by Mandy Baggot
He looked at her, out of the corner of his eye, watched her begin to blow and puff as she lowered herself into her seat. Her words were strong, but in all this he had to keep in mind that she was not well.
‘If you do not work where will we be then, huh?’
‘Eating the sheep and the goats to see us through the winter?’ he retorted.
‘Aleko, you think this is funny?’
‘No, I think that I told Toula I would not be working yesterday afternoon and she was fine with it. I think you were angry that I did not obey you yesterday. And I think you want to keep track of me in case I leave the island to find something that isn’t this farm or… hiring out tired Fiats.’
He hadn’t meant any of that to come out but, as was usual lately, his mother was doing her very best to wind him up. But he needed not to rise to it today. Today he was going to think of a name for the kumquat business, make sure Spiros was a go for the branding and then bag an appointment at the biggest hotel in the area. Not much challenge there. Only his whole future at stake…
‘Here,’ he said, a little softer. ‘I have made you an omelette.’ He put the dish on a plate and set it in front of Margalo.
She sniffed, eyeing the food with suspicion. ‘Eggs and cheese? Are you trying to block my arteries so I die and am no longer a burden to you?’ She pushed the plate away.
‘No, Mama, of course not,’ Alex said, sitting opposite her and pouring them both a cup of strong black coffee.
‘You do not like your jobs,’ she began. ‘And you think I make your world too small.’
He shook his head, biting a little on his bottom lip, determined not to make this into a fight. Say nothing.
‘You are right,’ Margalo said with a sigh. ‘And we have talked about this many times before.’
He looked up then. His mother sounded different. As he regarded her, her eyes looking down at the plate of food she had quickly discarded, he noticed the lines on her face, the silver creeping into her hair… Despite her bravado, was she even more fragile than he realised?
‘Aleko, I think it is time to think of new opportunities,’ Margalo continued.
His heartrate picked up, a glorious feeling of near-freedom was bouncing round inside him like a happy lizard basking in the Corfu sunshine. She did understand some of what he had been trying to tell her. Finally!
‘I spoke to your uncle yesterday,’ Margalo carried on. ‘He is thinking of taking on another premises, making a second garage.’
Not the mechanic idea again… ‘Mama,’ he started.
‘It would be in Corfu Town.’
‘I think that is a good idea for Fotis,’ Alex said. ‘It makes sense. If he can afford the rental.’ Elektra’s father’s garage business had always seemed to make a profit, even through the hard times of austerity.
‘Aleko, you know he was always a little disappointed about not having a son to pass his knowledge down to.’ Margalo picked up her fork and jabbed at her omelette. ‘Elektra is one of those girls who will “study” her whole life and achieve nothing.’ His mother laughed then, seemingly at her own cleverness.
‘I don’t think that is the case with Elektra,’ Alex defended. ‘She is really very intelligent, and she has many plans.’
‘So, I have said, if Fotis decides to take on this new business, that you will run it for him.’
The warm happy lizard quickly evolved into a very cold, angry snake and Alex put down the cup of coffee he was holding before he spilt it. ‘Mama, no, I cannot do this. I have said so before. I do not want to be a mechanic.’
‘It will not be the job of a mechanic all the time.’
‘Mama, I am not a mechanic.’ He knew a little about cars, working at the hire business. He could deal with punctures, flat batteries and spark plugs, but that was the extent of it.
‘You will work as an apprentice to begin with. Go to college one day a week to learn what you need to learn and then, in a few years’ time…’ She took a long, loud, excited breath. ‘You will be the manager.’
Margalo had announced this idea like it was a step-by-step guide to becoming a legendary philanthropist or a life-saving heart surgeon. He could barely breathe. ‘Mama, I am thirty. I am not an apprentice.’
‘A mature student. Whatever you wish to call it.’ She waved her fork in the air again.
He didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t listened to anything he’d ever told her. She had her plan for him. A plan to micromanage his entire existence.
‘Imagine it, Aleko,’ Margalo continued. ‘A manager of your own garage.’
