‘You know, the doctor, he said she died of a broken heart and, at the time, I thought, how can that be real? How can someone feel so much sadness and hurt and desperation that it physically causes their body to just give up? That isn’t the science of anatomy.’
‘Ah, but it is,’ Dimitria said. ‘We feel emotion inside the exact same way we feel other things outside.’
‘I am beginning to understand that now. Kerkyra, Corfu, it has done what I did not think was possible.’
‘Which is?’
‘Welcome me again. Get under my skin. Remind me what is important. It has helped me reconnect me with a grandmother I thought was lost to me forever.’ He paused. ‘And it has introduced me to someone special I really, really want to get to know better.’ He put his hands together, toyed with his fingers, thoughts of Faye snowballing. ‘I know that I do not deserve her right now. As I am. But I want the chance to work towards something better. Something better together maybe one day.’
‘Oh, Kosta,’ Dimitria said gently. ‘What a mess we make for ourselves.’
He couldn’t disagree but he was also of the opinion that a mess could be cleared up if you wanted it to be.
He looked up. ‘Dimitria, I?—’
‘Listen to me, there are two things you should know and what you do with that knowledge is up to you. Firstly, Faye’s ex-husband is here and he wants me to sell him the hotel. My belief is that this is either about getting Faye back, or at least trying to, or it is about trying to control her future.’
Faye’s ex was here? His skin prickled.
‘Secondly… there is a secret meeting tomorrow night at eight o’clock, here in the conference room of the hotel, about your plans to develop the land. Local people want to make sure this never happens. Believe me, Kosta, many try, and they will always try where land and the government and real estate and money are involved, but in trying times we always pull together. You want to face the people of this island and talk – that is the place to do it.’
‘OK.’
‘And thirdly.’
‘There is a third thing? You said two things.’
‘This is why I have an accountant. Thirdly, whatever you say to Faye, whenever you say it, she will tell you that she is strong and she is happy with the life she has made for herself.’ Dimitria reached for his hand. ‘This is all true. She is the strongest person I know. She is happy with the life she has made. But like with every good cake, the element that completes the perfect recipe is not the icing on the top – that is superficial nonsense for the benefit of aesthetics. What is more important is the filling in the middle. Faye needs more middle, Kosta. The sweet, satisfying, gooey and delicious part you enjoy the best. The part you remember the most and sometimes wonder if you will ever get to experience in the same way again. The ingredient that makes something exceptional. You understand?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, I understand.’
‘Good,’ Dimitria said, nodding. ‘Then, for now, we understand each other. Bravo.’
65
EUCALYPTUS TAVERNA, SAN STEFANOS NE
‘Well, isn’t this nice? The three of us again,’ Matthew remarked that night as he, Faye and Saffron sat at a table at the water’s edge at this picturesquetaverna. The blue-and-white checked tablecloths covered white wooden tables, and lights glowed from the basket-style lampshades hanging from the roof. It was one of Saffron’s favourite dining spots and the place Faye had chosen for this family evening.
‘I hope they have the courgette flowers,’ Saffron said. ‘And the artichokes. And, actually, thehorta.’
‘Perhaps we could share some things we will all like,’ Matthew suggested.
‘Maybe we all just have exactly what we want and not worry about it,’ Faye stated with a smile at Saffron.
‘Dad, you have to try some different things sometimes.’
‘I do. Now and then. I’m here in Corfu in the height of the summer, that’s different.’
‘Well, if you’re going to own Hotel Margaritári, then you’re going to have to be here in the summer for definite,’ Saffron stated.
And here was Faye’s chance to open up the dialogue. This wasn’t just about her and Matthew, this was about her, Matthew and their daughter and, as Saffron was an adult now, this discussion about the future needed to happen together, as a family. And Matthew had agreed. They had shared a coffee on the terrace of the hotel and been as frank and honest with each other as they probably had ever been in all the years of their marriage. They had made plenty of mistakes, during the relationship and during the separation, but one thing they were both clear on going forward was that Saffron had to come first. And, even if they weren’t together as a couple, they could be together as part of the same family unit.
‘Saff, I’m not going to be buying the hotel,’ Matthew said before Faye could begin.
‘What? But I thought you were going to buy it from Dimitria so Mum could be more in charge and then you could spend more time together and things would start to get back to how they were.’
Matthew looked a little uncomfortable. ‘I think I liked the initial idea of that, but I didn’t take into account the many practicalities.’
