Wish You Were Here

by Victoria Connelly

  ‘What?’ Sonya all but screamed.

  Milo winced. Maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea to mention that. ‘My point is, I’m here for her. I’m here for her when she’s stuck on her homework or if somebody at school has upset her and she’s crying. I’m here for her when she’s got a temperature or a tummy bug or is too tired to walk to bed and needs to be carried. I’m here for her when she wants to go into town for girly things or if she’s outgrown a pair of shoes.’

  ‘But you weren’t here for her today,’ his brother said.

  Milo took a deep breath. That’s all that counted in his brother’s eyes, wasn’t it?

  ‘Look, this is not the time to talk about it,’ Milo said.

  ‘Then when is?’ his brother asked.

  ‘I don’t know what you expect me to say to that,’ Milo said.

  ‘We need to talk about this, Milo. We can’t keep putting it off.’

  Milo shook his head. ‘It can wait – if there really is anything to talk about at all.’

  ‘If?’ his brother hissed. ‘This can’t go on. Just look at the life you lead!’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Out till late with God only knows who.’

  ‘It’s not late and tonight was a bit out of the ordinary, anyway.’

  ‘A young man like you shouldn’t be raising a girl. It’s just not right,’ Georgio went on.

  ‘She’s my sister – why isn’t it right? I can’t think of anything more right.’

  ‘Because you’re not settled. What kind of a life can you hope to give her? Your lifestyle, your job, a different woman every week—’

  ‘That’s not true!’ Milo shouted, his voice fuelled by anger.

  ‘I just think you should reconsider things,’ Georgio said. ‘I think we all made a mistake when we left Tiana here with you. Everything got so confusing after Mama died and we all thought it was best that she stayed here – in the home that she knew – but she should have been with us – right from the beginning. I think we can all see that now. For a start, Sonya and I have two salaries coming in. We can provide a stable environment for the girl.’

  ‘But we agreed, Georgio – she’s happiest here. She doesn’t need two salaries – she needs to be here.’

  ‘Well, we don’t see that any more,’ Georgio went on. ‘Sonya and I have been talking.’

  ‘Talking?’ Milo said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

  ‘More than talking,’ Sonya interjected.

  Georgio nodded. ‘Nobody’s saying you haven’t done a great job with Tiana. We all know that you’re far more responsible than many your age.’

  Milo gave an affronted laugh.

  ‘But it’s time, Milo. We all know it.’

  ‘Do we?’ he said.

  ‘Yes,’ Georgio said. ‘It’s time to put Tiana first.’

  Chapter 17

  The next morning, Tiana’s little head was barely visible above her duvet when Milo went into her bedroom to wake her up. He drew back the blush-pink curtains and light streamed into the room, bouncing off the oval mirror and lighting up the pop stars in the posters on the walls whose names Milo could never remember.

  ‘Tiana?’ he called softly. ‘Wake up! It’s time to get up for breakfast.’ There was a light groan followed by a sob and Milo was by her side in an instant. ‘Sweetheart? Are you okay?’ He pushed her dark hair away from her face and felt her forehead. It was certainly warm but was it something to be concerned with? ‘Don’t you feel well?’

  This time, a little squeak left her. ‘Tummy hurts.’

  ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘You rest there, my love.’ He drew the curtains, plunging the room back into darkness. She must have caught the bug that Hanna had, he thought, which meant he wouldn’t be able to go to work that day.

  Leaving the bedroom, he made a call to his colleague, Lander, to let him know that he wouldn’t be in and then something occurred to him.

  ‘Alice!’

  She was going to meet him in the gardens and now he wasn’t going to be there. Could he trust Lander to say that he was unable to make it in to work but not to reveal the reason why?

  He rang Lander back and did his best to explain but his colleague merely laughed at the subterfuge.

  ‘You’ll be found out!’ he said and Milo knew that he was probably right.

