Chapter 6: Decisions

While they remembered enjoying seeing the Changing of the Guard and had fun at the Benaki that morning, both Artemis and Tim were happy when they were home again. After the children's naps, they drove to the beach where they had fun running around and looking for treasures in the sand.

Tim and Artie were saddened at the change in the beach, it was noticeably smaller than it had been last summer and the lifeguard towers had been moved. When Tim mentioned that to Yaya, she shook her head. "Those are new, Timothy. The ones you saw last summer didn't survive the high tides and the tsunami. The bases are still there, underwater, see the buoys?"

Tim nodded, he'd noticed those. When he wondered aloud why he hadn't noticed when he was here helping to repair the houses, Yaya made a noise, "Because you were too busy helping to rebuild to come down here and there was still a great deal of debris, I believe they roped off the entire beach. They weren't sure how safe it was."

Despite that sad comment, the family had a good time, walking and running up and down the beach, stopping to dig a trough for a sea star to return to the water and acquiring a few new treasures, the visitors took home one 'new' seashell apiece. They decided to leave the rest of them, Tim thinking of a possible fantasy story with a barrier wall of seashells protecting what was left of the beach. That amused him and he mentally rolled his eyes at himself wondering where he thought he'd find time, or the inclination, to do that?

With their walking, running and digging the trough they were warm, nearly hot, before they stuck their toes into the salt water. However, the toes came out even faster than they went in as the Mediterranean was clearly not ready for swimmers yet, not even just toes! Thinking they might try again later in the day, the group gathered their belongings, by this time the Barnes-Gibbses, the Dorneget-Gibbses and the Jardine-Gibbses had joined them, and walked or drove to the Lekkas' home where they enjoyed the lovely warm pool for a few hours. Playing with the children and setting up two toddler wading pools for those too little for the pool, the adults took turns for adult swims, finally getting everyone out to dry off close to the patio heaters as it was nearly time for dinner!

Their evening meal was fun as the cooks brought everything with them to the Lekkas' home. Poppy and Papi grilled burgers, while Tim heated another batch of garlic potatoes and Maggie and Barry made a salad.

After they ate in the Lekkases' nice warm glass conservatory, the children stayed with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins while Tim and Artie walked back to their rental to call Jesse, their financial advisor. When they heard the balance of their house fund the couple relaxed, for that amount they could afford the property and as many dwellings as they wanted.

Jesse laughed when they said that, "Building in Greece, especially with the tricky parts, the utilities, already in, will cost a great deal less than buying property in the US and building on it. After this project is complete, you'll have enough for a second property here or almost anywhere you want with plenty more to live on and leave for the children. Your winnings have been working for you for four years now, part of it a year longer."

"We'd still be able to buy another lot the same size if we wanted?"

"It depends on what's on it and where it is. In the US, you'll be better off buying a property with buildings already on it, then you can renovate, as long as they are in decent shape and the site is environmentally healthy. Outside the US, I'd have to know more specifics."

The couple beamed at each other, "Great! Then we'll ask to have our builder brother and father take a look at the property and see what they say about this lot. The elevation and location are both good and as you said, some of the tricky parts, the sewer lines and utilities, are already in."

Jesse smiled, "I like your idea for the pool, the fencing, the guesthouses and the apartments. How was the wind?"

"Not bad at all and our realtor has already sent us additional information about the wind in that area. Don't want to build and then find the wind is too strong or too noisy. Anyway, the statistics look good."

"Sounds like you have most of the information you need. Let me know, we can get the payment to the sellers within 24 hours."

"We've never done anything like this before, do you advise we pay full price?"

Jesse stopped to think before he spoke, "It will be helpful if you first know the customs of the country. Is it acceptable to counteroffer or is the price considered firm, final or is not counteroffering considered foolish? I'm sure your realtor will have the answers. While I know the customs of several countries unfortunately the Hellenic Republic is not one of them. Financially, you're good to go at full price for both lots and then we'll look at the costs for building. I'm agreeing to it now because I know it will be less than a new build costs here. When you asked for the phone call, I did some research and again, you are good to go. Let me know, I'm excited for you!"

"Thanks, we're also excited for us!"

