Staying Out for the Summer

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘Did you have to say that?!’

  The powerboat roared into life and Lucie clamped her fingers around the hand-holds. Gavin let out a scream and every other body on board shot forward in their positions as the banana propelled ahead.

  ‘Oh my God!’ Gavin shouted above the noise of the speedboat engine. ‘This is horrific! I feel… like… my bones are going to shatter!’

  ‘I did say!’ Lucie yelled back. She was gripping the handles so hard her knuckles were already turning white. And despite the hot temperature again today, the wind from their speed was like standing in front of an industrial-size fan that, on the Beaufort scale, probably had the ability to tear your clothes off.

  ‘Tell me something nice!’ Gavin demanded.

  ‘It all ends soon?’ Lucie gritted her teeth. She had seen a group before them go out and although falling off was meant to be part of the ride, it seemed terribly hard to get back on. She was going to avoid the depths of the sea if she could.

  ‘They said fifteen minutes and I thought it was going to feel like no time at all but… ow! Argh! Lucie!’

  Lucie closed her eyes as a ferocious wave rode over the banana, dousing them in salt water. The sea was calm, it was the boat, weaving around ahead, sending them this way and that, forcing the banana to traverse its wake that was making the white water extravaganza.

  ‘Tell me… I’m going to find someone nice,’ Gavin continued, not seeming to care that he was shouting louder than the opposition leader at Prime Minister’s Question Time and the full length and breadth of the yellow fruit could hear him.

  ‘Gavin… I don’t think now’s the right time for… gosh… bloody hell… the right time for heartfelt pleas.’

  ‘I feel close to death!’ Gavin shrieked, highlighted streaks of hair gusting up from his head. ‘That’s exactly the right time for a heartfelt plea! Give it to me! Tell me that, one day, I’m going to meet Cher!’

  Lucie opened her eyes again, bracing her body against the vessel as it bucked and slammed into water that felt as solid as concrete. ‘You’re going to meet Cher.’

  ‘That didn’t sound convincing!’

  ‘Gavin! We’re riding a banana!’

  ‘I am well aware! Ouch! Oof! My parts that could facilitate a meaningful relationship feel like they’re coming off!’

  Lucie dared to turn her head slightly and saw their nearest fellow passenger was smirking. ‘Gavin, you are going to meet someone. Someone lovely.’

  ‘And ripped… like… Chris Pratt.’

  This jolting was undoing all the good the hands of Michalis had done last night. Lucie’s neck was as full of tension as it had ever been and her shoulders felt as if they had accepted a flatshare with her ears. A tortoise! Yes! She felt like the tortoise who had appeared out of one of the kitchen cupboards this morning and nonchalantly swaggered across the striped marble floor back to Gavin’s bedroom…

  ‘And ripped like Chris Pratt!’

  ‘I heard you the first time!’ Lucie bellowed, another flash of white water slapping her cheeks. ‘But I’m afraid it won’t be Simon! Because… he’s… not into men.’ What had she said?!

  There wasn’t time to think because suddenly the banana hit the crest of the powerboat’s wake and the whole inflatable took flight like a lightweight Boeing, sailing skyward and turning upside down. As Lucie clung on, her fingertips began to loosen, almost one by one, and all she could hear was Gavin wailing. With her thoughts desperately trying to decipher if staying on was less dangerous than falling off now they were in the air, upside down and dropping like Isaac Newton’s apple, she could barely breathe. And then all choices were ripped away from her as the banana hit the water and she was bounced up and off the inflatable and into the sea.

  The crash landing took her breath away and Lucie pumped her legs to bring herself back to the surface, gasping for air. Despite the life jacket she was wearing, it still felt somehow hard to stay afloat and in one position as the wake still carried on delivering a fierce rolling current her way.

  Blinking water from her eyes she saw the banana, back upright, just to her right, occupants spattered around it, all laughing or shrieking. Only one person wasn’t laughing or shrieking. Gavin was a few metres ahead, arm resting on the bottom of the banana like it was a life raft, his face pale. Lucie swam towards him, hoping the pallor was to do with his hangover but knowing it really wasn’t.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Lucie asked when she had reached their transport, where people were beginning to help each other get back aboard.

