As Greek as It Gets: A fun, feel-good romantic comedy Read online

  I first visited Greece when I was nineteen years old when Dad surprised Lexie and me with a trip to Elounda in Crete, where he’d rented a friend’s villa. The three of us took mountain walks, sunbathed on the beautiful beaches and ate delicious food in lively tavernas as darkness fell. I will never forget that holiday, and of course Crete’s the place where Max and I got engaged, so it will always hold a special place in my heart.

  It’s a little after three in the morning before I finally drift off to sleep again, thinking about how I’m going to be shattered when I work in the shop tomorrow.

  Five

  It’s a sunny morning and I’m dreaming of cocktails and delicious Greek food as I work my last shift in A Sense of Occasion. It seems that half the city must be having babies and children christened as there’s a steady stream of customers purchasing silver gifts ranging from money boxes to tiny silver bracelets. I’ve spent most of the morning tying pretty bows around an assortment of different coloured boxes and trying to stop myself from yawning.

  ‘Phew, that was a mad rush.’ I’m enjoying a coffee with Gail, my boss, during a bit of a lull in sales.

  ‘I know. I’m not complaining though. I’m going to have to reorder a lot of christening gifts. There will probably be a rush on next week when many girls and boys make their First Holy Communion too.’

  ‘Is that still a big thing?’

  I remember watching a procession of Catholic children decked out in their finery when I was young. They were going to their church on a Sunday morning, before attending a huge party at the Community Centre. I asked my mother why we had to attend a Church of England school rather than a Catholic one, as the Catholics seemed to have all the fun.

  ‘So it seems. I’ve seen photos of the dresses some of the customers have ordered for their daughters. They would put a royal wedding to shame,’ Gail says with a laugh.

  Obviously Gail hadn’t thought about the shop being busy when she allowed me some annual leave, but she doesn’t say anything. It’s typical of Gail her to be so accommodating. I think it’s because she can always rely on someone or other to cover a staff absence, as she seems to know everyone in the whole city. University students return every year to work in the shop over the summer season, when the shop business seems to get really busy, although I think many of them treat her like a mother, as she readily dispenses sensible advice to them if they have something on their minds. At times I consider telling my own mum of the nerves I feel about my own wedding, but always decide against it. She’d probably think me ungrateful, in view of Max’s generosity, and she’d tell me that Lexie would kill for a man like Max.

  When I step outside as the shop closes, I find that a warm sun has broken through the clouds, which instantly puts me in a holiday mood. I’m thinking happily of all things Greek, when my phone rings. It’s Lexie.

  ‘Hi, sis, you’re never going to believe what’s happened. I’m at the hospital.’ She sighs.

  ‘The hospital? Oh no! What’s happened?’ I ask, panicking for a second, hoping it’s nothing too serious.

  ‘I’ve fallen downstairs and my leg’s broken. It’s going to be set in a full cast shortly. I’m so sorry, Alice, but I’m not going to be able to fly to Crete.’ She stifles a sob.

  I feel so sorry for my sister and also a searing disappointment, as I had really been looking forward to spending some quality time with her, just lounging on beaches and hanging out.

  ‘What? Oh my gosh. I’ll come and see you right now. Are you alright? Do you need anything?’ I gabble.

  ‘No, I’m fine, thanks. Mum’s here. I think I’m still in shock. I’m so sorry, Alice.’

  ‘What are you sorry for? It’s hardly your fault, Lexie. Anyway, I’ll see you in a bit. I’m on my way.’

  As I head to the hospital, I can’t believe Lexie won’t be coming to Greece. The last full weekend we spent together was on my birthday three years ago, when we hired a house that overlooked the Conwy Estuary. One of her friends plus Ria and Kerry joined us too and we had the most wonderful time, walking through forests and drinking in the hot tub in the evenings. It was one of those special weekends that you never forget.

  Walking along the busy corridors of the hospital, I think about how people’s lives can change in the blink of an eye. Lexie could easily have broken her neck falling down a flight of stairs. Thank God she didn’t.

  A nurse directs me to her. She is sitting on a bed with a grey curtain pulled around it. Mum is sitting on a chair next to the bed, dabbing her red-rimmed eyes with a tissue.

