Chapter One: First There Was Sam

Greece, 1977

I can still recall our last summer, I still see it all….

The two people strolling along the dock through the darkness have not been in Greece for that long. You would never know that they aren't locals, or at least visitors who have been enjoying the islands for months. Their silhouettes are shapeless and shadowy; one could only really make out, from a distance, that one half of the couple is taller than the other, and that they are holding hands. Yes, they are holding hands and strolling along the sleeping black water that continually washes over the stony shore. The light sprinkle of native music can be heard on the wine-scented breeze, but its charm is broken by the sweeter sound of the two figures laughing. They are laughing as the walk on, moving closer to each other. It cannot be seen from a distance, but they are gripping onto each other's hands tighter. Thinking of nothing but how happy she feels, how aloft and untethered by any worries or troubles she is, the woman leans in rests her head on the man's shoulder. She thumbs the rough skin between his fingers; he takes an intoxicating whiff of her light, wavy hair. He has never been surer about anything or anyone. He looks out in the distance and sees the small rowboat he has been renting all week bobbing up and down in the water, bobbing as if approving of what he is about to do. He smiles to himself and then looks down at woman nestling blissfully into him. The grin they exchange is filled with more than the moonlight caressing them – it is a sign that everything they have been experiencing over the past two weeks has been what they have never known until now. It is falling deeply, passionately in love.

As they climb into the boat, they laugh more, joking about how, if she fell into the dark water, he could never save her while wearing his weighty bellbottoms. He diligently begins to row them over the baby waves charging at the shore while she sits mesmerized by him, feeling like a Victorian woman being rowed down a quiet river toward a countryside picnic. She feels her heart pitter-patter out of control but ignores how intense the feeling is. In a quick moment, she envisions it all: their meeting at the marketplace in town, their subsequent lunch at an outdoor tavern, their almost gravitational pull towards one another in all of the days and nights that have led to this one. She sees every glass of wine they have shared, the pile of records have they played in the tiny room he's been renting, the strip of photobooth pictures they took just the day before. She feels every kiss on her lips, their ghosts tingling their lonely surfaces as the wind dances through her blonde hair. She smiles as she watches him, feeling tears bead in her eyelashes. She loves him. She knows with all of her heart that she never find anyone she loves as much as she does Sam Carmichael.

The lights dusting the cliffside of the mainland wink at the two as they move farther and farther away from shore. Sam begins to row faster; he wants with everything in him to get to the island he discovered a few days ago. He wants to show the girl he loves the most beautiful, romantic place he's ever seen. He wants to be with her there and forget about everything else. He rows faster and faster as if each stroke of the oars will erase everything waiting for him in New York: the pending job at an architect firm, the heavy familial responsibilities brought on by the death of his father, the girl wearing a ring he presented her with three months ago. He imperceptibly shakes his head, wishing it all away. No, now there is only Donna. There is only this night. There is only this island.

With the little spit of land in sight, shrouded by the veil of night, Sam turns to Donna and feels his breath get stolen from his chest. He had not expected this. He had been feeling so much pressure at home, all of this sudden pushing into the cold realm of adulthood. He had needed an escape. When he got to Greece and caught a glimpse of a fair girl with enchanting eyes and a blithe, carefree smile, he was unprepared to fall so far so fast. As the days and nights turned, he found he couldn't stay away from that sharp mouth and fun-loving spirit. He was entranced every time she took the stage as a Dynamo, watching this amazing person bubble up and spill her infectious presence into the audience. She wasn't the one wearing the ring he had been pressured to present, but she did have something he had never felt compelled to give before – his heart.

As the boat touched upon the shore, Sam rushed to help Donna out of the boat. They walked hand-in-hand across the short stretch of beach that was laid like a carpet before the rock-hewn hills dotted with tiny, ramshackle houses. The air was warm but clear; the sky was more open above them, deep and heavily adorned with an arrangement of stars unable to be copied.

"So what's my big surprise?" she asked into his long dark hair.

He grinned and stopped walking, taking a long moment to survey the landscape of the island he loved. "This," he murmured. "This is our island, Donna."

She looked around and saw what seemed like an endless stretch of creation. It was like the entire world had just been given to her. It was theirs. In a moment too precious to be captured, she instantaneously knew that this little isle would truly always be theirs.

As if something within her burst open, she turned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She stared deep into his loving eyes, fingering the nape of his neck as she hummed a song she and her band had just performed a few hours prior to this little rendevous.

"So I'll be there," she sang softly, "when you arrive. The sight of you will prove to me I'm still alive" – they began to sway slowly, entwined, dancing to their own rhythm – "and when you take me in your arms and hold me tight, I know it's gonna mean so much tonight."

As the soft purr of her voice effortlessly reaching the last note floated through the night, Sam knew he couldn't take it anymore. His heart was straining, aching. This was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. This was the most he had ever loved anyone. This was the most he ever would.

"I love you, Donna Sheridan," he whispered. "For me, you're it."

She felt as if she had been set on fire, but it was glorious, earth-shaking, and more than she had ever dreamed of. Tears falling down her face, she said to him, "I love you, Sam." She pressed her lips against his, passion igniting the greatest of sparks between them. They continued to sway, the sound of the peaceful sea unheard as their contact remained unbroken.

They were still kissing when the dance stopped and her fingers trailed down his shirt. She undid the buttons one by one, breathing in his scent as he gripped the side of her face with urgency. He helped her remove his shirt, giving them a moment to take a breath and look at each other. They just stared helplessly for a moment, and then they smiled in unison. They began kissing again as article after article of clothing was tenderly removed. As he unzipped her dress, they sank down onto the sand. They both thought of how good the other's skin felt upon their own, how sweet they tasted. After a short while, though, there were no thoughts. It was feelings, all wonderful, magical, fiery. They drowned in a passion they had never known existed, and after it peaked and they came slowly down, like a feather drifting through the air, they lied there, holding each other, breathing in deeply, gently planting kisses.

"I will always, always love you," Sam whispered breathlessly to her. "I need you to know that, Donna."

"I do," she whispered, blinking back tears as she gazed up at the infinite sky cradling them.

He rubbed his lips against the soft skin of her neck. He felt like crying, something he had not even been able to do at the deathbed of his father. Would she ever really know how great his love was, how he would always want her despite the future, despite everything?

"I need you to know," he said deliriously. "Donna, promise me that you will never doubt how much you mean to me."

"I promise," she said as she was suddenly wrapped in a haze of sleepiness. Her eyes fluttered close; her hold on his hand instinctively tightened. She promised, and that promise embedded itself into the very core of her soul.

'How lucky am I?' she thought as she drifted off into slumber, Sam's warm, soothing breath an unsung lullaby.

While she was sleeping, Sam did not move. He watched her breathe and smile faintly as she dreamed. The sounds of the rest of the world came back to him, but it was only after at least an hour that he looked up at the quiet Mediterranean behind them. He stared off into the slowly lighting horizon and wanted to suspend this moment. Looking back down at Donna, the dawn shedding a grayish light on her soft features, he felt his heart surge with love and break at the very same time. He lied his head down, remembered how she made him feel one last time, and closed his eyes.