‘Oh, I love that. One of my favourite songs,’ says Elias, turning around to look at me.
‘No way. Me too. We should have played that last night when we had our drinks outside.’
‘We will. Let’s make a list of tracks and get Alexa to play them.’
‘Brilliant. Is there anything better than being sat on deck watching the world go by drinking a glass of wine with the best music?’ I ask.
‘And the best company,’ says Elias, squeezing my hand.
As we walk along the seafront, I notice that Michael has been messaging again. I look at the screen in disbelief.
Elias… That can’t be his real name.
I choose to ignore it. There is no way I am responding to him when I am having the most wonderful day. I will not let him ruin it.
However, as Elias and I walk along the front hand in hand, I find myself watching him and that sneaking doubt creeps in again. What if there is something he isn’t telling me? What if his name isn’t Elias? Is he too good to be true? Despite wanting to ignore Michael’s message and being annoyed at myself for letting my ex-husband’s doubts crawl into my head, I ask him about it.
‘Elias is an unusual name. Where did it come from?’
‘My dad was in the army back in the Sixties. He was based in Cyprus when my mum got pregnant. There was a church called Profitis Elias near where they lived. Her waters broke as she was walking up the stairs to it, apparently, so they called me Elias, after that church.’
‘What a lovely story. I wish I had a romantic tale like that behind my name.’
There you go, Michael!I refuse to listen to him again. He is only trying to cause trouble because he doesn’t want to see me happy.
‘Yes, my parents were the salt of the earth, you know. Doing what was right for their country. Being good neighbours. They always tried their best. Love thy neighbour and all that.’
‘Well, I can imagine that since their son is such a caring man, anyone can see that. Look how many times you’ve had to help me out of scrapes since I arrived here.’ I am satisfied that Michael has got it all wrong.
When we finish our walk, we find a spot to sunbathe on the beach. We rub suntan lotion on each other, and I find myself relaxing as he massages it into my shoulders. I’ve always worried about what people think of me, and I realise that suddenly I don’t care. Elias makes me feel so much less self-conscious.
I look at the scar on Elias’s chest again as he lies there. He doesn’t try to hide it, and neither should he. Poppy and Jasmine would probably say that he was in some rival drugs gang and got the injury in a violent fight, but I have a feeling it is something much more innocent. As I think of the girls, a message from Jasmine comes through on my mobile, checking that I am still alive and haven’t given over any money yet.
I was just thinking! Has he asked you for anything, Mam? Like, saidhe forgot his money was tied up in a trust fund and he just needs tenmillion for a couple of days?
I laugh out loud as I read it. Oh, Jasmine. Such an imagination!
‘Something funny?’ asks Elias.
How do I tell this man who has been so kind that my family don’t trust him? ‘Just my daughter. She’s a bit over-imaginative sometimes.’
‘Oh, my boys are the same. Danny and James are so over-protective of me since their mum died. They think they’re helping, but…’ Elias stops abruptly and doesn’t seem to want to go on.
‘Well, at least it shows they care,’ I say.
‘They do, I hope. Although sometimes I feel it’s about what they can get out of me. That sounds terrible. It’s just that, when my wife died, everything changed in more ways than one, and… oh, I don’t know. I don’t mean to complain.’
‘Oh, no, I get you!’ I thought I was the only parent who felt as though their children wanted something from them all the time.
‘You know, sometimes, I’d love to run away and see how much they really do care. They probably wouldn’t even notice I’m missing until they needed money,’ says Elias.
‘Oh, my word! Me too. Let’s run away together then.’ I laugh as I imagine two adults running off into the sunset. Of course, I couldn’t ever do that to the girls, although it does sound appealing.
Elias leans over to kiss me and strokes my hair. Then he looks at me and does that thing where it feels as though he is staring right into my soul again.
‘We could do it. The yacht is waiting. Where shall we go?’ It is hard to tell whether he is joking or serious, and I feel a twinge of panic that he may have thought I meant it.
‘Oh, yeah, I wish.’ I roll my eyes to show I was just kidding.
