The 18th Floor

Seventy Six

It's the middle of August and I find myself watching the waves go in and out on the porch of Lucien's grandparents' home in Greece. The air is fresh and I feel the sand and sea salt graze my skin as it blows in the wind.

"What are you doing out here all alone?", Lucien asks as he comes up from behind me to give me a hug and kiss on the forehead.

I sigh and turn back to him, "I'm just admiring it all", I say in honesty as he smiles back at me. I didn't think I would make it out here but here I am. Here we are.

We landed in Greece three days ago. Despite not having a perfect experience with the flight and airport security, everything went surprisingly well. Minus the several panic attacks I had throughout the day, it didn't turn out to be as scary and daunting as I had it planned out to be in my head.

Adara and Alex had come to pick us up from the airport and we drove straight to Lucien's mother's parents' house.

It was everything I had imagined and more. A clay house. A porch facing the ocean with a swing for Lucien's nephews. Vegetables and other crops scattered around the front and back gardens. Everything feels lighter and brighter here. No jarring London traffic or noise, instead I get woken up to the sound of the waves crashing.

For all his worries, Lucien's grandparents have been ever so welcoming. In all honesty, I truly didn't know what to expect myself. Having never spoken to them before I went in not knowing what they thought of me and if they were accepting of the fact that I was with Lucien, or whether they would think I was the reason he stayed rooted and so far away in London. But, from the moment I felt the warm embrace of Lucien's grandmother the second we left the car, I felt all my worries dissolve.

Her soft features and eyes the same as Lucien's felt like a sense of coming home as we had hugged and she was shouting in Greek to Lucien. It didn't escape me that both his grandparents embraced me before they did him.

Between the Greek to English translations by Adara and Lucien, and their acts of embrace, I had never felt more welcome in a place before today.

"She says you have to call her yiayiá", Lucien told me on the first night which is Greek for grandmother. I haven't stopped saying it since. Every morning, she makes me tea and plates home-made Greek food on my plate. I have never seen a grandmother so full of affection. Dads parents passed away when I was young and having no mother figure, I have never experienced what it is like to have grandparent relationship.

But it's not only for me, it's for Lucien. I see how she looks at him with her yearning eyes. The way she reaches out for his touch every chance she gets, the laughter and jokes they share. It melts my heart to see the way both her and his grandfather miss him, and I see the way he misses them too. But I also know how it gets too much for him sometimes, how he feels suffocated by responsibilities and guilt.

I turn back to face Lucien, coming back to the present as I watch him pull up a seat next to me. He's wearing a light blue, linen shirt with the buttons hanging low and a pair of cream shorts to go with it.

His red cheeks from this afternoon turning golden brown with a tan as his one curl rests above his eyebrows.

He takes my hand in his and squeezes.

"I'm glad we're here darling."

"Me too Lucien."

"Really?", he asks. Always asking if I'm okay, always putting me first.

I nod. "I'm okay, I promise" I say with a kiss.

LUCIEN

I watch her watch the ocean and every time I think she can't possibly be more beautiful, she proves me wrong. In her white summer dress that's so clean and crisp it highlights how her sunburnt skin stays red rather than turning into a tan. Her freckles more apparent across the planes of her cheeks. Her hair hangs loose in contrast to her usual ponytail or bun, with the sea water creating light curls at the ends.

A few weeks after my birthday, we decided to rebook our trip to Greece. I wasn't not sure if being in close proximity of my raging family would have been any form of relaxation but she gave me the confidence when she said she was ready to meet them.

Since she's moved in everything has felt so much better. Waking up to her is all I could ask for. Going to work together, working together, coming home together gives me comfort. But the anxiety of this trip has been eating away at the both of us for different reasons.

I spent a lot of time making sure the travel went as smooth and easy as possible and at the best way for her to get through the airport without feeling like shit. It wasn't the easiest of days and her anxiety flared up, but we managed to get through it together.

The prospect of her meeting my family terrified me as equally as it excited me. But it has gone better than I could ever hope for.

Everyone has been so focused on getting to know Cyrene that we haven't had the time for family drama. I hope it stays that way. We're half way through our trip with only 3 more nights.

We've spent all our time so far in my grandparents' house, relaxing and resting and taking quick trips down to the beach. But I promised I would take her out tonight and that we would explore some more of the small city both my parents grew up in and where I spent large portions of my childhood.

I squeeze her hand.

"Ready to go sunshine?" I ask and she nods. I take her hand and guide her down the front of the house to the car.

There are perks to coming home. Escaping London. You don't get any of this in London, the slow, laid back lifestyle. Everyone moving at a relaxed pace, enjoying it all and soaking it up.

I start the engine and I watch her as she lets the windows roll down and the wind take control of her hair. She's been relaxed here, more care-free then she may dare to admit. And it's been good, to see her relax and embrace it all in.

"Is the restaurant close by?", she asks, drawing me out of her trace.

"20 minutes away, the best sea food you'll find here."

"I can't wait. It's so beautiful Lucien, I bet you had a wholesome childhood here growing up."

"I did", I admit. My adolescents may have not been as enjoyable, but I had the carefree childhood here. Beaches and family gatherings and barbeques, the somewhat expected Balkan summers of spending your childhood outdoors.

"You see those rocks up there", I point out to the mountains ahead and she nods, "me and my cousins and Adara decided we could climb those. We were 13 or 14, it was a stupid idea. We ended up being stranded there for a few hours till my uncle came looking for us. We got in a lot of trouble but it was fun", I laugh back on the memories. "And then I broke my arm on the decent", I admit.

She laughs, "hey, it was really painful!", I poke her ribs.

"It's how I got the scar on my eyebrow", I tell her knowing how much she kisses it. "I fell face forward onto my arm."

"Well, is it selfish to say I'm glad you did, it's my favourite scar", she teases.

"A little bit, yes", I say.

"But don't you love it when I kiss it better?"

"Shameless flirt you are", I say as I take her hand in mind and kiss it.

I don't let go for the rest of the ride.