  ‘No,’ Gavin stated simply. ‘My innards are up there somewhere, on their way to Paxos!’ He pointed skywards. ‘And my best friend has been lying to me!’

  ‘Gavin,’ Lucie said softly. ‘I haven’t been lying to you. I promise I haven’t. Simon said—’

  ‘And there it is!’ Gavin said, bobbing up and down with the sway of the water. ‘The fact that Simon said something to you about me… about the potential of us… and you didn’t say anything.’

  Lucie swallowed. ‘I didn’t know what to say.’

  ‘Oh really?’ Gavin said with a snort. ‘How about… “Gavin, Simon isn’t into guys”? You know, nicely, not when we’re on a banana!’

  ‘Well, I’m not making excuses but—’

  ‘Here comes the excuse!’

  ‘Well, the thing is, I was so taken aback when he said it that it took me a while to process it and, he had, you know, all the usual hallmarks…’

  ‘Because we’re all so stereotypical, right?’

  ‘No! No, of course not,’ Lucie said, noticing it was nearly her turn to get hauled back on. ‘But, you know, from my very little and limited experience I don’t know many straight men who colour coordinate the way Simon does and… I don’t know…there was Carson Kressley and, well… you were the one going on about “queer” jeans!’

  ‘And he told you he was straight, did he?’ Gavin asked, sweeping back his wet hair with his hand. ‘Just like that.’

  ‘Well…’ Lucie thought back to that moment in the canteen. Now was the time to be completely honest. ‘I asked him for his phone number for you and… well, he thought I was asking for me and—’

  Gavin raised a palm and pushed it towards Lucie in a show of ‘stop’. He shook his head. ‘That’s it! That’s actually it! As if 2020 wasn’t enough of a pile of shite!’

  ‘Give to me your hand!’ It was the watersports guy standing atop the banana and leaning down over Lucie.

  ‘One second,’ Lucie said, ignoring the trailing hand held out for her. ‘Gavin, I’m sorry. Please don’t let my mistake ruin the day.’

  ‘Please, Mr Watersports Man, could I sit on the other side of the banana?’ Gavin asked, swimming past Lucie and no longer engaging with her. ‘This part’s gone a bit rotten.’

  Thirty-One

  The Andino Apartment, Sortilas

  ‘What are you doing?’ Nyx leaned in over Michalis’s shoulder, doughnut hair nudging his ear as he studied the computer on the balcony table.

  ‘Nothing.’ Michalis closed the lid of his laptop and smiled up at his sister. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘I am trying to work out what my doctor brother would need to hide from me!’ Nyx whipped the lid upwards before Michalis could react to her fast fingers. ‘What is this? You are sending a message to Lucie?’

  Michalis sighed, knowing exactly what he was in for now. He waited, watching the wide grin form on Nyx’s face.

  ‘Maybe I should type,’ Nyx said, snatching the laptop up and plumping down in another seat with the computer on her lap. ‘Lucie… I do not know the words to say how much I would like to tear at your clothes with my teeth and… taste what lies beneath and—’

  Michalis stood, grabbing the computer back and shaking his head at his sister. He had been trying to compose a message to Lucie, but it had been nothing like that. It was only asking if tonight would be acceptable for their date. Except everything he typed sounded juvenile or not enough or, stupidly, too
much. He didn’t think he would be in this position again. He had told himself not to be. It was his talk with his father, his encouragement that he was a good, solid person, that was spurring him to act. But a few kind words didn’t fill the void in his heart or repair any of the damage rattling around in there. Perhaps this was all a mistake…

  ‘What?!’ Nyx asked, all wild eyes and flailing arms. ‘Isn’t that what you want? Were your hands not all over her last night?’

  ‘Nyx, she had hurt her back. I was helping her. As a doctor.’

  ‘Relax!’ Nyx ordered, slapping him on the back. ‘It was not a criticism. I think everyone should be more open in expressing themselves. So, you like her?’

  ‘I… like her,’ Michalis admitted. ‘But—’

  ‘So, eat her!’ Nyx said, laughing hysterically as she made loud smacking noises with her lips.

  ‘Stop that,’ Michalis told her. ‘You sound like a horse.’

  ‘And you sound like you have never had a moment of fun in your life! When was the last time you were with a girl?’

