‘My motive, as far as anyone else is concerned, is to create a desirable five-star resort here in Corfu, to give back to the island I was born on,’ Kostas stated firmly.
‘Then you will have to back this up with actions… until, I guess, the last moment… when there will be certain difficulties beyond your control that require staff of your own personal choosing and more complex machinery,’ Stathis replied.
‘Good, Stathi,’ Kostas said. ‘That is good. Then we are on the same page.’
‘I do not know if we are on the same page, Kosta,’ Stathis admitted, walking closer to him. ‘I do not even pretend to know what book you are really writing, but I will do what I can to help you with the story.’
‘With a happy ending, I hope.’
‘As always, I will do my best,’ Stathis said, and then he smiled. ‘Come on, I will take photos. We will imagine and create the vision for this Petsas Palace. We need to walk further up this never-ending hill and then take a look.’
Kostas nodded. ‘OK.’
Petsas Palace. It definitely had a certain ring to it.
22
FAYE’S APARTMENT, HOTEL MARGARITÁRI, AVLAKI
‘Are there really no rooms for me to stay in?’ Saffron asked as Faye brought a Greek salad to the little table on her small terrace outside her front door. As tempting as it had been to get takeawaygyrosfor ease, her friend, Marietta, had left a bag of homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and a jar of slick, fat, purple olives with reception for her. A loaf of fresh bread, feta cheese and sometzatzikiand there was a feast for her daughter’s first Corfiot meal of her visit. It was almost nine o’clock in the evening now, work was over – apart from the WhatsApp messages that were bound to come in – and she could relax a tiny bit.
Faye sat down and began pouring them both a glass of white wine. ‘Sorry, Saffy, I have one room, but it has to be kept for emergencies. Anyway, is my sofa bed not good enough any more? You used to love staying on it.’
‘Two summers ago when it was a novelty. Dad got me a new mattress at home. It’s like sleeping on air.’
‘That sounds lovely.’ She really wasn’t going to grit her teeth knowing this was another case of Matthew buying something Saffron really didn’t need to win some competition of parenthood that Faye wasn’t even playing. ‘But it will probably ruin your sleep everywhere else.’ And she definitely shouldn’t have said that. ‘Sorry, I just meant that every other bed probably won’t be as nice, sadly.’
‘Your sofa bed absolutely won’t be.’
‘Saffron, don’t be rude.’
‘I’m just being honest,’ Saffron answered. ‘And, your place, it’s so small. I thought you were looking at buying somewhere.’
Faye bristled. This was the side of Saffron that appeared after she had spent time with Matthew and Matthew’s mother. They gave her the best of everything, which was what you thought you wanted for your child, until you realised that they then lost a grip on reality and had expectations that could very rarely be met. Saffron just needed a few days to settle in and realise how much she had always loved the rustic vibe of Greece and how some things were perfect with their imperfections.
‘I’m still looking,’ Faye admitted. ‘But I talked to an estate agent today actually.’ It wasn’t a lie, but she had managed to avoid taking Alexandros’s mobile number. Probably a good thing because it had seemed like he wanted to discuss much more than her sea view and parking space requirements.
‘You need a villa right on the beach,’ Saffron stated, helping herself to salad.
‘I think I would need to become a millionaire to achieve that.’
‘Or marry one.’
‘Saffron!’
‘Well, Dad’s on Bumble now, just so you know. Looking for a long-term partner.’
Faye swallowed. ‘Is he?’
‘I helped him with his profile pictures. Made him wear some of his less terrible outfits. Not the shorts he doesn’t know are in the bi-sexual flag colours, not that there’s anything wrong with that apart from his total bewilderment. No dates yet, well, not that he’s told me, but I did have to tell him what “wyd” meant.’
She knew that meant ‘what you doing’. Was that a plus point for Parent Mum? She shook herself.Stop it. She put some salad on her plate.
‘I could do your photos for an app like that. If you wanted,’ Saffron said, taking a sip of wine. ‘Unless you already have someone. I mean, you were on the back of a motorbike with a guy this morning.’
Faye shook her head. ‘I told you, he’s a guest and he happened to be at the airport when I arrived and you were missing. There’s nothing at all romantic there.’ Was there?
Saffron almost spat out her wine. ‘God! I didn’t mean that I thought you were with him! Christ, Mum, he’s like in his twenties and you’re in your forties! Don’t give me a heart attack.’
