After breakfast, they Mike and Nann changed into there costumes and went down to the canoe, taking the cover off, Mike gave her a good look over. She didn't look into bad a condition, considering she had not been in the water for so long, the mast and sail were still ok, as was the tiller. "Well old girl," Mike said. "Will you still float, or are you going to sink to the bottom as soon as we get into the creek." Mike and Nann slid the canoe down the slipway and into the water, he let her bob about for a while, then pushing the bows under, then the stern he looked for any water. Nothing, the hull inside was as dry as a bone.
"Well." Mike said, "shall we try her out." With everything in place, Nann climbed into the canoe, then Mike, as he sat in his usual place, Nann moved back into him, pulling on the sail line, the breeze filled the sail and with Mike as always on the tiller they moved away from the slipway. As they made there way up the creek, they were travelling at around 4 or 5 knots, heading out towards Manoel Island, they passed the swimming area then turned left into Sliema creek. With Mike's arm around Nann's waist and her back against Mik's chest, it was just like old times, in fact, it was almost as though they had never been apart. Under the bridge the water was plenty deep enough to get under, Nann just lowered the sail, and as they glided through, she put the sail back up again and they headed for there little beach.
Dragging the canoe onto the sand, Nann said, "we have no towel." Mike checked in the back of the canoe, and produced the old canvass bag, "You are joking." Nann said. "That's been there for over six months." Opening the bag, Mike pulled out, the large beach towel, a spare pair of trunks, two cans of 7 up and in the bottom he found a £5 note. Nann could not believe it. "Well." she said, "we don't have towels to dry ourselves." Mike took the £5 and asked Nann to stay with the canoe while he went across the road.
Ten minutes later, Mike was back, two new towels under his arm, a couple of egg rolls and a couple of cakes. Nann put the large towel onto the sand, and they then both ran down the beach into the water, they swam and played, there was a lot of splashing of water, and a lot of giggling, but the main thing was that both Mike and Nann were happy. Sat back on the beach, Nann asked why Mike had not emptied the bag, but like Mike said, "we were so busy, it went clear out of my head." Sitting, using the canoe as a backrest, they enjoyed their picnic, even the 7 up was still in date, although not cold, it was drinkable Laid on the sand, Mike closed his eyes, he was content, he was happy, and he was in love. As Nann looked at him her head resting in her hand, a smile came to her face, she let her fingers run over his chest, there seemed to be more hair than last time they were on their beach, but it was soft, and as her fingers played, she felt in her heart that this is how a man should be, her own daddy had a hairy chest, and when she had asked her mother about it, her mother just laughed, then told her that back in England, in the dead of winter, when the snow lay on the ground, she and her dad would snuggle up in bed and she would use that chest as an extra blanket to keep her warm. Nann lay her head on Mike's chest, it was warm, it was also like a blanket. As Mike placed his arm around Nann's waist, she understood, that her man would keep her safe, he would also keep her warm when needed. So like her mother, she had everything she wanted or needed, well almost. her main desire was to marry this man she loved so much, and give him a son or daughter, because she felt that, not only would he make a wonderful husband, but an even better dad.
"What are you thinking," Mike said dreamily. Nann raised her head, then kissed him on the mouth. "Nothing. " Nann said. "I'm just enjoying the fact that you and I are together." "Well," Mike said. "Tomorrow I join my ship, and I haven't got a clue what job they will give me, so it may be a case of us only seeing each other, whenever." "I don't care," Nann said. "At least now I know your only a short distance away from me, and not a thousand miles." Then she smiled to herself and gave a little sigh. "Michael," she said. "I have a plan, no an idea. If daddy lets us get married before we go back to England, that means we will be out here for about 20 months as husband and wife, correct." "If you say so sweetheart," Mike said. "You seem to have done all the sums, as fat as I can see." "Good," Nann said. "Well, I think we should try for a baby as soon as we get married." Mike opened his eyes and looked up at her. "You what," he said. "Have a baby as soon as we are married." Nann gently punched his rib cage. "No silly, listen to me. Once we are married, I think we should try for a baby, and if it works out well, we will be going back to England with our son or daughter." "Wait," Mike said. "You will be going home with our son or daughter, I will have to bring the ship home, which will take at least a month, then we have to find a place to live, it would be crazy." "No love, not crazy," Nann said. "When you join your next ship, you could be a way for up to two years, and to be honest love, I couldn't stand being away from you for that length of time on my own. But, if I had your child to care for, then I would have a little bit of each of us to keep me company through those long days and nights." Mike thought about what Nann had said. "Are you sure," Mike asked. "Are you sure that you want a baby as soon as we get married? It means that you will be caring for that child for one, maybe two months before I get home, and we won't have a place to live." "Don't be silly sweetheart." Nann said,."I can live with mummy and daddy until you come home, then we can find a place of our own and settle down as a real family. It's so simple, and mummy would love to have a grandchild to spoil." Nann laughed. "Oh, wouldn't she just."
