‘You can open your eyes.’
Overthinking and keeping her eyes shut. Mad. And likely to spoil the evening if she didn’t shake herself out of it.
She opened her eyes and gave a gasp. ‘Wow… Elia… wow! It’s so… beautiful.’
Stepping quickly over the grassy ground she approached this triangular wigwam, the warm glow from inside making it look like the cosiest resting place. ‘This is amazing.’ She stopped at the entrance, two sheets pegged into place to create the opening. ‘Did you make this?’
‘I did,’ he said, standing beside her. ‘With quite a lot of help from my father. Please, do not tell my mother he was standing on two very unstable boxes to reach the top. I offered to do this, of course, but he said I would not do it right.’ He shrugged. ‘What can I say? He is Greek. No care for health and safety and as stubborn as a goat.’
‘Elia, it’s so… perfect,’ Becky said stepping inside. It really was a little haven just for them. The floor was covered in thick matting and there seemed to be dozens of cushions and pillows and rugs and blankets. There was also a small table holding a bottle of wine in a cooler and two glasses.
‘It isn’t your mother’s wine, is it?’ Becky asked, the tang of it somehow arriving in the back of her throat.
‘Is there something wrong with my mother’s wine?’ Elias asked. He couldn’t seem to hide the knowing grin.
‘Does she not know it’s awful?’ Becky said. ‘Is everyone too scared to tell her?’
‘Yes, everyone is too scared to tell her,’ Elias said with a laugh.
Becky sat down, leaning back on the cushions and gazing out into the night. ‘Oh, wow, the view from here is amazing.’
She could see the sea, the twinkling lights of the villages below and the sound of the night-time bugs was all around.
‘It is even better in the daytime but, in the daytime there is also the view of the neighbour, Areti’s laundry.’
Becky laughed as Elias sat down beside her, then lay back too. Tomorrow all this would be far away. It wouldn’t be fairy-lights it would be fairy-cakes, or rather, large filled baguettes to feed a battalion…
Elias took hold of her hand. ‘We should make plans,’ he told her. ‘We should make plans tonight, before you leave.’
‘What plans?’ Becky asked, turning a little and looking into his eyes.
He sighed. ‘I wish I was getting on that plane to London with you, but I have to stay here a little longer to finalise things with the goods from Villa Selino.’ He paused before carrying on. ‘And also, I want to spend a little more time with my parents, make sure my mother plans the holiday she so badly needs and I need to do something about my empty house. Do you understand?’
‘Of course I understand,’ Becky said, squeezing his hand in hers. ‘And, I might not be a seasoned traveller just yet, but I have experience in managing almost perfectly well on air travel even when the most extraordinary circumstances are thrown my way.’
‘You certainly do,’ Elias agreed.
‘And I’m going to be busy,’ Becky told him. ‘Preparing to cater for the nursing home’s special summer party next month.’
She watched Elias’s face light up. That was why she loved him. Because he truly cared about things that were important to her.
‘You pitched for the contract,’ he said excitedly. ‘You pitched and you won.’
‘Actually,’ Becky said, ‘Megan pitched my menu and yes, we got the job.’ It still gave her a thrill saying the words. It was going to mean so much to their family as well as the business. ‘And I won’t need any lawyer services with regard to the suspected unintentional poisoning.’
‘No?’ Elias asked.
‘No,’ Becky said with a breath of deep relief. ‘It wasn’t my food that made Martin have a reaction. It was a spider bite would you believe.’
‘Wow,’ Elias remarked. ‘In England?’
‘Maybe a false widow… no one seems to know. But he’s on the mend and I’m off the hook. And Megan wants to keep my ideas with the tasting platters and tailor
ed ingredients but everything labelled and above board, which is how things should have been in the first place, if only we could have actually, really talked to one another.’
‘I am so happy for you,’ Elias told her.
‘I am happy for me too,’ she admitted. ‘Deliciously happy. In fact, I don’t think there is anything that could make me happier right now.’
‘Nothing?’ Elias asked, turning onto his side and studying her face with those aquamarine-emerald eyes.
‘Maybe nothing,’ she said, her heart performing its own dance.
She watched him seem to still then, his pupils widening, his eyebrows arching, his lips softening. She wanted to reach up and palm his olive skin, feel the warmth of it in her hand.
