Anna nodded and turned around so Nikos could rub sunscreen on her neck before returning the favor for him. She peered down into the backpack as she did.
“What else you got in there?”
Nikos shrugged. “Oh, you know, the basics. Lots of water. Change of shorts. Snacks. Spare phone battery pack. Your camera.”
Anna nodded. “You’re very prepared. You should have been a Boy Scout or something.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t have them here,” he said, “but Elena and I did try camping out here when I was about fourteen.”
Anna laughed at the thought as Nikos picked up the backpack and started walking up the hill. She walked alongside him along the narrow path, squeezing against him as they passed a couple coming the other way. “How did that go?”
“Not well,” Nikos said, “or rather not at all. They clear the island every night. We tried to hide in a cove, and we thought we’d gotten away with it, but as we pitched our tent someone spotted us from the water and called the authorities.”
Anna laughed, feeling like she could picture it perfectly: Elena getting angry that someone had caught them, Nikos pretending like it was a good thing, and both of them deciding they hadn’t wanted to do it that much to begin with. She and Lizzy had been the same way growing up. She felt a pang of jealousy that Nikos and Elena still had their adventure buddies when hers had moved so far away, before she decided she was glad Nikos was taking her on those adventures. At least for now. She made a quiet promise to herself to go on more adventures by herself when she got home.
As they climbed higher up on the hill, Anna caught glimpses of the view from different angles. But after about twenty minutes, she found herself surrounded by the gorgeous turquoise waters of the caldera in a three-sixty view of Santorini. The colors blended perfectly from sea to sky, and Anna felt like she was on top of the world. Or in it, or over it. All she could see was blue water and blue sky and the earth beneath her feet and the three islands that formed the ring around them. She tried to imagine Santorini as one big island, but she couldn’t quite build the picture in her mind. This view was perfection, and she couldn’t imagine it existing any other way.
“This is so stunning,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Isn’t it?” Nikos said from right next to her, and when she looked at him, she saw that he had his eyes closed and a huge grin plastered across his face. Not directed at her, not because he was pleased at his own cleverness… no, this was pure, unabashed love for his home. She understood perfectly from that look why he had wanted to get back here so badly after university.
“The view’s out there,” he said without opening his eyes. Anna blushed. Busted.
“I just like the way you look at this place,” Anna said. “You grew up here, but you’re seeing it as if it’s for the first time.”
“Yeah, well, you did the same thing, didn’t you? With those pictures of New York City?”
Anna nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not really the same thing, is it?”
“I think it is. It’s being able to look past what you know and see what is.”
“Very profound.”
Nikos chuckled. “I try.”
They stood there for a few minutes just basking in the view before Anna pulled out her camera, taking pictures from every angle she could manage. As they headed back down to the boat, she took a few more of the rocky terrain, sneaking a few of Nikos into the mix. She even sat behind the windscreen in the boat as they pulled away so she could take photos from there.
Next they came to the tiny island of Nisis Palaia Kameni, just behind the central island. As they approached the island, Anna noticed the color of the water changing. They moored the boat where the water was still turquoise, but instead of going onto the land, Nikos took off his top and jumped in, swimming into a cove where the water turned orange. Anna grimaced, not sure what they were getting into, but she saw others swimming as well, so she followed along, folding her tee shirt and shorts on the seat before jumping in after him.
As she plunged into the water, the cold nearly knocked the breath right out of her, but it felt amazing after a day spent mostly in the heat. She surfaced, looking around before seeing Nikos waving at her from several meters ahead.
As she followed him into the orange-colored cove, a couple of things happened. First, the water got a lot more crowded. The further in they went, the more people there were. Second, there were orange chunks floating past her. This wasn’t hugely appealing, but it was probably from all the people kicking up the mud.
The third thing was perhaps the most disconcerting, however: as they swam further into the cove, the water got warmer and warmer. At first, Anna thought it was because it was getting shallower, but after a while it passed the point to which the sun could have heated it.
