A Greek Affair

Rosie appears, her mouth full of biscuit as she puts the tin down on the coffee table.

‘Grandma and I made biscuits,’ she says, a few crumbs escaping, making her put her hand up to her mouth to stem the fallout.

‘You know it’s rude to talk with your mouth full, Rosie,’ I admonish.

‘Sorry, Mum. Did Grandma tell you I won the pupil of the week award? I’ll find the certificate.’

Dad arrives with a tray of drinks and we soon settle down to allow Rosie to have her little moment in the spotlight. I inspect the certificate, noting that it’s in recognition for the excellent work on her project and having the tidiest desk. It seems the island was finished while I was away then, and Dad proudly shows me the photo on his phone. As for the tidiest desk, well that’s a welcome surprise.

‘Wow – that’s amazing! Well done, darling. I’m so proud of you.’

Rosie and Dad exchange conspiratorial smiles. I bet they had a lot of fun finishing off that model. We’re so lucky we have Dad; if something awful ever happened it would break our hearts. The fact that his heart attack was caused by the break-up of my marriage is something for which I can never forgive myself. Or Antonio.

Hitting the Ground Running (#ulink_9848482c-7509-599c-add0-42c5c18fb358)

Even given the amount of online work I managed to fit in while I was away, it was inevitable I would come home to a backlog of emails. In addition to the work generated by the trip itself, I’m going to be very busy indeed. I have a lot of notes and photos to trawl through for what will become a series of articles, as well as the report to compile, and it all takes time.

The hours between dropping Rosie off at school on this murky, grey Friday morning and collecting her speed by but I seem to fly through the work with relative ease. Maybe it’s true when they say that a change is as good as a rest. Just as I’m about to switch the laptop onto sleep mode and head out for my second walk before the afternoon school run, a new email pops into my inbox. It’s from Loving Life magazine and I’ve long been a fan. I really do have to leave, as I’m already running a few minutes late, so I quickly scan down the email. I’m shocked to see it’s an invitation to write for them. I can hardly believe my eyes. I’d dearly love to sit down and savour every single word, but I know I can’t. Rosie expects to see me in the space and it’s become a little ritual. Silly, I know, but it’s the small things in life that matter to kids. It’s more about the fact that her mum is now at home and the one doing the school runs every day.

When a child only has one parent in their life, it becomes even more important that they feel they have your attention. I hurry off to do my walk, spending the time thinking through the content for the next article for the website, which will be all about Monte Carlo. My mind conjures up a picture of Harrison’s face for a brief second and then it’s gone.

When I eventually jump in the car, I’m a little breathless. For some reason it was hard going this afternoon, but I have managed to make up a little time. Fortunately, the traffic lights are with me and when I pull up at the school I’m glad I left when I did. I seem to have timed it just right, with only a second or two to spare. One of the other mums is driving the car behind me and as I pull into thespace she gives me a wave as she drives past. No doubt she’s disappointed I beat her to it as she heads off in search of a gap she can squeeze into. There are always cars parked on both sides of the road no matter what time of day it is; it usually entails a long walk back up to the school – even if you get here early.

However, getting here before the main crowd means I have a little time to kill and Harrison is still on my mind. I get out my phone.

Hey, how’s it going?

His response is instant so he must have had his phone in his hand.

I was just about to text you! I’m missing your company. However, I’ve met this awesome lady on board the ship who happens to be a very good opponent at chess. Envious?

I smile to myself.

Chess? You are a man of many surprises.

I can imagine the look on his face.

Well, she’s eighty-seven and she’s just beaten me twice, hands down. It’s not good for the morale. Have you booked that appointment yet?

I roll my eyes.

No, but I will. And good luck with the chess.

I click onto my inbox, desperate to read through the email from Loving Life magazine properly, while trying to push thoughts of Harrison out of my head.

Hello Leah,

I’ve been following your blog for some time with great interest. As one of the leading travel bloggers in the industry right now, the whole team think our readers might be fascinated to find out more about what you do and the places you visit. I was wondering how you felt about submitting something for the magazine?

An article in the style of a series of diary entries would be both lively and informative. Initially we could maybe trial this for three consecutive issues to see how well it’s received. Obviously, lots of lovely photos would help to draw the reader in and we’d expect you to provide a selection of high-quality graphics to go along with each article.

If this is something that would be of interest to you, then please get in touch and we can arrange a meeting to talk it through in more detail.

Best regards

Wendy Philips

Editor-in-chief

Loving Life

I look up, letting out a little squeal of excitement. There’s no mention of payment but I’m sure they don’t expect me to do it for free, even though in truth I would. Just the extra exposure alone is great advertising and what a wonderful thing to be able to add to my bio on the website!

As excited as I am, I haven’t forgotten Harrison’s text so the next thing I do is to ring the surgery and book an appointment to see Dr Watkins. The mere thought of that is enough to kill my good mood but after the deed is done I do feel a bit lighter. My fingers delight in sharing the news with him.

Appointment with my doctor booked. Watch this space. When you get back home I’ll be chasing you by text, so remember that it’s your turn next! Enjoy the sun, it’s just started raining here. Speak soon.

Suddenly Rosie is there, flinging open the car door and bundling in – all legs, damp coat and backpack.

I realise that Harrison is right; it’s time I did something about this chip I have on my shoulder. For Rosie’s sake, as well as mine. I study her closely, thinking how perfect that heart-shaped little face is and wondering if maybe she’s ready to have another male influence in her life.

I enjoyed being in the company of a man the last few days and yes, my instincts clearly knew I was safe with Harrison, but it felt good. I’ve gained a new friend and a confidante I feel comfortable with, which was totally unexpected. But he also reminded me how good it feels to interact with a man and enjoy a little harmless, in this case, flirtation. I had no way of knowing that initially, though, so it seems that maybe men aren’t totally off my agenda and that comes as a real surprise.

~

It’s Saturday morning and Rosie has a practice session for a little event coming up at gym club. She missed her class on Thursday evening because of my return, and I know that won’t have gone down very well.

We make it with two minutes to spare and I’m relieved as Miriam Peterson is a stickler for punctuality. But Rosie and I stayed up a little past her bedtime last night to watch Shrek, her all-time favourite movie. We curled up together on the sofa, eating popcorn and munching on a bar of chocolate. That was in between reeling off sections of dialogue that we both know by heart. It was a nice way to end a strange week and I felt it made up a little for my absence.

I give Rosie a kiss and she joins her friends in the changing room while I head off to meet up with Sally for coffee. It’s walking distance from the leisure centre and a pleasant stroll, plus my pedometer is clocking up those steps. As soon as I enter the café I see she’s already here and I make my way between the crowded tables.

‘Hey, girl, I was just about to drink your coffee. You have a bit of a tan going on there, if I’m not mistaken.’

She stands and we hug, then I sink down into the chair opposite her at our regular little bistro table.

‘Well, was it amazing?’ Sally leans in, eager for my news.

‘You’ll have to wait until it’s up on my blog, but yes, I had an awesome time.’

Sally’s eyes open wide. ‘Awesome, you say? You met someone!’

I drink half of my coffee in one go, making her wait. It hits the spot and I’m conscious that her eyes are watching my every move as I wipe some chocolate covered froth from my top lip.

‘Their coffee is just so good here.’

‘Never mind that, tell me all!’

Her eyes are bright and her face is a picture of expectation.