Page 46 of Never Too Late to Date

‘Got to go, see you tomorrow.’

Alex just nodded and went off in the direction of the kitchen.

A long morning with Graham telling her about his beloved MG car he’d had to leave behind, his worries over whether his neighbour would look after it properly, his road trips in said car to Cornwall and why his ex-wife didn’t understand him, and she was longing to finish and go for a swim. Only another few minutes.

Now they were well into May, the temperatures were up in the mid-twenties, which was a treat for any Brit, but apart from the odd diehard swimmer, the Greeks were still wary of going anywhere near the sea. Angeliki threw up her hands in horror every time Vicky admitted to going for a dip. The warm waters of July were more the vet’s speed. Dire warnings about catching a cold weren’t going to put her off though.

Vicky waded in up to her calves. It wasn’t exactly warm, but it was nothing compared to what the English Channel or indeed the Irish Sea outside the window of her flat in Crosby would be like at this time of the year. She pushed off the bottom and into the welcoming arms of the sea, swimming straight out for a few minutes before turning onto her back to float and soothe away the stress of having to be polite to Graham all morning. It wasn’t the animals that taxed her patience at the sanctuary; it was the humans.

Bolting awake, Vicky glanced at her phone. Ten minutes to go until the alarm went off. It was one of her party tricks. If she had a particular timeframe, she always woke up just before. It used to freak Ian out.

Dressed and ready with her rucksack on her back, she was annoyed to see Alex already waiting for her in the courtyard. She was always the early one. Ian could comfortably be relied on to be at least twenty minutes late to anything. Why was her ex-husband inserting himself into her thoughts all of a sudden? She’d have to put a stop to that. What Ian thought or did really wasn’t her concern any longer, thank goodness.

Alex put his finger to his lips, which irritated her further. What did he think she was going to do? Start shouting her head off?

He beckoned to her to follow him, and switched on his torch, indicating to her to do the same. They walked in single file for a hundred metres or so to the first of the stone walls that bordered the property. Alex rested back against the wall and killed his torch.

‘Can you see OK?’

‘Are you asking me about my eyesight?’

At least it had produced a smile.

‘No, but we’ll be a lot more effective if we don’t have two obvious beams of light telling the poisoner we’re here.’

‘Yes, I do realise that. It was a joke.’

‘Maybe something was lost in translation.’

Switching off her own torch, Vicky stuck out her tongue, confident he couldn’t see her.

‘We should have enough moonlight to navigate by. Follow closely behind me, and if you see anything strange, tug on my jacket.’

Vicky saluted his back.

‘OK?’

‘Yes, OK.’

Keeping the stone wall on their left, Vicky looked around her as they began the tour of the limits of the sanctuary. Gradually her eyes focused, and it was surprising how much she could see. Every now and again, they’d come across a cat, sometimes asleep, but more usually awake, two amber eyes shining in the gloom. Vicky bent down to stroke a few, but falling behind obviously wasn’t an option, as Alex would wait for a few moments, with what she was sure was a condescending look on his face, before moving off again.

The moon had created a silver pathway on the sea, pointing towards the horizon, the light bouncing off the flat surface. There was absolutely no wind, and the steel-grey water was totally flat without even a ripple to disturb the scene. In any other circumstances it could be considered romantic, mused Vicky. But that certainly wasn’t the vibe here.

The aromas rising from under their feet as they trod their path were distinct and heightened in the early morning air. Curry plant and wild garlic were just two she could identify immediately. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes to try and work out what some of the other scents were but hit a wall of muscle she wasn’t expecting. Alex turned round, and she had no trouble mistaking his annoyance in the silvery light.

‘What on earth are you doing?’

His voice was a whisper, but he didn’t sound pleased. She could just as well be asking why he’d stopped still in the middle of her path?

‘Closing my eyes to work out which plants we’re treading on. Why did you stop like that?’

‘I’d just passed a rabbit hole and was worried you might fall down it.’

‘Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.’

As soon as she’d said the words, she did just that, put her foot into said hole and lurched to one side, only prevented from falling by Alex grabbing her round the waist.

As he pulled her back upright, they were virtually nose to nose for a moment. He moved away quickly, like he’d been stung. What was wrong with the guy that he was so worried about human interaction?