AEGEAN HOLIDAY by GILLYLEE RATED FRT

It is the summer of 2014. The Tracys spend a month in Greece. The following is taken out of the journals of Scott and Gordon.

Many thanks to Sam W.

SCOTT

I knew, as soon as Dad came up with the idea of this holiday, it would be a lousy holiday, at least for me...

The plan was to go to Florida, but now Dad's telling us that he has to go to a convention in Greece and he's going to take us with him.

Sure, going to Greece on vacation isn't something everyone gets to do. But as Dad is going to spend a lot of time at that convention, it means it's going to be up to me to keep an eye on my brothers, as usual.

My mother died before I was ten years old. And Dad broke down. Leaving me to take care of my four younger brothers.

I'm slowly beginning to realise now that she was everything he lived for, and that we are simply the by-products of the love they had for each other. I do hope that one day I will find something like that too. But at the time it was a terrible burden for someone as young as me to have that much responsibility suddenly thrust upon me.

Well, there was Virgil, of course. Virgil has always been there for me. Virgil will always be there for me.

Anyway, I'm 18 now and used to being a parent, but it would have been nice to be simply a brother for a couple of weeks.

But Virgil will be there. He's nearly 16, so he can help me. Help me to keep the 'terrible two' in check. (John doesn't count, as the middle one, he's always off doing his own thing.) So, maybe it could be a great holiday after all.

GORDON

I knew, as soon as Dad came up with the idea of this holiday, it would be a cool holiday...

The plan was to go to Florida, but now Dad's telling us that he has to go to a convention in Greece and he's going to take us with him.

Cool, going to Greece on vacation isn't something everyone gets to do. And as Dad is going to spend a lot of time at that convention, it means we can do whatever we want.

My mother died before I was 2 years old. And Scott is the only other parent, beside my father that I know. And there's Virgil of course. But they're old. 18 and 15. And there will be those Greek girls for them to ogle over. Yuck, girls. Anyway, no time to run around and spoil things. And John doesn't count, he's always off doing his own thing. So, Alan and I can have a great holiday.

SCOTT

Yes, it is a lousy holiday...

I have my driver's licence but the Greeks say that I'm too young to rent a car. Stupid Greeks, I've seen how they drive, and I'm a far better driver than most of them. Anyway, so we're stranded in this hotel, miles from the nearest town, the only town in fact.

Virgil is nearly 16. But so are his hormones. As soon as he got a look at those Scandinavian twins Gerda and Selma, he rushed off and I've hardly seen him since. They have breakfast together at the earliest possible time and then they disappear. He comes back bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when their parents finally send him away. And then he spends hours sending text messages to them on their cell phones. Well, Dad will sort him out when he sees the bill.

John is no trouble, of course. He jogs, he swims, he plays beach volleyball and in the evening he stares up at the stars.

And the 'terrible two'? They're just terrible.

GORDON

No, it's a lousy holiday...

John is no trouble, but Scott is terrible.

"Put on your T-shirt!" "Don't swim so far into the sea!" "Get into the shade!" "Put on your suntan lotion!"

Heck, it's waterproof, it's supposed to stay on the whole day. Don't do this, don't do that! Get a life, Scott!! Like Virg did... Wow, he hasn't got just one girlfriend, he's got two. And good-looking, too. I guess.

Floating in the sea, in front of the hotel, there's this great big inflatable castle. Alan and I play there a lot. If we can escape Scott, that is. He thinks it's too far for us to swim. Mother hen!

Anyway, late one afternoon, when all the other kids were going away, I saw Virgil swimming to it. With his girlies. And hey, I'm ten. I knew what they were going to do there. Kissing and cuddling.

So I said to Alan, "Come on, let's swim out there and spy on them."

Stupid kid, I had to explain everything to him and by the time he understood, Dad had returned and Scott was rounding us up again to take a shower. Heck, I'd been in the sea all day, I wasn't dirty.

SCOTT

No, it isn't such a lousy holiday after all...

The convention's over and Dad's able to spend more time with us now. So, one morning I decided to take the bus and visit a nearby archaeological site. Not that I'm that interested in Greek ruins, but I would have done anything to get away from the 'terrible two' and Virg and his Swedish harem. I would bet money that he's slept with one of them. Or maybe both. I don't know, but he's changed. It had to happen sometime, I guess.

On an impulse, I asked John if he wanted to come with me. And to my surprise, he agreed. And you know what? It was fun! There's more to quiet little Johnny than I ever thought there was. And now that he's getting older, he'll be 14 in October, I think we could become good friends. As I said, walking around that temple ruin with John, figuring out what it must have been, was a lot more fun than I would've thought it could be.

We stayed there until the gates closed and then we discovered the last bus back to the town had left 2 hours ago. So, we had to walk back. A 8-mile long and hot walk. And believe me that when I say hot, I mean hot. I was glad I hadn't taken Alan with me. I could already hear his whining. But John walked calmly with me and we had long talks about pretty much everything. After a few miles, though, we came to a little village and in the taverna there I bought us a Coke and a large bottle of water. And when we had rested for a while, we started walking again. And hey, after another mile or so we came to another bus stop. And that bus was still running and so we got back at the hotel far easier and quicker than I thought we were going to.

John had quite bad sunburn on his face and neck, but he looked as if he didn't mind and before he went into his room, he gave me a quick hug.

"Thanks Scott," he said, "I had a great day. I love you."

