Steve took the lotion, quickly put some on her back and gave it back to her. However, the game wasn’t over. Stella asked him to put some lotion on the rest of her body, and went to lie on her lounge chair to wait for him. Steve hesitated for a moment, and then handed the bottle with the suntan lotion to Alex.
“Here!” he said. “I think it’s more appropriate for you to do it, since you’re her cousin.”
Stella laughed out loud, and made a remark about how old-fashioned Englishmen were.
Alex took the lotion, spread some on his body and left it on the sand.
Helena couldn’t help but laugh. On the other hand, Stella didn’t seem amused at all. She looked up and waved at the waiter. As soon as he came, she ordered some vodka.
“Vodka in this heat?” Sophie asked her, but she got nothing more than an ironic smile for an answer.
Sophie got up, took off her T-shirt and walked toward the water. “I’m going in.”
“I’m coming too,” Helena said and followed her. They slowly walked into the water. It was refreshing, but rather cool at first, and Helena took one step at a time. Suddenly, she jumped as she felt someone splashing her. It was Alex, who had followed them to the water. She had no time to get him back, since he immediately dove underwater and came back up a little further out.
“Wait for me!” Sophie yelled at him and dove into the water also.
Helena watched them swimming away, but she was in no hurry. She wanted to get used to the temperature of the water, which felt too cold after the unbearable heat of the atmosphere, before she put her head underneath. Steve was next to her in a few minutes. He seemed to be taking his time also, to get used to the coolness of the water.
Helena noticed how white his skin was, and told him to make sure to put some lotion on as soon as they got out.
They started swimming towards Sophie and Alex, who had already gone pretty far. Helena glanced at the shore and saw Stella talking to the waiter. She was waving her arms and seemed upset. The poor man was standing there, trying to calm her down. Dimitris showed up, and as Stella turned her attention to him, the waiter had a chance to escape. Dimitris threw his towel on the lounge chair next to Stella and walked towards the water. Stella got up and ran after him.
That girl is unbelievable, Helena thought. Dimitris dove under and came up close to where Helena and Steve were. Stella couldn’t keep up with him. Besides, she seemed to be having a hard time with the coolness of the water, as well.
“What happened?” Steve asked Dimitris and glanced towards the waiter who had walked back to the bar and seemed to be explaining something to the barman, pointing towards Stella.
“Nothing much,” Dimitris said. “Stella found something to complain about, as always. This time her vodka wasn’t chilled enough. It’s a good thing I showed up,” he continued. “Otherwise, she could have the poor guy standing there, yelling at him for the rest of the afternoon.”
“That girl sometimes acts weird,” Steve said.
“Stella acts weird all the time,” Dimitris pointed out and started swimming towards Sophie and Alex.
Steve wasn’t willing to go any farther in, even though there were no sharks or anything dangerous in the Aegean. Still, he didn’t seem to feel comfortable getting so far away from the shore. Helena stayed with him, and Stella caught up with them a little bit later.
“That idiot!” she cried out, and seeing that nobody cared to ask her anything, she went on, “He brought me hot vodka. Can you imagine? Who would drink hot vodka, especially in this heat?”
Helena didn’t pay any attention to her, and neither did Steve. Stella gave them a hard look and started swimming towards the rest of the group. She finally caught up with them, and all four—Dimitris, Sophie, Alex, and Stella—swam towards the small islet which was a little bit further out.
Helena saw them reaching the islet. Dimitris and Alex got out first and then helped the women. They all went to sit on some rocks, enjoying the sun.
Steve stared at her questioningly, but Helena turned and swam back to the beach. She wasn’t about to make a fool of herself, trying to catch up with the others, since she was already pretty tired. Steve followed her to the shore.
They got out and wiped themselves dry. Helena went and sat on her lounge chair and told Steve to come and sit next to her. Steve took his towel and his suntan lotion and went to sit on Sophie’s chair, removing her towel and placing it on his chair. Helena helped Steve put some lotion on his back. Poor thing, he was already turning red.