Disconnecting, they hugged and kissed before calling Evander. He agreed to meet them at the property in the morning, provided their brothers, cousin and father were available. Contacting Bill, Freddie, Joe, Matthaíos and Dad, all agreed to viewing the property the next morning. Malu and Mimi also wanted to go. They took two vehicles, Mimi's SUV, with Artie riding with her and the rental van with the children's safety seats.

Tim smiled as he pulled up behind Evander's vehicle, waiting for the traffic light to turn so they could turn left from the main road into Athens. Driving up the hill, Artie pointed out the vacant commercial building and Mimi smiled, telling her passengers that was where she and many of her neighbors, along with many other residents of Varkiza, had taken refuge during the storms last winter.

When Tim pulled onto 'their' lot behind Evander, they waited for Mimi and the others, who had slowed down for a look at the commercial building. In the meantime, Dad shook his head as he looked around at the property, "I've been waiting for something like this since Tahoe! Will this wipe you out?"

Tim grinned, "One of the first things we talked about before and during our first trip here was to have our own home, although back then it would have been a lot smaller. Anyway, we told our finance guy what we wanted to do and he got busy putting our winnings to work. We have plenty to buy this, build what we want and live here and in the UK without working. Our current plans are that both of us will continue to work or at least I will until Leon retires. I expect whoever takes over from him will want to appoint their own Assistant Directors and SACs."

"So that's definitely not you?"

"Right, although I'm willing to stay on in my current positions."

"Good, although you'll break his heart. He's wanted you to succeed him since that lawsuit business and that case. For all his messing up, he was very impressed by the way you handled everything." Jethro grinned at his son, "I think this is a great idea. Who are you thinking of living here with you and the children?"

"Mimi, you and Mom, of course and whether full or part-time we're thinking everyone who lives with us in Jaxton now. What we're talking about, in a few years, is living in the UK in the summer, except for our annual reunion here, through New Year's. Then we'll spend January through May or June here, plus our two weeks in July and August. Of course, that depends on climate change, most of the UK has had hotter weather these past few years than ever in their histories, we may all end up spending summers at Ducky's place in Scotland or possibly have another house near his or somewhere in Scandinavia! However, while we're planning, we believe the UK will still be cooler than Greece in the summer, we'll need a whole house fan or some sort of cooling to wherever we live in the UK. We'd also like Peter and Rhode to live here because after the big storm in February, there isn't a 'when' it happens, it's already happening. Our beach is losing ground, literally, with every storm, every big wave."

Freddie spoke up, "I was shocked at how much of the beach they lost."

Matthaíos nodded, "It's happening to many of the beaches, not only in Greece but in other countries, all over the world."

Joe made a face, "I read an article about it recently, saw videos of beach homes ruined, rotting away because of the high tides and tsunamis. I used to think it only happened with hurricanes in the Caribbean, you know, places like Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama, Key Largo, Florida, Montego, Kokomo, Martinique, Port Au Prince, as well as Puerto Rico and I guess Cuba and all the islands."

Although they knew he was serious, his brothers chuckled at his use of parts of one of their favorite songs, "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys. All of them knew it well, at one time they'd declared it the "Camilo Family's Favorite Song", and had added each of the locations named to their list of places they wanted to visit once they could afford to travel for pleasure. By now, they'd all been to Florida and a few of them had also visited Bermuda and the Bahamas, as well as Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Sarah and James had been to Aruba with friends who had a timeshare there while Tim and Artie attended a wedding in Martinique, giving themselves a few days before and after the event to experience the island.

The siblings knew that Tony and their dad had been to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba but also knew neither had seen anything other than the base. The common consensus amongst the siblings was that Geordie had probably been everywhere in the Caribbean, basically they'd decided he'd been everywhere in the world but would never be able to tell them anything about his travels.

Nodding at Joe, Tim said, "According to what little research I've done, it's believed that higher elevations will be safe from the tides, tsunamis and storms, at least through our lifetimes. This property is over 900 feet above sea level."

"That's good, kiddo and yes, I agree this is a great spot." Dad chuckled, "I should have known you'd have it figured out already! Tell me, son, daughter, are you planning to stay in Jaxton for those months in the UK?" He glanced at Artie, who'd joined them, and now smiled at him.

