Game of Scones (12 page)

‘Liar!’ My eyes tingled. Wow. That’s not a word I ever thought I’d use to describe Henrik. ‘You knew I’d hate the thought of beloved Taxos being turned into one of those playgrounds for binge-drinking, sex-seeking tourists. You’ve told me right at the last minute, so I don’t have time to mention the plans to my friends before your presentation which, no doubt, will be heavily persuasive…’ My voice wobbled. ‘I fell in love with your honesty, Henrik.’ I turned to look at him. That was the one quality that had stood up to my doubts about marrying him. ‘But it seems you aren’t that upfront after all.’

‘That’s absurd,’ he said, in a measured voice. ‘I realise the news must have been a shock, but your business logic should have kicked in by now. Taxos is home to people who’ve lost their jobs – seen their retirement savings decimated just to get through each day. How do you think your beloved Greek village would look in five years from now, without the financial support of ThinkBig?’

Yes, my head knew he was right – but still my heart grieved for the Taxos I might lose. I gazed up and down Tyrionitsa’s high street. It had no personality and could have been anywhere in the Mediterranean.

I got to my feet. ‘Absurd or not, I can’t support your scheme. Surely the locals have recourse to an appeal?’

His mouth twitched. ‘Of course, but what would be the point? A few down-on-their-luck villagers against the might of ThinkBig and a mayor?’

‘An underhand mayor, if rumour is to be believed.’

He stood up too, towering over me. ‘Business works in a different way, over here – especially since the collapse of the Greek economy.’

Niko’s words about Stavros’s shiny white Range Rover sprang to my mind – the same model, no doubt, as the ThinkBig company car Henrik had been driving.

‘So you’ve bribed the authorities, been working in cahoots with one of the most corrupt officials… you’ve gone behind my friends’ backs… you’ve lied to me.’ I put on my sunhat. ‘Who are you, Henrik? Not the upstanding, clean-cut man I thought I’d come on holiday with.’ I walked in the direction of the beach. Easily he caught up and grabbed my arm.

‘Pippa. Think it through. It’s for the best – and if you stand by my side it will give your Taxos friends confidence in the project…’

‘I’d rather support the building of a nuclear reactor nearby.’

‘Look, come on, get in the car. Let’s talk about this sensibly,’ he said in a tight voice.

‘No. I’ll make my own way back to the villa,’ I snapped and ran towards the sand.

Chapter Ten

‘Fancy some sex with an alligator, love?’

I lifted up the brim of my hat to see the grinning face of a sunburnt man, in the queue for paragliding. He held out a drink, layered dark red and green.

‘Melon and raspberry liqueur with Jagermeister – it’s hot stuff, honey.’

‘No thanks,’ I said, wondering what the other cocktails were called, as every young person in the queue held a rainbow-coloured drink in a plastic beaker. I hurried along towards the so-called Mermaid Cove where artificial caves had been carved out of the cliff. Small children lined up to go in. On nearby rocks sat ceramic mermaids. A young Greek man, in some kind of holiday resort uniform, explained to a small English girl that they were real mermaids, turned to stone centuries ago by a curse.

At a relaxed pace now and glad that Henrik had given up the chase, I headed along the beach, determined to walk back to Taxos on my own. Litter was strewn across the sand, including beer bottles, takeaway wrappers and rubber…. Ew. You’d rather not know. A pebble slipped into my sandal and I sat down on some rocks, near a Greek mum with two children. I undid my shoe and the small stone slid out. I smiled at the daughter who was building a sandcastle.

‘
Kalos
,’ I said and held up my thumb, remembering that was the word for good. The mother smiled and removed her sunglasses. I took off mine too.

‘You no going up in the sky on those boats or drinking cocktails?’ she said.

I grimaced. ‘No. I didn’t realise Tyrionitsa had changed so much. I knew it a long time ago.’

The light left her face for a moment, dark eyebrows furrowing together.

‘Is not Tyrionitsa any more – not the village I grew up in.’

I put my sandal back on. ‘But you earn more money now?’

‘Pah! Euros not everything. Yes, our bar makes good business at night – but the customers… When we used to run our little taverna, people no sick on the floor nor …’ her face flushed, ‘… nor made sex in the toilets with strangers.’

