‘I’VE always wanted to spend the night on a desert island,’ Francesca said, as she pulled on her sweater.
They were still sitting outside, watching the glow of the fire they’d lit by the edge of the shore. The remains of the barbecue was packed away ready to be taken back in the morning.
‘Breakfast will be a strange meal,’ Sotiris said, tossing another piece of driftwood on the fire. ‘Cold chicken, bread, cheese, coffee…’
‘Sounds good to me.’
The bright moonlight was illuminating the whole of the bay, shining silvery white on the surface of the water. Francesca could hear no sound except for the lap of the sea on the shore.
She took a sip from her mug of coffee. After their idyllic afternoon of love-making, they’d spent a short while trying to be practical, clearing up and preparing supper. Sotiris had found some potatoes and onions left behind from the last barbecue at the house and turned them into a delicious soup. Then they’d simply eaten some more of the prawns, chicken and salad left over from the lunch that had been abandoned in favour of spending a heavenly afternoon in the lemon grove.
Francesca phoned her mother on her mobile. ‘Hi Mum, I won’t be back tonight…No, I’m not at the hospital. I’m out enjoying myself…Don’t worry. I can take care of myself…Yes, I love you, too…’
Sotiris was watching her. ‘Your mother seems very understanding.’
‘Of course she’s understanding. She trusts me and she’s always been very supportive. I’ve lived away from home for years. Made all the mistakes I’m ever going to make, I can tell you. Been through the fire, but it won’t happen again.’
Sotiris stretched out on the rug by the fire, raising himself on one elbow. ‘Do you want to tell me about it?’
Francesca tucked a cushion behind her head as she lay back, looking up at the stars. As she watched, one of them shot across the sky in a magnificent arc. Should she make a wish? Did she believe wishes came true? Could that star magic away her problems and make it possible for her to live like this with Sotiris for ever?
She closed her eyes. She wouldn’t ask for the impossible.
‘Francesca, if you don’t want to tell me about…’
She opened her eyes. ‘How long have you got?’
Sotiris smiled. ‘All night, with nothing else to do but…’
He was leaning forward, his eyes going all misty again. She felt a shiver of renewed desire deep down inside her. Before she knew it they would be locked in each other’s arms. Later…they must save their love-making till later because she wanted to have a coherent conversation with Sotiris. And above all, she wanted him to know where she was coming from.
‘I started going out with a man called Jason. He was a partner in his father’s firm in London. I was attracted to him when we met at the theatre one night. He had this expensive apartment overlooking the river, which was different from my one-bedroom flat in a high-rise block. Jason was fun to be with when I came off duty. It was like entering a different world, going out with him to films and the theatre—’ She broke off. ‘Listen. Is that an owl?’
Sotiris nodded. ‘He’s up in that tree. We mustn’t disturb him. When we were kids we used to go to sleep listening to that weird sound. One of my brothers told me the hooting sound was a ghost when I was small. I was too scared to go to sleep so my dad had to bring me out here to show me that it was only a friendly bird.’
‘You had a great childhood, didn’t you?’
Sotiris smiled. ‘So did you, I think. Like me, the problems came when you grew up. Tell me more about Jason.’
Reluctantly, she focussed her mind on the past again. ‘He asked me to move in with him. We were happy for about six months and then he said he wanted to marry me and have children, so…’
Again she paused as she tried to work out how she was going to explain her reluctance to accept Jason’s proposal.
‘So why didn’t you marry Jason? Was your career so important that you couldn’t have put it on hold for a while?’
Sotiris’s voice was solemn, with a sharp edge. She turned away so that he couldn’t see the tears that threatened to spill out. Quickly, she stood up and moved towards the edge of the sea. Sotiris was walking quickly after her. He caught up with her and pulled her into his arms.
‘What’s the matter, Francesca?’
‘Please, don’t spoil everything by being judgemental, Sotiris. I can’t help…I can’t help the way I am. If I could change…if only I could change…’
He held her against him. ‘I understand.’
She remained still, locked in his arms. He didn’t understand. How could he? But that was all she was going to say about why she’d turned Jason down.
She raised her head and saw the tenderness in his eyes. ‘Thanks for being so understanding. I can tell you what happened after I turned down Jason’s proposal now. Let’s go back to the fire. It’s chilly down here by the sea.’
