Authors: Samantha Tonge
‘I have a proposition,’ said Henrik, perched on the edge of the sofa. ‘Stavros doesn’t bury the necessary paperwork – in fact he hurries it through. In return, when all of your little ideas have come to nothing, before returning to England, Pippa, you promise to stand by ThinkBig and Stavros; you persuade the villagers to sign on the dotted line without further fuss.’
‘Pah! Hardly seems like a fair exchange!’ said the mayor.
Henrik shrugged. ‘You’d be surprised – the most successful developments are where you have the enthusiasm and support of locals. Think of your reputation, Stavros – if you end the villagers’ fight before they’ve even had a chance to prove themselves, you’ll always be the villain – whereas this way you’ll appear like some gracious saviour whom they respect. You can’t put a price on that.’
‘So you mean, play nicely,’ he said and gave a smile that didn’t come from his eyes, ‘Okay. Agreed. I will turn a blind eye to any indiscretions until the paperwork is in place – a process I will speed up – in return for your support, Pippa, before you go home.’
He held out his arm and I forced my hand to shake his and then Henrik’s. What did I have to lose? If the appeal was lost, ThinkBig’s proposition, however ghastly, probably was the best – the only – way forward.
‘I guess I should have realised Stavros would have found out about all our plans, eventually,’ I said to Henrik later, in bed.
He nodded. ‘Sorry about dinner, by the way – I wasn’t expecting Stavros to come by. But when he started talking about how the locals could get into trouble, I thought you should know.’ He gave a small smile. ‘I’m not a monster – I like Georgios and Sophia. And Leila’s pretty cool.’
‘You won’t tell her that I… what I said about Niko?’
‘Niko?’ Henrik’s smile dropped. ‘Nothing to tell, is there?’
I shook my head.
‘So, about my proposal, the ring…’
‘I don’t know, Henrik. There’s so much going on and–’
Ever the gentleman, he nodded, broad shoulders dipping down.
‘How about I… I give you a reply before we go back home?’
‘Really? Yes, sounds great.’ His face lit up.
So, I just had less than two weeks to save Taxos and decide my romantic future with Henrik, once and for all. No pressure then.
Pressure is all about force applied to a certain area and can often result in some sort of explosion… like when your moisturiser bottle congeals over, so you squeeze it dead hard and a huge gloop of cream fires out. Er, why am I talking physics? Because I’m glad to say that, unexpectedly the next few days were actually relaxed. Yes, the villagers worked hard and no one less than dear Sophia – by Friday she’d collected over one thousand signatures on her petition. Even Niko helped by keeping away from me where possible. Plus Henrik respected my desire to help the villagers and spent his time swimming or busying himself at ThinkBig’s offices – and didn’t keep mentioning his marriage proposal. What’s more, Stavros kept to his word and hurried through the paperwork for the locals.
To be precise, on Monday Leila and I circulated the leaflets in Kos Town. Most of the travel agencies were kind enough to put up our A4 sized poster in their windows. A couple said Taxos would definitely fill the gap in the market for tourists seeking more than hangovers and wet T-shirts – although the biggest one laughed in our faces. ‘Visitors won’t give a toss about viewing wildlife without free cocktails,’ he declared. I spied Leila admiring new luggage and then chatted over a baklava and coffee. She made me laugh, listened to me talk about London and spoke of her fondness for Grandma. Whether she was planning to travel or not, Leila was a kind-hearted person and helped me keep my resolve to stay away from Niko, because I couldn’t bear the thought of upsetting her.
When I returned to Taxos that afternoon – oh… my… God. Cousin Stefan had put up the wooden sign on the unused side of Sotiropoulos’ taverna.
‘
Pippa’s Pantry
?’ I said, in a choked voice and studied the illustrations of cakes and shells, either side of the words, courtesy of Demetrios. ‘Niko told you?’ Perhaps he wasn’t so cross with me after all.
‘No, Leila mentioned it,’ said Stefan. ‘Niko talked about it to her once – said another possible name was “Shiver me Sandwiches”?’
I caught Stefan’s eye and we smiled. ‘But what about when I’ve gone back to England… if the teashop stays in business, the title won’t make sense.’
‘Georgios and Sophia said you will always be in their hearts and say this is their way of showing it.’
My eyes blinked quickly for a few seconds.
