Page 56 of Summer in Greece

‘Holy Mother!’ Manno crossed himself again. ‘Tell me how a little bird could save so many men.’

As I told the story of Geronimo, Manno translated it for the bystanders. ‘A platoon had advanced in France, pushing the enemy back faster than anyone expected, but they lost their radio equipment. Due to lack of contact, another detachment mistook the platoon for an enemy force. They set about firing on them with heavy guns.’ The villagers stared, wide eyed, at Manno while he spoke. I continued, ‘The platoon had no form of communication apart from a couple of my father’s pigeons. At dusk, they released Geronimo with the necessary information about their position.

‘By dawn, the attacking force had been informed of the situation by radio. Eventually the two sections came together and they organised a successful, unified attack on the enemy.’

Manno’s audience applauded and patted me heartily about the shoulders calling, ‘Bravo! Bravo! ’

‘Very good! I like it. Walk with me,’ Manno said.

Flustered again, I had to admit I needed guidance on these things. I’d never walked out with a boy before. ‘I have to take the crutches to the school first,’ I said. ‘Thank you for the help.’ I rushed away and barged into the quarantine room.

‘Nurse Josephine, please, can you help me? There’s a fisherman, the one who saved us, who wants me to walk out with him. I don’t know what to do. I’ve never walked out with anyone before, and there’s no chaperone. It’s not correct, is it?’

Josephine laughed and stared at me for a second. ‘Gertie, it’s war-time. The rules have changed. If you like him, and you trust him, then there’s no harm in walking out together, alone. But stay close to the village.’

‘I don’t suppose you know what koukla mou means?’

The nurse laughed again. ‘Yes, get used to it. Koukla mou means my doll.’

‘Don’t go!’ Perkins called melodramatically from his bed. ‘You belong to me, Nurse Gertie. You can’t go walking out with some Greek fisherman who calls you his doll. Not when your own blood pumps around my veins! You have no idea of his intentions, and anyway, you’ll break my heart. Haven’t I suffered enough by your hand?’

Did he know the portholes had caused the sinking? Would he tell them it was me who went against orders and opened the portholes?

‘That’s not fair, Corporal Perkins,’ I said. ‘Your words cut me deeply. You know very well that I saved your life on two accounts! First, when I got them to pull you out of the water, and second, when I gave my own blood to keep you alive.’ I rushed to his bedside. ‘So you must shush now! You seem to be doing so well. Look. I’ve brought you a pair of modern crutches which the fisherman brought all the way from the island of Syros, just for you. How are you feeling?’

He gave me a sulky look. ‘I’m getting better. Nurse says I can get up for a while tomorrow. Promise you’ll come and visit, help me to walk with one leg. Don’t leave me to lie in an empty room wondering where you are, and who you’re with.’

‘I will, of course I will. We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we, you and I?’ I had to make him think well of me, not blame me for his loss of limb. ‘Really, Corporal Perkins, I couldn’t believe it when I saw you in the sea and got them to pull you into our boat. You were almost gone at that point, you know? If I hadn’t insisted on your rescue, you wouldn’t have lasted another two minutes in the sea.’

‘It really was you?’

I nodded. ‘You’d lost too much blood already. It’s quite remarkable the way you’ve recovered, despite the influenza and everything. You’re a very lucky man.’ Desperate to change the subject and not talk about the ship, or make any mention of his leg, I went on. ‘I’ve just sent a carrier pigeon home; well, not all the way to England exactly, but to Athens, so my parents will know I’m all right. The mayor attached a little note to its . . . um, wing.’

‘Wing?’ Josephine cried. ‘That’s unusual. They usually fix it to the . . . erm.’ We exchanged a startled glance.

‘Would you like a cup of tea, Corporal?’ the nurse asked. ‘I’m just about to make one.’

Perkins nodded and I continued hurriedly. ‘Anyway, the bird’s flown off and my parents will receive the message tomorrow. Isn’t that amazing? What about you, Corporal Perkins, do you want to send a message to your family?’

‘No, I don’t want them to know anything, not yet. I’ll be out of the army soon. My arm’s healed, and the stitches come out of my head wound later today. Almost as good as new, aren’t I?’ he said cynically, before glancing down the bed. ‘When I arrive home, I want to walk through the door on two legs. They didn’t even know I was on the Britannic. My mother and father think I’m still at the barracks fixing army vehicles. Who knows, perhaps I’ll get that job back, I mean, you don’t need two good legs to be a mechanic, do you?’ He frowned as if thinking about it.

‘You’re right, of course,’ I said, realising the irony. He would free up another able-bodied soldier for the front line, too.

CHAPTER 23

SHELLY

Greek island of Kea, present day.

ALTHOUGH IT WAS HER LAST night in Kea, Shelly had decided to sleep alone. There were so many things she wanted to think about before she headed home.

The turtle trapped in the fishing net had shaken her badly and brought the incident of her bracelet back with so much clarity she felt the tears run into her hair and then her pillow.

Was she doomed to this punishment for the rest of her life? She couldn’t dive without the memory of that day, when everything went wrong. It crushed her heart; a lifetime of regret returning each time she went into the sea. Yet she had to dive, to understand why David was so addicted to it. In a way, she also did it for him. She told him about every dive, talking quietly, sometimes aloud – sometimes only in her mind – she recounted every sensation, not that he could possibly understand. It was far too late for that, and of course that was the very thing that broke her heart.

She thought of her mother’s Christmas gift. If Mum hadn’t bought her the bracelet, she would not have been sitting at the bus stop that day. Mum would not have been killed. Shelly would not have gone to the jeweller’s that day and met David. If Shelly had not treasured the bracelet so much, she would not have kept it on all the time. It would not have slipped off in the sea. David would not have dived for it. So much had happened because of that one thing, the bracelet.

These thoughts went around in her head, making sleep impossible. She reached out and turned the bedside light on, dazzled for a moment. The unsettled feeling simmered away inside her, then she remembered her final video of Harry. Oh, Harry. She was falling in love, and knew it. She had to look upon his face. In a moment, she was out of bed and turning on her camera. There he was in the pudding video, smiling at her. Alone in her rented room, she smiled back at the camera, melting, wishing she wasn’t alone after all.