AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Nineteen
When Suzie sat on the balcony the next day, cradling her cup of peppermint tea, she realised she hadn’t felt so calm and carefree for a long time. A feeling of intense gratitude swept over her as she appreciated how fortunate she was to be sitting there, in the early morning sunshine, surrounded by such natural and architectural beauty. If the view was a painting, its composition would be perfect and she tried hard to fix the image in her mind’s eye so it would remain there forever, available in her memory to brighten those days when the bulbous grey skies descended on Blossomwood Bay in the winter months.
But it wasn’t just her surroundings that had changed, her internal monologue had, too. The constant ticker tape of blame that sapped her self-confidence had, if not vanished, certainly retreated to the seats at the back of the auditorium instead of heckling her from the front row. She slept better, enjoying pleasant dreams featuring endless blue skies, glossy white yachts, and frilly pink bougainvillea in the place of grim nightmares in which she always seemed to be running away from something dark and dangerous. And because she was well rested, her energy levels were higher, which in turn meant she could do more, and being busy prevented negative thoughts from taking over.
However, much as she would like to, she couldn’t spend all day soaking up the sun’s rays; she had a class to prepare for! It was only ten a.m. and Katerina had already sent her a text to inform her that, if she was interested, several of the people who had taken her pencil sketching class in the summer had responded enthusiastically to her suggestion of a week-long class in watercolours, which would also include a short demonstration in the art of silversmithing.
She was excited and nervous in equal measure, but her appreciation for Katerina’s kind gesture outweighed any deep-seated urge to refuse her offer, so excitement won out. She was looking forward to the change in direction from working in self-imposed isolation, to sharing her skills and knowledge with others, and before she did anything, she intended to call her mum for some tips on delivering an interesting and stimulating class, something her mum was an expert on.
She finished the last dribble of her tea and had just pushed back her chair to head to the kitchenette to wash the mug and place it in its allocated space in the cupboard above the sink, when a flash of light caught her eye. She glanced across to the terrace of the luxury villa next door – which had been empty for the last couple of weeks – her heart skipping a beat when she saw someone standing there, an expensive camera held aloft, taking photographs.
To her surprise, and consternation, it looked like he was pointing his lens not at the caldera, but in the direction of her balcony, and even more disconcertingly, there was something familiar about him, too. With a jolt of surprise, she realised that he looked very much like the ginger-haired guy from that taverna the previous night, the one everyone had referred to as “Captain Ted”.
Her hackles rose, and her spidey sense told her something wasn’t quite right.
She abandoned her mug and rushed through the French doors into the safety of the apartment, confused and bewildered that the glow of positivity she had felt just a few moments ago could vanish so quickly and she was forced to conclude that, sadly, she had not made as much progress in changing her mindset as she had previously thought. Her suspicion sprites were clearly alive and well and dancing a jig in her chest, causing her mouth to feel dry and her breath to come in rapid spurts.
Making sure the shutters were firmly closed, she took a quick shower, hoping that would help, but it didn’t. She still felt unnerved by what she had seen, although she admitted that she was in no way certain that it was the man from the taverna. She dressed quickly, and descended the wooden stairs to the gallery, where she was shocked to find Katerina hunched over the desk, her shoulders shaking, her coffee cup untouched.
‘Kat? What’s wrong?’
When Katerina looked up and Suzie saw her puffy red eyes, she rushed forward to wrap her arms around her. Seeing the distress on her friend’s face caused all thought of her own anxieties about the unwelcome and intrusive photographer to fly straight from her mind.
‘I’ve just come from the taverna.’
‘Ok… kay.’
‘Stefanos was there serving breakfast, so I thought… well, after last night, it was the right time to… to talk to him, to tell him how I feel about him. Giorgos wasn’t around, so I nipped behind the bar to make myself a coffee – sort of caffeinated Dutch Courage, I suppose – then headed into the kitchen and…’
Katerina paused to dash away her tears and blow her nose. Suzie simply waited for her to continue, giving her the time and space to get her thoughts in order without pressurising her to explain what had caused such uncharacteristic upset.
‘Well, Stefanoswasin the kitchen, but he wasn’t cooking omelettes, and he wasn’t alone either. I was so surprised that I let the door slam behind me, which caused him to break off from hisverypassionate embrace with an attractive brunette in a pair of tight-fitting zebra-print leggings and fuchsia-pink cropped top. You should have seen the joy on his face, Suzie. If Giorgos hadn’t chosen that moment to join us, I think I would have crumbled to the floor from the shock.’
Suzie thought she knew the answer to her next question, but she had to ask.
‘Do you know who she was?’
‘According to Giorgos, it’s Stefanos’ ex-fiancée, Maria. Apparently, it didn’t work out with Stefanos’ cousin in Mykonos, so she’s come back to ask Stefanos to give her another chance. Of course, I don’t have to be a mastermind on the subject of romance to know what his answer was. Don’t get me wrong, I knew he still had feelings for her, and I’m happy for him, I really am, but after last night… I thought… I thought he was ready to move on. It seems I was wrong.’
A fresh set of tears trickled down Katerina’s cheeks.
‘I’m sorry, Kat.’
‘Thanks, Suzie. It might take a bit of time, but I’ll be fine.’ Katerina inhaled a deep breath, pushed back her shoulders, and sat up straighter in her chair, forcing a smile onto her lips, which, despite her anguish, were still perfectly outlined in a glossy peach colour. ‘Anyway, how are things with you? You looked upset when you came down the stairs. Is everything okay with you?’
Suzie’s heart softened. Amidst her own heart-wrenching distress, Katerina still had the compassion to notice someone else’s unhappy demeanour. She was about to brush away her enquiry, but then realised that true friends shared their troubles, which included not only offering but alsoacceptingthe subsequent support. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to make a big thing about what had happened as compared to Katerina’s discovery, it was insignificant.
‘It’s nothing, really. It just took me by surprise, I suppose.’
‘What did?’
‘I saw a guy on the terrace of the villa across the street taking photographs. It unnerved me a bit, that’s all.’
‘Oh, it happens all the time. The villa has one of the best views of the caldera and people think it’s okay to trespass on private property, despite the signs that ask them politely not to do so.’
‘The thing is, he wasn’t pointing his lens in the direction of the caldera.’
‘What do you mean?’