She curled up once more on the rug, watching the flames flickering. Sotiris beside her, was waiting for her to continue her story.
Francesca took a deep breath as the awful memories flooded back. ‘I moved out, telling Jason I wasn’t the girl for him.’
‘Was he upset?’
Francesca gave a wry smile. ‘Not for long. Within two months he’d transferred his affections and his new girlfriend was pregnant. They got married shortly afterwards. When the baby was two months old, Jason turned up at my flat one day, saying he’d made a terrible mistake. Marriage and children weren’t as he’d imagined in his carefree bachelor days. His wife wanted to divorce him. She’d called him a hopeless father…’
She spread her hands wide in the flickering light of the fire. ‘Oh, it was a long, long sob story. Jason was in tears as he begged me to come back to him. He said he wouldn’t ask for marriage or children. He just wanted to be with me.’
‘So what did you…?’
She swallowed hard as she remembered how difficult it had been. ‘I told Jason he must go back to his wife. I realised I’d had a lucky escape. I hadn’t known what a hopeless, spoiled, selfish man he really was. And I was worried about his poor wife and the baby. I managed to get rid of him that evening, but he kept on pestering me, phoning me at all hours of the day and night, turning up at the flat when I was off duty. He said his wife had gone back to her parents. The divorce was going through. He simply didn’t understand that I now loathed him. Once he even came to the hospital and made an awful scene.’
‘That must have been wretched for you.’
‘It was one of the lowest points of my life. I knew I had to do something. Jason wasn’t going to go away, so I would.’
Sotiris leaned forward. ‘I’m glad you came to Ceres.’
She looked at his handsome face illuminated by the fire and the moonlight.
‘And I’m glad you came here as well. What made you want to leave Athens? Couldn’t you have had Alex living with you in Athens?’
Sotiris gave a deep sigh. ‘When Alex was born in Athens, my wife Sophia had no interest in him. She was an excellent surgeon and didn’t want any interruption to her promising career.’
The owl’s cry became louder. Sotiris leaned back, looking up at the darkening sky as he tried not to let the awful memories disturb the wonderful cosy ambience of being with Francesca beside the fire.
‘I remember Sophia had suffered a chest infection and the antibiotics must have negated the effect of the Pill. When she first found out she was pregnant, she said she was going to have a termination. I begged her not to. She said, OK, she would have the baby but I would have to make all the arrangements to have the baby cared for and…’ Sotiris broke off, standing up to move aside the dying embers of the fire with a thick wooden stick. ‘It’s time we went inside. It’s getting chilly out here.’
He took Francesca’s hand. She walked into the house with him, hoping he wouldn’t lose the thread of his story.
‘So, what arrangements did you make for the baby…for Alex?’ she asked as they sat down on the ancient sofa in the living room.
‘I employed a full-time nanny. Fortunately, she was excellent. Efficient, intelligent, and above all she loved little Alex. Not as much as I did…’ He smiled, leaning his head back on a cushion. ‘I loved him to bits. I used to rush home at every opportunity…’
‘I can see why you would want to do that,’ Francesca said softly. ‘He’s a wonderful little boy.’
She saw the look of surprise in Sotiris’s eyes. ‘I don’t think you can begin to understand what it’s like to have your own child. He wasn’t just a patient, Francesca. He was my own flesh and blood.’
She swallowed hard. ‘So why didn’t you keep him with you in Athens?’
‘When Alex was four weeks old, Sophia said she needed a holiday. She needed a complete break. She needed some exercise to get her figure back. Two weeks in the Maldives, diving. She was an expert scuba diver.’
‘Sophia seems to have been an expert at everything.’
‘Everything except being a wife and mother.’ He paused. ‘Two days after she arrived in the Maldives she was killed. Diving accidents can occur even to experts.’
‘That must have been terrible for you. So, then you were left to bring up Alex by yourself.’
‘When Alex was three months old, I brought him over to Ceres to be christened in the church where we’d all been christened—the church where my parents were married. It’s up there on the hill.’
Sotiris waved his hand towards the dark hillside at the back of the beach house.
Francesca nodded. ‘I remember seeing it from the sea as we arrived. Family means a lot to you, doesn’t it?’
