Greek Doctor Claims His Bride

* * *

The pile of clothes Tanya had brought from her suitcase to the bedroom could wait until she’d had some breakfast. She’d hardly eaten any supper at Giorgio’s. She set off to walk round to the baker’s to get some bread. As she stepped into the street, she caught a glimpse of Manolis turning the corner and the sound of his daughter’s chatter. If she hurried she could catch him up before he reached the main street. No, she needed to cool down. She wasn’t sure how she was going to face him today.

She lingered a while to make sure he was well on the way to Chrysanthe’s school. She wasn’t ready to face him just yet. Not until she’d made a cafetière of strong coffee and had some breakfast. He would probably phone later from the hospital and ask her down to discuss the job. At least, that was what she was hoping.

But he didn’t! She spent the entire morning doing more cleaning, organising the kitchen, organising the bedroom, hanging up clothes, neatly placing her pants and bras in one drawer, her T-shirts in another, her swimwear in another…

“He should have phoned by now!”

She realised she’d spoken out loud. Maybe that was what happened to people who lived by themselves. She needed to get out more! The sun was shining outside. To hell with him! She wasn’t waiting around any longer. She knew she really wanted this job now and so if he wasn’t going to contact her she would go to the hospital and ask for it herself. Her father had been one of the founders of the new hospital, for heaven’s sake! She would go in there with her head held high and ask to see the chairman of the board, whoever he might be these days.

Choosing the right clothes when you wanted to impress had always been a problem, because she preferred a casual look. Somewhere in the middle? Her cream linen suit? With a pale pink silk shirt underneath in case the heat got to her? Yes, that looked fine.

She sat down at her grandmother’s dressing table. Looking in the mirror, she smiled at herself to remove the worry lines that had appeared on her forehead. At twenty-eight she needed to take care not to get real wrinkles settling there. The light tan she’d had since she’d gone to live in Australia needed very little makeup. A little foundation cream and a dash of lipstick was all she’d use. There!

Several strokes of the hairbrush smoothed out the long auburn hair and made it shine. She was glad she’d taken the time to wash it that morning. She could, of course, coil it up so that she looked more professional. Yes, that would definitely impress the chairman of the board, the old boy she was going to see. He was bound to be old, wasn’t he? These types always were.

She piled her hair up on top and stuck it in place with several pins and grips. Over the years she’d practised this so often that it wasn’t difficult for her. She immediately felt more efficient, intelligent, a better doctor, somebody that the chairman would take seriously.

“In short, Dr Tanya,” she told her reflection, “you are the perfect candidate we’ve been looking for. The job is yours.”

She smiled. “Thank you, sir. I accept.”

* * *

Outside, the midday sun was stronger than she’d realised and the smart court shoes were hardly conducive to the cobblestones. Still, by the time she’d gone through the upper town and tried to persuade a taxi to collect her it would be quicker and easier to simply make her way on foot down the kali strata.

Halfway down, the door to Helene’s house was wide open. Helene’s grandmother was standing on the step and called out to her.

They chatted together. Tanya explained that she was on her way to the hospital and wouldn’t come in for a drink. Yes, she would try to see Helene at the hospital and was glad that all was well with her. With praise ringing in her ears about the way that she and Manolis had delivered the baby, she continued on her way.

It was marginally cooler as she walked through the narrow streets of Yialos, the town by the harbour. The hospital, referred to by everybody as the New Hospital, was set back from the harbour near the church. It had started off as the doctors’ surgery, she remembered, and had then been extended a great deal to qualify as a real hospital. It had certainly grown since she was last here.

She walked in through the front doors that led from the area where a couple of ambulances were parked. The reception area was very smart and, luxury of luxuries, it was air-conditioned! She really hadn’t expected anything quite so grand here on Ceres. She began to feel slightly overwhelmed. And definitely overdressed. And the fact that she’d assumed she could just walk in and demand to see the chairman of the board was perhaps a little…

“Can I help you?” an English voice asked.

She moved forward to confront the white-uniformed receptionist who, unsmilingly, didn’t seem as if she wanted to help at all.

“Actually, I was hoping to see…I’d like to make an appointment to see the chairman of the hospital board.”

The young woman frowned. “Could you give me some details, Miss…?”

She cleared her throat and straightened her back. “I’m Dr Tanya Angelapoulos.”

“Tanya!”

She turned at the sound of Manolis’s voice—his most welcome voice! For a moment she felt like the young girl who’d craved his attention. No, she was all grown up now and didn’t need his help—did she?

He came towards her, looking so handsome in his theatre greens, a mask still dangling round his throat, that she was sure her heart missed a beat.

“I’ve been in Theatre all morning. I was going to call you when I got a moment to spare about the job. I haven’t been able to contact any of the board. Wheels run slowly out here and now everything closes down for lunch. Why are you here?”

“I just happened to be down in the town, shopping, and I thought I’d drop in to…er get the feel of the place, see if I might like to work here,” she improvised.

He looked taken aback, she thought, and wished fervently that she hadn’t arrived unannounced. He didn’t seem at all pleased to see her.

“Look, come along to my office. I’ll fill you in on what’s involved with the job.” He turned to looked at the receptionist, who was desperately trying to find out what was going on. “It’s OK, Melissa, I’ll look after Dr Tanya.”

He put a hand on her back as he guided her out of Reception. He hadn’t even noticed she was smiling.

Tanya could feel the gentle, soothing touch of Manolis’s hand in the small of her back as they walked along the corridor. He was pushing open a door that led into a spacious room. He was obviously very important here. She’d noticed the sign on the door that read “HOSPITAL DIRECTOR.” He was the one who’d got her interested in this job. Surely he could bypass the usual rules and sign her in?