by Mandy Baggot
‘I know.’
‘And secondly, you said I had to remain single for the entire holiday.’
‘I know,’ Sonya stated. ‘I know I did say that, but I meant single as in, not doing your usual thing.’
‘My usual thing?’ Tess asked.
‘The thing. The six-week thing,’ Sonya whispered.
‘Why are you whispering?’ Tess asked.
‘Well, I know I told him that you like to date but that was before, and we don’t need him to know about the six-week thing, do we?’
Tess bristled and pushed her glass of Coke away. ‘I don’t know what you’re trying to say here, Sonya.’
‘Well,’ Sonya began, sitting forward in her chair. ‘I just feel that, you know, perhaps this is all fate.’
‘Perhaps what’s fate?’
‘Everything,’ Sonya replied. ‘Maybe me and Joey going through this almost-break was meant to be … to help you.’
‘What?’
‘Joey can’t come to Greece. You have holiday due. Then, when we get here, we walk into Georgiou’s at the exact time when Andras has to find an English girlfriend with blonde hair and blue eyes.’
Tess looked at Sonya. ‘That description wasn’t a decree sent down from Mount Olympus, you know. He made that up without thinking it through properly, probably because we had a row over bread at Kalami Cove.’
‘Like I said. Fate.’
‘I don’t believe in fate.’
Sonya clutched her chest, fingers where the necklace should be. ‘You don’t? Not at all? Not even those little red fortune-telling fish you get in Christmas crackers.’
‘Sonya, they respond to the heat on your hand.’
‘No!’
Tess’s eyes went to Andras. That arse in those trousers and that white shirt. She just found him attractive. That was all. Exactly like Sonya first said. He was the poster boy for a holiday Romeo. She swallowed. She didn’t really want to think of him like that. And then that thought caught. Why not? Why didn’t she want to think of him as a quick fix? She had been wishing he’d just take her – literally – practically since they had met. And he hadn’t. Maybe that’s what was getting to her. Perhaps Sonya was right. The fate she didn’t really believe in was showing her she couldn’t get her own way any more. It was karma for breaking Tony’s heart in Gianni’s.
‘What I’m saying is … I give you permission,’ Sonya said, forking up some lemon cake.
‘Permission for what?’ Tess asked.
‘To break the single promise.’ Sonya sighed. ‘I think, maybe, if you gave it a chance, you could find yourself feeling something for Andras.’
Tess pulled the drink back towards her, needing to clasp her hands around something. She didn’t want to hear what Sonya was saying. She didn’t feel. And her best friend knew that. ‘Feeling’ had been packed up with Adam’s CDs, photos of them as a couple and a T-shirt of his she had sniffed while crying for the first month a long time ago.
She shook her head. ‘I don’t do that,’ she said, as if Sonya needed reminding.
‘I know,’ Sonya replied. ‘But … I don’t know … I just hate to see you doing the six-week thing and not really ever getting anything out of it.’
‘Sonya, I am having the time of my life,’ Tess said, shifting in her seat and picking up a napkin she began to shred with her fingers. ‘I get meals out at some really great restaurants. I saw three West End shows last year. I’ve done a Ferrari driving experience and … I’ve been in a Zorb!’
‘And danced a very convincing Zorba with that Greek god over there,’ Sonya said.
‘I don’t need anything else,’ Tess said, the words catching a little as she tried to remain calm. ‘I have my work. I have … She racked her brain for something else to say. ‘I … have my work.’
‘But there could be so much more,’ Sonya said. ‘There could be real passion and a depth of feeling that you’ve never known.’
She had known it. She had thought she had known it with Adam. And he had thrown what they had away. She swallowed, nausea crawling up her insides.
And then Sonya breathed out, a lip-trembling breath that made Tess know she was thinking of Joey. Despite everything, Sonya still had faith in true love. But Tess knew better. Tess knew that true love was a fantasy. Because men lied. All of them. Her father had lied to her mother. Phil the Philanderer had lied to Rachel. And Adam had lied to her. That’s why she was so determined to break the cycle. And the only way to do that was to stay on top, stay in control, and not give any of herself. Ever.
