My Greek SEAL (16 page)

The Greek people have faced so much hardship recently it seems so unfair that these island people have to endure this tragedy. Even though I’m an outsider looking in, it still hurts to see these broken houses and the evidence of so many shattered lives. How will they rebuild their homes?

I try to picture myself living in this small fishing village. Could I really leave my old life behind and live in Greece? Could I ever fit in? I don’t speak the language or know the customs. As I listen to Eros and Helena converse, I feel a strange hollow loneliness. Like they have something in common that I want to share, but can’t. It’s not only because I don’t speak the language, but also because I don’t understand the Greek culture.

As if sensing my discomfort, Eros reaches for my hand. “I know this is hard for you, Maya. But one day soon this will end. I will get you safely to the mainland so you can return safely to your America.”

He’s affirming what makes sense—me returning home once this ends. He’s willing to let me go since he thinks that’s what I want. Or maybe he knows now that us long term could never work. I burst into tears, surprised by my outburst. Not one cell in my brain can stand to think of letting him go.

Eros wraps me in his arms and pulls me tight against his chest. His breath blows warm on my cheek. “My dear Maya, why are you so upset?”

I wipe tears from my eyes. “I don’t know. I just...” I won’t say I can’t leave him. He can’t think I’m the clingy woman he can’t get rid of.

“Please talk to me. I want to listen.”

“I know I’m saying too much, but I don’t want to think about leaving, about not being here with you.”

He looks at me and then glances away. “It’s okay, Maya. I don’t want to think about that either. I don’t know why I said that. It was very bad of me. I suppose I said that because I wanted to see your reaction. I wanted to see if you could walk away from us very easily.” His gaze meets mine again and he reaches out to stroke my face. There’s so much intensity and emotion in how he’s looking at me. I could never forget those big brown eyes.

“Of course I couldn’t. You must know that.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. We will have much to talk about later.”

“Yes, we will.” My voice sounds like a whisper or a breath of wind. I suddenly remember we’re not alone. Helena must think we’re crazy. I untangle myself from his embrace. I clear my throat and try to speak in a normal tone-of-voice. “Please tell her I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I will tell her. And I’m sorry that what I said was so insensitive.” He reaches for my hand and gives it an assuring squeeze.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I stop and gasp in horror when I first glimpse the worst destruction. Rooftops of buildings poke up from the murky water, boats lay on their sides, battered and mostly underwater. Plastic containers, window awnings, fragments of wood, roofing material and even mattresses float in the water. People stand near the edge of the flood, hunched over and weeping, calling out to missing loved ones. A feeling of despair washes over me.

Helena starts to wail and point.

“What is it?” I ask.

“She sees her husband’s boat. It is the pale blue one with the white wooden deck laying on its side.”

“Oh, no.” The boat is mostly submerged and more than half of the exposed side has been crushed. Is there any chance Helena’s husband survived? I wonder what became of the
Ionian Goddess
? Is she beaten and broken like this. Maybe she’s lying on the bottom of the sea.

Helena speaks to Eros in an urgent, desperate voice. He tells me she can’t swim. She wants to know if one of us can find a boat to see if he is still alive. Eros speaks to her and then to me. There are no usable boats here. Swimming to him is our only option.

The broken boat bobbing helplessly in the water is at least fifty yards from where we’re standing. Between here and there, the water is saturated with wreckage. It will be like swimming an obstacle course. “You can’t swim out there,” I say. “There’s too much debris out there. Don’t you think he’s already dead?”

“It’s very possible, of course, but often when boats sink, they trap pockets of air people can breathe for a while. I want to make sure.”

“I don’t want you to go out there.”

“It’s the only way.”

I gaze at the water. If he can keep from getting snagged by floating debris, he’ll be fine. This isn’t open ocean. The water in this submerged area is quite calm. Still...I don’t like the idea of him swimming out there alone. I plant my hands on my hips. “Fine. But I’m going with you.”

“No, Maya. You must stay on dry ground where it’s safe.”

“I won’t just stand here and let you swim out there alone.”

