"Your tour guide is outside," the voice on the other end told her.
She repeated the information to Milo.
"This really is a speedy trip," he said, standing and wiping the crumbs from his lap. "I've not even finished my wine."
"Probably for the best," Keira commented. "You wouldn't want to impair your ability to absorb facts."
"Very good point," he replied with a chuckle.
They headed out of the hotel room into the sun-soaked courtyard, then back through the air-conditioned foyer and out into the street. A little minivan was waiting by the sidewalk, its engine idling. Keira waved and the driver noticed her, then hopped out. He was a middle-aged man, a little portly, and with thick, graying hair.
"Good afternoon," he said. "I'm Giorgis, your guide for the day."
He shook both of their hands and showed them into the back of the van. Keira immediately took her notebook from her purse. She could get a little travel sick writing while moving, but with the time pressure on her for this article she'd have to squeeze in work whenever she could. Not that she'd made a decision yet about what to do with the article, but she at least wanted to be prepared for either eventuality.
The minivan pulled away, driving down the sweeping hillside roads.
"This tour will cover the whole of Santorini," Giorgis said over his shoulder as he drove. "Our first stop will be the city of Oia."
Keira made some notes as she glanced out the window at the pretty architecture. It really was very beautiful here, with all the little whitewashed cubiform cottages perching above the sparkling blue ocean. She began to jot down her first impressions.
"Can you tell me about the volcano?" Milo said to Giorgis.
Keira smiled to herself. It was very sweet the way Milo wanted to know the history of everything. But it was to be expected, considering his museum job. She felt a pang then, suddenly, over the thought of Milo quitting his beloved job to come on the road with her. She'd feel guilty if he did, but torn apart if he didn't and chose to stay. It was a no-win situation. There really wasn't such a thing as a freelance museum guide!
As thoughts swirled in Keira's mind, Giorgis began talking to Milo about the volcanic activity on the island.
"Santorini had one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history. It was over three thousand years ago and expelled over sixty thousand cubic kilometers of rock and magma. It also caused a huge tsunami and led directly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization."
"Fascinating," Milo said with a tone of breathless wonder.
Giorgis continued. "Oia has long inspired artists with its beauty. As it is seaward facing, the sunsets here are incredible."
Keira could see why a place like this would inspire art. She herself felt very inspired by the small winding streets and the buildings that had been carved right into the cliff face.
Giorgis drove onward and upward, then pulled into a small parking lot for a restaurant. "This is the village of Firostefani," he explained. "A lovely spot for a walk."
Keira and Milo got out the car and went off to explore. The village was beautiful and bustling with life. Keira noticed a middle-aged native couple playing a game of chess by the side of the road.
"Do you mind if I go and do an interview?" she asked Milo.
"Of course," he said. "But does that mean you've decided on being the Romance Guru again?"
"I'm not sure," Keira replied. "I'm just keeping my options open while I make a decision."
Milo nodded in understanding. "I'll go and speak to Giorgis about the history of this place some more," he said with a grin.
Keira smiled, then headed over to the couple. "Excuse me," she said, a little reticent to interrupt them in the middle of their game. "I wonder whether I might be able to talk to you about love in Greece? It's for an article I'm writing." It was the first time Keira had said her Romance Guru spiel without feeling genuine about it. For the first time it didn't feel like it fit her anymore.
The woman grinned up at her. "You can speak to me," she said in broken English and a thick accent. "My husband won't understand a word you're saying."
Keira looked over at the man. He had a weather-beaten face and was peering at her suspiciously with dark, beady eyes. His wife quickly barked something at him in Greek and he nodded.
"Thank you," Keira said. She pulled up one of the spare stools beside them and sat, then got out her notebook. "Maybe you could begin by telling me about you two. How you met."
"Twenty years we've been married," the woman began "We have a big, big family. Six brothers and sisters each. So naturally, we had six children." She chuckled.
"Wow, that is large," Keira commented. "Is family important to you?"
"Very important. More important than anything. Here, it's not always easy to be wealthy. Other than tourism, most of us work in agriculture. We grow produce-grapes, tomatoes-or we fish. It's difficult, especially for young people. But we don't mind being a little poor because we are together. Family is very, very important, and we are loyal to our family."
"What do your households look like?" Keira asked with genuine curiosity.
"We all live close together, the whole extended family. There is a lot of cooking! We have lots of dinners together, with everyone gathered. Which also means there's lots of housework. But we both do everything. It's a big group effort most of the time."
"Is that unique to your family, or do most people live like you?"
"Oh everyone, everyone," the woman said. "In our culture, this is how it works. This is how families are run."
Keira made notes. It reminded her of Italy, and how things worked there with emphasis on the family, but with also some of the more egalitarian approaches she'd learned in Sweden. She looked up and closed her notebook.
"I won't keep you any longer from your game," she said, smiling and shaking the woman's hand. "Thanks for your time."
"Thank you," the woman replied. "Now I am about to checkmate my husband!"
Keira laughed and headed back to where Milo and Giorgis were in deep conversation.
"How did it go?" Milo asked, reaching his hand tenderly to the small of her back.
"Really fascinating," Keira said. "And have you educated yourself on all things historic?"
"Oh yes," Milo said, grinning with enthusiasm. "I've been enlightened about the maritime history of the place. Giorgis said he'll drive us past the captain's house and maritime museum on the way to the church so I can see them."