“Why is the water so warm?” she asked as she caught up with Nikos.
“It’s a hot spring,” he said. “The water comes from the end of the cove.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “It’s like a million degrees out and you brought me to a hot spring?”
Nikos shrugged exaggeratedly as he treaded water next to her. “I mean, we had the boat for the day, and it’s a thing that a lot of tourists like to do.”
Anna sighed. As horrible as the idea of a natural jacuzzi sounded at the moment, Nikos was trying to make sure she got the full experience. “Alright, let’s go then,” she said. “I’ll race you to the end!”
Anna and Nikos swam as fast as they could toward the spring. Anna expected to have to stop when it got too hot, but the reality was that they couldn’t get anywhere near the end of the cove because of all the people.
“Sorry,” Nikos said as they came to a halt. “I tried to time it so we wouldn’t be here at the same time as the boat cruise, but there are just too many at this time of year. There’s always someone here.”
“That’s okay,” Anna replied, touching his arm. “It’s the thought that counts. Plus, I’m absolutely burning up now.”
“What do you say we get back on the boat?” Nikos said. “I could do with a drink of water.”
“Sounds good.”
They took a much more leisurely swim back to the boat and, as they arrived, Anna took a moment to just float on her back under the big blue sky.
“The water feels amazing out here,” she said, bumping up against Nikos with her leg. He tilted back as well, holding a rope attached to the boat and hooking his foot on Anna’s, connecting them as the waves bounced them up and down. “Who’s the Greek god of the sea?”
“Poseidon, I think,” Nikos answered, “but that’s not still a thing.”
Anna laughed. “I know, but I can never remember Greek mythology.”
“Well, he wasn’t just the god of the sea. He was one of the supreme gods of Olympus. I think he was the god of earthquakes and horses, too.”
“And yet he’s only known for the sea. Seems like he should have spent more time causing earthquakes or as a horse or something.”
Nikos paused for a moment. “I guess you could say he was a bit of a one-trick pony.”
Anna burst out laughing, causing her to stop floating, but she couldn’t help it. Nikos laughed too, clearly pleased with himself.
“That is such a dad joke,” she said, splashing him with water.
“Yeah, well, clearly it worked.” He used the seawater to slick back his hair and smiled at Anna, his white teeth and tanned skin in such contrast in the midday sun. “You ready for lunch?”
“Sure,” Anna replied, following Nikos to the back of the boat and up the ladder. Nikos started the boat and untied it from the neighbouring vessel, slowly navigating through the throngs of swimmers and their boats back out onto the open water. But instead of heading back to Oia, he guided the boat further away, toward the smallest ring island of Aspronisi.
“Why are we going out here?” Anna asked. “I didn’t think you could go to Aspronisi.”
“Most people can’t,” he said, pulli
ng into a small natural harbor. “It’s been privately owned by the same family for six or seven generations. But I just happen to be friends with that family.”
Anna looked at Nikos, her mouth wide. “Seriously?”
Nikos nodded. “Yep. Where do you think I got the speedboat?” He lowered the boat’s anchor since there was nothing to moor it to, then jumped out of the boat, ready to swim to shore, the water almost up to his chin when he stood.
“Hand me the backpack and the cooler under the seat,” he said to Anna, who grabbed the items and passed them to him. He held them over his head. “Now can you bring the towels, do you think?”
Anna nodded, setting the towels on the back of the boat and climbing into the water. Nikos may not have had Boy Scouts, but she had been a Girl Scout, and treading water for three minutes with one arm above her head had been a requirement for her Stage Five Swimmer’s Badge. She made her way to the side of the boat, where she could touch the bottom, then walked the rest of the way in.
As they arrived at the pebbly beach, which was otherwise empty of any sign of civilization, Anna spread out the towels. Nikos opened the cooler, taking out a big container of salad, a smaller one of olives, a bag with two sandwiches inside, two forks and two bottles of water.