‘I love you, Captain Rebecca,’ he breathed. ‘With every piece of my heart.’
Elias’s words brought tears to her eyes and she didn’t hesitate to move into his arms and seal their feelings with another kiss… and then another and then…
‘Two weeks,’ he told her, the heat of his breath against her skin. ‘I will be back in the UK in two weeks.’
‘Do you realise that’s the length of time we’ve known each other.’
‘Well then,’ Elias said. ‘What can happen in two short weeks?’ He stroked her hair back from her face.
Listening to the still of the night, underneath the moonlight, Becky let herself drink in the ambience of one last Greek island evening. The hoot of an owl, the spitting of a bear-thing, a distant honk of a flamingo…
‘Everything,’ she whispered to him. ‘Everything can happen.’
Epilogue
Liakada Village
Late September
Becky fastened the pleather espadrilles onto the branch of the olive tree in the square. It was about time they went. They had never been the most stable. Above there were a pair of sturdy boots with holes in, weighing down the limb, and a pair of sparkly slippers adjacent, some of the sequins missing. It was evening and the annual festival had just begun. There were musicians (bouzouki and mandolin) and a singer encouraging residents to join in with the dancing being performed by the local school children. The sizzle of lamb souvlaki from the rack of spits slowly revolving was providing stomach-pleasing sound and scent, as was the popping of wine and beer bottles as the villagers celebrated.
‘Why exactly are we tying shoes to a tree?’
It was Megan asking the question as she climbed up onto a chair to try and attach shoes that looked way too expensive to be getting rid of.
‘It’s a Liakada tradition,’ Becky said to her sister. ‘Eleni told me. In fact she told me that if I came to the festival and didn’t tie a shoe to the tree that I would have bad luck for the rest of my life.’
‘Wow,’ Megan remarked. ‘Your future mother-in-law does love you. Are you sure you want to run her business for the next two weeks?’
Becky smiled, looking across the square to Elias who was drinking a beer with his father. It looked very much like Spiros was trying to get Elias to join the dancing. Despite living a couple of hours away from each other, Becky and Elias had got together every chance they had since leaving Corfu. Becky had even taken Elias to visit Blackpool and her mum had adored him – even more so when he had managed to win a Forky from Toy Story 4 from one of the claw machines. She had also spent weekends in London, meeting some of Elias’s friends from the leisure club – that had involved all the hot and steamy in the sauna and the jacuzzi and a lot of amazing cuisine she had taken so much pleasure in unravelling over her taste buds. And now they were here in Liakada for a little over two weeks, taking care of the cafeneon while Eleni and Spiros had an Italian holiday. Becky was going to be doing the cooking and Elias had promised to handle all matters postal in between remotely running his law business.
‘Do I want to be in Corfu for two weeks enjoying autumn sunshine and sea views instead of buttering bread for the soldiers and hearing about the latest broken bone of Shelley’s triplets? Hmm, let me think about that…’
Megan poked her with the heel of the shoe she was trying to get onto the tree. ‘You love working for me.’
‘Sorry, what?’ Becky said, holding a hand to her ear.
‘You love working with me,’ Megan re-phrased.
There had been a recent restructuring with the shareholders of It’s A Wrap and Becky was now an equal partner. Megan had paid back what she had borrowed from Becky and Becky had re-invested that and a little more of her inheritance from their dad into the firm. It felt right, to be continuing with Megan in a business she loved, using skills she knew were a little be out-there but also, apparently, brilliant.
‘Megan, are you sure you want to leave those shoes in the tree? They look expensive.’
‘Oh, they are,’ Megan answered, trying to balance the heel on a branch without it tumbling off again. ‘Dean bought them for me.’
‘Oh,’ Becky said.
‘Yes,’ Megan replied. ‘Oh. And an ex, like the song.’ She sighed. ‘I think he did love me. And I think I loved that. I… needed the attention and he was there for me.’ She gave a sad smile. ‘And I liked the dinner parties and the networking. And I was mad at you and sad about Dad and Mum had left and… God, all that sounds so childish but…’
‘But we’re moving on from all that. Sisters running the world, remember?’ Becky smiled. Their relationship was in the happiest of places now.
‘Running the world,’ Megan said, straining on tiptoes to reach a higher branch. ‘And, lobbing shoes into a tree!’ With that said, Megan threw her heel up into the arms of the olive tree and jumped back down onto the ground, ducking for cover.
