Desperately Seeking Summer

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘I haven’t said I won’t,’ Abby said.

  ‘Yay! You’re staying! I knew you would!’ Melody erupted.

  ‘I haven’t I said I will either!’ She didn’t want to give her sister false hope.

  ‘God, just make your mind up already!’

  ‘It’s the rest of my life. It should be given quite a lot of consideration.’

  ‘Pah!’ Melody replied, waving a hand then slamming it down onto the table and flattening a mosquito. ‘You don’t have to think of it as dramatically as that. That’s typical you. It doesn’t have to be a big-picture-my-whole-life-decided-by-one-single-pro-con-list kind of thing. You could just stay for the summer and see how it goes.’

  Could she? Could she give up the flat? Stay for the summer and if things weren’t how she expected, fly back to the UK and … find somewhere else to live. She guessed she didn’t need to be in Romsey now The Travellers’ Rest had disposed of her.

  ‘Girls!’ Jackie burst out from the office, face reddened despite the air-conditioning she’d been sitting in, but a vision in lilac. ‘Can you two get up to Villa Pappas? I’ve got a family who want to view it and they’re sitting right outside. I’d go but I’ve got someone coming here in ten minutes and I’m just putting a portfolio together.’

  ‘I’ll start the car,’ Abby said, jumping up.

  ‘Don’t bother,’ Melody stated, picking up her phone. ‘I tried it earlier, it’s totally wanged. I’ll call Leon.’

  Theo stood on the terrace, looking out over San Stefanos in all its glory. He did love the village and all the eccentric people who lived in it. Yesterday he had gone fishing with Spyridoula. They had talked about his mother and then managed to nab a haul big enough to sell to the Galini restaurant. Leon had taken the money and done a deal on a new bicycle for Stathis, complete with a horn the man was taking every opportunity to honk. Earlier, the noise had scared Madalena into barrelling into a whole basket of discounted watermelons, knocking them into the road. Some children had helped to pick them up, then taken one to use as a football on the beach.

  It was a beautiful day today, a breath of wind to keep the temperature below forty and a few white clouds to enhance the skyline. A good day to fly, if you wanted to fly. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to, but he knew that he needed to.

  ‘You are packed, Theo?’

  It was his father’s voice behind him and, before he had a chance to look around, Dinis had joined him at the wall, looking over the village, beach and sea view.

  ‘I did not bring much,’ he answered.

  ‘Leon will take us to the airport,’ Dinis responded.

  ‘He will?’ Theo asked, regarding his father with a raised eyebrow. ‘I thought you hated Leon’s taxi.’

  ‘I am still not sure it will get us to the airport on time, but I think he should have the money for the fare. He works hard. His family works hard.’

  ‘They do,’ Theo agreed. Inside his jeans pocket his phone bleeped and he pulled it out.

  ‘Is it Hera? Dinis asked him. ‘Wanting to retain the best cocktail maker she has ever employed?

  Theo shook his head. ‘Although she did tell me if I ever want to work here again she would gladly have me.’ He sighed, trailing his finger over the name on the screen. ‘It is Abby. She is coming here. Someone is coming to view the villa.’

  ‘You are OK with that?’ Dinis asked, looking to Theo.

  He nodded. They had talked over the past few days, after getting back from Erikousa, about everything, his mum, his siblings, Villa Pappas. Nothing was completely clear, but it was all out in the open, being discussed honestly for the first time.

  ‘Your mother never liked this house,’ Dinis repeated what he had said a night ago. ‘She said this house and my cars were like medals I needed to hang around my neck.’

  Theo couldn’t help but smile. He only wished he had heard her say it, got to know her a little better.

  ‘Maybe she was right,’ Dinis answered.

  ‘It is a great house,’ Theo stated.

  ‘But not a home.’ Dinis sighed. ‘She was right. Women, especially Greek women, they are always right, whether we like it or not.’

