Clara's Greek Adventure Read online

  Pressing my nose against the glass, I squint as the sun beams down onto the wing of the plane, almost blinding me with a bright light. Wispy clouds dance across the sky, smattering the sheet of blue with cotton candy swirls as we glide past at high-speed. Narrowing my eyes, I spot land in the distance and silently squeal as Mykonos twinkles back at me, welcoming me to my new home for the next five days.

  Taking a deep breath, I stretch out my legs and listen to the happy chatter that is drifting out from the row behind me. At my last check, Jenga bets placed on Stelios proposing to Janie were shockingly high. I dread to think what outlandish figures they are throwing around now. Amazingly, despite Oliver’s initial disgust at the wager, he eventually gave in and placed a big fat bet on the engagement not taking place. In his words, there was no way on this planet that his mother was marrying a creep like Stelios, so he might as well make some money out of it.

  Finally tearing my eyes away from the glistening ocean, I tap the screen in front of me and feel a rush of adrenaline as I discover we are just thirty minutes away from our destination. The tiny icon moves at a snail’s pace across the map, giving the illusion that we have almost stopped mid-air. Completely mesmerised by the display, I almost don’t hear my name being called behind me.

  My seat creaks as I rest my chin on the headrest and smile at the view in front of me. Lianna and Vernon are huddled under a blanket watching a movie, Marc and Oliver are playing cards on the pull-out tray between them and Gina is merrily swigging from yet another glass of wine.

  ‘You’re finally awake!’ Gina cheers, almost spilling her chardonnay. ‘Guys! Clara’s up!’

  One by one, my friends turn to look at me and promptly start to clap as I step out into the aisle to give my legs a proper stretch.

  ‘Finally!’ Oliver says with a grin. ‘You’ve missed all the fun! It’s all been going on back here!’

  Judging by the smiles on everyone’s faces I have indeed missed out on the jovialities, but the chance to sleep for a few hours was just too alluring. These days, any opportunity of catching forty winks is just too irresistible to turn down. My mother always jokes that you know you’re a parent when your deepest fantasies are about being in bed alone, without an alarm clock or a demanding child to wake you and I’m not ashamed to admit that an empty bed is all my heart desires.

  As I am fantasizing about freshly-laundered bedding the plane suddenly jolts, causing me to hold on to the seat in front to steady myself.

  ‘We shall shortly be starting our descent into Mykonos.

  Could all passengers please return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts.’

  Gina squeals and throws her arms into the air, much to the disdain of the grumpy air stewardess who slips out from behind the curtain and instructs us all to sit down like a strict headmistress. Not wanting another scolding, I wave to the others and retreat to my seat.

  Noticing the fasten seatbelt sign illuminate overhead, I check my belongings are all safely zipped into my handbag and watch the steady stream of people race along the walkway in a last-minute dash to the toilet. Each one of the passengers has that beautiful pre-holiday glow about them. The anticipation of landing on Greek soil is hanging thickly in the air. You can almost see it twirling around the many happy holidaymakers, creating a sparkling atmosphere as we count down to landing.

  Hearing Gina and Oliver light-heartedly argue over Stelios’s hidden agenda in asking us to Mykonos, I turn my attention back to the window as we start to descend. Feeling my stomach flutter once more, I cross my legs as the lights dim on the aircraft, signalling that we’re about to land. The slight trembling beneath me quickly escalates to a forceful rumble, until the wheels finally hit the ground with a bump.

  Happy chatter rings around the aircraft as passengers scramble to gather their luggage in a desperate attempt to start their holiday. Looking back at my friends, I smile widely and unclip my seatbelt. For us, this trip might not be the traditional package holiday, but with sun, sea and sand on offer, hopefully, it will be just as fun…

  Chapter 5

  The intense sunshine blares down on my bare shoulders as I step out of the airport and revel in the incredibly warm rays. I can almost feel the vitamin D as it is absorbed through my pale skin, giving me the boost I have been craving for so very long.