“You better put some sunblock on your face,” Helena said and gave him some of her lotion.
Taking a look around, she noticed two guys standing in the shade of the beach bar. Something about them made her feel uneasy. It could have been the fact they didn’t seem like tourists or that they were dressed in long pants in this heat.
Steve followed her look. “What is it?” he asked, staring at the two men curiously.
“I’m not sure,” Helena admitted. “I was just wondering who are they, and what are they doing here? They don’t seem like tourists, and obviously, they didn’t come for a swim.”
“You’re probably right,” Steve agreed. “But what do we care, anyway?” he asked and watched her closely.
“Helena, what’s going on?” Steve insisted, seeing her keeping quiet. “You’re acting kind of strange. As if… you’re afraid of something…”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she lied. “I’m just curious.”
“Are you sure?” Steve asked, concerned, and was interrupted by the waiter, who came to refresh Helena’s drink and bring Steve a beer.
“Who are these men over there?”
Helena was taken by surprise to hear Steve ask the waiter.
“Is something wrong, sir?” the waiter inquired.
“No,” Steve replied. “But they don’t seem like tourists, and it’s kind of odd the way they’re watching everybody.”
“They’re security guards, sir,” the waiter replied. “We have very tight security on this resort, patrolling all areas, twenty-four hours a day.”
“Oh, that’s nice to hear,” Steve replied, and sounded relieved.
“See,” he turned to Helena, as soon as the waiter moved away. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Yes, you’re right,” she replied. Then why do I have this weird feeling that something is wrong? she wondered and shook her head to clear her thoughts. I have to relax, she decided. I can’t go on suspecting everybody and acting weird.
“What time is it?” she inquired.
“Almost five-thirty.”
“We can sit out in the sun now,” Helena said and asked Steve to close the umbrella. “Even though, you might want to stay in the shade a little bit longer,” she told Steve, on a second thought.
“No,” he said, stood up, and closed the umbrella.
They lay on their backs with their eyes closed, enjoying the sun. Little by little, the beach filled up with people. Children were running back and forth, screaming and splashing water everywhere. A couple with a little baby came and sat under the empty umbrella next to them. The baby wouldn’t stop crying, and Helena burst out laughing, seeing the desperate look on Steve’s face. After a few minutes, the parents realized the baby was going to have its way no matter what and got up, walking back towards the hotel.
Helena lay back down and closed her eyes.
***
It was way after six-thirty when the rest of them finally swam back. Sophie got out and rushed to her towel, laughing at something Dimitris said. Stella ran, grabbed her towel, and wrapped herself in it, shivering for a few moments. Dimitris and Alex stood by the water.
Sophie sat on the lounge chair on the other side of Helena, and Alex came and sat next to Sophie. Stella lay down on her chair, and only Dimitris was left standing by the water. He turned his back to them, watching some kids competing on their surfboards.
After a few minutes, Alex got up, took a pair of wooden racquets o
ut of his bag, and asked Dimitris to play racquetball with him. They were very good and hardly ever missed the ball.
After a while, Alex walked over to Steve and handed him the racquet. “Go ahead,” he said. “Give it a try.”
Steve got up, and Alex showed him how to hold the racquet. He played for a few minutes with Dimitris and was really having a good time, even though he dropped the ball way too many times. Everybody was laughing and enjoying themselves. Even Stella joined in the fun and started encouraging Steve to keep on going. Everybody burst out laughing when, trying to catch the ball, Steve ended up in the water.
“Let’s play volleyball,” Sophie said. “So we can all play.”
Everybody agreed, and they walked over to a net a little farther to their right. They split into two teams: Dimitris, Stella, and Helena on one side and Steve, Alex, and Sophie on the other. After a while, others joined in on the game, and they went on for a couple hours, laughing and having a good time.
The game ended with Dimitris’ team winning, and after they shook hands with the rest of the players, they walked back to their chairs.
