Note: There is a very brief mention of a pandemic in this chapter. As we're only in the spring of 2014, I've obviously pushed our 2020-2021/22 pandemic timeframe back a few years. Even mentioning it still makes me shudder. Also, the bits about the storms and the disappearing beaches of the Hellenic Republic are fictional, even though those things are really happening around the world. Sending virtual hugs to everyone.

Chapter 5: Possibilities, Spring Break, 2014

Tim was glad when their new real estate agent, Evander Doukas, arrived at their rental promptly at 8 AM, definitely making points in his favor! Not that the realtor needed any, Tim had already run a quick background on him and told Artie they should send her friend Eva a gift to thank her for referring them to him.

As Artie and Tim shook hands with the man, he looked at Tim quizzically. "I feel as if I should know you."

Tim tilted his head, "Do you know anyone who works at NCIS besides Eva?"

"Yes, my wife, Kim, along with her office mates and the agents."

Tim's eyes lit up, "Oh my gosh! Kim Ellis, the office manager, you're her husband? Congratulations, she's the best! And you know Pete Russell!"

"Thank you, I'll pass your compliment to Kim. And yes, I know Pete and his family very well." He looked at Tim, "Have you been to any of their parties on the island of Aegina?"

"A couple of them, yes. I've met everyone who works in that office."

Evander looked at him silently, before shaking his head, "Sorry, I'm being rude. What is your surname?"

"I use Midei whenever possible but my surname is Gibbs, Timothy Gibbs. Legally, my full name is Timothy Jackson Camilo-Gibbs. Camilo is my mother's family name; however, I only use Gibbs at work."

"Timothy Gibbs? You're Kim and Pete's new boss! And the others as well."

Tim nodded with a laugh, "Yes, I am. Small world!"

Evander smiled, "Made even smaller when you had the good sense to marry a Greek woman and I had the good sense to marry an American woman! Now that we have that settled, shall we proceed?"

Chuckling to herself, Artie loved how Tim quickly found common ground, making new friends. She slid into the front seat of Evander's 4 door SUV while Tim sat in the back.

The first property was, as they'd surmised, a house that would need extensive renovating to meet their needs. The plot of land it occupied was large enough to do so but Artie thought it was too far from Varkiza, that her grandmother would want to be closer to her friends. While there was enough room to renovate the house, that wouldn't leave enough room on the lot for the guesthouses, pool or parking for more than three vehicles at a time. Unless it was the only vehicle on the property, Artie's father's large motorhome wouldn't fit with or without the house renovation.

Still, they toured the house. There were four bedrooms, one full bath, although the commode was in a separate room which would help, a medium-sized kitchen without any room for a breakfast table the size they'd need and only an alcove for a dining area. There was a nice sized backyard with play equipment. Considering they'd likely have 5 or 6 vehicles here and more for visitors, they'd need a sizeable parking area or garage and it just wasn't there.

The elevation was good, it was 800 feet above sea level. It was closer to Athens than Varkiza, which might be good for the children as far as school was concerned but the property itself wasn't exciting to either Artie or Tim. And if they were going to have to do a total gut job, true for this place, and still not have everything they wanted, they'd rather just build new.

Evander asked what they thought and right off the bat they said the elevation was within their parameters, the existing bedrooms were a good size and they liked the idea of having separate rooms for the commodes, telling him that's what they had in the UK. They also told him the lot was too small and Artie added that she was afraid her grandmother would feel cut off from her friends.

The man nodded, "Thank you for being candid with me. Even though you gave me a good deal of information last night the only way a real estate broker can really understand what their client wants is by watching their reactions to what they see. I'm glad we have the two lots to view!"

Back in the car, they rode towards Varkiza proper, taking a right turn at an intersection with a stoplight that Artie said she didn't remember seeing before.

Evander smiled, "That's because it's fairly new and as nobody lives up here yet, I imagine that very few cars coming from Varkiza trip the stoplight to turn red to allow a turn up the hill. It's likely always green. We're going up this way so I can show you a little more of the area."

Toward the top of the hill, they came upon a multi-storied building, clearly a commercial building. Evander pulled the car over and they stopped. Now they could see underground parking and Artie smiled, " I think this is where many of the motorhomes, caravans and camper cars camped out in February, my yaya talked about it."

"Motorhomes? I hadn't heard about that."