‘I love my family very much. We’re all very close. I have three brothers and three sisters. I’m the youngest. Everybody was worried about me having to bring up a baby by myself and continue with my demanding work as a consultant surgeon. I tried to reassure them that I had an excellent nanny, but they weren’t convinced. My mother and sisters in particular begged me to leave baby Alex with them.’
‘And so you became a part-time father.’
‘That was what it felt like. I thought long and hard about it, but in the end I realised that Alex would benefit from having a loving extended family around him. And Arwen was so happy to have another baby in the house. Her children, Lefteris and Natasha, were no longer babies and she was hoping for another baby. She still is but it hasn’t happened yet, unfortunately. There’s still time, but meanwhile, Alex is very much her baby.’
‘Didn’t Arwen become possessive about Alex when she was caring for him all the time?’
‘I’m afraid she did. My sister means well. She only has Alex’s interests at heart. I made sure I got over here to Ceres to see Alex as often as I could. But that wasn’t enough for me. Alex was happy enough, but I wanted to be more than a part-time father. I want to be with him all the time now.’
‘If Alex were my son, I wouldn’t want to leave him,’ Francesca said quietly.
‘I wouldn’t have thought you would have understood how I feel,’ Sotiris said huskily. ‘But I really think you do.’
‘I can imagine,’ Francesca said quickly. ‘So, remind me how you got this post at the hospital?’
‘Michaelis came to Athens for a conference last year. I told him I wanted to spend more time on Ceres, so if ever the opportunity arose for a temporary post I’d like to take it. When he phoned me to ask if I’d like to take over from him for three months I jumped at the chance.’
‘And after that, what will you do, Sotiris? You haven’t resigned from your consultancy in Athens, have you?’
‘No, I haven’t resigned, Francesca. But…well, the way I’m feeling at the moment, I’d like to stay here for ever. What are you planning to do at the end of the summer?’
Francesca drew in her breath. ‘I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to London again. Not after living here on Ceres and…well, that’s why I went off on my travels, wasn’t it? To decide what I want from life.’
Sotiris’s eyes narrowed. ‘I thought you wanted a successful career, Francesca.’
She turned to face him. ‘I’m beginning to see there’s more to life than work.’
‘I’m glad you think so.’ He smiled. ‘At this moment in time, I’d like to live here in this beach house, keep a few chickens, grow a few vegetables, teach Alex to read and write…’ He broke off. ‘Do you ever daydream like this, Francesca?’
‘Oh yes. I can’t think of anything more wonderful at this moment than a little house by the sea, a simple life and…’ She stopped. She’d been going to talk about babies. Her taboo subject. ‘I’d like a cat, a dog and maybe a donkey,’ she said lightly.
Sotiris drew her against him. ‘The reality is we’re both on duty tomorrow morning, so we ought to get some sleep. That is, when we’ve said goodnight to each other, which might take a little while…’
When the first light of daybreak crept over the rustic window-sill Francesca opened her eyes to stare around her. At first she couldn’t remember where she was. It wasn’t like any bedroom she’d ever slept in. Wooden rafters overhead, wide open windows, the sound of the waves lapping on a nearby shore…
Sotiris, beside her, moved in his sleep and reality dawned upon her.
She tiptoed over the bare boards to the window. The view that met her was mind-blowing. The sea, coloured orange and red in the early dawn light, was as tranquil as a mill pond. Sotiris’s boat shone in the warm rays of the sun, waiting to take them back to civilisation. On either side of the bay the tall cliffs stood sentinels to their secret hide-away. She felt as if this place was home. It had the most welcoming atmosphere. The walls seemed to wrap round her protectively.
‘Come back to bed, it’s too early to get up. We’ve got hours before we need to get to the hospital.’
Sotiris was holding out his arms towards her. She went over to the bedside and knelt on the mat beside him.
‘We ought to get a move on. There’s lots to do and the journey back will take at least an hour.’
‘Don’t be so practical.’ Sotiris leaned over and hauled her into bed. ‘You feel so cold…’
By the time Francesca had allowed the warming-up process to begin she found her intentions of springing into action had blown out of the window. One heavenly hour later, she lay curled up in Sotiris’s arms, wondering how ever she was going to make the transition to efficient doctor.
‘We really should leave soon,’ she whispered.