I shook my head and we sat quietly, watching a distant paraglider. A sense of doom weighed me down, due to ThinkBig’s plans for Taxos. I shifted uncomfortably on the rock as I realised this upset me more than the lack of marriage proposal. Couldn’t Henrik see the village as a living, breathing entity, made up of individuals’ lives and dreams – instead of just acreage to knock down and tackily rebuild? What would Georgios and Sophia say? And Grandma? My mouth dried. Dear Iris – how would this affect her health? Niko had said my presence seemed to have perked her up, even though I’d just been back in Greece a few days – this news from Henrik could undo all that progress.

I shuddered at the thought of what ThinkBig would do to Caretta Cove… Probably stick imitation turtles everywhere and tell children they were just hibernating. They’d flatten little landmarks in the village where generations of families had made memories. Like the peach tree near the village’s main post box – Georgios would often mention how he’d first kissed Sophia underneath it. And Grandma would point out a huge rock on the outskirts of town, from which one of her brothers supposedly spotted German troops, prior to the Battle of Kos during the Second World War.

I chewed my thumbnail, imagining gaudy neon signs lighting up Taxos at night, instead of the glow of candlelight from restaurants and stars; imagining shrieks of young tourists falling out of nightclubs, as opposed to the gentle cheers from local and visiting families playing boules. The aroma of garlic and oregano would disappear due to the strong stench of burgers and hotdogs. Fishbowls of cocktails guzzled by riotous groups, through straws, would be the norm, instead of a few ouzos shared over backgammon and cards.

After what seemed like hours, I stood up. The family next to me had gone. I looked to my left. The queue for the paragliding was small now. I brushed sand off my dress, before turning northwards. The beach was wide and the cliff not too steep to climb, if the tide came in. I would continue my walk to Taxos. I’d done it once as a child, with Niko’s uncle.

My watch said half past six and the sun had started to descend. It would be almost dark by the time I got back – and quiet, compared to Tyrionitsa. I swallowed. Henrik no doubt had good intentions – the entrepreneurial side of me could see why ThinkBig thought they were doing the Greeks a favour. However, a ball of fire swelled in my chest. He’d kept these plans secret for months, so must have known that people – I – would object. Well, stuff him… At that precise moment I didn’t care whether he was scouring Tyrionitsa for me or flying back to England.

An hour later, twilight had fallen. The chirp of cicadas and gently breaking tide accompanied me back to Taxos. Powdery sand, like the finest scone mix, slipped in between my toes as I walked bare foot. The outline of the cliff gently disappeared as darkness fell. Ahead I could see the amber lights from Taxos, indicating tavernas and homes – so beautiful. Despite all my love-stuff ups and downs, I wouldn’t have changed being back in dear Taxos for anything. A bat swooped over my head and I headed into the waves as I kept on walking. If only I had my swimming costume, I could wash away the perspiration of another humid evening. I stopped for a moment as catchy Greek guitar music wafted over from the village.

My eyes squinted as I saw the fig tree and… was someone sitting underneath? I cleared my throat and walked forward, sunhat in one hand, sandals in the other, handbag over my shoulder. A man with curly hair and a checked shirt sat on the sand, knees bent up, head in his hands.

‘Niko? Is that you?’

He met my gaze. Moonlight lit up a downturned mouth and drooping eyes.

‘Pippa…
Ya sou
… Why are you walking here?’

I sighed and sat down next to him. Where to begin? His voice sounded flat. Perhaps he was worrying about Leila – what I’d said about her seeking employment abroad. I’d got my special day out with Henrik so wrong, thinking he was about to seal our future together… Perhaps I’d been wrong about Leila too, and the woman I saw in Kos Town wasn’t her.

‘Look, Niko… About Leila… perhaps I made a mistake. Just forget what I said. You’d know, right, if she wasn’t happy in Taxos and wanted to move abroad? After all, you two are engaged.’

Weird… his face didn’t brighten. Must have been something else bothering him. Grandma, perhaps? Yet she was better by the day…

‘Thanks…’ He stared at me, then picked up a flat pebble. Niko stood up, strolled to the water’s edge and threw it hard so that it skimmed across the surface.

‘Two bounces? Not bad,’ I said, now by his side, squinting through the poor light. I picked up a pebble. Mine bounced off the tranquil surface three times.

Niko chuckled. ‘You always were better than me at skimming stones.’

‘That must niggle, seeing as you are the one who taught me…’ We grinned at each other, just like old times.

He picked up another pebble. ‘So… talking of me being engaged, how was your day?’ he asked, without looking at me. ‘Did Henrik finally reveal all about his surprise wedding and ask you to marry him?’