  ‘Hi, Mum. Oh no, Lexie… are you alright?’

  ‘Yes, thank goodness. I suppose it could have been a whole lot worse really.’

  The nurse tells me that Lexie’s just returned from X-ray and is a little woozy on painkillers as she waits to be fitted with a leg cast.

  ‘I know, I was just thinking the same thing.’ I squeeze her in a hug.

  ‘Well, that’s the trouble with living alone, isn’t it? It’s dangerous. You could have been lying there at the foot of the stairs for days,’ Mum says theatrically.

  ‘Hardly, Mum. Someone in work would probably have called round. I was supposed to be at a fashion show in Leeds today. Plus, you ring me almost daily.’ She closes her eyes in an effort to stay awake.

  ‘Lots of people live on their own, Mum. I rented my own flat a while back,’ I remind her. Where I certainly don’t remember any daily phone calls from you, I think to myself.

  ‘Well, Lexie, you’re coming to stay with me until you get used to the crutches and that’s that. Plus, you won’t be able to get up those stairs to your first-floor apartment.’

  ‘There’s a lift, Mum,’ Lexie says. ‘Stop worrying.’ She looks at me. ‘I’m just so upset that I can’t get to Crete with you and the girls, Alice. But, don’t worry, we’ll make up for it when I’m mobile again. Hopefully the cast should be off in six weeks. I don’t want to be hobbling down the aisle. Those bridesmaid’s shoes are gorgeous.’ She manages a smile.

  ‘So, you’re not cancelling then?’ asks Mum, a surprised look on her face.

  ‘Well, maybe I would if it was just me and Lexie, Mum, but the girls have all paid. We’d never get our money back. Besides, it has taken months for us to arrange this.’

  For a second, I do feel guilty for not thinking about cancelling, but then realise how unfair it is of my mother to suggest it.

  ‘I know it has and don’t be so daft, Alice. I wouldn’t expect you to,’ Lexie says. ‘As I said, we can do something together another time.’ Lexie pats my arm reassuringly and glances at Mum, who sniffs and picks up a magazine.

  ‘Well, I just think it’s a bit strange having a hen party without your sister and chief bridesmaid, that’s all I’m saying. But you go off and enjoy yourself,’ says Mum with a tight smile.

  Count to ten.

  I stay for half an hour, reassuring Lexie and trying to find neutral topics of conversation with Mum, before I say my goodbyes. I feel a little bad for Lexie, but I know she will be in capable hands with Mum fussing over her. I’ll miss her being with us though.

  As Mum nips out to the toilet, Lexie takes both my hands in hers. ‘Listen… you make sure you have a great time. Don’t let Mum get to you. Just make sure you message me lots of pictures of sun-kissed beaches and hunky Greek men. Then again, forget that. It might make me depressed.’ She laughs.

  ‘Okay. Thanks, sis. How exactly did you fall downstairs? Did you trip over on something?’

  ‘I’m not too sure, to be honest. I went to the loo in the dark and obviously misjudged the top stair and must have just tumbled downstairs.’

  Mum arrives back at Lexie’s bedside and I hug her and Lexie, giving my sister an extra squeeze before making my way out of the ward. When I’m outside once more in the bright sunshine, it’s with a heavy heart that I think about the forthcoming break without my sister and resolve to make it up to her. Things have changed a little between Lexie and me, and I’m aware that families t
end to grow in different directions, but I don’t want a gulf to appear between us. I can’t bear the thought of losing the bond with my little sister. Maybe we can have that spa weekend in a nice hotel that I was thinking about in the first place. I’ll have to try to make the best of things now, though, as I know the girls are really looking forward to us all spending time together.

  Six

  It’s just after five, on the morning of my flight to Crete for my hen party, and I’m making a coffee and yawning before I nip upstairs for a quick shower. I’ll wake Max afterwards as he’s driving us to the airport.

  As I shower, I think about Mum, who rang me last night asking if I could take her into town this morning, having apparently forgotten we were on an early flight. She once again spoke of how sad Lexie was to be missing out, even though Lexie and I have agreed to make up for it another time. I wasn’t certain if she was being thoughtless in mentioning it, or genuinely trying to make me feel guilty. Either way I’m determined to enjoy myself. She rang off saying, ‘Well have a safe journey,’ rather than ‘have a good time’ but I guess that’s something.