  ‘Abby is the same,’ Theo said, almost proudly. Then he turned away from the view and faced his father. ‘Do you think it could be a home?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Villa Pappas,’ he said. ‘I know you say that Mum did not like it but, maybe if it could be different …’

  ‘I do not know,’ Dinis answered. ‘Perhaps. All I know is it is expensive to have it sat here, not being rented, not earning its way. I am a businessman, Theo, it makes no sense to keep it.’ He patted Theo’s shoulder. ‘It does not mean that we will not come back to Corfu. Of course we will. I have to stop that sister of mine from marrying a woodcutter.’

  Theo smiled. ‘She told you.’

  ‘She is crazy. She is old enough to know better.’

  ‘But she is happy with Stamatis. That should be all that matters.’

  Dinis sighed, then nodded with a smile. ‘I know this. I am glad she is happy. I just … do not really want to be related to someone whose home and place of work are the same, all coated in six inches of dust and bacteria.’

  Theo heard the sound of the gate being opened and there was Abby, Melody at her heel, together with two other adults and two children, both eating dripping ice creams.

  ‘My God,’ Dinis said, turning around too. ‘Please tell her to keep those children away from the sheepskin rug in the lounge.’

  Seventy

  ‘I do not know what I am going to do without you,’ Theo said, his voice soft in Abby’s ear, his mouth kissing the skin behind it as they cooled off in the pool. ‘We have made love every day for the past four days. I cannot imagine a day without you in it.’ He breathed hard. ‘A day without me in you.’

  ‘You managed perfectly well before I arrived, very well, if Leon’s stories are to be believed.’

  He put his arms around her neck, drawing her into him, the water at waist level.

  ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever been wanted for just my body before.’

  ‘You think that is all I want?’ Theo asked, sounding a little put out. He held her away from him, looking right into her eyes.

  ‘I … no … I just … I don’t know,’ she admitted. Perhaps she should have worked on her phrasing.

  ‘Abby … I have had nothing this way before,’ Theo said, his tone serious and deep. ‘Nothing like this.’

  It felt nice for him to say that and she really believed him. Their connection had been a great one. It didn’t need to be thought about any further than that. This was the new Abby. Doing what she wanted without regret. Learning to live without lists – not too many of them, at least.

  ‘For me too,’ she whispered. And it was true. It was nothing like what she had had with Darrell. How could that be?

  ‘What time do you have to go?’ she asked with a swallow.

  ‘Now you wish me to go already?’ he joked. ‘You have your eye on Stathis, I know it. Now he has that new bicycle and a very, big horn …’

  Abby laughed and thumped his shoulder playfully.

  ‘In a few hours,’ Theo answered. ‘Leon will take us to the airport.’

  She nodded, just letting it sink in.

  ‘And what about you, Abby? Have you decided what you want to do?’

  She sighed and slipped from his embrace to lie a little in the water, letting it soak her whole body, seep over her arms, wet her hair. It was gloriously cooling, but wasn’t providing her with any answers. ‘No,’ she said.

  ‘You think you might stay? On Corfu?’

  ‘I don’t know. I know Melody and my mum would like me to but … Desperately Seeking is their creation, their dream. I don’t know if it’s mine. And I don’t know yet if I want it to be.’

  She watched him nod his head, the man bun back in place, those abs slick with water, looking the very same as he had that first day at the villa, but perhaps
his expression was just a little lighter. And he said she had helped with that, without even really knowing it.

  ‘We both have everything in the world out there waiting for us,’ Theo agreed.

  ‘Yes, we do,’ she said, coming up out of the water and standing in front of him, adjusting her bikini a little.

  He smiled at her, brushing his fingers down her arm, finding her hand and interlocking them. ‘I spoke to Limoni this morning. She is such a great kid.’ He shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. ‘Do you know she is playing tennis for her school? Chosen, still good enough to be one of the best.’

  ‘That’s incredible.’

  ‘I am going to see her, Abby, when I get back to Halkidiki. I want to … I don’t know … not put things right because I cannot do that but … just see her, let her know I think of her every day and …’

  She squeezed his hand tight, knowing he couldn’t continue, everything was still so raw that even thinking about it was too much. ‘You are a beautiful man, Theo. Inside and out.’ She sighed and said it in Greek. ‘Omorfos.’