He held her tightly. ‘Only if you’ll promise to see me tonight. We’ll go out for supper.’
‘What about Alex?’
‘Alex will be fine. He loves sleeping at Arwen’s house in his old bedroom. He’s got a new bedroom in our house but he enjoys being next door. Lefteris and Natasha spoil him, read him stories. They love pretending he’s their little brother and—’ Sotiris broke off. ‘Hey, why are you looking so worried?’
‘Was I looking worried? I’m not worried. I’m just thinking about how cosy it all seems to be part of that loving family. But don’t you ever hope Alex will have brothers and sisters of his own?’
‘Of course I do! But, that’s all in the future. Meanwhile, Alex is happy, which is the main thing.’
Francesca turned away, setting her feet on the floor. She had to get back to reality. Stop wishing for the impossible. She’d been burying her head in the sand for long enough.
They walked into the hospital together. Sailing back over the water, Francesca had already decided that she wouldn’t try to conceal her relationship with Sotiris from her medical colleagues and friends. They were both free to have a relationship. So long as it wasn’t a permanent one. There must be no strings attached to this brief affair. Sotiris would have a future with someone else who could be a proper mother to Alex and have more babies. She herself would…well, she would just get on with the job in hand and make the most of her life.
As Sotiris had tied up in the harbour, she’d tried so hard to get rid of the feeling of belonging to him. The feeling that she was part of a couple. The reality was that they were both independent people free to live their own separate lives.
Sotiris put his hand on her arm as they walked down the corridor from reception. ‘Would you like a coffee in my office?’
She smiled. ‘No, thanks, I want to make a start. Got a busy day ahead.’
‘I’ll see you tonight.’
‘Look forward to it.’
Francesca had successfully made the transition. She was on course again. As she always intended she would be after her romantic encounters with Sotiris. But, feeling the way she did about him, it wasn’t going to be easy.
Her bleeper was going off already. Yes, she told Michelle in Reception, she would go to the emergency area immediately. She grabbed her stethoscope and put it around her neck.
Sister Eleni in Reception supplied her with a white coat.
‘Would you examine the patient over there, Dr Francesca?’ Eleni said. ‘The one who’s screaming the place down.’
Francesca went over to the hysterical patient who’d just been brought in, strapped to a trolley. The young woman was throwing her arms around and kicking her legs.
Francesca took hold of the patient’s hand while she spoke briefly to the worried husband of the disorientated woman.
‘We’re here on holiday, Doctor,’ the distraught man said. ‘My wife, Delphine, she’s twenty-eight, she just went berserk this morning. She’s been up all night, drinking water, and—’
‘Drinking water?’ Francesca queried. ‘Oh, she’s mad about water. Says she can’t get enough of it. That’s all she ever has. She hardly ever eats. She wanted to lose weight for this holiday, but I think she’s lost too much, don’t you, Doctor?’
‘Yes, I do, but that’s not the only problem.’ Francesca looked down at her patient who had stopped screaming and was now clutching at Francesca’s hand, staring up at her with wild eyes.
‘How much weight have you lost, Delphine?’ Francesca asked gently.
For a moment, a flicker of sanity returned as the patient focussed her eyes on the white-coated figure in front of her.
‘I used to weigh thirteen stones. Now I’m about eight.’
‘More like seven, and still going down,’ her husband said.
He turned to Francesca. ‘But the weight loss wouldn’t make her go all hysterical, would it? She’s been ranting and raving like a loony for the past three hours. We’re supposed to fly back to England tomorrow, but I’d be scared to take her on the plane like this.’
‘You’d better postpone your flight,’ Francesca said quietly. ‘I’m going to admit your wife. How much water has she drunk this morning?’
‘I couldn’t say, exactly. She never stops drinking the stuff. She buys bottles and bottles. Costs a damn sight more than my beer.’
‘It’s the water that’s the problem,’ Francesca said. ‘I’m going to do a series of tests but I think we’ll find that, by drinking all this water, your wife has reduced the sodium levels in her blood and caused a biochemical disturbance. In other words, she’s suffering from acute water intoxication.’
‘Blimey! I didn’t know you could get drunk from drinking water!’
