Page 84 of Never Too Late to Date

‘Ah, yes, of course.’

Alex’s face was tinged with red when he came to join her. They stood a moment and just watched the sleeping animals curled up together at the bottom of the trolley. Dolly was still worn out by her ordeal and spent quite a large part of the day dozing. The little dog’s sleeping position reminded her a lot of the way Tasha had looked whenever she dropped off at a moment’s notice.

Memories of herself and Ian as new parents, leaning over the cot obsessively watching their daughter to check she was still breathing, surfaced unexpectedly. Vicky swallowed and pushed them down again. If she had a newborn experience again, it would be as a grandmother, not a mother. Her fertile years were long gone.

Whereas the man standing next to her could still meet someone and father children. He obviously had a lot of love to give once you got under that crusty exterior. Fifty wasn’t too old to become a dad, in her opinion, but the difference in their potential options when it came to fertility was a sobering thought.

Why was she thinking about Alex’s potential to father children? She didn’t know him well enough to ask him if he even wanted to be a dad. It was none of her business. She’d have liked at least another child herself, but it wasn’t to be. But she’d had the joy of watching her precious daughter grow into a lovely young woman, even though she was so far away now on the other side of the world.

Dolly stirred in her sleep and let out a little whimper, which shook Vicky out of her musings on female fertility and the power of Mother Nature.

Alex moved back a step too.

‘I think those two will be fine here until you finish for lunch.’

‘Yes, I’ll move them out of the sun.’

‘And you’re still on for another patrol the night after next? Angeliki’s here for the next two days, so you won’t see me until then.’

‘Shame.’

Although she showed him a turned-down mouth, she had to admit she’d got used to him being around. She no longer dreaded the announcement that it was Alex’s turn to volunteer. She wasn’t quite sure when the turnaround had happened, but at least it made no difference to her working day which vet was on call now.

‘I’m sure you can cope. Bring the usual…’

‘Torch, rucksack, water, I know.’

‘I’ll provide the coffee. I can’t drink the stuff you serve here. See you then.’

Vicky gave him a thumbs-up and rushed to complete the rest of her tasks. She’d agreed to meet Suzie when she clocked off, to catch up on the latest instalment of her friend’s woes.

A bar high up at the back of the town was the venue for their lunch. It was in the old quarter, full of churches and steps. Vicky climbed up yet another flight of white-painted steps between narrow walls. Now they were in June, she really needed her sun hat and cream if she wasn’t to turn into a leathery lizard woman.

Some of the houses had little terraces, painted a variety of blues and pastel colours, where elderly ladies in black greeted each other across the divide. Cats of all colours and sizes passed her by as she went even higher, sometimes deigning to stop and be stroked. It gave her something of a breather too; this was a real workout, no leisurely stroll through the back alleys, but Suzie had assured her the view was worth it at the end.

A tiny square dominated by a large olive tree and a couple of shops selling local produce from honey to organic wine showed her she was in the right place. It couldn’t be far now. She’d stop on the way back down and buy some of the thyme honey. There were hives all over the island, especially in the more rural areas, rows of neat little boxes cutting lines into the hills, their roofs painted in a kaleidoscope of colours to signify ownership. And although the local honey wasn’t cheap, it was a mile away from the mass-produced stuff they sold in the shops in Britain. Whatever the bees had been feasting on, be it orange blossom, lavender or heather, came through strongly, and the taste was heavenly. Just the thought of honey on thickly buttered toast had her stomach rumbling.

Vicky checked her phone again. Two minutes’ walk. A sharp turn to the left and she was in front of a café with tables and chairs painted in bright colours, blues and greens mixed in with reds and yellows, all set out on a terrace. It was very picturesque, but the view was mainly of other houses in the square.

Suzie suddenly appeared at the foot of a set of stairs set back from the restaurant area.

‘Hi.’

She pointed skywards.

‘We’re up here.’

Vicky followed her friend up and stepped out onto a roof terrace with a view to die for. It was a panoramic tapestry that took in the ships out at sea, the harbour, the white houses tumbling down the hill, the churches on the twin peaks either side of the town, and the shops and restaurants below them. She could literally see for miles.

‘Wow!’

Suzie took her hand and led her over to a table for two right at the front.

‘Wow indeed. It’s my guaranteed surprise venue.’

Vicky couldn’t take her eyes off the town below.

‘And you’d never even know it was here.’