She smiled at Sonya, game face restored. ‘You think I can’t stay single for this holiday, don’t you? That’s what this is really about.’
‘No, don’t be silly. Of course it’s not.’
‘Well, I can, you know. I’ve not been on any dating sites for days.’
‘That’s great!’
‘And I can totally be single for the rest of this holiday.’
‘Apart from the fake Greek boyfriend.’
Tess’s eyes went to Andras again. ‘Yes, well, he’s practically given me his laptop for the duration and he’s taking us to all the best places.’
‘He is doing that,’ Sonya agreed.
‘Right,’ Tess said, picking up her handbag and pulling out a pen. ‘Pass me all those napkins and let’s start thinking of new names for Blackberry Boudoir that make it sound less bordello and more upmarket chic.’
‘Less Margate and more Brighton?’ Sonya suggested with a sigh.
‘Exactly.’
Then, just as she was about to put pen to napkin, her mobile erupted into life. A glance down at the screen told her it was her mother. She sat back, just hearing the ringtone and watching the screen, the phone moving slightly as it vibrated.
‘Who is it?’ Sonya asked. ‘Work?’ She made like she was going to move forward in her seat and look at the phone.
Tess snatched it up and quickly pressed the button to cancel the call. ‘Yes, work. I couldn’t answer; I haven’t done enough on the project yet.’ She set the phone back down and picked up her Coke. ‘Now, where were we? New names.’ She smiled. ‘Let’s brainstorm.’
Andras strode over to their table, his phone in his hand and a look of concern on his face. ‘We have to go.’
‘Go?’ Sonya asked. ‘Before we’ve finished our cake?’
‘What’s wrong?’ Tess asked.
‘It’s the restaurant,’ he began. ‘It’s my mother … and Spiro’s donkey.’
‘Hurry up and eat that cake,’ Tess urged Sonya.
‘I am sorry,’ Andras stated with a sigh.
‘It’s OK,’ Tess replied. ‘You have a business to look after and we have rebranding to do.’
‘One more … mouthful … mmm,’ Sonya said, shovelling in the last of the cake.
‘I will make it up to you,’ Andras said, touching Tess’s arm.
She swallowed, the contact jarring her. She got to her feet, hurrying to scoop up the napkins. ‘Superfast broadband?’
‘I think I may struggle with that,’ he admitted.
‘Can I take the cake with me?’ Sonya asked.
Forty
Taverna Georgiou
‘I will take you to the apartments,’ Andras stated when they had reached Kalami again, about to swing the Jeep left.
‘No,’ Tess said. ‘We’ll come with you to the restaurant. I could do with a coffee and I want to see this crisis your mother called you back for.’
He looked over at her. ‘You think there is no crisis?’
‘I just think, perhaps, the crisis might have been exaggerated in order for you to come back and be away from your English girlfriend.’
‘It was Dorothea on the phone,’ Andras said.
‘And you couldn’t possibly imagine your mother forcing her to make that phone call?’
Tess had a point. The restaurant noises he had heard in the background of the phone conversation hadn’t been panicked. It had just sounded like a normal busy l
unchtime. But Dorothea had sounded a little out of sorts. Perhaps his mother had been towering over the little Greek woman, her hand on a heavy skillet … Perhaps he should have stood his ground. He had abandoned the restaurant this morning, knowing it would be his staff left in charge, not his mother, and that they could cope with whatever might happen. So why had he immediately run back? Had he let his mother play him again?
‘OK,’ Andras said, continuing along the road towards the restaurant.
He stopped Spiro’s car at the side of the road, got out, then walked around the front to open the door for Tess, then Sonya.
‘Ooo, thank you,’ Sonya said, sandals hitting the ground, sun hat going on her head. ‘Wait,’ she said as Andras and Tess prepared to cross over the road and head towards the restaurant back entrance. ‘You two should hold hands.’
‘What?’ Tess said.
‘You should hold hands,’ Sonya repeated. ‘Mrs Georgiou needs to believe you’re a couple so you need to walk in holding hands.’
Andras looked at Tess, gauging her reaction. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. This scenario was so unfair on her.