Apparently a couple of the locals had already come by for some takeaway scones. Georgios told us that the Dellis’ animal pen was halfway complete, and Cosmo had cleaned up and serviced some old bikes for his tours. Pandora had made her first batch of turtle cakes, whilst Demetrios already had some ceramic animals in his kiln. I made a quick visit to the pottery to thank him for the drawings on my sign and couldn’t help buying an adorable turtle brooch that Postie’s wife had quickly put together.
Henrik met me back at the villa that night, for dinner. Neither of us spoke much about our day – but we enjoyed an evening dip in the pool and a bottle of red wine.
‘Let’s not forget we’re on holiday, Pips,’ Henrik murmured, after a few glasses. He ran a hand down my cheek and we agreed to have a night out in Kos Town, the following day. After which I fell soundly asleep on the sofa. Monday was an excellent start to the week.
Whereas Tuesday offered more challenges, accompanied by lots of finger drumming and prayers for business to come in. The leaflets were out there – all we could do was wait for the phone to ring. A couple of locals came to the teashop, (squee, Taxos had a teashop!) for a coffee and scone. I loved taking customers’ orders and seeing the looks on their faces when they bit into the food. Two small children ordered the glittery jam scones and I also put crayons and paper out for them. An elderly couple visited and gave me a hearty thumbs up for the roasted pepper and feta cheese ones. In the background I decided to play a CD of traditional Greek string music.
However, the phone in the taverna was decidedly quiet. We became over-excited at one point when it rang – all for nothing as it was just the hospital changing one of Grandma’s appointments. She came in from outside to answer the call herself. How great it was to see her out of bed and enjoying the August sun.
But a little despair did set in, when teatime arrived with no bookings for Georgios’ wildlife tours, nor Niko’s fishing trips and barbecues.
‘No worry,’ Grandma said. ‘This morning’s coffee sediment said all will be well.’
And sure enough, as the sun set the sound of a harmonica floated through the doorway and Cosmo appeared with Demetrios (cherry cravat today), and Pandora who’d dyed her short hair a rich shade of chestnut. All three beamed– a group of six were booked in for a cycle tour the next day, and Demetrios and Pandora each had tourists arriving too – a family who wanted to paint ceramics and a group of young women keen to learn Greek baking skills.
That afternoon I made more scones, as Cosmo, Demetrios and Pandora had promised to spread word of Pippa’s Pantry. Old Mrs Dellis visited, eyes all sparkly, to say that thanks to many neighbours’ help, the pet farm’s pens were built.
In the evening I met Henrik in Kos Town, as agreed, for dinner and we feasted on fried whitebait, drizzled with an amazing lemon sauce. We drank cocktails and danced, me blocking out the fact that in just over a week I had to make a decision about our relationship.
On Wednesday… Hurrah! Bright and early the phone rang! (Okay, so I had a slight hangover, but a couple of painkillers and the walk into Taxos cleared my head). A hotel owner had seen our poster and said several older guests would love a day in Taxos. He rang later with exact numbers – fifteen for Thursday! They wanted to do the birdwatching walk, visit the pottery, have afternoon tea in my shop, plus buy cheese from the Dellis’ farm. Then a group of young men rang up, interested in the fishing trip and barbecue for the next day. And Demetrios stopped by to say he had more bookings for later in the week. During the day some Germans, who’d picked up a leaflet, spontaneously caught the bus here and Cosmo took half of them on a cycle ride, up to the cliff.
They loved the magnificent view of Turkey, apparently marvelling over the wild orchids, and then came back to mine for honey and fig scones. The rest of their group had gone on the birdwatching walk and been thrilled to catch sight of some bee-eaters and buzzards. I quizzed them about their stay in Kos and they said they’d be happy to sign any petition; that variety was the key to a good holiday, and whilst they loved the beach life, Taxos offered a different angle on their vacation. I also promised to make a little girl a special apple strudel – her favourite – if they called again the following week. Plus they were keen to come back to the pottery, and make personalised bowls for their pets.
Sophia kept an eye on the teashop, whilst I visited Pandora. Her cookery class had gone very well. She’d pre-prepared handouts so that people had could take home all the details of what they’d learnt during her lessons. Plus the young women apparently visited the pottery afterwards, and painted various ceramics which they’d pick up next week. I then visited the Dellis family who’d sold several rounds of cheese, and had huge fun teaching an English couple how to milk their goats.