  Completely losing myself in the moment, I snap to attention as I hear Gina’s heels clacking on the tarmac behind me. After making the most of the complimentary drinks on the plane, it’s no surprise she’s looking a little worse for wear. With her black hair in disarray and the straps on her playsuit hanging dangerously-low, she looks like a teenager doing the walk of shame, not a married mother-of-three who’s just stepped off a business class flight.

  ‘Do you want some water?’ I ask, reaching into my handbag for the bottle of Evian I stuffed in there earlier.

  ‘Only if there’s gin in it.’ Reluctantly accepting the bottle, Gina raises it to her lips and grimaces.

  Noticing the tip of her nose is already turning red, I hand her some sun lotion I picked up in the airport. ‘You might want to stand in the shade. Hangovers and sunstroke go together like fish fingers and chocolate.’

  ‘Fish fingers and chocolate? I’m sure I’ve given that to the kids in the past.’ Gina jokes, ignoring my advice and joining the others by the side of the road.

  My heart pangs at the mention of the kids and I try to shake it off. I only said goodbye to Noah this morning and I’m already missing his chubby little cheeks like crazy.

  ‘I think we’re going to need three cabs.’ I say to Oliver, in an attempt to distract myself from the subject of Noah. ‘Maybe four, given Gina’s luggage.’

  Hearing the word cab, Gina automatically wobbles towards the taxi rank with the bottle of water glued to her lips. Her legs tremble like jelly as she clumsily puts one foot in front of the other. Suddenly immensely grateful to have slept through her drinking marathon, I take a moment to relish in having a clear head and inwardly give myself a high-five.

  Just as the rest of us start to follow in Gina’s footsteps, a ping from Oliver’s pocket causes him to hang back. Watching him dig out the handset and squint at the screen, I shield my eyes from the sun and take a step towards him.

  ‘Who is it?’ I ask, resting my spare hand on my suitcase.

  ‘My mom…’ A frown creeps onto his face as he studies the text message closely.

  ‘Hold up!’ He shouts to the others, who immediately stop and turn around. ‘Stelios has sent a car to collect us. Apparently, the driver is already here.’

  ‘Do you know where, exactly?’ Marc asks, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow and scouring the area for our ride.

  Oliver shakes his head and slips the phone back into his pocket.

  ‘I need to get out of these boots before I melt!’ Unbuttoning his shirt, Marc fans himself with a Mykonos guide and leans against his suitcase.

  ‘Well, you did choose to travel in bloody boots!’ Lianna teases, pointing to her sandals and shorts smugly. ‘Where did you think we were going? Alaska?’

  Ignoring her comments, Marc points to a white limousine that has pulled into the car park across the road. Knowing without asking that this pimped-out limousine belongs to Stelios, I smile at Li as Vernon and Marc make their way towards the luxury car.

  ‘Trust him to send something so extravagant.’ Oliver complains, scowling and grabbing our cases. ‘I mean, a limo? Is that really necessary?’

  ‘Stelios travels everywhere by limousine.’ I reply gently, attempting to gloss over the fact that it is indeed excessive. ‘He owns an entire fleet of the things, so why would he send anything else?’

  Oliver swears under his breath and I pretend I haven’t heard him as we follow the others across the road.

  ‘Can you please at least try to be happy on this holiday?’ I ask, pushing my sunglasses into my hair. ‘I understand your feelings towards Stelios, I really do, but just give the guy a chance for your mum’s sake.’<
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  Folding his arms like a stubborn child, Oliver turns away and stares into the distance.

  ‘If you can’t do it for your mum, then do it for me. Just enjoy this for the adventure that it is.’ Turning his head back to face me, I stare into his eyes intently. ‘Can you do that for me, please?’

  He mumbles something I don’t quite catch and I cup my hands around my ears. ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘I said, I will try.’ He replies through gritted teeth, manipulating his lips into a strained smile.

  ‘That’ll do.’ Trying not to laugh at his forced happy face, I entwine my fingers with his as we walk across the car park to the waiting limousine.

  Handing our cases to the suited driver, who is wearing a name badge labelled Calix, I offer him a smile and hop into the vehicle.

  ‘Oww!’ I yell, as I bang my toe against one of Gina’s many suitcases. ‘What are these doing in here?’

