Hide and Seek (Write Awards 2014)

Chapter 3

Dana awoke to the sound of a coffee grinder. Surely Louis hasn't let himself in? Pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, Dana made her way to the kitchen.

'Hey. Hope I didn't wake you. Coffee?' asked the dark haired woman brandishing a coffee percolator and a big smile.

'Callie? Hi, I'd love a cup,' Dana sat down at the kitchen table.

‘Milk, sugar?' Callie offered.

Dana waved both away.

'Strong and black coming up, I feel the same way about men.' She concluded then groaned, ‘If only the wine were as old as the jokes!’

Callie set out two little cups with matching saucers. ‘Got back from Gozo, you were snoring away contentedly. What are you looking at? I was kidding about the snoring.'

'No, it's just that Louis said...' Dana broke off, embarrassed.

'Louis said, let me guess, Louis said that I was an old bag looking for romance under the Mediterranean sun. Am I right?'

'Not quite but from what he said I expected someone older.'

‘Louis and I are about the same age, but Marija tells me he likes his women young.’ 

'But he must have a good ten years on you,' Dana responded truthfully.

'Poor old baldy, I have a full head of hair and an acquaintance with sunscreen. His extreme tan gives him the appearance of an old leather handbag, don't you think?' Callie shrugged.

Dana giggled, 'I shouldn't laugh, he was extremely kind to me yesterday.'

'I'll just bet he was! Hope you won't be jealous when the German girls arrive, I understand they are even younger and taller than you!' She laughed as she cleared away the breakfast things.

‘Speaking of hair, yours is beautiful, I wish mine were as thick.’ Dana had been admiring Callie’s glossy brown bob which fell just below her chin.

‘It’s all in the cut, I don’t waste money on ‘age defying’ cosmetics, but I do believe a good stylist is worth their weight in hair product. And thank you for your compliment. I'm off to the beach, want to join me?' she invited.

'Louis said he'd be here early,' Dana hesitated.

'Early, schmearly, we are volunteers. I'll leave a note saying we'll meet him at work.'

Callie, who still had the hire car that she'd taken to Gozo, took Dana to a surf beach that was accessed via a steep stone stairway. It lay between two cliffs, on one of which was a terrace cafe.

'There is a bit of an undertow here at times so stay close,' Callie called as she charged into the surf in her figure hugging one piece with matching board shorts.

Not what I expected at all, ‘Wait for me!’Dana raced in after her.

Later, back on dry land, Dana wondered about Callie and Louis, there must be some reason why he had been so dismissive of her. What if it's sexual tension? That could be interesting!

She started at the sound of Louis' voice, 'Here you are! I said that I'd collect you from the house?'

Doesn't sound happy, Dana turned over and gave him a broad smile.

Callie appeared behind Louis, 'Hey, Monsieur Furlan, come in for a body-surf...'

Louis extended his hand to Dana, 'Marija is waiting to meet you.' By the time they had reached the top of the stairs Louis had recovered his composure, trying to flirt with Dana while completely ignoring Callie.

So much for sexual tension, thought Dana, He's just plain rude.

***

Working with Marija, GoM’s head gardener, was everything Dana had hoped. A small woman in her mid-forties, Marija exuded a love for her work that was infectious. She shared her knowledge generously and was charmed by Dana's willingness to learn. Freia and Erda, or the 'RMs', (short for Rhine Maidens, as Callie dubbed them) arrived and were indeed tall and young; Dana, at twenty six, felt that she had more in common with Callie.

In fact Freia was 18 and was Erda 19. They became infatuated with Louis and, although they were in Malta to improve their English, they spent most of their time whispering in German while gazing in his direction.

Dana's life settled into a routine of working at GoM, either in the plant nursery with Marija or in the organic vegetable patch with Gianni, Marija's 'salt of the earth' husband. By  mid-afternoon, she and Callie were at the beach, then home for dinner or the occasional sightseeing foray. On Saturday morning she helped Marija and Gianni with their stall at Small Planet Organics, the weekly organic farmers' market next door to GoM.

Every now and then Dana thought about her encounter with Sean. Though it was unlikely that she’d see him again, and couldn't remember exactly what he looked like, she couldn’t forget, and didn't want to forget, the way she'd felt when they'd stood so close together gazing at the horizon.