As they ate lunch, Nikos told Anna about how he knew his rich friend from school, and Anna told Nikos about the Girl Scout camp she had gone to every year from age five to eighteen. When she mentioned the types of badges she had earned, Nikos joked about how sexist it sounded. Anna just laughed before telling him about the science, public policy and environmentalist badges she had gotten, too, and how the most important one by far was her photographer badge.
“Is that how you got into photography?”
Anna nodded. “I was eleven, and it was the best thing I had ever done. All I had was the troop leader’s old film camera, but I remember the first picture I ever took. It was of my sister Lizzy doing her homework. She was always so interested in science and agriculture, and she had a workbook open in front of her with a pencil in one hand and a turnip in the other. I thought it was hilarious when I took it, but later when I developed it, I realized the look on her face. She looked determined and passionate, which I had never noticed in her before. And that’s when I learned that photography can help you see truths that you would otherwise never notice, even if the subject was right in front of you. Taking a photo of something imbues it with importance, and you’re more likely to think about and examine something critically if you think it’s important.”
“I get that,” Nikos said. “I used to wonder when I was living in London how people could see photos of poverty that would break their hearts but walk past it every day in the city without a second glance. I guess what you’re saying was probably at play.”
“Exactly. Some people don’t care about a story until an artist or journalist or social media influencer tells them to. Photography is one way to get people to pay attention to something they might otherwise overlook.”
Nikos smiled. “That’s really cool. I feel like I understand now why you’re so passionate about it.”
Anna smiled and felt her face flush. “Thanks,” she said. “I really love it. Even taking pictures of Elena on people’s garden walls is exciting to me. It may not be drawing attention to poverty, but it helps her feel empowered and important. And I think everyone deserves to feel that way, especially someone as badass as Elena.”
Nikos rolled his eyes. “I promise you, she feels plenty important,” he said, “but I think it’s really great that you feel that way.”
Anna popped an olive into her mouth. “Thanks,” she said, using her need to chew as a way to avoid having to say more. Instead, she stared out at the water and thought about the MarMac contest for the first time that day. For a moment, she felt like she should just tell Nikos about it. Surely he’d understand now that he knew why photography was so important to her. But, deep down, Anna knew that he would only feel one way with her if she revealed that their time together had an expiration date: disappointed.
After lunch, Anna and Nikos took one more dip in the water before heading back to the main island. They dropped the key to the boat with someone in the harbor office then climbed up to Oia where the truck was parked. They had to go back to the summer house to change so they could go to dinner with Eirini and Christos. Nikos was trying to help Anna stitch her relationship with them back together, and this dinner was a step in the right direction.
As they drove back, Anna knew that she was being evasive. Ever since the email had come through from Marcus, she had known that she would have to tell Nikos and Elena. They might even be happy for her. But part of her felt like they wouldn’t be, and that part held her back from saying anything. So she turned up the music in the truck, knowing that if she didn’t Nikos would catch onto her lack of desire for conversation and know something was wrong. She wasn’t used to having someone other than Lizzy who could read her moods like that. Until she figured out how and when she wanted to tell him, she would have to be careful not to let on that there was anything to hide.
They arrived back at the house, and Anna ran inside to quickly change. Nikos had the decency to change in the main house; after a day of bonding, Anna wasn’t sure she could handle a naked Nikos in the summer house. She slipped on as short and skimpy a dress as she deemed appropriate for dinner with her grandparents, not to impress Nikos but to beat the heat – or so she told herself.
Once she was dressed, she locked up the summer house and went to the drive. Eirini and Christos were sat in the cab of the truck, with Nikos in the back. Anna climbed in with him slowly, trying not to moon Nikos as she did. After much awkward dress holding and testing of foot placement, she was in, and Christos began to back down the drive.