  Taking his face in her hands, she pressed her mouth to his, wanting their every moment to make a million memories.

  Theo closed his eyes and kissed her desperately. Part of him wanted to hold on and never let go, but that wasn’t fair on either of them. Neither of them could make decisions on anything between them without coming to a decision about their own personal futures – what they wanted from their lives and where they wanted to be. And they had only spent a few weeks with each other. Nothing could have a real foundation in that short space of time, could it?

  She pressed her body to his, swinging her legs around his waist and holding tight, her face close to his. It was a sweet agony to embrace her like this, knowing these were their last hours together.

  ‘I don’t want to say goodbye,’ Abby said, her voice choking a little.

  ‘I know,’ Theo replied.

  ‘No, Theo, I mean, when we get out of the pool, I’m going to go back to the office and I’m going to throw myself into work and I’m going to try really, really hard to forget that you’re leaving.’

  ‘Abby …’

  ‘I know it’s silly, I know we said that it was just the best summer and that we’re both not in the right place at the moment but … I can’t be there when you get into Leon’s taxi and drive away.’ She sniffed and he felt the tremble in her shoulders. He didn’t know how to reply. She was now saying the hours he thought they had left were going to be mere minutes.

  ‘I would be a complete cliché of all those rom-com films. I’d cry intensely, and I might run after the car a little bit or I might hold onto you so long that your dad would have to prise me off, or I would get in the taxi with you, stuck to you, embarrassingly and …’

  He pulled her form a little away from his, to look at her.

  ‘Don’t look at me,’ she begged, closing her eyes as if that would hide her. ‘I’m crying already.’

  ‘None of that sounded so bad,’ Theo whispered. ‘Open your eyes.’

  She shook her head. ‘No … I’ve got a lovely mental image of you I snapshotted just before I started crying and I want to hold on to that.’

  ‘I could call you,’ Theo said softly. ‘As soon as I get to Halkidiki.’

  She opened her eyes then, gazed at him for a moment and then shook her head. ‘Theo … we said we shouldn’t.’

  ‘I know,’ he answered. ‘And I agreed, but … I’m not sure why.’

  ‘Because you’re not ready, and neither am I.’

  ‘Ready for what?’ His heart was jumping up and down at the thought of continuing something with this wonderful woman, despite what they had both said. Long distance didn’t have to be long distance forever …

  ‘We need solitude,’ Abby said firmly.

  ‘You’re going to get that in San Stefanos?’ he joked. ‘Good luck.’

  ‘I might not be here,’ she reminded.

  ‘No,’ he said, sighing. He needed to rid himself of all the images he had in his mind, plus the ones on his phone. Abby sipping at an Old Fashioned cocktail, her face kissed by the sun before her lips were kissed by him, a selfie at the 7th Heaven bar at Logas Beach, that dramatic clifftop background just visible behind their glowing faces … She might not be in Corfu. She might be back in England, or somewhere else. She had so many choices. And she deserved every one of them.

  ‘Signomi,’ he said, holding her close again.

  ‘Don’t be sorry,’ Abby said, a hand gently toying with the hair at the back of his head. ‘Just let’s … have another swim and then maybe you can remind me how good the waterfall shower in the master en-suite is.’ She drew away, a teasing smile on her lips. ‘For estate agency purposes, obviously. So I can get a full, hands-on user experience to share with potential purchasers.’

  ‘Hands-on?’ Theo repeated, his fingers moving to the straps of her bikini top.

  ‘Hands … lips … I think I need to research every … single … position.’

  Now her expression was pure wolfish and it was driving him wild.

  ‘Let us not swim,’ he said. ‘I think I am more than ready for the shower.’

  Seventy-one

  Eucalyptus Taverna, San Stefanos

  Who was Abby trying to kid? There was no way she was going to be able to ‘throw herself into work’ when the man she adored was about to leave the island. It had got to thirty minutes before the time Theo and Dinis were due to head to the airport and she had fled Desperately Seeking, jogging along the front, past Damianos, The Blue Vine and George’s Taverna, searching for somewhere in the village that wasn’t full of memories of Theo. Finally, she had found herself at the end of the beach, at a table for one at the lovely Eucalytus Taverna she hadn’t even had time to eat at yet.