She nodded, "My father has one large enough for his wife and their four children, although they are mostly grown now. In February when the storms got worse, he and one of my brothers packed up my grandmother's house as well as a few other neighbors' homes, taking all their perishable items and canned goods, then drove as many people as they could fit into the RV to escape the storm. Papa got the key to that building and my grandmother, our family and the neighborhood elderlies stayed inside the building while Papa arranged for caravans for more of those who had to evacuate. Yaya insisted on moving back into one of them with two of her neighbors so that a family with small children could stay together in the building, they wouldn't have to be crowded into an RV." She looked at Tim, "She neglected to mention that yesterday."

Tim smiled as he nodded, "I remembered but decided not to bring it up."

Evander nodded, "I heard something about people taking refuge here but didn't know who or how many. In Piraeus, we were also scrambling to help people evacuate and find shelter. Now, as you can see, this is a commercial building, built for what was once a thriving business. It was located in Athens for many years before the owners decided to relocate onto the side of this hill. They were only been here for two years when the business had to shut down during the pandemic.

"Eventually the owners, father and son, were able to sell the business and it has moved into Athens with many of the same employees, a good thing for them and the new owners. Sadly, as the storms intensified this past winter, both the father and son drowned as they tried to rescue people whose party boat had capsized. I believe four of the people they rescued survived so their sacrifice was not totally in vain." He paused before seeming to shake himself a little and continuing, "Although the business itself was sold, at the time of their deaths the original owners still owned the building. Now their wives own it although they haven't been able to find a buyer or a long-term tenant." He smiled, "They are also the owners of the tracts of land we're going to see. I'll tell you more as we go."

As he started the car again, he pointed to the road they were on, climbing a fairly steep hill, "Notice it continues past the building. When the building and this road were under construction, the owners had the road continued up and then around a curve to the left. They were already in negotiations to buy the lots we'll see today. What I find was a very smart thing to do is that they curved the road, as you see here," he briefly stopped talking as they rounded the curve to the left before the road straightened out again, "according to the land rather than cutting into the mountain and the trees to make an angled left hand turn. From here, as you can see now, they extended the road more or less straight along the mountainside to the end of the three plots of land they were given permission to develop for residential use.

"Realizing that big trucks and heavy equipment would need to use the road that passes their building to reach the building sites, thus disturbing their employees, they also had two additional roads made. We turned off before we came to them on EO91, that is National Road 91, the main road into Varkiza.

"Basically, there are three entry and exit roads up here, connecting to one straight road, the one we're on now. The first is the one we drove up, past the building, the second and third intersect with the road after coming out of the curve as we just did and all three roads end at the bottom of the hill, at the main road into Athens and Varkiza. That means that whoever occupies the office and the properties has three ways to enter and exit. While there is only one stoplight, at the turnoff to the office building, that's really all that's necessary. Turning right to get to Varkiza proper shouldn't be a problem and a left turn towards Athens can be made at the bottom of the road we came in on, with the stoplight."

Artie nodded, "That was very smart, preparing for the future as well as the present." Then she gasped, "Oh! Is this it?"

Tim didn't say anything as he was too busy looking out into the glistening Mediterranean. When he could finally tear his eyes away, he noticed they had driven onto the lot and Evander was parking. "Yes, this is the first lot I wanted you to see. It's close to 5 hectares, 12 acres."

Artie and Tim nearly fell out of the car in their haste to see the whole thing. Remembering he'd brought his film camera, Tim grabbed it. He looked at Evander, "Before we fall any deeper in love with it, what's the asking price?"

Evander told him and Tim looked at Artie, it was well within their price range, possibly because they'd have to build whatever they wanted. The couple walked through the center of the property, stopping close to the edge and then backing off a few feet. Both noticed there was no crumbling, the ground was solid.

Each took photos and then Tim, using the widest angle on the camera, got as much in as possible. Eventually, they took several sets of photos that would overlap once printed, so they'd have a better idea of the lot size. There were trees and blooming wildflowers.

Artie said that it felt like they could see the entire Mediterranean. By the time they finally tore their eyes away from the spectacular view, having walked the perimeter and through the center a few times, the Chief Engineer and Architect was ready to present a very rough draft.

During their second circuit around the property, Artie had mentally begun designing the house. They needed room to sleep between 20 and 44 people, the 24 additional being the rest of Tim's brothers, their partners and children as well as the Porters, more of the Baxter family, she'd already included Cousin Richard, the Fornells, Nikki's family, Ned's grandparents and a few other folks. Right away she decided the house should be single story. She used the number of people currently living at the big house in Jaxton, 20 and expanded that to include additional children along the way. They'd design many of the bedrooms to be shareable and probably have hallway bathrooms with a few half baths within the rooms or suites.