  There had been rain in the night and the gardens at the Villa Argenti were scented with a thousand perfumes from the plants, flowers and the earth itself. Everything looked newly washed and fresh, replenished from the life-giving rain. Alice had read that Kethos didn’t get much rain and she expected that Milo welcomed every single drop of it to keep his garden beautiful and lush. Of course, there was an irrigation system in place and the millionaire owner had probably fixed it so that his grass was never anything other than emerald, but nothing could compare with the sweetness of rain.

  Alice inhaled deeply as she walked down the main path. At first, she didn’t worry about the fact that she couldn’t find Milo. She just thought he’d be pottering around somewhere in the depths of the grounds and had every belief that their paths would cross sooner or later. Indeed, the excitement of turning each corner and emerging from behind each tree in the knowledge that she might then see him heightened her senses and added to the anticipation of seeing him again.

  What would they say to each other? Maybe they wouldn’t say anything at all. Maybe he would greet her with a kiss. Alice tried to imagine it and felt quite weak doing so but she was quickly awakened from her delicious daydream by the sight of a man approaching her. He looked barely out of his teens and he was looking intently at Alice.

  ‘Hello?’ she volunteered.

  ‘Are you Aleeeece?’ the man said.

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘I have to say that – er – Milo isn’t here.’

  ‘Oh,’ Alice said.

  ‘He say sorry.’

  ‘Okay,’ Alice said. ‘Will he be here tomorrow?’

  ‘I do not know,’ the man said.

  ‘I see.’ She bit her lip. She would have to come back again tomorrow. That was the only thing she could do but what a waste of a beautiful day. They had so few of them left now. ‘He’s all right, isn’t he?’ she asked the man.

  ‘All right?’

  ‘Yes – he isn’t ill, is he?’

  The man shrugged which Alice thought was a strange response but perhaps his English just wasn’t that good.

  ‘You are a very beautiful woman,’ the young man suddenly said. ‘Your eyes – your hair—’

  Alice shook her head. It was happening again. ‘I have to go,’ she said, and she made a hasty retreat to the exit.

  ‘You’re back early,’ Stella said from behind her sunglasses. Alice sat on the edge of the lounger next to her but didn’t answer. ‘He stood you up, didn’t he?’

  ‘He wasn’t there,’ Alice said and her voice sounded horribly woebegone.

  ‘He stood you up,’ Stella repeated matter-of-factly.

  ‘He couldn’t get in to work. It isn’t the same thing.’

  ‘So what was his excuse?’ Stella asked, putting her magazine down and placing her hands on her hips which looked funny on somebody sprawled out on a sun lounger.

  ‘He didn’t leave an excuse,’ Alice said.

  ‘He’s married,’ Stella said and Alice visibly flinched at the word. Stella saw and smiled. ‘He’s married and he’s got six children.’

  Alice blinked in astonishment. Wasn’t that exactly what Milo had told the dark-eyed man in Kintos about her as a joke – that she was married with six children? Maybe he’d been thinking about his own situation.

  ‘You do talk some rubbish,’ Alice said, standing up.

  ‘Oh, really?’ Stella said, lowering her glasses and squinting at Alice. ‘So where is he, then? Why didn’t he leave a proper message for you? Why didn’t he call here?’

  Alice had already wondered that. He’d called round before. Couldn’t he have found time to do so again? W
hat was so important that he couldn’t have let her know what was going on? He knew that she’d be going home soon.

  ‘The day after tomorrow,’ she said to herself.

  ‘What?’ Stella asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Alice said, walking back into the villa. She closed the French doors behind her and slumped down on one of the sofas. She felt deflated and defeated. What was happening with Milo? His colleague had been vague and uneasy when she’d asked him if Milo was ill. Was he ill? Was it serious? Alice wanted to know. And, if he wasn’t ill, what was going on?

  She had to find out and, if Milo had been able to find out where she was staying by just asking a few questions, surely she could find him by doing the same?