  Poking his head into the limo, Calix smiles apologetically. ‘I am very sorry, but the cases are… too many. They will not all fit in the back.’

  Rubbing my throbbing toe, I screw up my nose as Oliver slides onto the seat next to me.

  ‘Who brings this much luggage on such a short trip?’ I hiss. ‘Is Gina planning on staying here or something?’

  Happily snapping a picture of Vernon and Marc on her phone, Li glances back at me and frowns. ‘Where is Gina?’

  Looking around the group, I notice the same look of confusion appear on everyone’s faces.

  ‘She’s around here somewhere.’ Marc says uncertainly, looking out of the tinted window and scouring the car park. ‘She was right in front of me when we were at the taxi rank.’

  ‘She didn’t get into a taxi, did she?’ Li gasps, as we all turn to look at Marc.

  ‘Oh, no…’ Jumping out of the limo, Marc runs across the car park at record speed, dodging the many tourists as he goes.

  I watch him dash from taxi to taxi, before pulling open one of the doors and reappearing with an intoxicated Gina over his shoulder.

  ‘She did!’ Vernon laughs loudly and whips out his phone to take a picture. ‘She actually got into a cab!’

  Panting for breath, Marc flashes us the thumbs-up sign as he carries Gina across the hot tarmac like a sleeping toddler. Oliver is the first to let out a cheer and the rest of us swiftly join in. Clapping and whooping at the top of our lungs, we erupt into hysterics when Marc finally makes it back to the limo.

  ‘Is she okay?’ Calix asks, a look of alarm washing across his face as Marc places a sozzled Gina onto the back seats.

  ‘She’s fine.’ Propping her into a sitting position, Marc takes a moment to steady his breathing before clapping Calix on the back. ‘She’s just had a little too much…’

  Making a drinking sign with his hand, Marc nods knowingly as Calix laughs.

  ‘Oh! I see!’ Giggling into his collar, Calix quickly composes himself before ushering Marc into the vehicle. ‘Don’t you worry. I shall have you with Mr Christopoulos in no time at all.’

  With a final friendly grin, Calix shuts the door and hops into the driver’s seat.

  Hearing the engine fire up, I squeeze Oliver’s knee and smile when he beams back at me. Relieved to see he’s making the effort, I rest my head on his chest as the limousine slowly purrs away from the airport.

  The arid landscape scrolls past the window, making a stark difference to the skyscrapers of London we’re all accustomed to. Breathing deeply, I look up at the sheet of blue sky stretching out as far as the eye can see and instantly feel a million miles away from home.

  ‘Does anyone actually know where we’re going?’ Lianna asks, taking a compact mirror out of her handbag and checking her makeup.

  I shake my head and look at the others, who appear as clueless as I am. ‘We’ve seen photographs of Stelios’s home online, but I have no idea where it is.’

  ‘I still say we should have booked our own accommodation.’ Oliver says matter-of-factly. ‘Why would we want to stay with him when we could’ve just made a hotel reservation?’

  ‘Yeah…’ Lianna replies with a frown. ‘Why would we possibly want to stay in Stelios’s fabulous mansion over a mediocre hotel down the road?’

  ‘Besides, we have to stay with Stelios.’ Vernon says jokingly, adjusting his hat. ‘We want to be around when he asks for your mother’s hand in marriage. No way are we missing that!’

  A laugh titters around the limo and even Oliver joins in, but before I can make a joke of my own, Gina groans in her sleep.

  ‘How much did she have to drink?’ I ask Marc, who gives her a swift nudge in the ribs.

  ‘Everything!’ Lianna answers on his behalf. ‘Wine, vodka, rum. The list is endless! You name it and she drank it.’

  My parental instincts suddenly kick in and I scour my carry-on luggage for more water.

  ‘Maybe we should get Gina some coffee or something. We can’t turn up with her in this state.’ I mumble, plucking a packet of paracetamol from my purse. ‘It doesn’t exactly make a good impression, does it? Stelios is a client of ours. I don’t think Owen would be too impressed if he could see her right now.’

  ‘Stelios lives with Janie!’ Li chuckles. ‘He will see this kind of behaviour all day long.’

  I feel Oliver tense in his seat and I squeeze his hand.