Tim nodded, also smiling at him, "Yes, we are. We're also hoping our landlord will give us permission to add a whole house fan and make a few changes to the back of the house, with outdoor awnings and indoor sunshades to help keep the temperatures down inside. For the front, we'll have to use tinted shades on the inside of the lounge. Even retractable awnings on the outside would be too visible and ruin the look of the building. We'll increase the solar intake and I want to add a greenhouse and raised beds in the back of the garden, to raise food crops. We can fence it so it won't be a visible temptation to the animals or any stray children."

Bill tilted his head, "That's good, Timmo. Now, I can't wait to take a look at this property!"

Artie introduced the others to Evander. He smiled, "I'm glad to meet you. I know you'll have questions, please ask as we go along. We'll walk the perimeter first and then Artemis will show you what she and Tim have in mind."

Walking the perimeter, they stood for a full 5 minutes looking down or across into the Mediterranean. Freddie whistled, "I don't know how much the property costs or how much it will take to build on it, but that view makes it worth it." He turned to Tim, 'How tall a wall will you build, to keep the children safe?"

Tim grinned, "My engineer wife tells me it will be a transparent wall of some kind. I don't yet know how tall or wide it will be but I'm guessing at least 8, perhaps 10, feet tall."

Matthaíos nodded, "Excellent!"

With an amused smile at her husband, once they'd completed their walk around the perimeter of the lot Artie again drew out the plan in the dirt. She also had the draft on her tablet and a printed copy but right now it was easier to draw so everyone could see it.

Since their first view, she'd decided to add space, whether it would be a basement, a workshop, a playroom, storage or whatever, to the main house to take advantage of the views. As she'd told Tim, the higher elevation of the area where she wanted to build the guesthouses would provide a view for those residents and the apartments wouldn't need any extra space, their views would be stunning by nature of their placement, several feet to the right of the guest houses. Of course, she would need to confirm her theory about the elevation before the plan was finalized.

There were a few questions, which Artie answered. When everyone was quiet, Tim grinned, "So do you like the property and our plan?"

"Yes, it's beautiful and plenty big enough, will the main house be one story?"

Artie waggled a hand back and forth, indicating that 'one story' wasn't quite the right definition. "More or less, yes. I believe we'll need to add a false basement or something below the main floor to take better advantage of the views. The building will be larger horizontally rather than vertically taller. We're thinking we'll need room for 20 to 35 of us, including visitors, so probably several bedrooms and most visitors can share. We might do a 'bachelors quarters' for Grandpa, Uncle LJ, Grandpa Mac and Cousin Richard, perhaps an enlarged suite with two bedrooms, a sitting area between the two rooms with a sofa bed, chairs and their own TV and their own bathroom. Tim and I will each have an office with a sofabed so that's another possible sleeping quarters for 2, 3 or 4, depending on how cozy people want to be." She stopped in thought before saying, "And we should have a full bathroom near our offices as well." She added a note to her phone.

"We're also planning to build one or two guesthouses over to the right, toward the front of the property. That way," she turned to look at her grandmother, "if you want to live here, Mimi, you'll have a choice of the main house, a guesthouse or one of the apartments. Now, if everyone will look closely over to your far right, near the front where we drove in, you can see the elevation is higher there, so the views from there will be unimpeded by the main house or the apartments. The apartments will be even farther to the right so the residents of both the apartments and the guesthouses will have their own unimpeded views. We also would like my father and Rhode to live here, they may want a guesthouse, with rooms for my siblings when they visit. And it's possible Charlie and Tricia might want one of the apartments."

Beside her, Mimi leaned over for a hug and kiss.

Dad grinned, "Tricia is moving in with Charlie, so she'll be in Jaxton with us."

"Yay! What about Richard?"

"He's not sure yet. With Tricia and Charlie with us, he may spend winters here with us. Have you figured out the holidays?"

Tim chuckled, "Thanksgiving and Christmas in Jaxton, Easter, the Fourth and the others here." He made a face, "Actually, I guess that will depend on where the children are attending school. We decided on Thanksgiving in the UK, but that might be a problem. For now, let's stick with Christmas in Jaxton, the other holidays to be determined later."