Somehow he found the strength to nod. Pushing his chair away from the table, he stood up, checking his watch. ‘I should get to work.’
‘Yes,’ Margalo said, sounding happier than she had been in weeks. ‘A good work ethic for the future. You need to keep Toula happy, not let her know that you are going on to bigger and better things.’
Right now, the reality was, if Elektra’s future wasn’t riding on the kumquat enterprise, he would be happy to sell the idea for the small price of a one-way ticket to Ibiza.
Twenty-Four
Paralia View, Almyros Beach
‘I’m nervous,’ Heidi said, pacing along the veranda and trying to tie a scarf over her hair.
It was another beautiful morning and, despite a little headache Ibuprofen was trying to fix, Beth had slept reasonably well. She’d made a simple breakfast of bread, ham, cheese and ripe tomatoes before another section of ceiling had come crashing down to the floor and coated everything in dust and debris again. Somehow, this hadn’t seemed such a disaster as the first time and they had swept up as a team without so much as one expletive between them. Now they were out on the cute terrace, listening to the waves lulling up on the sand, smelling that salty, warm, surf scent that cried out ‘summer’.
‘I’m nervous too,’ Beth admitted. ‘I don’t have a fear of heights, but I fear I have a fear of being attached to the back of a speedboat and being hoisted up in the air at high-speed. There must be a name for it. It’s probably a bona-fide condition.’
‘I’m not nervous about that,’ Heidi said with a tut. ‘I’m nervous about seeing Elektra again.’ She sighed, turning to face Beth. ‘What if she doesn’t like me as much today.’
‘We don’t really know how much she liked you yesterday, do we?’
‘She’s coming to watch me parasail. You wouldn’t do that if you weren’t interested in someone.’
‘Unless she has an unhealthy fascination with seeing crazy English women face near-death. Perhaps that’s a real syndrome too.’
‘I’ll tell you what’s real. It’s the fact you want to get it on with the DJ again but you’re too scared to go there.’
Beth didn’t bother replying. They had talked about it late into the early morning after Heidi had just about managed to drive them the forty minutes back from Sidari navigating pot holes and a European pine marten with a death wish. What was glaringly obvious – even to her slightly unaccepting self – was that she still found Alex completely, gorgeously attractive. But the worry was, as she’d ‘been there’ already, that it wasn’t really the best totally-no-strings-first-sexual-interaction-after-divorce idea. There was a past, no matter how fleeting it had been, and she wasn’t ready for anything that involved feelings other than orgasm ecstasy. She knew Alex. She liked him. They were kind-of friends she had just shared tears over her mother with. She needed someone completely new. Completely forgettable… in the nicest possible way.
‘I’m not talking it through again,’ Beth answered. ‘It was hard enough to explain with the help of ouzo shots. It’s going to be torturous with only coffee.’
‘All right,’ Heidi agreed. ‘Eyes open for a new man. No one you’ve made out with ever before.’
‘Why are you making that sound impossible. We’re on Corfu. I’ve only ever “made out” with one person in Greece.’
‘Still thinking about him then,’ Heidi stated, pulling a face.
/> Beth shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. ‘Any more calls from Tilly?’
‘Oh, just one last night before we went to bed… and one this morning.’
‘What?’ Beth exclaimed, sitting forward in her chair. ‘There must really be something wrong. I think you should call her back.’
‘Beth, trust me, I know Tilly a whole lot better than you. We went to an entire weekend on trust exercises when Charles was doing his “investing in staff well-being” thing last year. She’s very needy.’
Beth frowned. She’d never found Tilly to be needy, the complete opposite in fact. She was the employee you could rely on to stay late if a task needed finishing. She was completely dedicated to her job at Mountbatten Global. If she was calling Heidi when she was on holiday there had to be a problem.
‘I’m going to phone her,’ Beth said standing up and reaching for her mobile.
‘No, you’re not,’ Heidi said, snatching the phone up before Beth could reach it.
‘Heidi, if she’s calling you this much when you’re on holiday then there has to be an issue at the office. A big issue.’
‘If that was the case she would email and she hasn’t.’