“I’m really tired,” Stella said and picked up her stuff. “I’m going up to the bungalow to take a shower. I’ll meet you all for dinner.”
“I’m tired, too,” Alex said and got up to follow her.
Dimitris closed the other two umbrellas they were occupying and sat down on his chair. Steve went and sat next to him and started talking about the game. Sophie and Helena joined them in a while, talking until the sunset.
“I’m going to get ready for dinner,” Sophie said, gathering her stuff.
“Let’s wait for a few minutes,” Helena asked her. “Let’s just sit here and watch the sunset.”
“Okay!” Sophie agreed, and they all sat there in silence, watching the sun turn red and slowly dip into the water, leaving a fiery trail on the surface. It was majestic…
There’s nothing like a sunset on these beautiful islands, Helena thought, lost in the moment. When the sun finally disappeared, it became cold really fast, and everybody grabbed their stuff and headed back up the hill.
For some reason, Helena couldn’t wait to get back to the sanctuary of her bedroom. All of a sudden, she had this weird feeling that they had a long night ahead of them…
Chapter Twelve
ARRIVING BACK AT THE BUNGALOW, Helena went straight to her room to take a quick shower. Finding her midnight blue dress in the suitcase, she laid it on the bed and brushed her hair. Then she put on the dress and lifted her hair into a simple, flattering updo.
Glancing at the mirror, she had to admit this dress fit her perfectly. She had bought it along with the emerald dress, the day they went shopping with Sophie, the day she met the fortune teller… She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. Nothing was going to mess up these couple of days on Paros.
She glanced at the mirror again. The dress had some shades of baby blue, making waves like the sea. The fabric fell in a straight line and reached her ankles, with a slit on the right side that went halfway up her thigh. Two tiny silver straps held everything on her shoulders.
Helena put on a pair of long silver earrings to match the straps of her dress and a matching silver bracelet with sapphire gems. With her silver sandals and clutch in place, she descended the stairs.
Sophie was sitting on the sofa, dressed in a mint green dress with her hair falling to her shoulders in soft curls. She was beautiful, as always.
Dimitris was there as well, wearing a white pair of pants and a navy blue shirt.
Helena couldn’t take her eyes off him, and Dimitris stared at her also.
“Helena, you’re absolutely beautiful!” Sophie said, standing up to hug her niece.
Helena gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked over to the bench, separating the living room from the kitchen area. This bench was serving as a bar and had a couple of stools in front of it. Helena sat on one of them.
The doorbell rang, and Dimitris answered the door. Alex and Steve, both dressed in black pants and white shirts, entered.
“We look like twins,” Alex said and laughed.
Stella, probably hearing the commotion downstairs, called out to them that she’d be down in a few minutes.
“Women,” Alex laughed. “She was the first one to leave the beach, and she’ll be the last one to get ready. How she manages that, I’ll never figure it out.”
“I heard you complaining,” Stella said, as she was coming down the stairs.
Everybody turned her way and watched her come down. Helena had to admit for one more time that this girl was beautiful, and she knew how to show it.
Stella wore a small silver top and a long white skirt which came down to her ankles, with openings on both sides that went all the way up her thighs. She had pulled her hair to one side, holding it there with a silver hairpiece. Big silver hoops hung from her ears, and several silver bracelets on her arms jingled with her every move. Her shoes were also silver, and to Helena’s surprise, they had very high heels.
How on earth is she going to manage on this little stone path with those heels on? Helena wondered. She had a hard time walking to the beach in her sandals, much less heels like that.
“You have to change your shoes,” Dimitris pointed out.
“I beg your pardon?” she asked him, upset.
“You have to wear flats to walk on the little stone paths,” he told her.
“I’m not going to change anything,” she replied and raised her chin stubbornly.
“Do as you please, but I’m not going to carry you,” he warned her, walking to the door.