Jose laughed, "Better get the place built first, Timmo!"

Freddie made a noise, "Need to buy the land first!"

Tim grinned, "You're both right!"

Bill motioned to Joe and Freddie and the three disappeared to take a closer look. When they returned, Bill asked, "Where is the other plot that's already sold?"

Tim gestured, "Down that way, want to see it?"

Freddie shook his head, "No, we want to know what they're doing about water, sewage and power."

Tim grinned, "Ah, our secret is about to be revealed! Before we get into that, we forgot to mention that there were originally three lots approved for sale and development. The second one is between this one and the one that's already sold. We're also considering purchasing the middle lot for a multi-car garage, including Peter's RV and possibly Dad's workshop along with a few other ideas. So, back to this lot and the middle lot if we buy it.

"First of all, power will be solar with generator backup. And, drum roll please, the utility and sewer lines are already in place! The current owners had already started the project when there were deaths in the family and the survivors had to stop everything. They're the same people who built and operated that commercial building we passed. And as far as the lot that's already sold, known as Lot #1, did I mention the new owners are looking for an engineer and architect? Or that Evander, their real estate agent and ours, called them with a reference for Artie's firm?"

"Excellent! It would be great to also let Matthaíos in on this, as a learning experience." The young man, standing with them, grinned, "Thank you!"

"Great idea, Freddie, thanks!"

Their brother nodded with a smile. Bill cleared his throat, "It looks good for a build. The foundation will have to be built using insulated concrete forms, which can be a little tricky. They're made of foam so they're easier to match the differences in the rock. The trick is tying them down to the bedrock so they don't move while you're pouring the concrete. I've done it, it has to happen when there is as little wind as possible. That can be done using temporary solid walls or even wind breaks. Artie, now I understand about the extra space below the main level, enough to capture the views but still single story as I imagine the wind would be pretty fierce up here during storms. How high are we, I know Tim said it's more than 900 feet above sea level?"

Evander nodded, "Yes, I was finally able to ascertain the exact number, it is 975 feet."

"Good and if this bedrock goes all the way into the water, you'll have less erosion."

Evander nodded, "It does go all the way down and into the sea."

Jose squinted at the view, "I know it's a beautiful view but you'll probably want to build farther back here, give yourself some space from the edge. It's not a cliff, you can see it's gradual but I sure wouldn't want anyone to take a wrong step. I like the idea of a transparent wall."

Tim nodded, "We agree! The wall will need to be tall enough and long enough to keep everyone on this side of it without blocking too much of the views."

Bill thought for a few seconds before saying, "Again, our engineer-architect is correct, call it one and a half stories for the house. Build a lower level, maybe a basement after all, maybe Dad's workshop," he grinned at their father, knowing he'd be welcome to share the future workshop, although for either of them to be comfortable, the ceiling would need to be at least eight feet. That would mean a full level, making the house 2 stories, rather than the partial level Artie had in mind.

Shrugging, he continued, "Although its main purpose would be to raise the house enough for the best possible views through the fence or wall without building a full second story."

Joe, Fred and Dad all said, nearly in unison, "Wall!"

Fred added, "If it's transparent, you won't have to worry too much about being able to see over it. Although I guess keeping the wall clean might be tricky."

Tim nodded, "Good points and yes, we'll put our heads together for a way to clean the wall that won't require anybody cleaning on the cliffside!" He chuckled, "I wonder if there are cleaning services that use helicopters?" He added, "Thank you!"

"Are you going to buy it?"

"We're pretty sure we are. As Artie said, we'd like Mimi and the Lekkas family to eventually move up here," by his side, Mimi also gave him a hug and kiss, and Tim grinned as he continued, "away from the coast before they're under water. Another big storm could do it. Last winter's storm was too close, between the high tides, wind, rain and flooding. "

"Flooding that will recede."

"Yes, for now and thanks to Mimi's helpers." They smiled at each other as each had worked to help restore Mimi's home as well as some of her neighbors. Jose and Freddy had turned over their plumbing jobs to their employees and flew to Greece to spend three full weeks helping Mimi and her neighbors. Tim continued, "However, the sea level is already rising on a continual basis and tsunamis and high tides are becoming more frequent."

