‘And I’m Daphne. Pleased to meet you. Have you come here to eat?’
Sofia stepped forward.
‘Yes, that was the idea. Is it possible? I don’t think you take reservations, do you?’
Daphne waved the idea away with her hand.
‘No, none of that nonsense. And there’s no menu. You get what I’m cooking for my mother, my husband and me.’
‘OK, sounds lovely.’
Sofia wouldn’t have dared argue at this point. Daphne pointed to somewhere at the other end of the room.
‘Go and sit on the balcony and I will bring you all wine.’
Ducking behind the huge fireplace, which was virtually the width of the room, Charlotte was amazed to see a whole wall of windows at the end of the space, not visible from what they’dassumed was the car park, which let the light flood through. The view was straight out onto the water and beyond.
A covered balcony, accessed through huge French doors, boasted four solid wood tables and chairs painted a vibrant blue. From where they were, the balcony appeared to be suspended in mid-air.
‘Wow, look at this.’
The three of them walked onto the whitewashed decking of the balcony and made straight for the railings, eager to take in more of the view. To the left were the tree-studded hills on the other side of the inlet and a few boats, and beneath them was water so clear they could see individual stones and fronds of greenery.
Sofia pointed to the right and covered a laugh with her hand.
The others clocked the sturdy flight of stairs up to the balcony and beyond it a paved area with a solitary truck parked.
Maddie burst out laughing too.
‘So that’s where we were supposed to come up to the restaurant, from the dockside. Not through their living room, invading their privacy and terrifying Anastasia with our screaming?’
Charlotte smiled.
‘That’s about the size of it.’
Daphne appeared on the balcony with a tray and indicated that they should sit at the table at the very front, the best seat in the house.
‘White wine, homemade bread andtaramasalátalike you will never have tasted it in England. None of your bright pink stuff, full of dangerous food dye.’
Daphne made an ‘I’m about to vomit if I think about it anymore’ face.
‘Proper Greektaramasalátais white, not pink.’
With that, she turned on her heel, earning a salute from Sofia.
‘We’ve been told. Tuck in.’
The tangy dip combined with the homemade bread rapidly vanished.
Charlotte kept a close eye on Sofia’s wine intake, as they still had the return journey to endure.
A giant grilled squid on a platter followed the dip, served with a simple Greek salad and a lemon and butter sauce.
Daphne pointed downwards.
‘It was swimming there just a few hours ago. My husband is a fisherman, so I know everything is the best, otherwise he would throw it back.’
Maddie idly wondered if he knew Thanassis, but she didn’t want to out the three of them as the lifesaving crew, so she kept quiet.