She told Tim right away that there was enough room on the property for their own home along with one or two guesthouses, which would also help for visitors.

Tim grinned, "I bet Malu, Yaya and Rhode will love this!"

Artie nodded, she was busy placing buildings. When she thought she had it right, she motioned to Tim, taking a stick with a pointed end and using the loose dirt of the top soil as a rough drawing board drawing.

"Look, the house runs along here, single story, long from side to side and possibly wide front to back. Then, over there," she pointed off to the right, "Two guesthouses, side by side but not attached unless that's easier to build and I believe it would be, with one foundation instead of two separate ones. There will be a paved walkway or perhaps something cooler than pavement, between the two, with gardens on either side, perhaps shade trees. Then…" She pointed with the stick, "a row of apartments, like the ones in the States. A variation of apartment living, usually only two sharing a wall."

Tim thought for a few seconds before saying, "Duplexes?"

"Yes, thank you! Ours will be either a triplex or a fourplex although I suppose we could do them in sets of two." She shook her head a little before adding, "I like that, they could have a common garden between the two buildings, although again a single foundation might be easier. Perhaps a terrace on top of the shared foundation with a pergola and raised flower beds. The guesthouses and the separate units will have to be carefully placed so that everyone has a view from somewhere in the building. As for the separate units, two of them will have two bedrooms, the others will have one bedroom each. They'd have everything that's needed in the kitchen, although apartment sized appliances, Yaya can cook in our kitchen if she wants or perhaps she'll want to live in one of the guesthouses. For the apartments, their view will also be out the back of the units, looking at the Mediterranean although there will be windows in the front as well. Papa and Rhode can have one of the guesthouses, with two or three bedrooms or maybe two plus a den for my siblings when they visit and later when they bring their families to visit. We'll see.

"If you look over there on the right, toward the front of the property, the elevation is higher than here. The area isn't large enough for our home but it is for the guesthouses. That means that whoever lives in the guest houses will be looking over the fourplex building at the views.

"Now, our home will have all the bedrooms we need for whoever will live with us fulltime. Jethro, Malu, the Grandpas, the Uncles, your siblings, their partners and children. Our family will have 6, possibly 8 bedrooms. Three for now plus rooms for any other children who may join us. We may also able to do suites as we have in Jaxton but I think that will only work for the people who only have two or three people together. For example, Geo, Bec and Ben, that's 2 bedrooms, one full bath shared between both bedrooms, a kitchenette and a lounge for them. The suites can have one bathroom each and the rest will be in the hallways. Now, do we put the bedrooms in a row across the back of the property so they each have a view or put them in the front, off the road, and sides of the building and let the common areas have the views?"

Tim and Evander both said, "Common areas!"

Evander smiled, adding, "That will also be a better selling point down the road."

The couple nodded in agreement and then Tim turned in a full circle, noticing something else. "It's not windy right now. Evander, can we find out how strong the wind gets to up here? At least normally, we know there will be stronger winds during stormy weather. And if the information is available, what damage, if any, occurred here during the storms last winter?"

Evander nodded, making a note, read for a minute before looking up with a smile, "I've received more information from the selling agent."

The eyes of both his prospective clients widened, "Good!"

"First, the winter storms did no appreciable damage. None of the trees fell and there was no damage to the cliff portions of any of the three lots here. This is all bedrock and there's not much dirt or many plants between the edge of the property and the sea.

"However, along the two other roads I mentioned, there were tree limbs that fell and the locations of those trees have been noted for future reference if someone ends up building off those roads. The roads themselves were not damaged."

Looking up, he saw the couple had another question and guessing at what it might be, he added, "The property adjacent to and between both roads along with the land across the road from the commercial building is not slated for development. The government owns it." He smiled, "As it took several years and a great deal of persuasion to win approval first for the commercial building and then for the sale of the three lots as well as the two additional roads, I don't see that approvals for any additional development will be forthcoming any time soon."

He smiled as he saw satisfaction and some relief on their faces.