Dad tilted his head, "Peter and I talked about that late last year, before the big storm. There are several plans under discussion for moving Varkiza inland, preserving as much as they can by taking the oldest structures down carefully and rebuilding with a mix of modern materials without compromising the historical details. The feeling is they have time now but not much and after the storms, I imagine the thought is there is even less time now. In the meantime, they've had professional grade photographs taken for posterity."

Bill nodded, "While I was here with Joe and Freddie last winter, I spoke with someone who said once the town and the houses are moved or rebuilt, they'll build sea barriers or artificial islands in hopes of keeping the water out for another 50 years or so."

Tim didn't say anything but thought of other coastal towns who should be doing that. Who knew in what shape the planet and its inhabitants would be in 50 years? He nodded, "There are a few ideas being researched and I hope some are being implemented. One is to build everything on stilts, as they sometimes do in Florida and I'm sure other places. Means a lot of stairs but I suppose stair lifts or elevators could be installed. The other thing is to build so the buildings will float on the water during high tides and I guess they'd somehow have to be anchored or somehow protected against tsunamis. Boats when they are in the mud and then float when the tide comes in. Still, in rough seas, that doesn't sound like a lot of fun."

"Towns and cities on the water. We'll have to have floating runways for jets."

Tim muttered something about smaller aircraft and his dad and brothers smiled at him, Bill saying, "So we'll buy a cruise ship and sail that over here. Some people have jets, we'll have a ship. Actually, with Air Paddington, the family will have access to both!"

Jethro made a face, "Hover cars! We were promised those when I was a kid and we don't even have usable jet packs yet!"

That brought smiles to their faces and they moved on, saying goodbye to Evander and returning to Varkiza and eventually the beach. Sitting under the umbrellas, Artie told them what she'd learned from the nearby owners and a local engineer recommended by the real estate agent. "I'll make a bid for the job on Lot #1 and then will hire locally as much as possible. Because the government wants sustainable and responsible development, those three lots may be the only ones allowed to be developed. Evander believes we'll be the only ones along the ridgeline. We forgot to tell you that we plan to hire a caretaker to live on site during construction and possibly while we're in the UK or wherever we end up." She frowned, "That won't work, we'll need to offer something more permanent to potential caretakers, I can't imagine anyone who'd willingly move in and out according to our crazy schedules." She shook her head, "Anyway, we'll either build some sort of apartment onto the garage or perhaps a stand-alone dwelling. If I were a caretaker, I'd rather have a stand-alone dwelling."

Continuing, she shared some of the details she'd learned and listened to her family members as they shared their knowledge, experiences and in Matthaíos' case, his ideas. She and Tim had already discussed buying the middle plot of land. Although they weren't sure exactly what they'd do with it, they thought they might go ahead and purchase the lot and then concentrate on getting the houses and apartments built.

When Bill suggested they have the second lot cleared for the construction workers to use, to park, perhaps add something for shade so they could cool down and for the ubiquitous portable latrines, they liked the idea. Both lots would need to be cleared anyway. Eventually they would ask Evander for any recommendations for a caretaker but that could wait for now.

When Peter, Rhode, their two younger children and the older gentlemen had a chance to see the property and hear the plans, they heartily approved, along with everyone else.

Before anything else occurred, the family celebrated Easter, having their Easter dinner on the beach after the traditional church service. Although the Lekkas family usually spent Easter Sunday with Rhode's family in northern Greece, the couple was glad they'd left early, celebrating with their international family. Their children were overjoyed that they were able to spend a few days with their older sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews and all the cousins.

With everything in Greece closed on Easter Monday, the group had returned to their various homes before Tim and Artie began negotiations to purchase both plots of land, one for housing, the other probably for the large garage, possible caretaker's dwelling and maybe Jethro's workshop. One of the pluses was that they would not be obligated to build on their land within a certain timeframe or ever.

While they had plenty of ideas of what and how they wanted things, Tim and Artie wanted to see what happened with the other new build before jumping in with both feet. Within weeks their offer had been accepted, payment transferred and they were the new owners of a beautiful view and 2 healthy plots of land.