  Tiana had been sick twice and had then slept for the rest of the morning and right into the afternoon. Milo had contacted Dr Papadis who lived at the bottom of the hill. He was retired but was always happy to help anybody out if he could. He’d taken Tiana’s temperature and pulse rate and listened to her heart and had said that there was no cause for alarm.

  ‘She is young and strong and it is only a tummy bug. It’s going around at the moment.’

  Milo had sighed in relief, thankful that it was nothing more serious.

  ‘Lots of fluids, lots of sleep and let her rest for a couple of days until it is out of her system.’

  That was the rub, Milo thought. He’d have to take more time off work. It was a good job his boss was away and Lander could cover for him, but what was he going to do about Alice?

  Milo couldn’t help thinking that his brother and Sonya should have shown up at that moment. A sick child in bed for two or three days might have put them off quickly enough but he couldn’t help acknowledging that he could use some help – just someone to babysit for a couple of hours whilst he went to see Alice. But that would be admitting to Georgio and Sonya that he couldn’t cope on his own with Tiana and he’d be leaving himself wide open for them to step in, and he wasn’t about to do that.

  But what on earth must Alice be thinking about him? This was the worst possible scenario – him unable to see her the day after they’d made love. What if she was thinking he had used her and didn’t really care about her at all but was quite able to brush her off with a simple excuse about not being able to see her again? His guts churned in dismay at the thought but what could he do? He couldn’t leave Tiana even for a moment and, the truth was, he didn’t want to. She came first even if he was falling in love with this woman from England.

  This, he thought, was what his life was going to be like for the next few years. Tiana was still only ten years old and his responsibility was to her. He really shouldn’t be thinking about his own life – especially not something as self-indulgent as a love life – that much was clear now.

  Later that afternoon, after wearing the old table top in the kitchen thin with the drumming of his fingers, he tiptoed back into Tiana’s room.

  ‘Are you feeling any better?’ he asked, stroking her hair and realising that her head was still hot. ‘Do you want anything to eat?’

  She shook her head and buried it further into the pillow.

  ‘Give me a call if you need me,’ he said. ‘Okay?’

  He returned to the kitchen which was fast feeling like a prison. How could he get in touch with Alice?

  Forget her, a little voice said. She’s leaving anyway. Nothing’s going to come of it.

  But, as much as he knew that was true, he wanted to see her again. He didn’t want things to end like this with so much left unsaid. He wanted to say goodbye. He wanted to kiss her goodbye.

  ‘Milo?’ Tiana’s little voice broke into his thoughts and he was back in her bedroom in an instant.

  ‘Yes, my sweetheart?’ he said, sitting on the edge of her bed and squeezing the tiny shoulder that was protruding from the bedclothes.

  ‘I got scared. I didn’t know where you were.’

  ‘I’m right here, sweetheart,’ Milo said. ‘I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.’

  Chapter 18

  Alice didn’t want to leave the villa for the rest of the day because she sincerely believed that Milo would call and explain everything and she didn’t want to miss him when he arrived. Of course, that meant spending the rest of the day with Stella, but the villa was big enough for the two of them and Alice was determined to remain positive.

  Something must have happened to him, she kept thinking over and over again. Maybe there’d been some emergency at home like the washing machine had exploded or his moped had broken down. There might be any number of explanations for him not to be able to leave her a message and explain things properly.

  ‘If only I could think of one really good one,’ she said to herself.

  As the day wore on, she thought again of her idea to try and find Milo. If he wasn’t going to come to her, why shouldn’t she try to find him? Maybe he’d done something simple like twisted his ankle or broken his wrist and couldn’t ride his moped either to work or to see her. Perhaps he was sitting on the island somewhere, hoping and praying that she’d make an effort to find him.

  With this thought whirling through her brain, she left the villa, shouting a quick goodbye to Stella. She decided it was probably best that she didn’t ask about Milo at the Villa Argenti for fear of them being put on stalker alert, and Milo’s colleague didn’t seem to know much anyway and there had been that slight problem of him coming on to her. What was it with the men on Kethos she wondered? She’d never had this effect on men back home in England.