"Secondly, construction was already in progress here when the two men died. The sewer lines are already in and ready to be connected to the Varkiza system. At the time, the owners were planning a multi-story home with a few outbuildings. I'll print the schematics but from your sketch here, I believe the lines are very close to where you want your guesthouses, the fourplex and of course the main house. Also, the water supply and power lines are already in place. Their plan was to go solar, which in this area could very well provide enough power to run year round. They also planned to have a whole house fan. Builders are doing their best to stay away from traditional air conditioning due to the expense of running them as well as environmental concerns. In addition, the humidity along the coast is frequently too high for evaporative coolers. Now, you also mentioned a swimming pool and I'm afraid that will be a problem. You see, this whole mountain is bedrock, very difficult to drill into, although it does provide an excellent foundation, greatly lessening the possibility of earthquake damage. An in-ground pool could cost you more than the entire house."

Tim grinned, "That's all right, we have friends who had the same problem. They built a deck framework, drilling only a few holes in the bedrock and then purchased an above-ground pool that fits right into the deck. From what they told us, it wasn't easy but it was a lot better than digging or worse, blasting into the bedrock for an inground pool. If my dad and brother Bill can drill holes into this bedrock for the deck frame, then we'll have a pool with a sturdy framework. That also means the pool can go into storage during the winter and we'll have some sort of cover for the framework."

"Wonderful! I'll have to remember that as more people move away from the coast. Will that brother be moving here?"

"No, his wife works for NCIS in London."

"Ah, so you are also the boss of some of your family?"

Tim laughed, nodding, "Yes, I have in-laws and a brother who work at NCIS. To make it even more fun, all of the in-laws report directly to me. However, they were all in place before I took the job and we have written approvals from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy and my boss, the Director of NCIS."

Artie grinned, "And as a bonus for the rest of us, because of their reporting situation none of them can talk about work with Tim outside of the office. No work talk at the dinner table!"

Tim snorted, "A blessing in disguise. So, Artemis, what would you like to do next?"

"I'd like to bring your brothers and our papas up here for their opinions. Yaya, Malu and Rhode as well." She looked at Tim who grinned, nodding. "All right." She turned to Evander, "If my in-laws, parents and grandmother love this place as much as we do, we'll buy it."

Tim thought about that, "Let's also bring the kids."

"Yes."

Evander smiled, "So you don't want to see the other plot?"

"How far is it from here?"

Evander grinned, pointing left to a scattering of trees. "If you'd like, we can walk over to take a quick look."

Nodding, the two followed him through the trees and bushes. It was a similar plot of land, although smaller.

Artie frowned, looking around, "Do you know what they planned to put here?"

"Yes, a multi-car garage and I believe a workshop. I noticed you hadn't mentioned a garage but it would be good idea up here. "

"Interesting." That was Tim who now looked at Artie. He thought about all the cars they'd have, along with Peter and Rhode's RV if they moved up here. He counted a possible 8, including the RV. He remembered the leasing agent in New Mexico telling him to shield his leased vehicle from the sun. It was even hotter here. Remembering that his father-in-law kept his RV covered with a series of large tarps, he nodded, that would do, although if they could somehow fit it into a garage that would be better. As for his father's workshop, which he thought Dad and Bill could share, he'd rather have it closer to the house but they could talk about that later.

"How big is the lot and what's the price?"

Evander told them and the two looked at each other. Tim said, "We can have solar power over here as well."

Artie nodded, "I'd want the back of the lot walled along the edge, like our house lot."

"Yes, I think we might need to build a fence surrounding the entire lot, with a wall across the back." Tim looked at Evander, "Do you think trespassers would be a problem?"

Evander tilted his head in thought, "It is possible. Especially during construction and when you are away, if no one else is here."

Artie nodded, "Then we will hire a caretaker who will live on site during construction and when we are away. Perhaps Papa will know of someone."

Tim agreed, liking the idea. Nearly rolling his eyes at himself, he asked his next question, "Evander, this is probably getting ahead of ourselves but what kind of wildlife would live here on the mountain? I know if there are deer, their predators are also here."

"You're right and there are deer everywhere. I wonder if the construction, with large vehicles moving up and down the roads will encourage them to move along."

Tim and Artie looked at each other, Artie saying "I hope we can find a way to coexist rather than drive them away."

With a nod of agreement, Tim thought aloud, "We can build deer fences around both lots, building them so the deer can't see what they would be jumping into. As I understand it, If deer can't see where they would be landing, they won't jump."

Artie nodded, "There are also sprays we can make from natural substances, smells they don't like although they're not poisonous, as well as plants we can use along the fence line, on both sides to keep them away, like rosemary, thyme and I think lavender."

"I like the idea, especially that the plants won't be poisonous and they all bloom and like hot weather." Tim looked at Evander, "Any chance of getting a deal if we buy both lots?"