‘Fine,’ Tess said, holding her hand out to him.
‘Coffees with cream, on me,’ he said. ‘As soon as I get rid of the donkey.’ He slipped his fingers between hers and their eyes met. ‘If there is a donkey.’
‘There won’t be,’ Tess stated. ‘I can almost guarantee it.’
Despite Tess’s confidence he found himself taking a deep breath as they crossed the road and walked into the back of the restaurant. What was he going to find? What outcome was better – the donkey crisis or his mother having lied to get him back here? The one thing he really hadn’t expected were priests, about ten of them, some shaking sheaves of lavender, others sprinkling water and the rest waving censers of incense, all while his customers tried to enjoy lunch.
‘Oh my!’ Sonya exclaimed, hands to her mouth.
‘What the—?!’ Tess stated.
Andras gripped Tess’s hand tighter, moving through the restaurant quickly, taking her with him and focusing his vision on the woman in front of the team of priests, seemingly orchestrating.
‘Mama,’ he began. ‘What is going on?!’
Isadora span around, eyes going to where his hand was tethered to Tess’s, clutching her chest like angina was taking over. ‘Oh my God! Thank the Lord you are here!’ Her eyes seemed to narrow as they looked to Tess. ‘But you, you cannot be here.’
He squeezed Tess’s hand instantaneously. ‘Mama, Tess is my girlfriend, and just why the hell is Papa Yiannis and every priest on the island in my restaurant?’
‘The restaurant,’ Isadora said, speaking in hushed tones. ‘It is cursed.’
Andras snorted, shaking his head.
‘What’s going on?’ Tess asked. ‘Non-Greek speaker here. Although I am quite good at translating body language.’
Andras looked to Tess. ‘My mother says my restaurant is cursed.’
‘All of a sudden?’ Tess asked. ‘By what?’
‘By you!’ Isadora blasted out in English.
‘Mama, you will not talk to Tess that way,’ Andras warned.
‘We look you up again on the Interweb this morning,’ Isadora stated. ‘Not Patricia Parks, Tess Parks.’ She pointed a finger. ‘We find you on the Book of Faces and Titter. You are with men, always with men, a different man almost every day. You have come here to spread your poisonous ways in Corfu. Well …’ She finally paused for breath. ‘You have come to the wrong resort for that and you have chosen the wrong family to try to steal from!’
He felt Tess’s hand lose grip in his and he immediately tightened his hold. He was not going to let her be pulled apart in public when this whole set-up was a charade of his making.
‘Enough!’ he ordered. The volume of his voice stopped every conversation and silenced the dining noises. Even the chanting from the priests had lessened.
‘Andras—’ Tess began.
‘No,’ Andras said, looking at her. ‘This has gone on long enough.’ He sighed. ‘Too long.’
He was going to tell the truth. Here, holding the hand of his made-up girlfriend, he was going to tell his mother that her outdated ways and matchmaking had made him invent a relationship. That he had felt backed into a corner he could not escape from and he was not going to let it happen any more. She needed to back away from his personal life and, as far as the business was concerned, he wasn’t prepared to give up hope of another investor yet. Or perhaps a loan from the bank, as Tess had suggested.
‘Don’t do it,’ Tess said through gritted teeth.
He turned his full attention to her then. ‘What?’
‘Don’t do it,’ she said again. ‘Please, don’t do it.’
‘This is not fair to you,’ Andras almost whispered. ‘And it has to stop.’
‘Not on account of me,’ Tess answered. ‘And because … what your mother just said … it’s all true.’
He felt her let go of his hand.
‘I knew it!’ Isadora exclaimed in nothing less than triumph as a thick, grey plume of smoke from the priests almost hid her form.
‘Tess,’ Andras said, taking a step towards her departing form. He didn’t want her to leave. He wanted her to be here while he faced off with his mother and put an end to this situation he had put them in.
‘I’ll talk to her,’ Sonya said, backing away, her expression a little sad.
His emotions high, as if this really was some sort of break-up, he turned back to his mother. Holy water spattered him on the cheek and he furiously wiped it off.
