“Are you serious?” Helena asked, shocked. “Dimitris arranged for the ship to come to take us to Paros?”
“Yes,” Sophie replied, smiling. “Can you imagine? He wanted to surprise you!”
“He did this for me?” Helena inquired, talking more to herself than anyone else. She turned to look at him. Dimitris was staring at her, and the longing in his eyes made her pulse accelerate.
“And I haven’t told you the best part, yet!” Sophie went on, smiling enigmatically.
“There’s more?” Helena inquired, restless. What more could there be?
“Yes,” Sophie replied, triumphantly.
Sophie turned to Dimitris. He smiled at her and nodded, responding to her silent question.
Helena stared at them, puzzled, and then turned her gaze to the ship.
All of a sudden, her breath caught in her throat. Staring at the big white cruiser, she saw the name of it… Helena was written with big, blue letters on the side.
Totally amazed, she looked at Dimitris.
He was smiling at her.
“Our new, luxurious cruise liner—the gem of our fleet—is named after you! It’s named Helena!” Sophie cried out and applauded, all excited.
Helena was left speechless.
***
The loud whistle of the ship’s siren took Helena by surprise and brought her back to reality. She looked around her, disoriented, noticing the crowd gathered at the port to admire the cruise liner. The port was packed with people and jammed with cars.
"That fool!" Dimitris cursed underneath his breath, and Helena stared at him, inquiringly. She followed his look and saw Alex, who was driving a big, silver Volvo Jeep, trying to get it as close to the docks as possible. However, there was so much traffic that the Volvo couldn’t get through, and everybody was stuck.
"He should know better," Sophie said, irritated. "There’s no parking space here. I never understood why people insist on driving their cars into the port area and creating such confusion."
Dimitris took Helena by the arm, and led her towards the gangway.
"Aren't we going to wait for them?" Helena asked, but the only answer she got was a warning look from Dimitris, who kept on walking. Steve and Sophie followed them up the gangway to the deck.
Helena was surprised to see the crew lined up on the deck, waiting for them, holding their right hands to their forehead in a salute.
“Welcome aboard, Captain,” the ship’s captain addressed Dimitris. “Welcome aboard, ladies,” he continued, turning to Sophie and Helena. “Welcome aboard, sir,” he finally turned to Steve, who was standing behind them, looking kind of lost.
Dimitris gave his hand to the Captain and every single member of the crew, smiling and having a kind word for every single one of them.
"Good morning." Stella’s loud voice made everyone turn to look at her, but since Stella had eyes only for Dimitris, nobody bothered to answer her.
“Where is Alex?” Sophie asked.
“He’s still trying to maneuver the car out of the port area,” Stella replied and glanced towards the street.
Everybody followed her look.
There seemed to be a big commotion going on. Two policemen had come to the scene and were trying to direct traffic to clear the area. Cars had to back up one after the other. The Volvo was still stuck there, and from the looks of it, it was going to take some time before everything was under control.
Dimitris asked one of the crew members to escort everyone to the private lounge area upstairs.
Following the man into the main lounge area of the ship, Helena took an appraising look around. She was surprised to realize they were the only passengers onboard.
“Are we the only passengers?” she asked Sophie, who was walking right next to her.
“Yes, sweetie,” Sophie confirmed. “As I told you before, the ship’s maiden voyage isn’t scheduled until next week.”
“Oh, my!” Helena exclaimed, feeling a little bit like Alice in Wonderland. “This luxurious ship all to ourselves…”
“Yes,” Sophie replied. “Helena is all ours for the day,” she went on.
Helena stared at her, puzzled, when she suddenly realized Sophie was talking about the ship.
“It’s going to take some time to get used to having a ship named after me,” she murmured, talking to herself.
Sophie put her arm around Helena’s shoulders and squeezed her gently. “Come on,” she said, as the crew member who brought them here went through a double swinging door.
They all followed him down a corridor and up the stairs to an exquisite, private lounge area. Their luggage was already there, set on the floor.
There were four adjoining doors to the lounge area, each one leading to a huge bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. Helena walked over to one of the doors and admired the luxurious bedroom with the king-size bed. A second door in the bedroom led to a nicely decorated bathroom. This is such a beautiful place, she thought, extravagant enough for VIP guests.
She walked over to the scuttle, but she couldn’t see the dock, since the cabin seemed to be on the other side of the ship, facing the open sea.
"He’s going to be here soon," Dimitris whispered in her ear, and she jumped as she hadn’t seen him coming in. Turning abruptly, she noticed Stella, standing across the room, watching them like a hawk.
Helena didn’t pay attention to any of them and looked outside again. Sophie had gone to one of the bathrooms, and Steve had disappeared inside a bedroom, exploring everything. This must be an experience for him, Helena thought. Then her thoughts flew back to her own trip to Mykonos, during which she had to spend numerous hours on the deck, as the seats at the lounge area and the restaurant were all taken. She had to admit this was a different way to travel, to say the least.
Helena heard a knock on the door, and a waiter came inside, pushing a serving trolley filled up with all kinds of food and beverages. There was coffee, orange juice, croissants, baked rolls, individual packages of butter, and three different kinds of jelly. There were also pieces of orange and chocolate cake and a pecan pie. Helena went and poured herself a cup of coffee.
