It was the most exciting time for Steve, more so now that he could remember for some time, perhaps so far in his short life. But Christmas was just next week, he had some shopping to do and being a typical man he had bought nothing for anyone yet. He had thought about it but that’s as far as it had got, now he needed to act. Today was the first Saturday Steve had off in his work rota for two months and he knew he had to use the day for Christmas shopping, he hated it but it had to be done. He got the bus into town and got off right outside the shopping centre, his small home town was blessed with a small shopping mall and this was just right for Steve, he could get it all in one place. First, he had to get something for Hannah, she was his girlfriend and she was so loyal, she deserved something nice. Hannah was to be presented with a new mobile phone on Christmas day, her old phone was out of date so he knew it was the thing she would most want and she also got some very nice white lacy underwear. Dad, well he got another flat cap, some aftershave and some underwear too. Steve’s closest friend was really a work mate, Richard. He liked Richard so he bought him a day at a racing circuit that happened to be just twenty miles away, where he could drive a Ferrari, he had always said he wanted to do that.
“Right, with that out of the way” he thought, “I’ll go into the travel agents”.
He went in, almost tripping on the door step and looked eagerly at the brochures, but there was nothing with Cote d’Azur on written it. The young man who was wearing a nice crisp shirt with a tie that didn’t match, approached Steve.
“Can I help you sir, do you know what you are looking for?” He asked.
Steve had never been into a travel agents before and was amazed how busy it was.
“Oh, yes please” he said nervously, he had no idea what he was looking for.
“I want to go to the south of France, the Cote d’Azur please” he added.
“Ah, I know what” said the chubby young man.
He said no more and walked over to some shelves where there were thirty or forty different brochures on display. He browsed quickly and picked up one, then walked along and picked up two more.
“Take a seat sir” he said as he walked back across towards Steve, waving his hand at the chair in front of the desk.
“Is it a hotel sir, or a campsite you have in mind? He asked.
Steve thought for a moment “A hotel I guess” he replied.
The man realised Steve really had no idea and looked at the brochure, flipping through the pages and opened the brochure up.
“This is a nice hotel on the outskirts of Nice, if you choose one in the centre, the price would be double” said the man, with the knowledge you would expect from a travel agent.
“How long do you have in mind sir?” he asked.
Steve told him that he wanted to go for two weeks, but it was dependent on his budget,
“I have about fifteen hundred pounds” he said openly.
Steve looked anxiously at the man and then at the brochure in front of him.
“The cost of this hotel would exceed that sir, when we consider the cost of flights too”.
The man bit his lip and could see that the costs were of a concern for this inexperienced potential customer.
“Why not consider going for just a week sir?” he said, suggesting a compromise.
“Well, I was hoping to see the whole area, so perhaps a campsite would be better?” Steve replied optimistically.
“Yes” said the travel agent, “Campsites are a good way of seeing the sights on a budget”.
He went off and returned after a few minutes with some more brochures. He suggested that Steve take them home and have a look through them to get some ideas for himself. Steve thanked him and took the brochures. He walked as quickly as he could to the bus stop, it was cold, getting dark, about to rain and he felt deflated now. When Steve got home, it was dark but it still hadn’t rained. He was only just taking off his coat when there was someone at the front door. He opened the door to see Hannah standing there.
“Can I come in then, it’s cold!” she said loudly.
He laughed as he opened the door wide to let her in. Hannah pinned him up against the door and kissed him.
“What was that for?” He asked.
Hannah looked into his eyes
“Because I love you” she whispered.
She hugged him tightly and then whispered quietly in his ear
“Is dad in?” she said, moving her eyes around in a secretive way.
“No, why?” was the reply.
She smiled and said nothing taking Steve by his hand and leading him upstairs to his bedroom. They went in and Hannah slammed the door shut behind them. She took off her coat and pushed Steve onto his bed laying down next to him. Steve was a little shocked, they did have a physical relationship but this was a little out of character for Hannah. It was nice though, he was enjoying every minute of it! One thing led to another and they made love. It was hot and passionate and they both enjoyed each other, so much more than usual. An hour had passed and they laid on the bed talking. The one burning issue was of course, the holiday. He told her about the visit to the travel agents earlier that day and how expensive a hotel was likely to be.
