This is the prequel/backstory for The Syncode series I am currently working on, detailing how medical assistant 'Average Jo' Joanne Hartwell meets the elder Holmes cousin, Julian Holmes.
It is he who introduces her to his British cousins, Mycroft an...
Notes: *ξέρετε ότι μπορείτε να με εμπιστευτείτε - You know you can trust me
*Agapi Mou - My love
Patos island proved to be more beautiful than the pictures showed, and the view from the top of the lighthouse was fantastic. At one point, Julian took her for an aerial tour. His home was no less remarkable, and true to his word, Joanne did indeed have her own suite of rooms.
The weather remained mild as they entered the winter months. Reports from his home in Canberra stated the temps had climbed into the mid 100's. She continued visiting Julian on the weekends and days off, the two growing closer over time.
It was around her third visit that he began teaching her Greek, and by the end of that month, she was passably decent. Immersed in it, he spoke only in his mothers' native tongue. Back at the apartment, Jo binge watched Greek movies and sitcoms with subtitles, learning every nuance of the it, as well as studying from the various books Julian gave her.
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"How did your dad meet her, an Englishman and a Greek?" she asked one day as they walked along the pebbly shore.
"My father, as are all of the Holmes, British civil servants. His particular position was acting advisor to the then Prime Minister and others in that circle. It was on a trip to Cyprus to sort out the tensions between Greece and Turkey that he met her. At the time, she worked as an aide to the Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis. It was love at first sight apparently; he courted her off and on for the better part of two years before they finally married. I was born a few years later. I have an older half sister, Risa, who was from my mother's arranged marriage seven years prior. It was a common practice in Greece at that time. Needless to say, it didn't work out. My sister and her family still reside in Kos, and no longer speak English. Half of the reason I want you to learn Greek is so that when we visit, you will be able to understand and converse with them."
"We're going to Kos?! When? I'd love to meet them!" It had been over twenty years since Jo had been to Europe. She'd wanted to go back, but until now, there had been no opportunity. She briefly wondered what the other half of his reason for teaching her the language was.
"Let's plan for late summer, shall we? From what my sources tell me , I may need to be in Canberra before the end of winter here. Things are happening within the Intelligence community that-" Julian stopped short, afraid he had said too much.
"What things?" Joanne prodded.
"Things that do not concern you, Koritsi Mou. It's for your own protection. The less you know, the better."
Continuing on, Julian pointed out various flowers, plants and water birds along the shoreline before comparing them to those in Australia.
"There's a webcam with Galah's and other colorful birds there," Jo said. "I've only ever seen them in captivity here in the States. It's hard to believe they run around wild like that. Would love to tame a few. Hey, maybe I can come visit you sometime!"