Sophie came out of the bathroom and seemed excited to see the food. "I’m starving," she said and fixed herself a plate with all kinds of goodies. To Helena's surprise, she came and gave the plate to Helena, and then went back and fixed another one for herself.
Helena sat quietly eating her food and sipping her coffee, not paying attention to the discussions taking place around her.
All of a sudden, they heard the loud whistle of the ship’s siren, and a few minutes later, they were on their way.
Helena glanced at the door. Where was Alex, she wondered. Did he ever make it on board?
All of a sudden, she sensed Dimitris’ eyes set on her. Irritated, she turned to face him and set him straight, knowing that he was watching her and her reactions concerning Alex. However, as their eyes locked, the words died on her lips. At that moment, the door swung open, and Alex charged inside the room, dragging his suitcase behind him.
“Boy, I almost missed the boat,” he complained and sank on the sofa, letting out a deep breath. “Those idiots at the port…” he went on, but seeing Dimitris’ dark look, he stopped mid-sentence.
Silence stretched in the room, as nobody was the least interested to hear what Alex had to say.
Dimitris walked out of the room, with Stella following right behind him. Steve sat by the scuttle, looking outside, and Sophie seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts.
Alex stared at Helena, and immediately started talking about the hard time he had to get out of the port and find a place to park.
"I had to drive forever," he said. "I almost had to take the car back home and walk back to the port."
"Alex, you know how things are," Sophie cut in. "You should have parked at the open field, as Dimitris did."
"Dimitris! Dimitris!" Alex burst out. "All right! Dimitris is always doing everything right, and I’m doin
g everything wrong!"
"I didn't say that," Sophie complained and rolled her eyes. Helena could tell she was losing her patience with Alex.
On the other hand, Alex was furious. He seemed more upset with Dimitris than the ordeal he had to go through.
Things aren’t starting well, Helena thought, and watched Sophie get up and walk towards one of the bedrooms.
"I’m going to lie down for a while," Sophie said. "I have a terrible headache."
"Do you want an aspirin?" Helena asked, concerned.
"No, thank you, sweetie. I’ll be fine as soon as I lie down for a while," she said and disappeared inside the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Helena sat there watching Alex and Steve getting something to eat without saying a word to each other. She suddenly realized that nobody had bothered to introduce them. Never mind, she thought. It was obvious; they didn’t like each other.
Oh, well, Helena thought. She was sick and tired of all this. All she wanted was to be alone and try to relax. She couldn't care less what the others were thinking about. What a weird situation? A group of people, most of whom can hardly stand each other, are going on vacation together. She couldn’t help but smile at the irony of their situation.
Dimitris didn’t come back until a few minutes before the ship was getting ready to dock at Paros. Sophie came out of the bedroom, looking a little better. Alex and Steve started getting their things together. Stella was nowhere to be found.
Two sailors appeared at the doorway to pick up their luggage.
Everybody followed them outside and down the steps. Walking into the main lounge area, Helena noticed Stella sitting at a bar stool in the far end, sipping her drink. Judging from the gloomy expression on her face, she didn’t seem happy at all.
Totally ignoring her, Helena walked across the lounge area and out onto the deck. She walked over to the railings and looked at the island of Paros. It was breathtaking.
"All Cycladic islands have a charm of their own," Sophie said, coming to stand next to her, putting an arm around Helena’s shoulders. "Even though they’re pretty similar to each other in some ways, they all have a special charm which makes them stand out among the rest of the islands.”
They stood there side by side, watching the maneuvers the ship was making in order to dock. It almost took a quarter of an hour to finally dock and lay down the gangway.
"There’s Yiannis!" Sophie yelled, and pointed out to Helena a tall, dark haired man standing on the dock. The man waved at them, and Sophie waved back.
It took them another quarter of an hour to finally get off the ship. Sophie rushed towards Yiannis, with everybody else following right behind her.
“Welcome to Paros,” Yiannis said and gave Sophie a big hug. His face was beaming with excitement.
“This is my niece, Helena,” Sophie said and then introduced the rest of them to Yiannis.
“Welcome to Paros, Helena,” Yiannis said and hugged her tightly. “Welcome to Paros, everyone. We’re really glad to have you here.”
Helena liked that man from the very first moment. They all followed him to a minivan which was parked on a field nearby. After they all settled in, Yiannis drove them out of the harbor and up the hill.
When they got up there, Helena was left speechless by the beauty of the scenery. She saw the port from up above and the deep blue sea reaching out as far as her eyes could see. This island is just as beautiful as Mykonos, Helena thought. The only thing the Cycladic islands didn’t have was lots of trees. There were flowers and bushes everywhere, but not that many trees. Thank God for the soft breeze; otherwise, the atmosphere would be impossible from the heat, she contemplated.
After half an hour’s drive, the van finally went through the gates of the resort. They could see it from up above, stretching out down the hill.
Yiannis pulled up on the side of the road for everybody to enjoy the view for a couple of minutes. He explained to them where everything was, and Helena could tell the pride in his voice.