  ‘Still, I think we should try and sober her up a bit before we arrive.’ Crouching down, I walk towards Calix and tap on the privacy screen. ‘Excuse me?’

  Lowering the partition, Calix turns down the radio and flashes me a huge grin. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Would it possible to stop at a coffee shop on the way? I think my friend could do with some… fresh air.’ Pointing at Gina, I raise my eyebrows and hope he can read between the lines.

  ‘No problem. I understand.’ Hitting the indicator, he takes a sharp left and presses his foot on the accelerator. ‘I take you for the best coffee on the island. Just sit back, relax and let me look after you…’

  Chapter 6

  Kicking off my sandals, I drag a wicker chair out of the shade and collapse into its plush cushioned seat. The heat from the sun is even more powerful than it was before, making me feel as though I’ve just slipped into the most wonderful bubble bath. Taking a deep breath, I look out over the calm water and feel every muscle in my body start to relax. A slight breeze wraps around me as I watch a couple of young children collecting stones on the pebbled beach below. Their cries of joy hang in the air, causing passing people to stop and smile as they stroll along the shore, enjoying their own holiday.

  After the early start this morning and a rather lengthy delay on the aircraft, I am beyond relieved to finally be relaxing in the sunshine. Being on holiday is, of course, fabulous, but the journey to get there can sometimes be more stressful than you anticipate. Especially when you are travelling with a woman approaching forty who is determined to relive her teenage years…

  Looking to my left, I lift my sunglasses and steal a glance at a very hungover Gina. Sprawled out on a double sunbed, she holds a wet flannel against her head while cradling a hot coffee. Her drunken smile has vanished and in its place is a scowl that screams, I have a raging headache and a mouth like a dusty flip-flop.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ I ask, sensing from the glare she replies with the answer is absolutely dreadful. ‘That bad, huh?’

  She manages a curt nod, before pulling a towel over her head and rolling onto her side. Following Calix’s advice, we ordered Gina a Greek coffee and a rather strange-looking vinegar concoction. Apparently, Calix’s ancestors swore by the random vinegar-based drink to cure a hangover, but judging by the copious amounts of heaving Gina did while trying to throw it back, I’m not holding my breath.

  Leaving her to recuperate for a while longer, I push myself up and wander over to Lianna, who has been playing photographer on the terrace for the past thirty minutes.

  ‘Isn’t this place adorable?’ She gushes, leaning over the railing and snapping at the beautiful
scene with her phone. ‘I could stay here forever.’

  Tucking my hair behind my ears, I look at my surroundings and sigh. ‘It is pretty spectacular…’

  Being ever so accommodating, Calix took us on a detour to the most fabulous coffee shop I’ve ever seen. Well, to call it a coffee shop isn’t really fair. Set in the cliffside overlooking a beautiful beach, Azure is a coffee shop and then some. The iconic white building features an open-air eating area, with more swanky chairs and quirky bean bags than you could ever imagine. Charming lanterns are scattered around the place, making me long to be here at sunset to watch the waves by candlelight. A long bar made of driftwood creates the perfect centrepiece and is surrounded by everyone from local elderly couples, to tourists enjoying a true taste of Mykonos.

  ‘You like it?’ Calix asks, smiling proudly as he stands by the limo.

  ‘No, I love it!’ Tearing myself away from the spectacular view, I join him in the shade. ‘Thank you so much for bringing us here.’

  ‘It is no problem.’ Taking a bottle of water from the limo, Calix wipes his brow on his forearm. ‘Azure is my favourite place to visit when I need some rest and how do you say… renovate?’

  ‘Rejuvenate.’ I correct with a grin. ‘It really is a fabulous place, but I’m sure taking inebriated women for coffee to sober up isn’t in your job description.’

  Calix’s brown eyes crinkle into his smile as he shakes his head. ‘Actually, in my job description, nothing is out of bounds.’

  ‘Nothing?’ I reply, watching Gina curl up into a ball under her towel.

  ‘Nothing.’ Calix lowers his voice to a whisper and leans towards me. ‘Whatever Stelios wants, Stelios gets. It is in my job description to make that happen, at all costs.’