Eros’ jaw muscles tighten as he frowns. “This is not a good idea at all. You are not trained for water rescue. If someone is drowning, they will grab you and pull you under. I can’t have that happening to you.”

“But you know I’m a strong swimmer and you shouldn’t go out there by yourself!”

Helena speaks in a loud desperate voice.

Eros sighs and shakes his head. “We are wasting time that we do not have. If you must go, then do it.” He turns to Helena and speaks to her.

She responds with more tears and desperate pleas.

Eros places a hand on her shoulder and speaks in a consoling voice before turning to me. “That boat will sink at any moment. Please swim right beside me and keep your head raised so you can hear me give any instructions and so you can watch out for debris around you. One rope attached to a sinking object could pull you to the bottom.”

“I promise to be careful.”

“Let’s go.”

“Do you want your reef shoes back?”

“Keep them. You might need those shoes if there is broken glass or other sharp objects on the bottom. But you could still get hurt. Please stand only where you can see what’s below you.”

“Sounds good.”

Eros pulls his goggles over his eyes and strides like an agile athlete toward the water. I follow him and soon I’m submerged in the eerie, debris-ridden water. This swim feels much different than our last one. My heart is racing and instead of looking through a clear lens of crystal, I’m looking through a powdery white mist. I raise my head since my underwater view is completely obscured. I feel the scrape of something drag across one of my thighs. “Ouch,” I cry out as a chunk of wood slices into my upper arm. I swim past a straw hat, a soggy pillow, an empty water bottle. A wave of anxiety washes over me. What if I swim into a body? Maybe the squishy thing my hand hit a minute ago was one of them. Oh, my God. I gasp and inhale a mouthful of water. Relax, I say to myself. I try to slow my breathing and not think about what’s in the water around me. We’re almost there. Just a few more strokes.

We tread water beside the hull of the boat.

Before I have a chance to say anything, Eros speaks in a stern voice. “I’m going to dive down inside the boat to see if I can find him. Please stay out here.” He pushes a floating mattress toward me. “Hold onto that so you don’t get tired.”

There’s no way he should go into that about-to-sink boat. “The boat is sinking. What if it pulls you down?”

“It will be okay, Maya. Even if it does, I’ve been free diving in water hundreds of feet deep before. This water isn’t that deep. I will be able to get out. Will you promise to stay here?”

I hang off of one side of the mattress and kick my feet to maintain my position in the water. I grind my teeth together, feeling frustrated. He’s going to do this crazy rescue whether I like it or not. “Where else would I go?”

“I don’t know, but I want you to be careful.”

Horrible thoughts race through my mind. I try to think about this whole mess being over, about anything except this man I care about so much being trapped under a sinking boat. “You, too, Eros. I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt or worse.”

“Maya, please don’t worry. I will be back, but now I must go.” He spins away from me, does a surface dive and disappears into the open gash in the boat.

I cling to the mattress and stare at the turbulent water where Eros just disappeared. Bubbles rise to the surface. The water calms and still he doesn’t surface. I wait. And wait. Damn it. Hercules wouldn’t be able to hold his breath this long.

The water surrounding me is like a watery graveyard. Floating everywhere are remnants of peoples’ lives. Pillows, mattresses, chairs, tables, clothing and even toys. I hear a splash and whirl around. The sound’s coming from behind me, not where I expect Eros to surface. Still, I plead, “Please let it be him,” to God. If only He could be listening and help us now. Instead of Eros, I see a boy who looks about three-years-old clinging to a chunk of wood.

His hair is a mass of dark curls and his dark eyes widen when he sees me. He cries out in Greek. In his excitement, he bounces up higher on the waterlogged piece of wood, but it isn’t buoyant enough to support his weight and he plunges into the water.

“Just a minute.” I know I promised Eros I wouldn’t go anywhere, but he would understand if he knew what was happening. I can’t leave this little boy to drown. And I have a flotation device with me—what I was trained to extend to a struggling swimmer.

I use the mattress like a kickboard, propelling it toward the boy. If I can get him to climb on top, he’ll be safe until Eros emerges. I wonder again what’s taking him so long. I’m not wearing a watch, but I’m almost sure he’s been down for more than four minutes. I know his Navy training prepared him for breath holding and brushes with death, but still...His lungs aren’t the best and how many years has it been since his last mission?