Keira smiled, recalling how equally enthusiastic Milo had been on the Viking tour they'd gone on. Even when they were glancing upon nothing more than some crumbled stone that had once been a wall, Milo was thrilled by it all. Maybe she was being too pessimistic to think Milo wouldn't want to explore the world with her. As long as she took him to places of historic interest, he'd probably find ways to entertain himself for weeks! Although that didn't resolve the issue of his work…
They got back in the minibus and Giorgis drove them past the houses as agreed with Milo. Then they headed up the hill again to a blue-domed church that sat on its peak.
"This looks just like our hotel," Keira commented.
"Yes, your hotel was built to mimic this style," Giorgis confirmed. "Many buildings are. It creates a lovely sense of uniformity to have the same white and shade of blue in many of the buildings."
They got out the car to take a look inside the church. Keira was so amazed by the interior. It was so beautiful, so unique, and so steeped in history. She could see herself getting married in a church like that. But remembering how badly it had gone last time she'd articulated such a thing to her significant other, she decided to keep that particular thought to herself.
The tour continued on, and soon Keira and Milo had been treated to every view imaginable, driven down every single winding, narrow road, and been given so much information that Keira's head started to ache.
"The final stop," Giorgis said, "is the winery. I believe this is where I am leaving you as you have reservations at the restaurant."
Keira recalled how Heather had more or less mapped out the entirety of their stay at Santorini. She would have liked to have had a little more freedom to explore herself, and at least to choose where she was eating, but it was also kind of nice having the decisions taken out of her hands. It did mean she could relax more and just go with the flow.
They pulled up to the winery. Keira thought it was beautiful, and couldn't help but notice how romantic it was. She wondered if Nina had specifically chosen this place because of how romantic is was, as a way of pushing her and Milo together, of making it inescapable for her to want to write about love.
They bade goodbye to Giorgis, and headed up to the stone building where the restaurant was. They were led to the terrace, which had wooden awnings just like in the vineyard, with creeping vines winding up them. The view stretched over the winery and down to the ocean. It was breathtaking.
"Hasn't today been perfect?" Milo commented as they took their seats.
Keira nodded in agreement. "It has. I've had an amazing day."
"Did you manage to sort out any of your thoughts though?" Milo asked. "Because that's the real question."
He was right. They had needed to have a long conversation about their future for a while now, and there was no putting it off. Tonight was the night to resolve everything, to really decide what the future looked like for the both of them.
"Not yet," Keira told him. "At least, not without your input."
"My input?" Milo asked. "But it is your career. You must do what's right for you."
Keira nodded. She knew this. But what was right for her depended somewhat on Milo.
"I need to know something first," Keira said. "Where do you see our relationship going after this?"
Milo's demeanor seemed to shift. The enthusiasm that had exuded from him all day diminished. "I've been thinking about that a lot as well. To be honest, I am not sure."
Keira nodded. "I'm not sure either," she admitted.
"If we didn't live so far apart, it would not be a problem," Milo said. "But we do and that is a huge issue. You know I'm a terrible traveler. And your life is all about traveling."
Keira nodded sadly. "Bit of a roadblock, huh," she commented.
Milo reached for her hand and stroked it tenderly. "That is not to say I won't try my hardest, that I won't endure plane rides to be with you. I will work as hard as possible to make it work."
Keira brightened then. "Really? You mean you want to keep going?"
"Definitely," Milo said. "However hard it is, I want to try."
She squeezed his hand. "I want to try too. Who knows, maybe one day you'll learn to love flying."
"Maybe," Milo said. "But there is always the issue of family. I cannot imagine ever moving from Sweden and leaving my family behind."
"I know," Keira said. "I don't know if I'd be able to settle outside of the US either."
With their hands clasped together, Milo and Keira gazed into one another's eyes. The future was still uncertain. There was no way to plan for the time they might want to settle down. But perhaps that didn't need to be resolved right away. Perhaps, for now, the important thing was that they were going to be together and were going to try as hard as possible to make it work. For now, that was the best either could hope for.
*
After a long, satisfying meal of seafood platters, Keira and Milo returned to the hotel, taking a languorous stroll along the streets of Santorini. It was a balmy evening, adding to the laziness they both felt.
"We never worked out what you were going to do about your job," Milo said. His hand was clasping hers tightly as they walked, as though never wanting to let go.
"No, we didn't," Keira replied. "But I think you were right. I need to work that out for myself."
They reached the hotel and went into their room. Milo went straight to bed, but Keira decided she needed to stay up and write.
She went over to the desk and took out her notes from the day. She'd managed to fill several pages with observations, as well as Giorgis' history lessons, the food review from the restaurant, and the whole interview with the chess-playing couple. Keira had no idea how she was supposed to work out what to write, what approach to take. There were too many different forces pulling her in different directions.
Keira remembered then a strategy she'd used in the past. It had been the only successful strategy she'd employed that could help clear her head and sift through everyone's opinions, leaving her with just her subconscious desires. And that was to write as if there were no audience. When she wrote for herself-rather than to please someone else-the truth soon flowed from her fingers.
So she took a breath and began to type.
Before she'd even realized it, Keira was writing about Milo, about love, about the different cultural approaches to romance. She wrote about Cristiano, and how relationships couldn't be molded to fit a style, and how people, certainly, could not be expected to change their fundamental beings just to satisfy another's. She wrote about how love couldn't be part of a trend or a fad, but that each relationship was unique; a journey that only you and your partner were on. That was the whole joy of them. Each one was special, each one followed a different path, and that was the whole purpose of love.
She stopped typing. The sky out the window was now black, making the ocean look like oil. She gazed over at Milo's sleeping form, his face streaked with shadows, and smiled. She couldn't wait to see where their journey took them next.
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