Page 36 of Never Too Late to Date

All around her, ancient buildings stood side by side with restaurants and cafés, and the covered stalls on both sides of the street, selling everything from doughnuts to handbags, led the eye all the way up to the majestic Acropolis, keeping its lonely vigil high up on the hill behind.

The smell of frying meat and sizzling herbs mingled with the sound of people chatting, traders calling out their wares and church bells chiming the half hour. It was a feast for the senses. Suzie closed her eyes for a moment.

‘Hey, mate. Watch out!’

Her son’s shout made her open them again quickly as a muscly tourist with an extremely large suitcase, staring at his phone rather than at the street in front of him, almost took her out.

Giannis linked his arm through hers.

‘Can’t leave you alone for a second, can I, Mama?’

Suzie smiled fondly at her oldest child.

‘Thank you for saving me. Let’s have coffee first, then we’ll check in the bags at our hotel, and afterwards…’

His expressive blue eyes narrowed.

‘Afterwards what?’

‘I’ve got a plan.’

‘Oh God, not sure I like the sound of that.’

An hour later, caffeined up, they were stood in front of one of the big red hop-on, hop-off sightseeing buses that lined the road in front of the square.

Giannis’s look of dismay was almost comical.

‘Mama, no! This is for tourists! Not for us.’

Her son’s reserved side made her smile. He was nothing like her, but they got on so well because of and not despite that fact. He was like a foreign country; she could never be quite sure how he’d react, as his thought patterns were so different to hers.

His brother Kostas, on the other hand, was so like her it was crazy, and they argued all the time. Even Panos called them ‘The Twins’. The opposing personalities of her boys meant she’d never had to push Giannis to do his homework or worry about where he was in the early hours once he reached the teenage years. On the contrary, her job had always been to lighten him up a bit, a job she was still trying to do.

Suzie handed him one of the tickets she’d just bought.

‘Oh, go on, indulge me. We haven’t done this since you and Kosta were little.’

‘Yes, exactly, since we were little.’

‘Don’t be mean. I’m just thrilled to have some time alone with my big boy.’

Giannis frowned.

‘Please don’t call me that in public.’

‘OK, grumpy. Up to the top deck with you. Hopefully we can get a seat right at the front.’

Giannis handed his ticket to the driver and stamped up the stairs, behaving exactly like the six-year-old he’d been when they last did this. Suzie was thrilled her son had agreed to come on tour with her. He needed a break as well. But now they were finally here in Greece’s capital city, far away from their sleepy little island, it had started to feel all too real.

They had a few hours free this afternoon before rehearsals in the morning and her first performance tomorrow evening. Just the thought of it had her stomach in a knot. What the hell did she think she was doing? How could she possibly get up on stage and sing after all these years? The thought that people were paying good money to hear her made it worse.

Yes, she’d put in plenty of practice over the last couple of weeks, but her audience had been a few sheep, a goat and a donkey. And occasionally Vicky, when she could get away from the sanctuary. It wasn’t exactly conclusive. But she couldn’t pull out now, much as part of her wanted to.

Frank the promoter would never forgive her, for one thing, after begging her to come. Professional pride wouldn’t allow her to throw in the towel, and the money would come in very handy. Focus on the money was the mantra she needed to repeat over and over again.

Distraction was the name of the game until the moment her name was called and she had to step on stage in front of an audience. This bus ride should while away a few hours. And at least she’d finally got rid of her horrific hangover from yesterday’s Easter celebrations. It had taken most of the day to shift, and her stomach had still rolled ominously on the ferry. She wasn’t a big drinker, which is why she’d got so stonkingly trollied, or that’s what she was telling herself.

Admittedly, no one had forced her to stay at Angeliki and Nick’s till nearly midnight, knowing she had to leave for Athens early the next day. Thankfully, Vicky had texted her to say she’d got home safely, after Suzie had watched her go off into the night with the irritable vet.