They had made it all the way to Santorini the evening before – the southernmost point of the island group of the Cyclades and the southernmost point of the trip. They had anchored off the Old Port and set off in the morning to explore the top of the island. Eyal had been here before, but Annie was blown away by the beauty of the island. They had lunch in a little café overlooking the caldera and after a trip to the market to pick up some of the island's famous produce and a bottle of the local dry white wine they had made their way back to the boat and weighed anchor.
Now they were anchored in a small protected anchorage on the west side of the island in the center of the caldera, away from all the bustling tourists. This was the point in their trip where they would start making their way back north to Athens. The trip had given Annie a chance to do some soul-searching about what was next for her. Annie had talked to Eyal about just about every topic, from ancient Greek philosophers to his take on world politics, especially of course as they affected his homeland, but after the first afternoon they had not talked any more about the decision Annie had to make.
They had grown close over the last 2 weeks – spending time in such close quarters, reading together, cooking together, eating together they had learned a lot about each other. They had been able to rebuild the trust that had been shaken by the events in West Virginia and Amsterdam on the hunt for Khalid Ansari. Eyal was still hurting from the realization that his marriage was now irrevocably over and Annie was trying to come to terms with the realization that while she loved Ryan for his companionship and his unwaivering support she did not love him enough to marry him.
They had fallen asleep in each other's arms a number of nights, helping them get through this rough patch, but they had carefully avoided taking it any further. They both knew the timing wasn't right.