ARROW - 167. Chapter 167

In the morning, over breakfast, Roger had bad news for us. “Arnaud wants to go home.”

“Did he say why?”

“No, but I think I know. He doesn’t like to be on the water. If you go to the island, you will be traveling over a lot of water.”

Looking at Colin, ‘How many days would we need to be in Spain if we had the time?.”

“We could only visit for two or three days. This is his busiest time.”

“If we go to Italy now, we would have the two days we would need for Spain.”

“Yes, and we can still fly home on schedule.”

I was looking at Roger as I discussed the two days in Spain.

“We will be back in Greece when we bring Maria and Mary Ann and then again when Louise is old enough.”

“We should just put it on our vacation schedule,”

Jean and Roger came down for breakfast. As soon as I saw them I ordered coffee for them.

“Jean, Roger, Colin and I have changed our plans. Originally we were going to go to Italy and then Paris and home. But we forgot our friend in Spain and he’ll be hurt if we don’t see him on this trip, So we were thinking maybe we should cut our vacation in Greece short by a few days. We will be coming back with the girls and we can visit the Islands then. Do you mind leaving maybe tonight?”

Colin was watching for Arnaud’s reaction. Roger picked up on it. “Is it important to see this man and his family in Spain?”

“Yes, he is the guy with his family who visits us in the spring. I think you met him, Roger.”

“Yes, I did. He owns the restaurant that is known for its lamb.”

“Jean, Arnaud I hope you won’t be too disappointed.”

I noticed the smile on Arnaud’s face. I think Jean was on to the deception. I wasn’t sure but looking at Roger, I knew that leaving early was the best option for Arnaud.

“If this is agreeable I can book you on a flight leaving Athens at 2:25. It is a direct flight and should get you in Paris around 4 in the afternoon. Then we will see you in Paris as we originally planned.

“When will you leave for Rome?”

“I’ll book a flight for 4 pm. That will give the boys a chance to spend some time in Athens. There are a few private museums they can check out.”

And so with full agreement, I spoke to the desk clerk telling him are intentions of checking out, He asked if everything was alright. I think he was concerned that we found his service lacking in some way. I assured him the service was excellent and I would stay here again when I returned to Greece.

The boys put their suitcases in our room, so I checked them out when I checked Arnaud, Jean, and Roger out.

When the guys came down for lunch, they had their suitcases with them. Arnaud was himself, talking, smiling, and making jokes.

I was surprised when the boys came back. I made sure they had enough money for lunch. They said they came back to say goodbye to Uncle Arnaud, Uncle Jean, and Uncle Roger. I smiled as Arnaud hugged each boy as they left when their taxi arrived.

I looked at Colin, he was smiling as he hugged the men goodbye.

The boys ate their lunch after saying goodbye to the three uncles. Colin and I walked them to the door when their taxi arrived. Hugs and then they were gone. I knew Roger would bring us up to date on their discussions on the plane flying back to Paris.

I asked the boys what they wanted to do until we left for the airport. They looked at me, it was Ronny who said we should go to the airport. We have to check our luggage and that will take time. I didn’t realize the time. After saying goodbye to the guys, the boys were still eating. Colin and I sat down with them and had a coffee, The discussion was about what they saw and what they wanted to see the next time.

“Dad, Pop, we didn’t visit Sparta.”

“Make sure that is on the list next time we are here.”

“When are we coming back?”

“I promised Mary Ann we would bring her the next time. Maybe we will have to bring the Grans to keep an eye on her.”

“How about Louise, when will she come with us.”

“When she is a little older.”

I thought about her. She could come with Mary Ann but I would need Maria to come as well. I needed to plan a little more before I settled on a time for our next visit.

Arriving at the airport the boys took over. They checked our bags to Rome. I called our taxi driver giving him our arrival and the number of our party. I knew we would need at least two cars and maybe three, depending on the size of the vehicles.

“Did you call Geno?”

“No, but he’ll know.”

“How will he know.”

“Look at Tommy. I’ll bet he’s calling one of his friends.”

We laughed. Boarding was simple, it seems the plane had two classes, one a general class and one that would serve as business class. The difference is the seating arrangement. After we boarded I noted that there was one open seat in the front of the plane.

The flight was short, we flew up the western coast of Greece then flew across the Ionian Sea to Rome.

Landing in Rome, the boys went to claim our luggage, “I never realized how nice it is to travel with the boys. They take care of everything.”

We laughed but I was grateful for them and knew Colin did as well. Exiting the air port, our drivers were there—three taxis, four boys in two of the taxis. Carl rode with Colin and me in the third taxi.

Forty-five minutes later we were in the village. I watched the boys leave the taxis with their luggage. Colin said he would pay the drivers, he got out and Geno got in. That meant I’d get a crushing hug. Carl laughed until Geno grabbed him a hug as well.

“You are early. We didn’t expect you for two more days.”

“One of our party got ill and they had to leave. So we decided to come a little early.”

Visiting the village was like coming home for me. I spent a lot of time in the village and the people always welcomed me. For me, I looked upon the village as my second home.

Angela greeted us and little Geno was starting to walk. When he saw Colin and me, he headed right for us. He wasn’t alone, his beautiful sister was right with him. I had to sit down and in no time I had a child on each leg.

I never noticed before but now with both of them when they were talking they would pull my head so I would be looking at them when they were talking. Angela thought that was funny. “They never do that with anyone else.”

Geno looked and laughed. ’They don’t do that with anyone else because they see them every day.”

The older boys were talking to their old friends, who now were quite older. Several had girlfriends. Pepe was still the smallest of the boy's friends.

I knew of his family, his father had died when he was a child of two years. He was raised by his mother and the villagers. I remember Carmela telling me about his family. The father worked in Rome and would come home on weekends. He was in construction. After the war, there was a need for workers to rebuild war-torn housing. His father was rebuilding a roof on a business when he fell off the roof. They brought him home but medical care was limited in the village. He took a bad turn and died, he was buried in the same churchyard as Carmela. Tommy was his best friend, so he said.

Before turning in for the night, I visited Carmela. That night GG came. Her message woke me up. “What’s the matter?”

“GG said that we will be needed. It was the way she said it. I’m afraid we will have some bad news.”

“Go back to sleep. If she told you that then she will help you.”

I did fall back to sleep but it wasn’t an easy sleep.