GORDON

Yes, it's a lousy holiday...

Every Tuesday afternoon there's scuba-diving in the pool. I wish I could try that. I want to learn how to dive and be the greatest scuba-diver in the world. Single-handedly rescue the crews of sunken submarines. 'Gordon Tracy to the rescue!' But no, Dad took us on a coach tour around the island the first Tuesday. And on the second Tuesday we went out to sea in a kaik. And that was the last day they had scuba lessons at the hotels. Actually, sailing that kaik was fun, but I would rather have had a scuba-diving lesson.

SCOTT

It's beginning to turn into a great holiday...

Yesterday, Dad gave me permission to go on a quad safari around the island. I could drive myself, only I had to take Alan with me. But hey, that little one is quite fun, when it comes to speeding.

And I never knew how dirty you could get.

Who would have thought that whining little brat had such nerves of steel? It wouldn't surprise me if he is going to be Grand Prix material, when he grows up. Although maybe that's just a proud big brother talking.

Halfway during the day we had lunch in a taverna on the beach. I think it made Alan feel incredibly grown up...just the two of us having lunch in a restaurant.

Seeing him shine with enthusiasm and hearing him tell Dad, when we came back, that it hadn't been 'such a lousy day' after all, made my day. After all, that's great praise from a nine-year-old.

Now Gordon. What to do with Gordon?

As I tried to find something that Gordon and I would both like, Virgil surprised me by saying, "Why don't you ask Dad if you can take him scuba-diving? You can sign up for lessons across the street."

"Scuba-diving?" I asked.

"Yes," said Virgil. "Didn't you see him look at all those notices from that diving school? He really looked like he wanted to try it. I bet he'd like it even better in the ocean."

Now, there's Virg for you. Involved as he is with his Swedish girls, he still notices us. And thinks about what we want.

So, I went to Dad and finally I got his permission. After which he went, not to the booking office, but to the diving school itself. I bet he gave them a real grilling.

GORDON

It's a great, it's a wonderful, it's an F.A.B. holiday...

Scott is taking me scuba-diving! Cool!

I could hardly eat and it took ages, first for the bus to come. Then for the drive to another village, Karda-something-or-other. But finally we were on board the boat that would bring us to the bay where we were going to dive. Scott, that idiot, had forgotten Dad's written permission that said that it was for me to dive. But luckily we weren't out of cell phone range. So they could call Dad.

And then they told us all sorts of interesting things, about sign language and how to breathe under water. And oh, everything. And then I got a suit, and flippers and a lead belt. And oh, everything. And then we were split up in little groups.

My heart raced when it was my turn. I shuffled to the rim of the diving platform.

"You OK?" The diver asked me.

I nodded.

"Okey-dokey then." The man said and pushed me into the water.

SCOTT

It almost wasn't such a great holiday...

I sat watching the divers stuffing, I couldn't think of another word than that, Gordon into a wetsuit. The smallest adult size was too large for him and as it turned out, my little brother was too large for the biggest child sized suit they had on board. One of the men asked Gordon how he felt.

"It's tight," he said.

The diver looked at me and grinned. "Next time bring your sister," he said.

And Gordon looked uncomprehending as another diver laughed and said, "Then it would be too tight in another place."

I couldn't help grinning as Gordon shuffled to the edge of the diving platform.

"You OK?" the diver asked him.

He nodded.

"Okey-dokey then," the man said and pushed Gordon into the water.

There was a splash and I watched Gordon's flippers thrashing above the water. And they kept thrashing above the water. The man on the diving platform stood watching in surprise till one of those flippers hit him in the groin. And then I suddenly realised that Gordon had somehow gotten himself into serious trouble. Luckily, the diver under water realised that too and Gordon was uprighted and lifted back out of the water.

He was coughing and spluttering and it took a long time before he could tell us what had happened.

"The strap on my mask broke when I went under. I tried to grab it, I really did, but it sank too fast, Scott and the seawater got in my eyes and it stung! And then that belt, it slipped up under my arms...I was stuck upside down...and it was so heavy I couldn't get my head up out of the water, Scott!"

He clung to me as if he was never going to let go.

"I don't want to dive, Scott," he said.

I stroked his hair from his eyes; "You don't have to, kiddo, if you don't want to. But hey, you know what? You can teach me how to snorkel."

The words were barely out of my mouth before Gordon was in the water again.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" he yelled.

GORDON

It's a great holiday...

I almost drowned today. I'll never be the world's greatest scuba-diver. I guess someone else will have to rescue those sunken sub crews. It will never be 'Gordon Tracy to the rescue!' But I learned other things today. Like Scott, he isn't such a mother hen after all. He told me a lot about Mom. And suddenly I realised that he was younger than I am now, when he had to give up lots of things I take for granted. To become more than an older brother. Could I have done the same thing? I'm not so sure. I think, I know now, what it means to lose someone you love. I think Scott is the greatest older brother a guy could have.

And now I'm going for a swim!

SCOTT

It's a great holiday...

I've taken care of my younger brothers for years now. But I never really knew them. But now, we've become a lot closer. And I can only hope that, when we've grown up and gone our separate ways, we will always stay this close. They are great guys and I'm sure they will turn into great men. And the best brothers a man could wish for.

And Virgil? The best brother I've got? Virgil is moping, his Swedish girls left today. Well, I think I can think of a way to cheer him up.

And we have another 10 days left of this great holiday...