‘It’s so beautiful. I remember when we arrived the first time, I couldn’t believe this was a town in Greece. It looks like a totally different part of Europe.’ He put his arm around me and I let him. I wrapped my arm around his waist and we stood in companionable silence watching the bustle of passengers disembarking and embarking.

‘I also remember sitting on the bow of the boat in our PJs having brekkie while half of the island made their commute to work.’

He laughed. ‘Oh yeah, I totally loved that.’

‘It was one of those surreal “I’m on holiday” moments.’

‘I’ve been thinking about that. You know what the real quest is?’

‘Quest?’ I asked.

‘Yeah, the thing I really want.’

I shook my head.

‘It’s to have that “vacation feeling” when I get home.’

‘I hear ya. I’ve been thinking that myself.’

‘To find a way to have that feeling of freedom and adventure …’

‘But every day,’ I finished his sentence.

‘Exactly.’

I continued with the shared thought. ‘And you know, it’s not only freedom, or adventure – it’s about being in my life and appreciating it. Living it, rather than observing it.’

‘The bigger life,’ he said.

‘The bigger life,’ I agreed. ‘Exactly.’ We tapped our cans of Coke together in a toast.

‘You know, that’s what I took away from your rant earlier?’

‘Rant? Are we calling it a rant?’

He looked embarrassed. ‘Sorry, no, that’s not the right word. I meant …’ He paused while he searched for the elusive word. Eventually, he said, ‘… pontification.’

‘Better.’

‘Anyway, that’s what I think you meant. Not necessarily making all these big changes or going skydiving every weekend—’

‘Definitely not that.’

‘But, changing how you see things, the perspective – having a sense of awe about the everyday, having gratitude, being open to opportunities, taking the initiative.’ He was looking out across the island as he spoke, and I found myself agreeing with him one hundred per cent.

‘Does that make sense?’ he asked, turning to me.

‘So much, so much sense.’

‘You know, the day I hiked to the top – right up there?’ He pointed and I nodded. ‘I sat there and watched the tiny world below me, and I had all these cool thoughts zipping round my mind. And it was all this sort of stuff. I’m actually thinking of taking up meditation when I get home.’

‘Really? I could see you doing that.’

‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘Do you meditate?’

‘I’ve had limited success with that. Didn’t I tell you?’ He shook his head. ‘Well, I get so caught up in trying to think of nothing that I spend the whole time trying to imagine what nothing looks like, and then it ends up looking like something, which always sets me off on some tangent and then I’m not meditating, I’m thinking.’

‘Like in Ghostbusters,’ he said solemnly.