Mike looked at his watch, it was getting late. "Come on love," he said. Standing up and taking Nann's hand he helped her up, then together they put all the gear into the canvass bag. Dragging the canoe back into the water, they both got in and headed back to Msida. The breeze had dropped somewhat, so the run back was a lot slower. As they came into Msida creek, past the Forth and its subs they could see Roger on the balcony waving at them, by the time they got to the slipway, he was waiting at the bottom to help Mike and Nann get the canoe onto its rests. Roger asked how their trip went, and both Mike and Nann said great and they were surprised she hadn't started to leak. It was then that Roger dropped his bombshell. "Well," he said. "If you must know Maureen, while you were doing your own thing on Saturday afternoons, your mother and I were taking her out, we found a very nice quiet beach by the bridge at Manoel Island, and we would pull the canoe up onto the beach and lay in the sunshine. We even found an old canvass bag with a huge towel inside it, but your mum would wash that after every use." Mike was grinning, and Nann was laughing fit to burst. "What's going on," Roger asked. "Daddy." what else was in the bag," Nann asked. Roger thought for a moment," I remember." he said, "there were two cans of 7up and a five pound note, but we never touched that, however, we did drink the 7up and replaced the cans after we got back." Nann nudged Mike, "No wonder the towel didn't smell of mildew, they washed it every time they used it. having put the cover on the canoe, the three of them went up to the flat, Nann and Mike were still tittering to themselves. Grace had prepared a real Sunday roast with all the trimmings, as they sat eating Roger told Grace about the canoe and the fact they had used it quite often. Grace looked at Mike. "You don't mind Michael, do you." Of course not." Mike said, use it all you want, the more it goes out the better." Grace smiled at him. "Thank you, Michael, you see we have found a lovely quiet beach." Roger interrupted his wife. "Sorry love, not so private, these two found it long before we did." Grace looked at her daughter and saw the twinkle in her eye, but nothing was said. Mike then said I plan to somehow get the canoe to Manoel Island, they have a sailing club there and I am hoping that there will be a space there for it." Mike was looking at Grace and saw the disappointment in her eyes. "It's ok, I won't be doing that until you go back to England, I know you love using the canoe, so it can stay where it is until the colder weather comes.
After dinner, Mike asked Grace if she had an iron he could use. "What for," she asked. "I need to give my kit the once over." he said. "it won't take me long, but I do need to look smart for tomorrow." Nann got the ironing board out and plugged in the iron for him, Mike went into the bedroom, coming back out with his kit bag, then tipping the whole lot onto one of the chairs he started to iron a white front. Nann watched him very closely. "How much have you got to do," she asked. Mike told her he had two suits, three white fronts three pairs of shorts white and three pairs of shorts blue and three blue shirts, plus odds and sods. Nann watched as Mike ran the iron over the jacket and trousers, she watched very carefully as he put 5 creases in the white bell bottoms, then folded them in a concertina style, when he went to do the second suit, Nann stopped him. "NO love." she said, "Just do one item of each." Nann again watched as Mike did as asked, he ironed one item of clothing, folded it up and replaced it in the kit bag. "Ok." Nann said, " I think I have got the idea now." And she had, within an hour, Nann had finished the ironing, placed everything back into the kit bag, and returned the ironing board and iron to its storage. Grace wanted to know, "Why only 5 creases, I thought it was supposed to be 7." Roger looked at his wife, he had a smile on his face. "Only," he said. "If your inside leg measurement is over 30 inches, what's your's son." Mike looked at Roger and Grace. " mine is 29, so I get to have 5 creases." "I don't care how short Michael's inside leg measurement is, he will always be six foot to me," Nann said, then she went across to Mike and sat on his lap and kissed him. "If you want a lift in the morning Roger said he would be leaving home at seven. Mike thanked him. Then Nann looked at the two of them. "Hang on, what about me." Roger looked at his daughter. "You'll be at work, won't you." Nann thought for a moment, then giggled. "I will, won't I." Mike and Nann went out onto the balcony, it was a beautiful night, there were dozens of