Santorini, Wednesday

Wednesday

Woke up, ate breakfast, forget what happened next. At some point, around “lunchtime,” I walked up the road to look for cheap food at the mini market - a disgusting place; filthy, with ancient wares and rotting fruits. I bought a box of Loukum (Turkish delight, although don’t ever let the Greeks hear you call it that. Side note: Yesterday, at Manuel’s restaurant, three American girls walked in and started chatting with the manager. He asked where they were going next, and when they replied Turkey, he put his head in his hands, sat down next to them, and began to explain why this was a terrible idea. I lost track of the conversation then, as Olivier called me, and I had to remember my French) for two euros, and took it home. It looks to be about as old as I am; the powdered sugar long since turned to a yellowish crust, the candies themselves bland and mushy. Unfortunate.
After that, I went back to the pool (I’ve been listening to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire – yes, I am a nerd – and I quite like it so far, although it’s taken me over ten hours of listening time to get through half of a book that I could have read in a night), and before I knew it, it was five o’clock. Or six, maybe – or seven. Who knows? In any case, I decided it was time for dinner, so I roused myself (read: put on pants) and walked through Fira looking for dinner. For some reason, I settled on a place that looked like a restaurant – mistake. I ordered saganaki (fried cheese) and a roast lamb shank. The saganaki tasted like saganaki – which is to say, good – but the lamb was a far cry from what I ate last night; Manny’s dripping, crisped chops. It was no where near as tender, no where near as flavorful. The bread, however, was excellent. For some reason my stomach’s still bothering me – although I suspect that long hours in the sun and little water didn’t do much to pacify it.

**
As Jasper was walking down the narrow road back to Blue Sky Villas, ice cream in hand (tiramisu and chocolate), he passed a girl walking in the other direction. She was young, maybe twenty, and very American; short jean shorts, blond hair, plump. He took no notice of her until she smiled at him and said hello. He smiled, said a polite “Hello” back, turned his attention back to the ice cream and began to continue down the road until he realized she was still talking to him.
“What are you doing tonight?” she asked. Jasper looked at her suspiciously. “Not sure,” he replied, wary. “Might stay in.” “How long are you here for?” she asked again. “Back to Athens on Friday,” Jasper said, “and then Paris.” “Is that where you’re studying?” Full of questions, this one. “Just finished the semester,” Jasper said. “Where are you from?” the girl asked, still smiling. “Colorado, and school in Washington,” said Jasper. “We kept on seeing each other all day,” she said. “The pool,” she added, when she saw the quizzical look on his face. “Ah,” said Jasper, half-smiling, “of course.” She still didn’t look familiar. “We’re going to go out tonight after dinner,” she began, “want to come? Where have you been going?”
“The Two Brothers,” said Jasper.
“Oh yeah,” she said, some old man was trying to get us to go there last night, but he was so creepy! All the men here are so creepy! And so old!”
“Don’t go to Athens,” was Jasper’s response.
“What’s your room number?” she asked, “we’ll come knock on your door after dinner. Unable to think of a way to give the girl his room number without coming across like an asshole, Jasper replied after a minute.
“Nineteen,” he said.
“Great,” she replied. “I’m Heather, by the way.”
“Jasper,” Jasper said, “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she said, “See you tonight at the hotel – or we’ll meet you at the Two Brothers.” Jasper winced.
Heather never showed, for which Jasper was very grateful. He didn’t want anything to do with her. Dames were trouble; dames always were. But, he had told Sean, Genie and Steve that he would meet them at eleven at the bar, so at eleven fifteen he trudged up the hill to the Two Brothers. Other Sean was there (and thankfully, no women were), and they talked sports and watched Shakhtar beat Werder Bremen in the UEFA finals. Jasper wasn’t in the mood for the Two Brothers; after six days under the Greek sun his head felt like a fried egg, and the booming music and shouting didn’t do much to help him out. All he really wanted was a couple advil and a glass of water. So, after two whiskeys and a shot of ouzo for the road (on the house, of course), Jasper walked back home and got into bed with a tall glass of ice water.

**
Kim has since pointed out that Jasper essentially (albeit unknowingly) invited the girl back to his room, which was certainly not his intention. Apparently, that's what giving out your room number means. I claim sanctuary, since I was fixated mostly on my ice cream, and not what was coming out of her mouth. Plus, I have a history of being socially oblivious, which not everyone remembers. What I did notice was that she was American, slightly chubby (I am not a savory character by anyone's definition), that she tried to make her handshake firmer to match mine, and that she must have overheard me talking about Paris (probably on the phone with the Reuters girl), because she jumped to the studying conclusion far too quickly for my comfort. In any case, I'm hoping that this girl never shows up. I had no idea women could be that...predatory.

For some reason, I’ve been thinking about the “future.” It’s certainly looming at this point in my life – one more year of college to go, no idea of what I want to be doing – and it’s fairly impossible not to take note of its vast, empty shape off in the near distance. I’m not sure how Greece has anything to do with this, but it seems to me it does – I predicted an introspective week, and it has certainly been that. Solo voyages are healthy, and I’ve taken advantage of this one, I’d say – even though from an outsider’s perspective it probably just looks like vacation (which it is, only so much more). I’ve enjoyed myself immensely; even while lounging by the pool I catch myself smiling, happy for some honest-to-god peace and quiet for once.