  An hour later, I’m downstairs when there’s a knock on the front door and I can see the outline of Ria and Molly through the stained glass. Kerry is meeting us at the airport as Hal is dropping her off en route to a meeting.

  ‘Hi, Alice, are you ready?’ Ria drops her suitcase and crushes me in an embrace as I let her in.

  Molly is following closely behind Ria. ‘Oh, I can’t wait to get away from this miserable weather. I need some sunshine!’ she says, dumping her case next to Ria’s in the hallway. She’s wearing a bright pink dress with a white blazer over the top and a pair of high heels.

  Molly’s a pretty girl who looks very similar to Max with her long dark hair and ready smile and we get along pretty well… at least these days anyway. She’d been really close to Max’s ex-girlfriend, Rachel, and was devastated when they broke up a year before we met. It seems that Rachel had been like the big sister Molly had never had and they would go shopping together and have girlie pamper evenings. She was clearly a hard act to follow, so I let things happen naturally between us, ignoring Molly’s initial coolness towards me and just being friendly. Thankfully – at least I like to think so anyway – we’ve become pretty close.

  There’s still a slight drizzle coming from a gloomy sky, when Max comes downstairs, quickly downing a coffee I’d made him. He grabs our bags and puts them in the boot and the three of us clamber into the car.

  ‘So sorry to hear about your sister,’ Ria says to me. ‘I was sad to get your text last night. I really like Lexie.’

  ‘I know, it’s such a shame. Truth be told I feel a little guilty going off without her,’ I say with a sigh.

  ‘I know what you mean, but I’m sure Lexie wouldn’t have wanted you to cancel,’ Molly says, which I know to be true.

  ‘Hey! Remind me to get a bottle of gin at duty-free,’ Ria says. ‘They don’t have many of the flavoured gins in Greece and I’m a bit partial to a Parma violet gin at the moment.’

  ‘Me too,’ Molly says. ‘Although after last Saturday I swore I’d give up. I went to a wedding where there was a free bar and I got a bit carried away.’ She pulls a face. ‘I blame the bartender for letting me carry on drinking.’

  ‘You just can’t get the staff,’ Ria says, laughing loudly.

  Just over thirty minutes later, Max is dropping us off outside the airport. While Ria and Molly grab their suitcases from the boot, he gives me a lingering kiss inside the car and I lean in close and inhale his smell.

  ‘Now, have a great time and try to switch off. I love you and I’ll miss you.’ Max pulls me into a final hug.

  ‘I love you too. I will do.’

  ‘You’re tense.’ He gently massages my shoulders. ‘Honestly, Alice, go and relax with your friends. You work hard and deserve a break. Go and enjoy yourself.’

  ‘I know. It’s just the flying thing. You know how I hate take-off. I’ll be alright once we’re airborne.’

  The truth is, it’s not just the flight. It’s true enough that I don’t like take-off, but in reality my head is spinning with thoughts of everything that’s going on in my life. Thoughts of my sister laid up with her broken leg, dreams of opening my own gallery and wondering if I’ll be a sales assistant forever at the gift shop and of course the wedding day itself. Max is right, I need to try to relax and switch off. I jump out of the car and pull my case from the boot, before blowing him a kiss and then hurrying after the girls.

  We head inside the busy airport to where Kerry is waiting for us, grinning from ear to ear, near the check-in desks. I am suddenly surrounded by the sound of excited chatter and suitcases trundling along, and thankfully the holiday vibe begins to engulf me. I’m picturing myself sitting at a table overlooking the shimmering sea, with a gentle breeze wafting my hair as I eat a Greek salad and sip ouzo, and I can’t wait to be there. The thought of the warm sun on my shoulders sends a slow smile across my face.

  ‘Madam?’

  The voice from the over-made-up lady at the check-in desk shakes me out of my daydream.

  ‘Did you pack the case yourself?’

  ‘What? Oh, yes, I did.’ She looks me up and down before wrapping a tag around the handle of my case.