Evander smiled, "Yes, I'm not the selling agent for the owners and have no qualms about proposing a deal. Did you have an amount in mind?"

Tim shook his head, "Not yet, need to think about it, talk with our financial advisor, see what he says. He's in the US so we'll call him later today, after we talk with our family. Also, I know the lots aren't fenced but is it all right if we bring my brothers, our grandmother, parents and children up to look? If we want our parents to live here, they need to see it first!"

"Yes, I'll notify the selling agent that I have prospective buyers who will be bringing family members to look at both properties. If your financial advisor likes the idea of purchasing both lots, let me know so we can figure out what you want to offer. It might help if you send him some of your photos." He grinned, "Although you might have to add another room to the house just for him!"

Tim grinned, "Then we can charge him rent!" He shook his head with a chuckle, "We own part of my mother's former home in Baltimore, my siblings and I bought it from her and three of us were left a house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when our former landlady died. However, neither of us has ever bought a house for ourselves. We rent from my brother in the UK and when we were first married, we had a sublet on the grounds of the university where I was teaching at the time. So this is our first home purchase and as much fun as this is, it's a bit scary!"

"Are you pre-approved for a mortgage?"

"No, we'll pay cash." Tim and Artie grinned at each other at the look on Evander's face. "We unexpectedly came into money a few years ago and earmarked an amount to grow into what we'd need to eventually buy or build a home." Tim chuckled, "And with my wife's skills and talents, it was almost a foregone conclusion that we'd build." He looked at Artie, "Jesse will want an estimate for the builds." She nodded, "I'll work on that."

Evander looked at her, "I can help with that, I'll send you current construction costs, labor, etc."

"Thank you, that will be a huge help. While Bill, our builder brother, is a whiz at estimating in the UK now that he's lived there for a few years, he won't know much about Greece."

Evander tilted his head, "I can tell you this, it'll be less expensive than building in the UK or the US."

"If we decide to do this, what's the process?"

Evander briefly explained it to the couple, agreeing when Tim asked to record him. He also said that although anyone could purchase real estate in the Hellenic Republic, things would likely go faster with Artemis' Greek citizenship and her familial connections.

"What about hiring, would we need to use local labor? Not that we wouldn't but it would be great if…no, never mind, that won't work."

Artie nodded, "You're right, I don't think Nikki would be very happy with Bill or you if he was away from her and Jasper for several months, building our home!"

Evander smiled, "I'm happy to give you information and recommendations for main contractors."

Tim nodded, "Thanks, they're also called that in the UK. In the US, they're called general contractors. Bill's licensed in the UK and in the US but Artie's right about him being away for too long. Their son, who's almost 2, would be heartbroken if his daddy was away for long periods of time."

Finally returning to Varkiza and the house, they were amazed that it was only 9:45, plenty of time to have a snack, a glass of tea or lemonade and clean up for the trip to Athens. They both hoped they'd be able to focus on what they were doing! Tim said he would ask his father to drive and Artie agreed, "I don't think I could handle it either. I'm so excited, and nervous."

He looked at her, "We'll still have plenty of money. Remember, Jesse moved the house money the day after we got back from Tahoe, we've never looked to see the balance. Or I haven't."

"I haven't either and yes, I know, we'll still have," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "millions of dollars. It's just that this is our first major expense."

He nodded, "I know and in a way I'm glad we're nervous. We still want to retire here, right?"

She nodded as her shoulders relaxed a bit. "Yes, when you're 55 or earlier if you're ready. I've been thinking that I'd like to bring my cousin into my company and then will plan to sell it to him when I'm ready to retire, when you do. I hope we'll also still have access to the Jaxton house or be able to stay with Tony and Maggie."

"Great! Then let's say that from now on, we're done considering Leon's job."

She laughed, "I agree! Not that I would be considering his job for me!"

Tim tilted his head, "I don't know why not, you're certainly well acquainted with the 'ins and outs' of the agency." They both chuckled.

When they were ready to leave their rental, Tim looked at his wife, "I've forgotten, what are we seeing this morning?"

She laughed, "The Changing of the Guard and the Benaki Museum."

"Right! I remember Yaya saying there are ancient toys at the Benaki."

"That should be interesting."

She turned to find him standing there, giving her the smile that always made her weak in the knees. He'd told her she did the same thing to him. Pulling her towards him, he kissed her deeply, leaving her rather dazed. With a wicked laugh, he took her hand leading her out the door for the walk to her grandmother's home.