The Canoe, A Love Story

Chapter 3

The flight to Malta went very well, the inflight meal was a choice of either chicken with veg or a mild curry, Stuart went for the curry and Hannah decided on the chicken, as they were eating and enjoying the flight Hannah tried to give Stuart some idea of what Malta was like, four islands in the middle of the Mediterranian sea 60 odd miles from Sicily, Malta being the largest, then Gozo, Comino and Filfa which was a bird sanctuary, but used to be part of the gunnery firing range for the Royal Navy, when they had bases on the island, now, of course, the island was a tourist beauty spot with hotels everywhere, but a lot of people liked to drive down through Italy take the ferry across to Malta and spend a few days enjoying the sunshine, but with nowhere to go, the government took it on themselves to check out some sites in England and when they came to your site, they were so impressed, they had to have the same sort of thing on Malta. "So my dear Stuart, we are on our way to try and create a holiday camp that for you Brits will be a home from home". as she spoke, she was holding Stuart's hand, her head on his shoulder, he could hear what she was saying, but in his mind, all he could think about was the fact that she was, well snuggled into him and he was wondering why, though he was thinking, it felt good, and he didn't really want it to stop.

Landing at Luqa Airport and with their cases in their hand, they made there way out of the arrivals lounge and into the main terminal building, as they walked into this huge area Stuart heard his name being called. "Will a Mr Stuart Walker please go to the Air Malta desk in the main concourse, thank you, Mr Stuart Walker". With Hannah leading the way they made their way to the Air Malta desk where after showing the girl behind the desk his passport, he was handed a set of car keys and told that the vehicle in question was a dark brown Range Rover in the V.I.P. car park to the right of the building. Again Hannah seemed to know where it was and they both went and found the vehicle in question.

Inside the vehicle Stuart found an envelope on the driver's seat, he opened the envelope and inside was a note from the boss back in the U.K. as he read it his face went from serious to a smile, he handed the note to Hannah, she looked at it then leaned across and kissed his cheek. "So". she said. "We have our own transport, and its a four wheel drive, I think we will need that where we are going". she then read the last bit of the note that said a bank account has been set up for you with the bank of Valletta, and your pay will be transferred to it every month, the first thousand is already in to get you started, best of luck and look after Hannah.

The ride to St Pauls from the Airport was straight forward, but it did take some time, once they had joined the other traffic, it was a case of follow my leader at the speed of the car in front, so an hour and a bit later they found themselves driving along the seashore of St Pauls Bay, as they got to the end of the bay Hannah told Stuart to turn right onto a dirt track, 100 yards in they came to a small hut and a double gateway, as they drove in, a middle aged man came out of the hut and started ranting in Maltese, he stopped when Hannah spoke, he then pointed along the track and said something to her, Hannah said something to him and jumped back into the vehicle. "It's alright Stuart". she said. "That is the watchman, it seems there are 4 of them, 2 do the day watches and 2 do the night watches, he was not expecting us until tomorrow, our accommodation is at the end of this track. The drive to the accommodation was a little slow, the track was full of potholes and Stuart had to put the vehicle in four wheel drive for the short journey. At the end of the track, they were confronted with a portacabin with windows cut into it and a gap for a door, and a wooden shed some 15 feet by 10, this inside was divided into two bedrooms and a lounge, the portacabin they found out was also divided, one end being a kitchen and small place to eat their meals, and the other, toilets and wash area, but as they both admitted, they had there own toilet, but would have to share the shower, but as Stuart said, "You have your shower first, and I will have mine after you". Hannah smiled. "Whatever". she said. " But I feel we will be having showers at least twice a day in the summer, it gets very hot out here then".

Back in the hut, it was agreed that Hannah would take the bedroom at the far end of the shed, and Stuart would take the one close to the door, as he said. "Just in case of intruders". he then removed a large baseball bat from his suitcase and placed it under the bed. It was now getting towards evening meal time, Stuart went into the kitchen to see what was there to eat, there were some tins in the cupboard, there were eggs, bacon and butter in the fridge and a loaf of bread in a paper bag, but Hannah said. "Stuart, this is your very first time away from England, let's eat out, as we came into St Pauls Bay, there is a new hotel, and I have been told they have the best food ever, let's see what they have to offer, I will nip and have a shower and then get dressed when I get back, you can do the same, what do you say, oh and by the way, this is my treat".