  As the last of the cases chugs along the belt to be loaded onto the plane, we head inside the airport lounge to order some lunch, or, more accurately, an all-day breakfast.

  While we are eating, Ria grabs the attention of a passing waiter. ‘Right, then. Who’s having wine?’

  ‘Not for me, thanks,’ Molly says. ‘It makes me sick if I drink alcohol before I travel. Plane, car, boat, you name it. A few glasses of anything and I’m hurling into a paper bag for the duration of the journey.’

  ‘Charming,’ says Kerry, laughing, as she’s about to take a mouthful of a hash brown.

  When the waiter returns, Ria pours three glasses of pink fizz and raises a toast.

  ‘To us. And our very dear friend Alice, who will soon be Mrs Jenkins. Although as the wedding is still two months away, there’s time to change your mind.’ She winks.

  ‘I’ll tell Max you said that. He thinks you like him,’ I say, pretending to be cross.

  We sip our drinks then head off to duty-free so that Ria can purchase a bottle of the Parma violet gin she’s partial to and I can buy some Marc Jacobs Daisy that I’m running low on. Kerry buys another pair of sunglasses, confessing that they are her weakness and that at the last count she had sixteen pairs. I can’t help thinking that, since we don’t get that much sunshine in the UK, you can’t show them off like shoes or handbags. Unless you’re a celebrity of course. Come to think of it, that’s exactly what Kerry used to look like, with her long blonde hair and stylish clothes. That is, until she met Hal and had her hair chopped off and started to wear combat trousers and fleeces.

  Soon our flight is showing on the departures board and we make our way through passport control and along corridors to where a queue of people are showing their tickets before boarding the plane to Crete. We have a pleasant enough flight, apart from a slight disturbance at the back of the plane, when the cabin crew had to confiscate some duty-free alcohol that a group of now rather raucous blokes had been drinking. Soon enough though, we’re touching down in Crete.

  The taxi ride from the airport to our hotel takes us along the city road, passing warehouses and petrol stations interspersed with roadside coach stops, until we are soon driving through small towns. The windows are down in the taxi and I feel the sultry, warm breeze on my skin as we speed along. We pass old, grey stone houses with flowers spilling from pots on balconies and shops with walls plastered with fading posters. Old men in flat caps sit outside village bars, chatting and playing dominoes, continuing traditions from many years ago. Soon enough, a stretch of beach flanked by hotels looms into view. I can’t wait to be at our hotel and sipping a cocktail at the side of the pool or perhaps on a sandy beach.

  The first
sight of the Venus Hotel, a short walk from the beach, puts all of my worries about the bargain deal to rest; it looks absolutely stunning. It’s a large, white, triple-storey building with wooden window frames and balconies outside every bedroom. Some rooms overlook beautifully manicured gardens that lead straight down to the sea, although every room will have a view of either the hotel grounds or the water.

  ‘Oh my word, it’s beautiful.’ I breathe in the fresh air as a warm slice of sun peeps from behind a cloud, as if to welcome us to Greece.

  As we enter the hotel, the foyer is even more impressive, with a grey marble floor and a huge chandelier centrepiece. To the right there’s a sweeping staircase, covered in a red carpet, with dark wooden banisters and to the left of reception, there’s a stylish bar area.

  ‘Kalispera.’ A handsome, dark-haired young man at a gleaming reception desk wishes us ‘good evening’ and checks us in before pointing us to a lift adjacent to the desk. Upstairs on the second floor, we fling the bedroom doors open and are thrilled to find that the balconies in both of our adjoining rooms have a sea view, albeit a side sea view.

  ‘Oh my word, this is fabulous!’ says Molly with a squeal.

  The rooms are cool and stylish, with crisp cotton bedding and modern bathrooms with huge, fluffy white towels. Lexie would have felt right at home here, I think to myself with a sigh.

  ‘I can’t believe it, Molly. You sure did get a bargain on Secret Getaways. I wasn’t expecting anything like this.’

  ‘What were you expecting?’

  ‘I’m not sure, but certainly not this.’ I quickly dispel any thoughts of rickety wardrobes and dodgy plumbing systems as I glance around the room.

  I tap out a text to tell Max that we’ve arrived safely and he immediately replies saying Missing you already. Have fun x