‘Mama, you need to leave,’ he stated. ‘And you need to take the priests with you.’ He indicated the customers, some of them getting up to go. Patrons were coughing, others wiping at their eyes.
‘I knew it!’ Isadora repeated. ‘I knew the moment I set eyes on her that there was something wrong and you did not believe me!’
He drew in a breath, considering what to say. ‘There is nothing wrong.’
‘Nothing wrong? That woman has had more men friends than you have served bowls of olives.’
‘So what?’ he blasted. ‘She is with me now!’ Another lie all too quickly came.
‘She wants you for your money! For the restaurant!’
‘I don’t have any money.’ He paused. ‘And why is it so impossible to believe that she might want to be with me for me? Just that! Only that!’ Why he was defending a fictitious relationship, he didn’t know.
Isadora took a step forward towards him. ‘Because she is like Elissa. The she-wolf in Greek clothing.’ Her voice weakened a little. ‘And she broke your heart.’
He looked closely at his mother then. Was there a tremble to her lips? Was there a little glaze to her eyes? Her bravado was definitely impaired.
‘Mama …’
‘No!’ she said, raising a hand. ‘Enough talking now! I am very busy. I have to meet Spiro and the donkey and hope that the vet can find some antidote for the ingestion of lupins. The restaurant must be cleansed before the wedding. There are bad spirits here, I can feel them all over me.’ She shuddered.
He went to move forward, to reach out to her but she turned away, heading for Papa Yiannis who was toying with the string of worry beads in his hands.
Tess powered up the steep incline towards Kalami Cove at workout speed. She just had to get away from the restaurant and the crazy Greek stalker who had googled her.
‘Tess, stop! Please stop! My old hamstring injury is aching and I’m getting boob chafe!’
She listened to Sonya puffing and panting and slowed a little. But the lessening of pace just made her mind whir again. Why was she feeling this way? Andras’s mother had simply given a very good outsider’s account of her social-media activity. Her life, filled with men. Why had it made her feel so … shameful?
‘The woman is insane,’ Sonya began, reaching Tess and doubling over, hands on her thighs as she tried to draw out her breaths. ‘You know that,
right? I mean, there were more holy men in that restaurant than there were up at the monastery.’
‘I know,’ Tess answered. Why was her voice so small? She was not Andras’s girlfriend. She was playing a role. She didn’t need to feel hurt by his mother’s opinion of her. What she really needed to do was look into her Facebook privacy settings. She swallowed. Was this hurt she was feeling?
‘You did a nice thing back there,’ Sonya said, standing up and wiping her brow with the back of her hand.
‘What?’
‘Andras was going to tell his mother that your relationship wasn’t real.’
‘I know,’ Tess said with a sigh.
‘And you wouldn’t let him,’ Sonya said, grinning a little bit too much.
Why hadn’t she let him? Why had her stomach dropped to the flagstone floor at the thought of him confessing? She swallowed, her mouth dry.
‘I need his laptop,’ she answered confidently. ‘That’s why I rushed out of there really.’ She pushed her shoulders back. ‘I need to do a bit of work before we go out for dinner tonight.’
‘Oh,’ Sonya said, disappointment in her tone. ‘I thought that maybe—’
‘And, of course, you know, what she said about my boyfriends.’ She sniffed. ‘I had to make it realistic. If I was dating Andras and his mother had said what she said, I would have been upset about my track record with men being exposed.’
‘You would?’ Sonya asked.
Crap. She hadn’t meant Sonya to interpret it that way. She needed to turn that around.
‘Well, you know, a slightly weaker individual.’
‘But not you,’ Sonya said.
‘Of course not.’ Tess laughed but it sounded hollow even to her.
‘OK, well, the good news is you’re still with Andras …’
‘Faking it,’ Tess reminded her.
‘So we still have our guide man.’
‘And his laptop and Internet connection.’
‘And we’ve got dinner at the White House tonight.’
Tess breathed in then slowly exhaled. ‘Yes, I can’t wait.’ She smiled at Sonya. ‘Just girl time. You, me, wine and food at the Durrell’s house, and no Greek family dramas.’