stars in the sky, and the moon was up, not a full moon, but a moon all the same. As they stood looking up the creek holding each other, Grace came out with a cup of tea for them both and put them on the stone rail. "Right." she said, "I need to talk to you both. It's alright, Roger is in the shower, and will then be going to bed, so lets lay it on the line. I need to know what you are planning." "Mummy," Nann said. "Michael and I would like to get married before we go back to the U.K. with your's and daddy's blessing." Grace put her arms around Mike and Nann's neck and kissed them both. "I knew it," she said. "I just knew you were planning something, but you are both so young," she said. "17 is a very young age to get married." "We know," Nann said. "But it's what we both want, and we will both be 19 when we come back to England. Please, mummy, try and get daddy to agree, I don't want to be stuck in England while Michael is out here, it would kill me." "OK," Grace said. "I will see what I can do, but I haven't heard a word from this young man yet." she looked at Mike. "I love your daughter, as well you know Mrs Taylor, and I want her in my life, we are young in age, I agree, but we have a wealth of experience in both my own parents and the two of you. So, I reckon we could make a go of it, we may falter at the odd time, but as they say, you pick yourself up and start again. And you know, I would never hurt Maureen." Grace nodded. "I know," she said, as does her father. "But." and she smiled. "The odd love tap doesn't do any harm when needed."
Grace walked back into the lounge saying goodnight to then both, as she left Mike and Nann were left to ponder what had just happened. "It sounds to me," Mike said. "That we have the go ahead to marry." "It does, doesn't it." Nann said, "But let's see." Nann needed to use the loo, so giving Mike a kiss she went inside. Mike stayed on the balcony looking down onto the covered canoe, which he could see in the street lights, he felt very good that she was being used again, not only by Nann and himself but by Roger and Grace. Nann rejoined Mike on the balcony. "I think mummy and daddy are asleep, there's a lot of noises coming from there room." As Nann snuggled into Mike in the semi darkness, Mike realised that Nann was in her dressing gown, she moved to stand in front of him looking over the rail. With Mike stood behind her, she whispered to him. "Michael love, will you make love to me like you did this morning in bed, but I want you to do it right here, right now, on the balcony." Mike looked around, he could see that there was nobody around, they were on the second floor, and the balcony although made of stone pillars, they were made in such a way that even with the naked eye it would be impossible to see what was going on. as Nann spoke to Mike she laid a small package onto the balcony rail, Mike took it and prepared himself, then lifting the dressing gown hem he made the connection. "Don't move darling." Nann said, "Just stay as you are, that feels wonderful, just wonderful."
In bed, Mike and Nann were cuddled up together, and after a short time, Nann could feel the steady rhythm of Mike's heartbeat as he fell into a deep and dream free sleep. As Nann lay alongside her man, her thoughts were on what had taken place on the balcony, Mike was so loving towards her, so gentle, every time they made love, he made the experience a new and wonderful thing, how come, she thought, when they first made love, he had been like a fish out of water. In fact, she had made all the moves, but now, Mike was giving her pleasure, and what pleasure. After sometime Nann closed her eyes, as she turned away from her man, she felt him snuggle into her, his hand around her waist, his breathing was shallow as deep sleep took over his body, and as Mike found his comfort zone for a good nights sleep, Nann realised that they would need to change places in the bed, so that when they finally did turn over to sleep, they would be facing away from each other and sleep would be natural. Nann quickly crawled out of bed and made her way to the other side, getting back in, she turned away from Mike, he didn't stir except to move closer to the edge of the bed where he slept soundly. Even today, Mike sleeps on the left side of the bed, on the edge. And Nann, throughout the night, has to make sure he does not fall out. He has done so many times, has only hurt himself once, but now that the bedside cabinet has been removed, he just lands on the bedside rug, wakes up with a start, realises he has made a complete fool of himself and climbs back into bed with his wife.
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