‘She doesn’t know what the Greek internet is like. Maybe she thinks we won’t get an email.’
‘It’s Greece, not… not… I’m struggling to think of anywhere in the world where you wouldn’t get internet. Hang on, possibly China, but only because they block everything.’
‘Heidi, this is silly. One of us should give her a quick call and…’
Heidi let out a breath and shook her head. ‘Well, I didn’t want to tell you this, but it looks like I’m going to have to.’
Beth felt suddenly concerned. Heidi had been keeping something from her. She looked at her friend and waited for an explanation.
‘Tilly has… a thing for me.’
‘What?’ Beth gushed. She was shocked. ‘No… Tilly isn’t gay.’
‘Beth, you could have at least tried not to sound like you were trying to excuse her of having leprosy.’
‘I didn’t! I wouldn’t! Don’t be so stupid! I just… I’m sure Tilly had a boyfriend once.’
‘Some of us take a while to realise our true path. Do not mention Pontefract again.’
‘No, Heidi, you must have got the wrong end of the stick. Tilly had a boyfriend. She brought him to the Christmas dinner. He liked musical theatre. He sang. Something from Kinky Boots. What was his name?’
‘Nothing but a ruse, I’m guessing.’ Heidi looked at Beth with a serious expression. ‘She likes me. What can I say? I am irresistible. And she’s calling, because she cannot stand the fact I’m here for two weeks with you, living like I’m twenty-one and looking for that special someone.’
Beth couldn’t imagine it. Tilly wasn’t gay. Tilly was the one who had suggested the firefighters calendar for the kitchen instead of Hilary’s usual Orla Kiely patterned edition.
‘What evidence do you have?’ Beth asked, getting to her feet.
‘She got us locked in Boardroom Five for almost an hour. You know that’s the smallest boardroom by a whole metre.’
‘Simon Allison sabotaged the locks when he was dismissed. It wasn’t anything Tilly did.’
‘She invited me to her place for a “body shop party”.’
Beth frowned. ‘What’s suspect about that?’
‘Come on, Beth. A body shop party?’
‘Heidi, it’s a party for products by The Body Shop. You know… shea butter and tea-tree face scrub.’
‘Seriously?’ Heidi remarked. ‘I love The Body Shop. I just thought it was something else. Well, she also suggested we go to salsa classes together.’
‘You wanted me to do those classes with you,’ Beth reminded.
‘Listen, I’m not imagining it,’ Heidi insisted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. ‘She likes me.’
‘So, we’ve come all this way for you to find a soulmate and Tilly is sitting right there in the office with a burning desire to go out with you? That makes no sense.’
‘Wait, what?’ Heidi said. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘You moaning about a girlfriend drought when you supposedly have an admirer so close to home.’
‘Oh, that’s definitely circa 2009,’ Heidi said with a laugh. ‘Good one.’
‘What?’ Now Beth was really confused.
‘You’re not seriously saying that because Tilly is gay I should date her.’
‘No… not like that… I’m just thinking, you actually have tonnes in common. She makes you laugh a lot and she’s attractive,’ Beth explained. ‘Isn’t she?’
Heidi rolled her eyes. ‘Come on, Beth, I’d eat her for breakfast. She’s too sweet and innocent and she eats a lot of tuna. I literally haven’t seen her eat anything else for lunch apart from something containing tuna.’
‘You like tuna.’
‘I like it like a normal person. Tilly likes it like she wants to have babies with it.’
‘When she’s not dreaming of having babies with you.’
‘That’s not even remotely funny.’
Suddenly Beth’s phone began to ring in Heidi’s hands and both of the women looked to the display. Tilly’s name was flashing up.
‘See! She’s stalking me!’ Heidi exclaimed, putting the phone to the table and watching its vibrations make it dance around.
‘It’s my phone,’ Beth reminded. ‘And I’m answering it.’ She plucked it up and pressed to answer on loud speaker. ‘Hello.’
Heidi cringed and began fiddling with the scarf round her head again.