Everybody followed him outside the bungalow. Helena stood at the porch and glanced at the sea. The water was black with silver strings here and there. The hotel was glowing like a Christmas tree.
They followed the little path, lit by small lights hidden in the flowerbeds. Walking by the tennis courts and the pool, which were also lighted, they entered the hotel from the back entrance. Christina was waiting for them in the reception area.
Christina stood and greeted everyone. “Come on,” she said. “Michael is waiting for us at the bar.”
Helena saw Sophie’s face blushing as they followed Christina.
Michael was waiting for them at a corner table. When he saw the group, he got up, shook everybody’s hand, and gave big hugs to Sophie and Helena.
He seemed like such a nice man. He was tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. His chin showed a strong personality, and the firm grasp of his hand made Helena feel he was a person she could trust. She liked him from the very beginning.
“Let’s have a drink,” Michael said, and they all ordered their drinks from the waiter who appeared out of nowhere.
Michael pulled Sophie’s chair and helped her sit next to him. He was the perfect host to everybody, and still, he managed to pay special attention to Sophie, who had eyes only for him.
Helena glanced at Christina, who was watching Sophie and her brother. Christina caught Helena’s gaze and winked at her with a smile on her face. Helena was really happy for her aunt. Michael seemed very nice and so did his sister and brother-in-law.
They had almost finished their drinks when a waiter informed them that their table was ready. Michael stood up, and everybody followed him to the dining room. The massive room had a sunken dance floor in the middle and a live orchestra, playing soft music. Huge chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, and windows that overlooked the pool with a beautiful fountain in the middle surrounded the room. Hundreds of plants were spread everywhere, separating different areas of the room and giving a sense of privacy.
They all followed Michael to the other side of the dining room and up the steps to a balcony which surveyed the whole area. The table was beautifully set with huge flower arrangements, crystal glasses, and silverware that shone in the light of the chandeliers.
As soon as they sat down, a young girl came to their table and gave gardenias to all the ladies. The waiter arr
ived with the wine, and Michael asked Dimitris to do the honors. The waiter pulled a little bit of wine in Dimitris’ glass. Dimitris raised his glass, and after he checked the color and smelled the wine, he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip. He smiled at the waiter approvingly. Wine testing was a very important ritual, and Dimitris enjoyed every minute of it.
The waiter served wine to all the ladies first, then the gentlemen.
Michael raised his glass, welcoming them, and everybody drank to their host and hostess’ health.
They had just ordered their meals when Yiannis came to the table. He kissed his wife and sat next to her, apologizing for his tardiness. As he explained, he had to go pick up a group at the harbor as their ship was late coming in.
The meal was excellent, and Helena enjoyed every minute of it. The food was great, the wine even better, and everybody was in a good mood. Conversation stayed light, and both Michael and Dimitris tried really hard not to discuss business. They made it until the dessert when the subject of the property Michael had just purchased came up. They both looked at Sophie apologetically, but she just smiled and turned to Christina.
Helena peered at the trays filled with desserts and didn’t know where to start, even though a few minutes ago, she swore she couldn’t eat another bite. Pieces of galaktoboureko, kataifi, and baklava with plenty of nuts and syrup were among plates of black forest cake with cherries, lemon pie with whipped cream, and banana pudding.
Helena chose baklava, which was her favorite, and she had to admit it tasted almost as good as Martha’s homemade.
When Christina finished her dessert, she asked Alex to dance. The orchestra was playing a slow dance, and three couples were already twirling around the dance floor. Yiannis followed shortly after with Stella, and Michael asked Sophie to dance.
Sophie looked so beautiful, almost like a princess, and Helena could tell she was having a great time.
The song finished, and another one started, when Dimitris came to Helena and stretched out his hand, requesting she accompany him to the dance floor. She followed him in a daze and shivered as his arms wrapped around her waist. She had to admit, she was really happy tonight. Maybe it was the wine, the beautiful setting, the company, or all of them together. She didn’t want to think about it. She was delighted just being in his arms.