  Michalis headed for the door now. He did not want to get into this conversation. He had never discussed his love life with his sister and he wasn’t about to start. He would continue trying to get this message right from the comfort of his bedroom.

  ‘Oh no you do not!’ Nyx said, sprinting ahead of him and blocking his path to the rest of the apartment.

  ‘Nyx,’ Michalis said with a heavy sigh. ‘Please, when do I ask you about partners?’

  Nyx folded her arms across her chest and stood firm. ‘Well, ask me. Go on. I have nothing to hide.’

  Michalis really didn’t want to know the details of whether Nyx was dating or not. She was his little sister. The only time he might feel he needed to be involved was if the partner was behaving without respect. Then both he and Dimitri would most probably step in.

  Nyx groaned in annoyance. ‘Fine. I will tell you. I had sex last Friday. It was shit. He had no idea what he was doing and I will never see him again.’ She pulled a face. ‘He wanted to do weird things with my hair. Crazy man. English. On a flight back to somewhere called “midlands” now.’ She sighed. ‘What is “midlands”?’

  Michalis closed his eyes and dropped his head, wanting to unhear all he had just heard.

  ‘Sex does not mean marriage,’ Nyx stated so loudly Michalis was certain everyone in the square below could hear them through the open balcony doors. ‘I think of it as a workout. With more endorphins than you can get from battle ropes.’

  ‘I think I will go and see how Papa is getting on.’ He made to side-step Nyx.

  ‘He is fine. It does him good to be in charge on his own sometimes. If he is always helped he will not remember how hard it is to run the shop and he will not give me the pay rise I certainly deserve.’ Nyx smiled, determined to press on. ‘So, tell me about the last time you had sex.’

  ‘No. Not now. Not ever.’

  ‘You do not have to tell me all the details. That would be disgusting. What kind of person do you think I am?’

  ‘Sometimes I really have no idea,’ Michalis admitted.

  ‘There has been no one, has there?’ Nyx asked. ‘No one in Thessaloniki.’

  He swallowed and nodded. It was much much easier to lie. Because if he started to tell Nyx about Thekli where would he stop the story? At the break-up? Or with all the tragedy that came after with Anastasia, Thekli’s younger sister? ‘That’s right. No one at all. Your brother has been living like a monk.’

  ‘Wow,’ Nyx said. ‘I know we laughed when Melina talked about breeding, but shit you must need some practise.’ She held a finger in the air. ‘That is what you should type to Lucie. Dear Lucie, before my penis goes into retirement I think we should—’

  ‘Do you know someone called Amalia?’ Michalis broke in, to stop her ending the sentence.

  ‘Amalia, who?’ Nyx shook her head at him. ‘There is someone else as well as Lucie? Preparing to go big this summer, my brother?’

  ‘No, she is, older, maybe near Papa’s age. She lives in Sfakera. She paints.’

  ‘And what is there in Sfakera for me? It is a village where they think a cocktail is a bottle of beer with a straw inside it. Why do you ask me about this woman?’

  ‘I do not know. Yet.’

  ‘I do not understand! Is this about your penis or not?’

  ‘Definitely not,’ Michalis replied.

  ‘Then what are you talking about?’ Nyx shouted.

  ‘Nothing,’ he answered. ‘Ignore me.’

  ‘Happily,’ Nyx answered. ‘You are sooo boring!’

  Thirty-Two

  Villa Psomi, Sortilas

  There were as many butterflies in her stomach as there were grazing on the blue plumbago and pomegranate bushes next to the vine-covered pergola as Lucie stood looking out over the serene sea. Michalis was coming to pick her up in a few minutes time… and Gavin still wasn’t talking to her properly.

  She sighed, stretching her arms to the sky and trying to rid her shoulders of her usual tension, plus the after-effects of being catapulted from the banana another two times. A fifteen-minute experience had definitely been enough. But, after her admission about Simon, not even three biftekis – Greek burgers – had calmed Gavin’s obvious annoyance with her. He was currently draped over one of the sofas in the large upper sitting room, Beats headphones on, devouring a packet of oregano-flavoured crisps.