‘Eleni didn’t tell me how much bad luck you might have if a shoe falls down and hits someone,’ Becky told her as they headed towards the wine stand.
‘I think local law enforcement would probably have the last say on that,’ Megan answered, linking her arm with Becky’s.
‘Becks!’
Becky’s heart contracted at the sound of a familiar voice and then there was Petra running towards her. Familiar giant backpack on her back, hair completely loose, wearing a T-shirt that stated ‘Gimme The Stud in Study’, over tiny denim shorts. She flew into Becky’s arms nearly toppling her over.
‘You look older,’ Petra breathed into her hair. ‘Good, but definitely older.’
‘Thanks, Petra,’ Becky replied. ‘Did you hook up on the plane?’
‘Well,’ Petra said, stepping back from Becky’s embrace and adjusting the straps of her rucksack. ‘There was this cabin crew member called JJ who had all the Jesse Metcalfe cute, but he seemed more interested in the guy in Row 12. Who was pretty hot but, you know, not quite as hot as me.’
‘Please tell me she isn’t here to help you cook,’ Megan said, nodding a greeting at Petra.
‘You’ve never seen me cook!’ Petra exclaimed, looking affronted.
‘Exactly!’ Megan replied. ‘You didn’t even lift a peach at the nursing home party and you were supposed to be working for It’s A Wrap.’
‘I was working,’ Petra said, grinning. ‘My skill set is entertainment. I spoke to everyone at the party. I even made one lady called Gladys’s eyes water when I told her about my time in Spain when I ate an entire bull’s—’
‘O-K,’ Becky said, ending the conversation. ‘Let’s get you a drink.’
*
‘Italy is going to be expensive,’ Spiros said sipping at his glass of ouzo and water.
‘Papa,’ Elias replied, watching the dancers spinning around the square, traditional costumes swirling, footwork perfect. ‘What is the money from the sale of my house meant to be spent on if not you and my mother enjoying yourselves?’ He smiled. ‘Italy is going to save your marriage.’
‘What?!’ Spiros exclaimed. ‘I thought I had already saved my marriage. I have done the ballroom dancing. I can even use an iron. Now you say there is more work to be done?’
‘I would say there is work to be done just about every day, Papa,’ El
ias said with a smile. And then his expression changed just a little. A nervousness caught in his chest, like moths were mating or perhaps fighting each other…
Across the square, arriving at the festival, hand in hand, was Hestia and Thalia. He swallowed, looking and seeing his ex-wife for the first time since she had left him.
‘Oh, Elia,’ Spiros said, his eyes focused in the same direction. ‘This should not be happening. I don’t know how she can come back here again.’
‘I do,’ Elias answered, putting his drink down on the makeshift outside bar. ‘She is coming back because I asked her to.’ He looked at his father and smiled. ‘Excuse me.’
As he walked towards Hestia and Thalia a pinball of emotions pinged around his body. He smiled a greeting and raised a hand, the crowd quietening as if sensing something was about to occur they should take notice of. Elias had no care for anyone else. He only cared about making this right.
‘Hestia,’ he said, reaching her. ‘I… wasn’t sure you would come.’
‘Elias,’ Hestia answered, smiling. ‘After your email, how could I not?’
He was emotional in her presence and he bit back tears that were trying to escape. He had finally replied to Hestia’s previous reaching out like he should have done so much earlier. Except, responding now, later, when he now had the clarity he did not have before was perhaps better. Standing in front of her, at first glance, Hestia hadn’t altered at all. She still wore her curly hair long and loose, with minimal make-up, wearing a flowing boho dress down to her ankles and flat sandals on her feet. But there was a difference to her, and the difference was she was glowing with happiness. Complete and total relaxed confidence in who she was and who she was standing next to, hands entwined.
‘Come here,’ Hestia ordered. She let go of Thalia’s hand and threw her arms around Elias.
He closed his eyes and held her close, feeling none of the emotions he had felt for her when they were in a relationship. What he felt was something even better. It was as if he was finally finding out who the real Hestia was for the first time and it was all wrapped up in this one hug. It was only when she released him from the embrace that he realised the music of the festival had completely ceased and the only sound was the spits still turning the skewers of lamb souvlaki. It was time he had his say in Liakada.