On Thursday, Henrik and I made an effort to have breakfast together. I made a tomato and oregano omelette, whilst he picked apricots and mixed them with yogurt. The unwritten rule continued to hold fast, that we didn’t discuss the detail of our day – after all, we were on opposite sides. But he ironed me a blouse, saying I looked tired. Plus I packed him a fresh lunch, when he said he’d be working all day, at his desk, tying up the details for a small hotel development on the other side of the island.
But Thursday did dampen our spirits a little, as the group of young men weren’t impressed with Niko’s fishing trip. They moaned about the lack of alcohol and were disappointed with the size of fish. They’d expected big rods and didn’t understand the skill in handline fishing. Fortunately no-nonsense Uncle Christos turned up just in time, when they became aggressive and demanded their money back. They seemed determined not to enjoy the barbecue either and complained that they weren’t allowed to smash the plates afterwards, as they’d seen Greeks do in the movies.
On the bright side, the hotel group loved Georgios’ birdwatching walk, where an eagle kindly made an appearance. They also spoke enthusiastically of the ceramic turtles they’d painted at the pottery. I was rushed off my feet at the teashop, and ran out of the cherry and Greek yogurt filled scones. As for Grandma, the tourists couldn’t get enough of her reading their coffee sediment – even if she did predict one broken arm, two divorces and three affairs.
In the evening, a downhearted Niko sat outside on the patio, alone. My heart squeezed as I noted the downturned mouth and drooping shoulders. I went out to join him.
‘Those passengers were fools and not representative of the type of tourist Taxos is bound to attract,’ I said.
He stood, still staring ahead, out to sea. ‘I don’t need your sympathy, Pippa. And what do you really care? This is a financial experiment for you, no? To see if your expertise can really make a difference.’
I gasped and grabbed his arm. He met my gaze. ‘You’re taking this too far,’ I said, voice wobbling. ‘Just because… because we’ve fallen out, there’s no need to make out I am some sort of heartless robot.’
‘Your words, not mine,’ he said and turned back.
Vision blurred, I went back into the taverna. One good thing – the hurt I felt at
his
words made me realise Henrik and me really were over. My feelings for Niko – love, hate, whatever, were driven by passion. I just didn’t feel that for Henrik and if I’m honest, doubted I ever really had. So my answer was “No” and I would tell him, as soon as.
As soon as meant Friday, the next day. Bright and early I got up and drank coffee. Henrik came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. He came over to the breakfast bar and trailed his hand down my back. I was already dressed in shorts and a light, long-sleeved cotton blouse. Despite my protests, Sophia had insisted I was the perfect person to help Niko out on a fishing trip he had booked today, to boost his confidence after yesterday’s disaster. Sophia and Grandma would look after the teashop. Little did she know me and her son were hardly talking.
‘Make sure you apply enough sunscreen,’ Henrik said. ‘We don’t want you fainting again.’
I didn’t answer and took another mouthful of coffee.
His brow furrowed. ‘What’s the matter?’
My glance moved to the velvet blue box on the table. ‘I… I don’t need to wait until next week to give you an answer.’
Henrik sat down and slid the box across the table, to my cup. ‘Pippa?’
My lip wobbled. Deep breaths. ‘I’m so sorry, Henrik, but it’s no.’
His throat expanded briefly, as he swallowed. Those slate eyes glistened. The very core of me twisted tight. This was exactly what I’d wanted to avoid, by coming on holiday alone, so that I could come to a decision before Henrik popped the question. Nothing hurt like rejection, but now I had no choice.
‘What’s brought this on?’ he said in a rough voice. ‘Why suddenly so sure?’
Now I swallowed, unable to double the blow by telling him it really was because of the feelings I had for Niko, that seemed so real. Don’t get me wrong, I knew soon I’d be back in England and that this idyllic life in Taxos… my friendship with Niko… would be no more than a memory. But the depth of feeling for my childhood friend crystallised the fact that Henrik really wasn’t the man for me.
Ironic, isn’t it, because in so many practical ways my Dutch Titan was perfect. But romantic magic was important, right? I didn’t want to settle for a marriage of convenience – even if that convenience was successful and dynamic. And if that sparkle never arrived in my life, at least I’d not be constantly questioning myself. That wouldn’t be fair to Henrik or me. I had work… good friends and family… a life blessed with many positives. Marriage had to be with the right man or not at all and I could cope with that.