My Aegean Fantasy, Chapter 1

I could hardly believe my good fortune. I had managed to save up for a trip to Greece to meet a friend. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was questioning my sanity, after all, that’s a lot of money to spend just to meet a woman I only knew from the Internet.

But, what a woman she was. We had talked for months. She challenged my mind, and appealed to me in other ways as well. The next question was, would she still want to meet me?

My thoughts were disturbed by the customs agents, and I quickly moved through, as she had told me to pack light! I found myself on the airport curb trying to flag down a taxi. My phone beeped with a new message: “I’m glad you made it sweetie. Meet me at this address for lunch!”

I finally hailed a cab and gave him the address. I watched as we left the airport and went away from the downtown area. About 30 minutes went by before I finally reached my destination. It was a small restaurant, small sign in the window, but nothing else to distinguish it from the surrounding neighborhood. I opened the door and walked in.

Before the door could close, I was set on by the owner. He greeted me and spoke to me in Greek too quickly for me to catch any words I had struggled to learn. Noticing my confusion, he laughed and spoke in perfect English, “Welcome my friend. Your guest is waiting. Please let me take your bag!”

Still in a daze, I was ushered into the small but crowded dining area. I stopped to look around, but did not see her. Then sensing more than seeing, I turned and there she was. Her smile lit up the room when she saw me. The next moment she was there in front of me. Her jasmine perfume filled my senses. I looked down into her eyes and took her in my arms.

The feeling of her in my arms was incredible. She wrapped hers around me and seemed to melt into my embrace. A nervous cough behind us made us remember where we were. We both blushed a little, but the smile on the owner’s face was priceless, like that of a proud papa.

We sat and she ordered something in Greek, and then leaned toward me over the table. We talked, for hours, eating as we talked, but not truly tasting anything. Soon, we looked up and it was dark outside and we were the only ones left in the restaurant, not even the owner was there. She laughed, “Not to worry, he left me a key to lock up behind us. Come, you must be exhausted.”

We left the restaurant and walked down the street. Suddenly coming to my senses I blurted, “I forgot my bag!”

“Relax darling, the owner had it sent to my place after you arrived,” she said with laughter in her eyes.

We finished walking to the end of the block and stopped in front of her cottage. “Won’t you come inside my dear,” she asked, the air electric with promise.