I swim the mattress up alongside the boy and motion for him to grab onto it. He says more words I don’t understand and then clutches the edge of the mattress with his chubby fingers. I push him up on top of the mattress. He stretches out on his belly and braces himself on his elbows. A trace of a smile turns up the corners of his mouth and he gazes at me with tear-filled eyes.

I know he won’t understand me, but I speak to him anyway. I point to myself and then to the partly submerged boat. “I’m Maya. I will take you to my friend and then we’ll all go to shore.” I finish my sentence pointing toward shore, feeling helpless over my inability to communicate.

“Petros,” he says.

I flutter kick behind the mattress, steering it toward the sinking boat. It lurches and makes a gurgling sound. “No.” I kick frantically to get there faster.

The stern of the boat is now completely submerged. The boat is pitched upward, so only the bow is visible. The gurgling noise gets louder as the boat slowly sinks and then disappears. “Oh, no,” I cry out in despair. “I’m too late.”

I hear a scream. It has to be Helena. Oh, God, now what do I do? Will Eros be able to escape the sinking boat like he said he could?

Petros looks at me with wide, sad eyes. He knows I’m distressed. I should probably take him back to shore now. There’s nothing I can do for Eros right now anyway.

Suddenly, I feel a tug at my foot. A hand trying to grab me. I try to kick my foot free and cling tighter to the mattress. Hands close around both of my legs, pulling me down. The last thing I hear before my head dips underwater is Petros’ cry of alarm. In a panic I blow out all my air. I hold my breath, feeling like my lungs are going to burst. I gaze up toward the surface of the water that I’m desperate to get back to. It’s only inches away. If only I could get there. I claw for the surface with my hand, but the hands holding me down climb up my body. The man I briefly see pushes me under even further, using me as a life raft. Why can’t he see the mattress? It would help him float better than me. Now both of us are going to die.

I thrash around and try to push him off, but I can’t move him, he’s too strong. The lack of oxygen makes me dizzy. My head feels like it’s turning somersaults. This will be my last swim, I think as my brain fogs and my thinking becomes confused. I think about Eros. Is he drowning, too? I think about little Petros, sprawled out on the mattress looking at me so expectantly. How will he get to land without me? Maybe once I drown, this man on top of me will get to him, too.

No. I won’t give up. Peering through the cloudy water, I clench my fist and punch where I think the man’s head is. My hand swings through only water. Damn. I kick furiously and swing again with a fist. It strikes something hard. His head I hope. I strike again and again and again until pink blood tinges the water. The man releases his grasp on my shoulders. I fight my way to the surface and once my head is finally free of my watery, would-be grave, I gasp and sputter.

Petros cries out to me and I swim toward him. Once I’m leaning on the mattress, spent and hyperventilating, he throws his arms around my neck and lays his head on mine.

“It’s okay, Petros. It’s okay.” I reach up and hug him back. The boy must be so scared. I wonder where his mother is.

Petros releases me from his tight hug. I glance back at the man lying face down in the water. Did I kill him? Hurting him wasn’t my intention, but he nearly drowned me. I look around and see a life jacket from a boat floating. Maybe I could toss that to him.

“I’ll be right back,” I say to the boy.

He shouts in distress as I swim toward the life jacket. I grab it and push it toward the man, prodding him in the head with it. He raises his head. His nose and mouth are bloody. As he reaches for the life jacket, I hear a sudden shout.

“What are you doing, Maya?”

I turn away from the man clinging to the life jacket. Eros is swimming sidestroke, tugging along a limp man in a cross-chest carry. I won’t tell him about the man pulling me under. He would totally freak out. “You were gone so long and then this boy was in trouble.”

Eros releases the man he’s rescued and heaves him up on the mattress beside Petros. The man isn’t unconscious, but his face is sheet white and he’s too weak to help. He groans and coughs. Eros says a few words to the man and to Petros and then swims toward me. He grips me by the shoulders and then kisses both of my cheeks and then my lips. “I knew I could not trust you to stay out of trouble.”