Page 10 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

Maria’s face immediately shifted from smile to scowl. She tutted loudly. ‘What, this? Nothing, a little mishap. Very fine to do anything, thank you, and I have my grandson Yiorgos helping if I need –’

Theo lifted his hands in resignation, his shoulders shaking as he chuckled. ‘Yes, yes. You’re right as rainbows. Come on, Antheia, let’s go.’

Maria’s scowl deepened. ‘Thought you said her name was Nina?’

‘It is,’ Nina said. ‘He just calls me that sometimes.’

Maria rolled her eyes and tutted again. ‘Silly boy, calling your daughter two names. Confusing.’

Nina couldn’t help but smirk, hearing her sixty-five-year-old dad referred to as a silly boy. His mischievous grin did nothing to alleviate the impression that Maria was right.

‘You’ve been very kind,’ Nina said, following Theo out as Maria hobbled after them. ‘Perhaps – perhaps I can get you a coffee or something at the café one day? To say thank you?’

Maria glowered. ‘Pfft, the café, why would I need that? I have coffee at home. You’re not in the city now.’

Disappointed, Nina turned away, but on the doorstep Maria grasped Nina’s wrist, a grudging smile on her face. There was something sharp and light in the old woman’s eyes that made Nina suspect there was much more to her than a grumpy, limping old lady. ‘You come for coffee here instead, yes? Tomorrow. Leave your baba behind. Ladies together.’

She nodded, and turned away. Nina had the distinct impression that the meeting had been arranged without any say-so from her, and she could not miss it. Not that she had any intention of missing it, she thought, as she hurried after Theo.

He shook his head as they walked into the shady coolness of their own home. ‘Watch out for that one.’

‘She seems all right,’ Nina said, carrying the sheets upstairs.

Theo followed her. They had already chosen a bedroom each, and took their own bedding through to their respective rooms.

‘Just watch, is all I’m saying.’

He shook his head, puffing out his cheeks and widening his eyes in a dramatic expression of relief. ‘We nearly woke the monster there.’

‘Beast, Baba.’

‘This is what I said.’

Chapter Five

Nina’s usual evening scrolling had been curtailed; they must get a router as soon as they could. She didn’t want to use all her data. Without the usual distractions provided by Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest, not to mention shopping sites, she thought she wouldn’t sleep, her mind obsessing over Sam and Mags or bubbling with worries over jobs and the state of the house in Kefalonia.

She went out like a switched-off Vitra lamp, sprawled under Maria’s crisp cotton sheets, the bed surprisingly comfy. Perhaps it was the sea air creeping in through the holes in the roof, or simply exhaustion from travelling, but her mind felt as clean and clear as the Kefalonia sky. She woke refreshed and calm, luxuriating in the feeling of being recharged as she stretched and listened to the lapping of waves and the call of seagulls, and very deliberately not thinking about her cheating ex-boyfriend and lying ex-friend. Splinters of butter-yellow sunlight slipped between the cracks in the shutters, ribboning the floorboards she and Theo had brushed and mopped the day before.

This was the first real day of her holiday, and she was going to make the most of it. Theo was still in bed, but she was ready to start her day. Quietly she crept through the creaky house, washing and dressing, fixing her hair and makeup.

Maria hadn’t suggested a time for their coffee, but she nodded when she found Nina on her doorstep just before nine, stepping aside to let her in.

‘There’s a goat in your garden,’ Nina said, pointing to the little creature that stood happily munching on one of Maria’s potted plants. It looked suspiciously similar to the one that had been in the village square the day before.

‘Yes, this is Milo,’ Maria said, shrugging and giving her a hard stare, as though she was having to explain something very obvious to someone very stupid. ‘You chose a good time for coffee. Suppose you want breakfast, too. Yes?’

‘Oh – I wouldn’t want to put you out.’ At home she barely ate breakfast, just a quick bite of fruit before dashing to work, taking her cup of coffee with her and drinking it on the way. But now, her stomach rumbled, and Maria sniffed.

‘In you come,’ she said. ‘I’m making bougatsa.’

A Greek food Nina wasn’t familiar with, unusually. It wasn’t one of Theo’s regular recipes. But the kitchen smelled of butter and milk and sugar, and she found her mouth watering as she followed Maria in. The room was immaculate, a scrubbed wooden table at the centre with a vase of poppies on it and a large oven with gas rings at the side.

‘Do you need any help?’ she asked, eyeing Maria’s injured foot.

‘Oh this thing?’ Maria asked, glancing down, staring for a moment as though she was surprised to find the boot still there. ‘No, all fine. My grandson helped me, they’re just ready to come out of the oven now.’ She gave Nina a shrewd look as she glanced over her shoulder, balancing carefully with her injured leg sticking out as she opened the oven and used a tea towel to pull a tray from it. ‘Your timing is good, yes?’

‘Very good.’ Nina hovered, afraid that the fragile old lady would overbalance and fall, breaking another bone. ‘How did you do it?’ she asked, cocking her head to one side in sympathy as she imagined Maria tripping in the street and doing herself harm, or falling in her kitchen and waiting for hours, bruised and scared, until someone came to help her.