  As she drank in the tranquillity Lucie wondered what advice her mum would give her now if she was still around. Rita had obviously been into boys – Lucie was living proof of that – but what would an older Rita have said about Lucie preparing to go on a date with a Greek doctor? And what would she think about her predicament with Gavin? Lucie sighed. Being a good friend was often a road full of potholes – one wrong move and you ended up covered in rainwater or breaking an ankle. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful for the nurturing she’d had, but sometimes Meg’s advice on love and life was a little too black-and-white. From what little information Lucie had, her mum had definitely liked to explore the grey and bleed those boundaries as far as possible. But she’d been denied that take on things. Who knew what kind of mum Rita could have been if she’d made different choices…

  Lucie pulled her phone from her bag and checked the screen. There was still no response from her aunt yet either. Three text messages Lucie had sent now and another couple of calls. In the end Lucie had ended up leaving a voicemail and a message on Meg’s home answerphone. If she had heard nothing by the morning she was definitely going to have to raise the alarm. She would probably be raising the alarm now if she had anyone else to contact but The Other Sharon Osbourne…

  ‘Loosely! You are ready?’

  She put the phone back in her bag and turned at the sound of Miltos’s voice. She shivered when she saw he was accompanied by his grandmother and great-aunt. Both were walking very gingerly down the slope towards her position on the terrace. Miltos appeared to be wearing a giant backpack that wouldn’t look out of place belonging to a Royal Marine on exercise…

  ‘Oh, Miltos, I… didn’t know Mary and Ariana were coming tonight.’ She was sure Gavin had said something about Thursday.

  ‘No?’ Miltos asked, helping the two old ladies to navigate the drop from path to patio. ‘Gaveen, he telephone me. He say tonight, not Thursday. So here we are!’

  Lucie felt her temperature rise and irritation scorch her cheeks. Of course Gavin had done that. Because Gavin was pissed at her, and he might be her best friend, but he could also be an absolute bitch when he put his mind to it. This was his payback for her keeping Simon’s sexuality from him, trying to interfere with her date with Michalis.

  ‘Oh, well, I hate to disappoint you, but I’m actually going out in a minute and—’

  ‘You can go out later,’ Miltos told her, beaming as he hauled the rucksack from his shoulder and set about opening it.

  The old ladies were already in Lucie’s space, attaching some sort of callipers
to her wrists and ankles. How had they managed that without her even realising? And how much measuring did your joints need for a wedding dress?

  ‘I can’t. I can’t go later,’ Lucie said, still feeling flushed. ‘Because someone is picking me up.’

  ‘Who is picking you up?’ Miltos demanded to know, eyebrows meeting in the middle and expression darkening. ‘You have a relationship with another taxi driver?’

  ‘No,’ Lucie gasped. ‘No, of course not. I… it’s… someone else.’

  ‘Who?’ Miltos asked. ‘I know everybody.’

  Of course he did. And who didn’t seem to know the doctor-cum-butcher around here? His face and anime version of his body were on posters…

  The women had stopped bustling now. Miltos was presumably translating their conversation into Greek. But Lucie’s hands were still in the grip of metal and her skin was starting to turn grey. ‘Could I take these off now?’

  ‘You can take them off when you have told us where you go.’ Miltos sounded completely uncompromising, part father figure and part prison warden.

  Lucie sighed, the eyes of Ariana and Mary fixed on her. ‘I’m just meeting up with Dr Michalis.’

  Mary and Ariana sighed dramatically, exactly in sync, hands going to their mouths. Lucie guessed they didn’t need the name ‘Michalis’ translated at all.

  ‘Dr Andino,’ Miltos said, mouth stretching into a wide smile that was wholly better than his fierce face. ‘Meeting up with him? What does this mean?’

  Lucie wet her lips, feeling rather like she was being put through an ancient Greek version of a polygraph test. And all she could think about was the contents of that backpack she was really hoping didn’t contain a blancmange of a wedding dress. ‘I… well… we are getting together to discuss—’

  ‘Medical techniques of the twenty-first century.’

  Lucie looked past Miltos, shielding her eyes from the sun, and saw Michalis was standing next to the hedge of rosemary. God, he looked more attractive than ever! He was wearing a pair of navy trousers with a white shirt – two buttons open – and a very pale blue linen jacket. His hair looked freshly washed and was brushed back from his face, tendrils tucked behind each ear. And he had saved her from answering their fruit van friend’s question. That was a true act of heroism.