‘Hi, Beth.’ Tilly’s voice came through, sounding a little breathy and like she was on a secret mission for the government. That was normal. She always sounded like that, with even more elongated breaths when she was asked to white-lie about office expenses at The Golden Bear…
‘Hi, Tilly,’ Beth greeted. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m fine. Busy. Very busy. How about you? Enjoying your holiday?’ she asked. ‘All that sunshine and fun times Heidi was talking about before you left?’
Heidi started to make gagging noises, poking her fingers into her mouth and rolling her eyes all at once.
‘We are… very relaxed,’ Beth replied, slapping Heidi on the arm.
‘Good,’ Tilly said. ‘That’s really good.’ It didn’t sound like Tilly thought anything was really good. Her tone was downbeat and Beth could imagine her expression, perhaps Charles was on one of his productivity missions and Tilly was holed up under her desk, eyes watching out for shadows of movement in the half-light.
‘Is something wrong, Tilly?’ Beth asked.
‘I’m… not really sure.’
‘Well, what are you worried about?’ Beth continued. ‘I can tell you’re worried.’
Heidi was mouthing something Beth didn’t have the energy to try and decipher so she turned away from her friend and focused on the gorgeous Greek sea scene. Whatever office problem there was, she could be soothed by the ocean and its sway.
‘It’s Charles,’ Tilly admitted. ‘He’s behaving… a little oddly.’
‘What?!’ Heidi exclaimed, butting into the conversation and moving to lean over Beth’s shoulder.
‘Oh, Heidi, you’re there too…’
‘Sorry, Tilly, I should have said you were on speakerphone,’ Beth apologised.
‘I tried to call you yesterday, Heidi, and earlier today so I didn’t disturb Beth, like you told me not to, but—’
‘Cut to the chase, Tilly. What’s going on with the head honcho?’ Heidi demanded to know. ‘Because if this is just a case of him needing you to run to Moss Bros because he’s run out of office socks then it’s really not an emergency that requires holiday contact.’
‘He’s been… talking to himself and… doing strange things,’ Tilly explained.
‘What strange things?’ Beth wanted to know. Although, his Costa visit was odd enough on its own, she had to admit.
‘Little th
ings I suppose but, little things all add up to bigger things, don’t they?’
And Tilly did pay great attention to the details. That was why she was so good at her job.
‘What things?’ Heidi snapped. ‘Get to the point.’
‘He’s stopped wearing a tie and his top button has been permanently undone since the day you flew to Corfu.’
‘Christ, is that it?’ Heidi asked, shaking her head. ‘Is the air-conditioning still fucked? Because if you’re all sweltering in a July heatwave no one’s going to want to wear a tie and a stiff collar.’
‘She does have a point though,’ Beth admitted. ‘Charles has never not worn a tie to work or undone his top button. Not even the day when the central heating went into overdrive and Mikey passed out in the presentation about clear hierarchy.’
‘Seriously, Beth,’ Heidi said. ‘This is not your problem. It’s Kendra’s. Remember? The woman he left you for.’
‘He’s forgotten appointments… four in the last week,’ Tilly carried on.
‘Maybe his secretary hasn’t set his reminders up properly,’ Heidi suggested. ‘Did you remind him, Tilly?’
‘Heidi, Tilly’s worried,’ Beth scolded. ‘Is there anything else, Tilly?’
‘Yes,’ Tilly said with a deep note of real concern to her voice. ‘This is the oddest one of all… Beth, he’s been sitting in your chair.’
Twenty-Five
Dassia Beach
‘Now, listen to me,’ Heidi stated as they stood looking out over another turquoise sea scene. ‘Not another second thinking about Charles.’
The mention of her ex-husband’s name again, coupled with Tilly’s information and a new text message she had received on another Heidi highway-to-hell drive, made Beth’s delicate stomach spasm.
I’ve been looking into aloe vera plants. I think James Graves might go for shares in farms in California. Health-meeting-wealth so to speak. Beth, I know I’ve been rotten to you and I don’t deserve any communication, but this is business. Well, a soupçon of business. Well, me really wanting to know what Greece is like or, more importantly, what Greece is like for you. C ☺