  Putting thoughts of flirtatious Greek men out of her head, she walked into town. She’d got to the harbour before she’d worked out what she was going to do but fifty-five minutes later, a little bus dropped her off at the town of Kintos.

  Pelagios was there, waddling along the harbour front and Alice ducked her head for fear of being spotted by him. Now was not the time for an amorous encounter with a pelican.

  Ignoring the lure of the pretty shops, she went into the little taverna where she had shared a meal with Milo and walked boldly up to the counter. The man who had served them immediately recognized her and a huge smile bisected his face.

  ‘Ah!’ he said. ‘The beautiful English girl!’

  Alice bit her lip. She was alone and no longer had the protection of Milo when it came to overly-romantic men, but what choice did she have if she wanted to find him?

  ‘Hello,’ she said politely. ‘I was here yesterday.’

  ‘Yes, yes!’ he said nodding enthusiastically. ‘And you came back today! This is good news indeed. It means you like me, yes?’

  ‘No!’ Alice said quickly. A little too quickly, perhaps, judging by the look of dismay on his face. ‘I mean, I came here hoping you could help me. I was with a young man – remember?’

  ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Him! I remember. But I do not think he was right for you. He was – too young. Much too young! You need an older man. A man with – how you say – experience!’

  Alice shook her head vehemently. ‘But I need to find him. It’s important. His name’s Milo Galani and I don’t know where he lives. I was hoping you might be able to help.’

  ‘You want to know where he lives?’

  Alice nodded. ‘Please help me. I’ll do anything.’ It was the wrong thing to say because the man’s face immediately lit up and he crossed to Alice’s side of the counter in record time and grabbed her hands in his, kissing them fervently.

  ‘Anything?’ he said, his breath heavy and ragged and the colouring of his face rising alarmingly.

  ‘Please let go of me!’ Alice cried, trying to tug her hands away from him but his grip was too strong. ‘I said – let go!’ Before he could even think to respond to her protest, Alice’s foot shot out and kicked him in the shin. It wasn’t a terribly hard kick but it was enough to startle him into submission, giving Alice time to flee the taverna and bolt into a little shop further along the harbour.

  Her heart was racing wildly and there were tears in her eyes. This was
not turning out the way she’d imagined. All she wanted to do was find Milo but how could she do that when nobody would even listen to her?

  ‘Hello?’ a voice suddenly called from behind her. Alice turned around and came face to face with a woman in her thirties with long dark hair and a kind smile. ‘You are English?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Alice said. ‘And you speak English?’

  ‘Not so good,’ the woman said with a little smile.

  ‘But better than my Greek,’ Alice replied. ‘Can you help me?’

  The woman nodded. ‘I try.’

  Alice told the woman about Milo – how they’d met and how she needed to find him but didn’t know where he lived. The woman listened quietly, nodding occasionally and then, when Alice stopped, she shook her index finger excitedly.

  ‘You need to speak to Alexandros,’ she said.

  ‘Who’s he?’

  ‘The postman. If your Milo lives near here, Alexandros will know.’

  ‘Of course! I should have thought of that!’ Alice said excitedly. ‘Thank you so much.’ She leaned forward and hugged the young woman who giggled like a child.

  Leaving the shop and following the directions the woman had given her, Alice soon found the little cafe which Alexandros regularly patronised and, sure enough, there he was, sitting in a pool of sunshine with a glass of something tall and cool in his right hand. He looked ancient. At least ninety, Alice thought, although that couldn’t be right if he was still working. Maybe his job had exposed him to every hour of sunshine on Kethos and his skin was paying the price for it.

  She suddenly felt nervous as she rooted around in her handbag for a pen and a piece of paper. She’d been warned that Alexandros didn’t speak any English but he nodded when she showed him her piece of paper with Milo’s name on it and watched as he took her pen from her and proceeded to doodle a little map on the back of it, chattering away in Greek and motioning with his hands.