Page 30 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

She held out the necklace, and Eirini peered at it, a frown blowing quickly over features, there for the smallest moment and then gone. ‘Yes, pretty,’ she said, smiling. But something in her expression felt closed, and Nina wasn’t sure if she disapproved somehow.

There was no chance to ask as the children and Theo ran towards the sea, and were soon jumping over the waves that lapped the shore. Theo had abandoned his shoes halfway up the beach and had rolled up his trousers, but was soon soaked through, squealing with laughter as he and the children splashed each other.

‘You’re a big kid, Baba,’ she said, holding up her skirt and paddling next to him, enjoying the cool wash of the sea against her hot skin and the slow shifting of sand beneath her feet as each wave retreated.

‘Reminds me of when I was small, being here. Every summer I would come and stay with Costas and Penelope. I’d spend my summers causing trouble with Yiannis, or getting into mischief with Sofia and making Maria mad.’ He chuckled, his shoulders shaking, his expression full of glee, and Nina could see that cheeky boy in him even now.

‘Sounds like fun,’ she said.

He laughed, and for a moment all the careworn lines and creases in his face were gone. ‘It was, oh we would scramble all over this place.’ He waved his arm vaguely towards the mountains that rose behind.

‘Will you show me?’

She shaded her eyes to watch his reaction. He hesitated, taking in a breath and kicking at the clear water. ‘Now?’

‘Yes.’

She felt his reluctance, and waited as something battled inside him. ‘Ah, it’s all in the past.’ He waved a hand, as though batting away the memories. ‘But I suppose . . . if you want to –’

‘Great!’ Nina jumped in delight, seawater splashing up her legs, and kissed his cheek. He laughed.

‘Okay, okay, if it makes you this happy.’

‘Come on then,’ she said, taking his hand and dragging him from the water before he changed his mind. ‘See you later,’ she called to Eirini.

Eirini, who was standing calf-deep in the sea, holding up her skirt in one hand and bending to admire a shell Epikos was showing her, waved in response. ‘You want that drink later?’

Nina’s stomach turned at the thought. She pulled a face. ‘No drink for me tonight. Another day maybe? I’ll come to the café and we can arrange it?’

Eirini, already distracted by the children, nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the village and beyond, Nina following where Theo led, as they walked through the market in the village square where he and Yiannis would hide under the stalls, reaching up unseen to steal ripe peaches and juicy oranges. Usually unseen, at least, though he often came home with a smacked hand and a ticking off. He showed her where they would race crabs up the shore and watch them fight at night, and the best wall to find little lizards basking in the midday heat, describing how Sofia was the bravest of them all, fearing nothing, and how she would let lizards, crabs and spiders scuttle up her bare arms or crawl through her hair. He showed her where the bees nested and told her how they had watched them swarm, a great buzzing mass of them, lifting and landing in a cloud, and then moving on again. And Nina’s imagination was rich with images of a young Theo, small and solid and with the same cheeky expression he wore now, scampering carefree with his friends, delighting in the trouble they caused.

They walked, slowly and sipping their water in the sinking heat of the afternoon, up to the mountains where Theo and his friends had scrambled as children, resting at the top, watching the white tips of waves frothing far below. Nina smiled, picturing them sprawled on the spiky grass among the wild goats that roamed there, hot and content together. For a fleeting moment, she imagined climbing the rockface, could almost feel the heave and stretch of her limbs as she reached for the next crevice, could almost feel the slide of rope in her chalked palms. She’d brought her kit with her, hoping for a chance to take up this hobby again. One day she would come back and do some bouldering.

Theo gazed out at the view, hands on hips, squinting against the sun. His expression was unreadable. He’d opened up to her more today than he ever had, sharing his childhood home and adventures in a way that he’d always avoided in the past.

‘Baba,’ she said, following his gaze out to sea and keeping her voice light. ‘Did you bring Mum here? To see the view, maybe, did she come here?’

He didn’t react at all and yet she felt the shock reverberate through him. He remained totally still, hands on hips, eyes squinting. Frozen.

She waited.

‘Well,’ he said, rocking back on his heels and shoving his hands in his pockets. ‘Getting late and getting hungry! Time to go. We’ll talk about this another time, maybe.’

He marched off, at a speed that Nina thought was too fast for an old man on a steep slope. She said nothing, still reeling from the disappointment of his avoidance yet again, and wondering whether this ‘other time’ when he finally spoke about her mum would ever come.

Swallowing down her feelings, she trudged after him. She didn’t know whether his refusal to talk about Clare came from his own grief, or a fear of hurting Nina with a reminder of all they’d lost. As if she ever forgot. But either way, she knew it came from love of one sort or another, and she couldn’t be too angry with him. He’d opened up more today than he ever had, and that could only be a good sign, she determined. One day, he would talk about her mum. And it would be one day soon.

It had better be.

Sighing, she caught up with him and slid her arm through his. ‘It’s all right, Baba,’ she said softly. ‘You don’t have to run away.’

He said nothing, but patted her hand as he slightly slowed his pace.

Nina tried to hold on to the joy of the day, but Theo was quiet as they walked, and she could feel the sobering of his mood. Matters weren’t helped as they approached the house, hot, tired and thirsty now, by Maria storming out onto the path to confront them. Well, hobbling was a more accurate description, Nina thought, but the expression on Maria’s face and the jagged way she moved clearly showed that the intention was to storm.

‘Oh, now you come, do you?’ she asked, stopping in front of them and blocking the path, arms folded.