‘Drinking anything to excess is dangerous,’ Francesca said. ‘It will take a while to sort out the imbalance in Delphine’s body but we’ll do all we can to ensure her recovery. It’s a good thing you brought your wife in when you did.’
‘Would it have been dangerous if we hadn’t come in, Doctor?’
Francesca hesitated. ‘It could have been fatal. Delphine is lucky to have a sensible husband like you. Once we’ve stabilised her, you must make sure she doesn’t go down the same road again. You’re going to need support when you get back to England, so we’ll give you the medical case notes to take with you when we eventually discharge your wife.’
As Francesca was admitting her now sedated patient to the medical ward, Sotiris came through the door and walked up to the bedside.
‘I heard there was a problem finding a bed on this ward, Francesca. I suggested to Sister that she should discharge one of her convalescent patients if she could find anyone suitable.’
Francesca smiled. ‘Yes, it’s all sorted. Sister’s discharged a patient to carry on convalescing at home, with frequent outpatient visits. She’s sitting in the patients’ day room waiting for her family to collect her. But thank you for taking the trouble to check what was happening in person, Dr Sotiris.’
Sotiris smiled. ‘I like to keep my finger on the pulse, Doctor.’
Turning to Delphine’s husband, Francesca asked if he would like to stay at the hospital. He said that he would. Francesca said she would arrange it.
Sotiris was still waiting for her. She moved away from the bed and together they walked down the ward.
‘I’m glad you’ve got everything sorted out with this case, Francesca.’
‘I’ve sent blood samples to the path lab for analysis. Delphine’s biochemistry will need careful monitoring. I think she’ll have to be here for a week at least. But thanks for taking such an interest. It’s not often I get preferential treatment from the medical director of the hospitals I work in.’
Sotiris smiled. ‘I was concerned about this patient.’ He lowered his voice. ‘And when I heard you were taking care of her I was concerned for you. Are you OK, Francesca? Not too tired?’
She smiled back, feeling almost shy as she faced him. The past twenty-four hours had seemed like a lifetime, a lifetime of change. Nothing would ever be the same again and she had absolutely no idea how she was going to handle her disturbing feelings.
Where her newly admitted patient had a chemical imbalance, she herself had a complete emotional turbulence going on inside her.
‘I’m fine.’
‘It was good that you were able to make a quick diagnosis of this unusual case.’
‘I remember treating a similar case in London. That patient was brought in too late to be saved. It was only in the post-mortem that the patient was found to be suffering from the biochemical disturbance, hyponatraemia, just like Delphine.’
‘Well it looks as if you’ve started treatment early enough for Delphine.’ Sotiris put his hand on her arm. ‘Where are you off to now?’
‘Paediatrics. I was on my way there when I was called to the emergency area. I always like to see Makis first thing in the morning.’
‘Our little leukaemia patient.’
Francesca eyes clouded over. ‘I expect the diagnosis will be confirmed soon. But until then…’
‘You get very involved with your young patients, don’t you, Francesca?’
She hesitated. ‘Of course I do. Contrary to what you think, I love children. I’m very fond of Alex. I’d like to see him again soon. Next time we have a day off at the same time, would it be possible for the three of us to go out together?’
Sotiris took a step backward. ‘I’m not sure that would be a good idea. Alex has to go to nursery school and—’
‘Sotiris, he’s only four. He could miss school for half a day…or we could take him out on a weekend. Alex and I got on so well when—’
‘No, Francesca. I don’t think I could arrange it.’
Francesca stared at Sotiris as she heard the finality of his tone. He’d never spoken to her like that before. Whatever his reasons, she wasn’t going to pursue the subject, not at the risk of causing a rift between them. This was meant to be a brief fling for both of them and perhaps playing happy families would be going a step too far.
‘Fine. It was just an idea, that’s all.’
‘No hard feelings?’
‘Of course not.’
‘So we’re on for tonight?’
She smiled. ‘Most certainly. See you later.’
She walked quickly away, not wanting Sotiris to see that she was upset. She’d hoped for a brief affair, and that was what they were now enjoying. But, oh, she knew she wanted so much more. She wanted with all her heart to start planning a future with Sotiris.
With Sotiris and little Alex. But that was impossible, as she had to keep reminding herself. She’d have to settle for what she’d got because there were only a few weeks left before Sotiris would return to Athens.