  Avoiding cocktails and Fix beer she had ordered a half litre of white wine, some olives and bread and was sitting, watching people swim and splash happily in the azure water, their holidays carefree, her heart feeling heavier than it really should.

  ‘Not even a proper member of staff yet and you’re already pulling a fake sickie.’

  Abby jumped at Melody’s greeting, not having noticed her sister’s presence behind her. She smiled weakly as Melody grabbed a glass from the adjacent table, filled it with wine then plumped down into the seat next to her.

  ‘I’ve just come back from seeing a hideous little flat in Acharavi. I swear the owner is a hoarder, it’s stashed with newspapers and bottles – empty bottles, I mean why? – books, carrier bags – again, why? – but once that crap is all cleared out, and it’s painted it’s got a sea view and it’s a two-minute walk to the beach and everything else. I reckon I can market it now for one hundred thousand euro.’

  ‘That’s great,’ Abby answered. It was great but the words had died on her lips. She tried again. ‘That’s really great, Mel.’

  ‘Except you can’t think of anything else apart from the fact your millionaire is leaving town in … fifteen minutes or so.’

  ‘He isn’t a millionaire,’ Abby said, sighing. ‘His dad is.’

  ‘He’s going to inherit that business one day, unless they fall out again.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Abby said, lifting her wine glass to her mouth and taking a sip. It was light and refreshing and she was drinking it in an idyllic location overlooking one of the most amazing, tranquil, beach vistas there was. It was a haven of peace, a place to soothe your soul and perfect for smoothing over a slightly bent-out-of-shape heart.

  ‘Because you look fine,’ Melody stated brutally. ‘You really don’t, by the way.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Abby replied. ‘Maybe I could borrow the Chinese hair stuff again later. I thought we could eat here. We haven’t eaten here since I got back.’

  ‘Are you really not going to say goodbye to Theo before Leon whisks him off to the airport?’

  ‘I said goodbye earlier,’ Abby answered with a sniff. ‘In the infinity pool, and in the waterfall shower.’
/>   ‘God! Are we going to have to get it disinfected before we show anyone else around?!’

  Abby missed him. She missed him already. How could that be when he hadn’t even left! Her chest was heaving with angst. What was she doing sitting here, drinking wine and eating olives when he was … leaving. But, it was better this way. Cleaner. They had had their fun – more than fun, a lovely coming together in every which way – and both of them had come out of it more confident, fixed-up, better from the experience. Now it was time to move on.

  ‘Abby, I know you’re the sensible, level-headed one of the family, and I’m the complete opposite, but don’t you think you might, you know, whether it’s a bit soon or a bit weird, don’t you think you might … love Theo a bit?’

  Abby swallowed. Her immediate reaction was to say what nonsense her sister was talking. Love. After a couple of weeks. After sex in numerous positions she’d only previously read about. Intertwined with saving children from Russians, saving her family’s business from bankruptcy, a Jamaica versus Greece estate-agency party-off, pushing a car, herding cows with the aid of apples … talking of loss and life and family, stealing kisses halfway down a mountain and in Stamatis’ olive groves.

  ‘I …’ Abby went to reply.

  Her words were overridden by the blast of an air horn and the screech of brakes coming from the roadside. Leon’s car came to a halt at the edge of the beach, spraying sandy stones across the concrete, fumes belting from the exhaust, seeping through the air and coating diners in Eucalyptus with the heavy gas.

  Abby coughed, eyes adjusting to the new smog as the back door of the taxi opened and someone burst out. Wearing jeans and one of his trademark vests that covered nothing much. Theo.

  She felt so many things in that moment. Bewilderment. Annoyance. Hope. But the feeling that rose above all others was one of pure delight. She scrabbled out of her seat, racing around the table, jumping down onto the road and heading towards him. Breath coming fast, tears falling from her eyes their bodies clashed together hard as they met in the middle of the street, a desperate tangle of arms and hands and lips and tears.