The hotel was beautiful, and the meal they had was out of this world, they started with a clear chicken soup followed by a fish dish with fried potatoes and peas, and for after fresh fruit, biscuits and cheese and coffee. As they sat back enjoying the atmosphere and the company they agreed, that for the rest of the week they would get acclimatised to their new home, then on Monday, they would really get down to the job of building the campsite, Stuart did have some ideas, but he first needed to see the site in daylight, he needed to walk the site to get the feel of it, to visualise what it would be like. 

Walking back to the Range Rover Hannah grabbed for Stuart's hand and as her fingers clasped his he looked at her in the dim lights of the parking area, and as Stuart opened Hannah's door for her to get into the vehicle she leaned in and kissed him. "Thank you for a lovely evening, but I told you I was going to treat you." "You did". Stuart said. "Good company, and now a kiss, what more could anyone want". Hannah climbed into the Range Rover and as Stuart made his way around the vehicle to the driver's side Hannah was having all sorts of crazy ideas going around inside her head, she had known this guy for two months, he had never in that time come on to her, by now, most English guys would have at least tried to grab the cheeks of her bottom, but not Stuart, in fact, she now realised, if she wanted to take this situation to the next rung of the ladder she was going to have to make every move, It was crazy, but she had the hots for this man, yes he was her boss, but it was possible to mix business with pleasure as long as it was done properly and with some sort of discretion.

The drive back to the campsite was done with little conversation, Stuart was watching the track through the windscreen, the lights on the vehicle were not that good, so he had to be extra virulent, but they did make it and with the vehicle parked up they said good night and headed for there own rooms.

It was late when Stuart woke up, he jumped out of bed and with his towel over his shoulder made his way into the portacabin, he planned to have a nice shower, a bit of breakfast and then walk the site. He walked into the bathroom and removed his underpants, as he made to get into the shower, he realised he was looking at Hannah who was in the process of stepping out of the shower, she was, as was he totally naked, they stood there just looking at each other, not moving just looking, and as Stuart's eyes worked there way down Hannah's body she stepped back and held the shower curtain across the lower half of her body. "Stuart, what are you doing in here, I was just finishing off and was going to start breakfast then call you". As she was talking her voice was getting softer as she spoke, she was looking at Stuart and she also saw that things were happening to him, things she had never seen before, she dropped the shower curtain and stepped out of the shower, as she closed the gap between them, Stuart felt her wet body against his own, he dropped his towel and placed his arms around her neck, her bust was being gently crushed against his chest, but Hannah didn't care, they were now on the second rung of the ladder and she could feel things happening with Stuart that she needed to understand, yes she knew all about the birds and the bees, not from her own mum or dad, but from the priest at school who told all the class, that sexual intercourse was a mortal sin unless you were married, it was God's way of bringing children into the world, was not for pleasure, but the duty of every wife and husband to procreate. Hannah was not looking for marriage, well not at this minute, but she was interested to know why what was happening to Stuart was happening, she stepped back and looked down, Stuart went to place his hand over his groin, but Hannah stopped him. "Please don't," she said. "I need to know, to understand". Hannah held him in her fingers, and as she did Stuart closed his eyes and allowed her to do what she needed to do, it didn't last long, in fact it seemed to Stuart that one minute he was in heaven with Hannah's fingers touching him, the next minute he had had his shower and with his towel around his waist, he was sat having eggs and bacon.

In the lounge area of the hut both Hannah and Stuart were sat at the table, on the table were plans and drawings of the site and what they planned to do, the big thing was to work from the entrance, then sort out the clubhouse, toilet blocks and pitches, but the very first thing they needed was a proper road onto the site, and that would be their first job on the Monday morning. It was now midmorning and Hannah said that they should go into Sliema where there was a huge supermarket, and they should stock up on those things that they needed. Hannah took Stuart along the coast road which went right into Sliema, they parked up and with a trolly each, they went around the supermarket picking up everything they needed to last them at least a month, they knew, they would be very busy on site and shopping trips would be very few and far between. with the boot full to the brim with mainly tins and fresh food, Hannah and Stuart headed back to the site, it was dark when they got to the hut, and by the time they had put all the food away they were both tired out, Stuart did them beans on toast for there evening meal which Hannah said was different having never had it before then sat in the lounge area of the hut with a cup of tea they realised they were both very tired and so saying good night with a quick kiss went to there own rooms.