The four-stories high main building was halfway down the hill. A huge kidney-shaped pool and several tennis courts were built in front of it, towards the seashore. Bungalows were spread everywhere, some of them close to the water and others up the hill. Small artificial creeks were crossing each other all over the place, with beautiful small bridges built above them. The private sandy beach was filled with colorful beach umbrellas. All excited, Helena couldn’t wait to get down there.
When they finally pulled up in front of the hotel, Helena saw people rushing to open the minivan doors for them and take their luggage.
“Christina!” Sophie exclaimed and rushed to the top of the steps, where a tall, slim lady with short blond hair was waiting with a big smile on her face.
Christina was as sweet as her husband. She hugged everybody and welcomed them to their hotel.
"I kept the best bungalows for you all," she said.
"Oh! Christina! You shouldn't have!" Sophie replied, and her face was beaming from excitement.
Three small carts came around the side and drove up to the front. Their luggage was loaded on them, and everybody, including Christina, got on them and drove down a path following the coastline. They went by several bungalows, and finally, stopped at the ones built on what looked like a small island with bridges leading to it from all sides.
The carts pulled up in front of two large bungalows and stopped. Everybody got off, and Christina walked over to the front porch of one of the bungalows and opened the front door. As she explained to them, each of those bungalows had a living room with a connected kitchen and a bedroom with a bathroom on the first floor, as well as, two bedrooms with their en-suite bathrooms on the second floor.
"The three women can have the one bungalow and the three men, the other," Christina said.
"I prefer to stay with Dimitris and Alex," Stella cut in. "This way Steve can stay with Helena," she continued.
"You’re staying with us," Sophie told Stella, and from the tone of her voice, Helena could tell she wouldn’t take no for an answer. "The men will share the other bungalow," Sophie continued, and picking up her bag, she followed Christina inside.
Helena couldn’t help but laugh, seeing the irritated expression on Stella's face. She looked like a stubborn child who was just deprived of its favorite toy.
"You girls can take the bedrooms upstairs," Sophie said. "I prefer to be close to the kitchen," she laughed.
One of the hotel boys helped Helena take her stuff upstairs. Helena liked the roomy bedroom with the vaulted ceiling and the big windows overlooking the water. The en-suite bathroom wasn’t as big as the one back home, but it was beautiful, nevertheless.
She left her stuff packed and rushed back downstairs. She couldn’t wait to go outside and down to the beach.
Christina left them to get settled, and Helena found Sophie in her room.
"Go put your bathing suit on," Sophie said. "I can't wait to get to the beach."
"Oh, Sophie! This place is paradise!" Helena said and rushed back upstairs to get ready to go swimming.
After she came back downstairs, they searched for Stella, but she was nowhere to be found.
“That girl is turning into a royal pain,” Sophie said, as they were walking down the path to the beach, and immediately bit her lips, glancing over at Helena apologetically.
Helena laughed without saying a word. She couldn’t agree more. Sweet Aunt Sophie, she thought. She was always nice to everyone and didn’t want to say anything mean, no matter what.
They got to the beach, and Helena took off her sandals to walk barefoot on the sand… it felt so nice. The water was crystal clear, and there was a soft breeze coming from the sea.
Helena followed Sophie to one of the beach umbrellas and laid her towel on one of the two lounge chairs under the shade of the umbrella. Sophie laid her towel on the other one and sat down in the shade.
“Oh! That’s better,” she said. “This heat is unbearable.”
/> Helena sat on the lounge chair under the umbrella too. Her skin had already acquired a light tan, but she didn’t want to stay too long out in the afternoon sun and get burned. She had plenty of time to enjoy the sun later on, when it wouldn’t be that hot and dangerous for burns.
Sophie glanced around and seeing a waiter, she waved at him. The young man came rushing, and Sophie ordered two fruit-juices with ice for them. When the man left, Helena took off her T-shirt and shorts. Wearing only her blue bikini, she lay down on the lounge chair, enjoying the view.
There weren’t that many people at the beach at that time. Most people had gone to lunch, and the ones who had children, they had to take them inside for an afternoon nap. So it was a good time to enjoy some peace and quiet.
A few minutes later, Alex and Steve joined them and occupied the lounge chairs under the umbrella right next to theirs.
“Where is Dimitris?” Sophie asked, and Alex explained he had gone to the main building.
Nobody asked about Stella, since everybody was sure she had followed Dimitris, as she always did. To their surprise, she showed up a few minutes later, all by herself. She walked towards them in her tiny white bikini, swaying her hips and creating a commotion around her. Everybody at the beach was staring at her, even the women.
Helena had to admit she was gorgeous. She had a beautiful body, and her tanned skin showed off against the whiteness of her bathing suit.
Stella picked the umbrella next to Alex and Steve, on the other side of where Sophie and Helena were sitting, even though the umbrella next to them was available as well.
Helena glanced at Sophie, who just lifted her shoulders and laughed.
In the meantime, Stella had put on a show, bending here and there to fix her towel and raising the temperature even higher. She reached in her bag, pulled out a suntan lotion and walked over to Steve.
“Would you mind putting some on me, please?” she asked, giving him a big smile.