“Isn’t this delicious?” Eirini said, pointing to the feta me meli on her plate. Anna had ordered the same, a pastry parcel filled with feta and drizzled with honey. They served it as a starter at the cafe, but this version was massive, with roasted peppers and mushrooms and spinach inside as well. All of the food at the restaurant was pretty fancy, in fact. They were on the southern rim of the main island, overlooking the caldera as the sun began to set.
“So good,” Anna said. “I never would have thought to put honey on veg like this, but it’s really yummy.”
Eirini smiled and took another bite. The last few days since their less-than-successful family dinner had been much better. Perhaps she felt bad for the way she spoke to Anna. Or maybe she just trusted that Anna had read the letters and come around. While Anna had only been able to read one letter so far, it had certainly helped her view of her father.
With the gallery placement not starting for almost six weeks, Anna had decided she would stay in Greece for as long as possible. It would take a while longer to get the summer house fixed up and sold, and she was enjoying her time here. Plus, until the placement began, she didn’t really have anything to go back for. If she was going to be sticking around, it would be nice to be friendly with Eirini and Christos, and she suspected she would continue to need their help.
“About the other night,” Anna said to Eirini, but her grandmother wagged a finger at her.
“No, don’t say another word. I was unreasonable. I am so sorry for raising my voice.”
“I appreciate that,” Anna said, smiling. “But I also know that I blindsided you with my plans to sell the house. I’m sorry. I should have made my plans clear from the beginning.”
Eirini put her fork down and glanced at Christos, who was deep in a conversation with Nikos in Greek, before responding. “Anna, you don’t owe us anything. Your father wanted you to have that house, and we should have listened to his wishes from the beginning. We’re just glad that we can get to know you while you’re here, and, hopefully, that you can get to know your father a bit better as well. He really was a good man.”
“Yeah, well, I’m beginning to get that picture,” Anna said. “It’s certainly not what’s been
painted for me by my mother. But thank you for those letters. They are helping a bit.”
Eirini nodded and put a hand on Anna’s forearm for just a moment. It was the first time that Eirini had touched her, and it surprised Anna for a moment. She looked up at Eirini, who looked like she was beginning to tear up. Seeing Eirini not as her father’s mother or as her hostess, but, for the first time, truly as her grandmother, Anna leaned over and hugged her. In response, Eirini wrapped her arms around her granddaughter, rubbing Anna’s back as they rocked gently back and forth.
When Anna sat up and smiled at Eirini, she noticed that Nikos and Christos had stopped talking and were looking at them. Nikos was trying to be subtle, looking at his plate and glancing up as he took a bite, but Christos was just beaming across the table at them.
They all went back to eating their dinner, and a few minutes later the rest of the patrons began to crowd around the balcony where they were seated. A famous Santorini sunset was about to begin.
Anna turned around to watch the sun descend slowly toward the horizon and wished for a moment that she had her camera. But she knew she didn’t need to take a photo of this moment to make it important. For the first time in the two and a half weeks since she had arrived, Anna felt like she had inherited more than just a house. She had inherited a family.
Hi Grace,
With what would have been our tenth anniversary coming up, I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding lately. How it foreshadowed what was to come. How I should have seen it coming.
When you told me you would marry me, I should have been the happiest man in the world. But I wasn’t. I was terrified. You had left me once, and though you said it was because you were afraid of your feelings, I don’t think I ever fully believed that. Not really. And I knew that if you wanted to you could leave me again. Even then I understood that I was a puppet on a string, and you were the one pulling it.
Not that I didn’t want to marry you. When you told me you were pregnant with Lizzy, I could have died of happiness then and there. I was so excited to be a father. It’s the greatest joy of my life, even now, after nearly two years away, knowing I probably won’t see them until they’re old enough to get here on their own. But I was excited to have a baby with you, and I wanted us to be a team. I wanted to know that you would be there for me the way I knew I would be there for you. And that’s what I thought our marriage would be.
The Summer House in Santorini Page 12
