Free Recipes for Melissa by Teresa Driscoll

saviour to their feet.
    ‘Let’s get you both back up to the cafe to get you washed up. Then – we’ll see.’ Alexandros’ tone remained both calm and kind and Melissa was now placing him. He was the one who had served their coffee and pastries just an hour earlier.
    ‘This is very kind of you, Alexandros. Thank you. Very kind.’
    ‘No problem. But I warn you. I’m only in my third year,’ and now he was grinning. ‘So – no litigation?’
    Sam now managed a smile as he let the men help him further down the road to the hire car which they all decided was a better bet than trying to help the two injured men walk back up the hill. They moved beach towels from the boot to protect the seats from the blood and Melissa drove very slowly with Sam in the front and the other man across the back seat, while Alexandros hurried ahead on foot. By the time they accepted the shoulders of volunteers to guide the patients slowly into the cafe, Alexandros had set up a table through an alcove at the back, with hot water in a bowl into which he had poured some foul-smelling concoction. He had also set out bandages and some sterile dressings from a large, zippered first aid kit.
    The older woman, who Alexandros now introduced as his mother, was meanwhile producing small cups of strong coffee.
    ‘Sugar,’ she was saying, pointing at the cups. ‘Sugar.’
    ‘It’s sweet. Please drink it. My mother is right. The sugar will be good for the shock,’ Alexandros was smiling as he lifted the Cypriot’s injured leg onto a chair to examine the gash more carefully, narrowing his eyes at first and then nodding. ‘It’s pretty deep and will need several stitches. But – you’ll live. I can tape it and arrange a lift. And you two want to get this properly dressed in Polis. Yes?’
    ‘Yes,’ Sam broke in before Melissa could fuss further.
    ‘OK. But this must be done today. You’ll need to get back to Polis before 4 o’clock. I will ring them. Tell them to expect you?’
    ‘Would you? That would be great. Thank you, Alexandros.’ Melissa was sitting down at a second table as his mother brought her a coffee also along with a small pastry – nodding her head and smiling.
    And then Alexandros was asking questions. What they were doing in the area? How long they were staying in Cyprus?
    ‘We were just exploring up here,’ Melissa said finally, feeling a little guarded about their true motives. ‘We heard it was very beautiful.’
    ‘Yes. But no one told you about the problem we have with the motorbikes?’ Alexandros was shaking his head. ‘They go off road through the woods at night too. Madness.’
    He went on to explain that he was studying medicine at the University of Nicosia under a collaboration with the University of London. The scheme involved the early years in Cyprus and then later secondments abroad. He was still working out the terms for his studies overseas.
    ‘Alexandros is going to be a doctor in London,’ his mother was beaming as her son sighed.
    ‘Maybe. We’ll see,’ and then lowering his tone for Melissa and his new patients. ‘They have sacrificed a great deal – my family – to help make this happen. So let’s all hope so.’
    ‘Well you get top marks from us,’ Melissa said, beaming her thanks to his family and friends, more of whom were now crowding into the room, word of the drama having apparently spread.
    With the wounds properly washed and dressed, Melissa was feeling a good deal calmer – revived also by the sugar in the pastry.
    ‘So – are you sure you’re OK to drive, Mel?’ Sam was looking right into her face. ‘I know you don’t like mountain roads.’
    ‘Yeah. Yeah. Of course. If Alexandros is sure this is OK, we should get straight off. Soon as possible.’
    She said her own thanks again to the young man who had so bravely swept Sam out of the bike’s path, offering her business card if he was ever in England. Melissa then tried to offer money for the drinks and as a thank