‘Um…’ Damn – my voice broke. My eyes felt wet. Niko dropped his stone and turned to face me.

‘Pippa? What’s the matter?’

I sniffed. ‘He didn’t, you see…’

A curious look crossed his face before he leant forward to hug me. As our bodies touched, that magnetised feeling washed over my body again. Breathing quicker, my skin prickled as his hands ran up and down my back. Images of us kissing sidled into my mind.

‘Sorry you’re sad, Pippa,’ he said eventually, and stood back. ‘You… you must really love him. Maybe he’ll ask another time.’

‘No… yes… I mean…’ I wiped an eye. ‘I’m not really upset because of that.’

Niko’s mouth seemed to quirk up for a moment and then he shook his head. ‘So, what’s the problem?’

How could I tell him that the place he’d grown up in was about to be destroyed? The two of us walked back to the fig tree and sat down.

‘I made glittery scones you know. For the surprise wedding ceremony I thought Henrik had planned for tomorrow.’

‘That’s what’s bothering you?’ he said gently and squeezed my arm. ‘Then I’ll eat them. Bring the scones over tomorrow. A bit of glitter – that will put an even bigger smile on Grandma’s face.’

To my surprise I burst out laughing. ‘No… I’m not that much of a romantic… a waste of glittery scones hasn’t upset me, but thanks all the same.’ I gave a wry smile. ‘But… it’s not that, you see… Henrik took me to Tyrionitsa.’

Niko snorted. ‘That spiritless place?’ He banged his chest with his fist. ‘No heart there, any more. Big corporations… They destroyed everything it once was.’ He glanced sideways at me. ‘Why Henrik take you there? Tyrionitsa must be the least scenic place on the whole of the island.’

I stared at him, feeling my eyes fill with liquid, holding it close like a dam, ready to burst. ‘You know he works for ThinkBig, a development company?’

Not dropping his gaze from my face, Niko nodded.

‘You were right about Stavros. He’s pushed through permission for ThinkBig to… to…’

‘What?’

‘… to turn Taxos into the next Tyrionitsa,’ I blurted out.

Blood filled Niko’s cheeks and he gasped, before insisting I must have got it wrong. So I repeated everything Henrik had said. Niko got to his feet. He paced up and down, arms flailing in the air.

‘Not possible! Taxos… people love this village. Our grandparents… our grandchildren in the future… Taxos is our heritage. You knew about this, Pippa?’ He shook a finger in my direction.

Finally the dam burst and a tear trickled down my face.

His eyes glistened. ‘No… you’ve got heart… This is as much a shock to you.’ He turned and walked quickly in the direction of the village. ‘I’ll wake up everyone!’ he said. ‘We’ll fight this development!’

I got up and ran after him. With both my hands I dragged him backwards. ‘Niko! Use your brain. Think this through. A knee-jerk reaction won’t get Taxos anywhere.’

He turned to face me and pulled away his arm.

‘I’m not a brain-person like you, but a simple fisherman. My fists, my angry voice, they are the weapons I use.’

‘Henrik has brains. Doesn’t make him a clever person,’ I said. ‘Anyone can see that, long-term, it’s a sense of community, of belonging, that holds a country together. Although…’

‘There is an “although”?’ spat Niko.

I shrugged. ‘Henrik is a good man. People have to eat. Buy clothes. Put aside for their retirement… All he can see is the short-term financial benefits. With my mathematician head on, I understand. He sees how you and your fellow villagers struggle… To him a quad bike track, nightclub, bars… It is the obvious answer. He won’t put nostalgia or the future of some turtle before economic factors.’ I shrugged. ‘Taxos fits the bill perfectly for being reinvented. Henrik is great at his job. In theory, he was a whizz to close this deal.’

‘Sounds like you are on his side.’

‘No… I mean… during my walk back, tonight, I calmed down and thought it through. I understand his reasons, that’s all.’

Niko threw his arms up in the air. ‘So, what do we do? This meeting tomorrow…’

‘Hmm, at midday, in the town hall. Invitations should have arrived today.’

Niko nodded. ‘Now you mention it, Papa talked of a letter from the council, talking of an “exciting” planning meeting tomorrow. We just thought it referred to some modernisation of the roads that has been talked about for months now.’ He shook his head. ‘We need to warn everyone.’

I went back to the fig tree to collect my hat and handbag, before slipping back into my sandals. We walked towards the harbour, finally sitting down together on a large rock. It smelt of seaweed and salt. I inhaled, relishing the pollution-free air.