He said that he thought that a campsite might be the answer on the budget he had. Steve ran downstairs in his underwear and picked up the brochures he was given by the travel agent, took them back into his bedroom and together they looked at them. The costs were a great deal cheaper than a hotel, for sure. According to the brochures, summertime is when people flock to the beaches of the region and prices more than double, so March is going to be the best time they agreed. Flights were still expensive though.
Richard had told Steve that once, some friends he knew went to Paris, they hitch hiked and got there for free. Steve looked at Hannah “I would try that, I might even get to see more” he said grinning.
Hannah showed for the first time, her concern and the realisation of the risks he was apparently willing to take just to get there. She pulled a face and her nose wrinkled up, she looked so cute when she did this. Steve knew she didn’t like the idea.
“Well, it’s worth thinking about” he said, as he stood up.
Hannah got dressed and gave Steve another reassuring kiss, he knew she loved him. He followed her back downstairs and Hannah saw the flat cap and coat on the back of the door. She turned and looked alarmingly at Steve and took a sharp intake of breath. The fact that his father had come home whilst they were upstairs making love bothered her.
“Don’t worry” he whispered “Dad never says anything”.
She grinned cheekily and headed for the door but he pulled her back, kissed her and let her go again. They agreed to meet the following evening to discuss the best way for him to get to the Cote d’Azur. There was no doubt that although Hannah was not going with him, she was certainly part of the planning!
The next morning, Steve had to get up very early, the birds needed their exercise and he had to do it. He ate breakfast quickly and was almost finished when his father came in the kitchen.
“Alright dad?”
“Yes, are you doing the birds today Steve?”
“Yeah, I’ll be going in a minute” he said.
There was no mention of the holiday, or the upstairs antics the night before. Steve ran upstairs to get his coat and came back down the stairs putting it on at the same time.
“Right dad, see you in a while” he said as he went out the front door.
It was misty outside, not the nicest weather for exercising the pigeons.
Steve was thinking again about his holiday and arrived at the pigeon loft without remembering how he got there. He had got to a point now where he could summarise in his own mind what he wanted to do. “Yes, I am going to the Cote d’Azur, I am going to make my own way there and back, I am going to stay on a campsite and I think I know which one” he thought.
It was a few days again before Steve could start to look closely again at the brochures. His computer could provide a great deal of information on the internet and he was able to look at the different campsites in the area and start to compare, money was the biggest issue for him and so every penny counted. There was one campsite though that he kept going back to, it was in a village called Saint-Jeannet, about six miles outside of Nice and beneath the towering Baou de St. Jeannet mountain. The pictures looked fantastic, this was the place to stay at, he thought. Getting there was the next thing to consider. Flying is expensive, so train or car is likely to be best. Again, hunched over his computer, Steve started to search for trains. He thought for a moment and realised that if he hitch-hiked to Paris and then got a train from there, it would give him an opportunity to see a bit of northern France at the same time. So, it was to be a bus down to Dover, over on the ferry then try and get a lift to Paris. “Was it that simple?” he wondered. Perhaps he was being rather daring, but why not, he asked himself.
The lady at the campsite that Steve had chosen was very polite to him on the phone and she spoke perfect English, confirming the dates that Steve wanted to stay and the cost. He had opted for a small one bedroom mobile home, it had every possible amenity you could imagine. There was a pool on site, a shop and a bar.
“Thank you, for the information and I wait for your email confirmation” he said, then slowly put the phone down.
That was it. Done, booked. Now the anxiety began. He was very excited but also nervous, Steve had never done anything like this before. He was going on a ship, hitch-hiking, getting an overnight train and then when he got there, the exploration of the area. He smiled, he knew he would like it. Immediately, he called Hannah. She was at work, but he simply had to tell her.
“Guess what Hannah, I have booked the campsite, the one we were looking at!”
He could hardly keep calm, almost shouting.
“This is great” said Hannah, “I am so pleased for you”.
She was not excited, not by any means. In fact, she felt a bit down now, He really was going on his own, it finally came home to her. And Steve, without realising it, had spoiled Hannah’s day, she was to be long faced for the rest of her shift. After she had finished work, Hannah called Steve from the bus stop. She had been thinking about his call to her earlier and accepted that it was going to happen, a deposit had been paid. His phone went into voicemail, as it often did, so she left no message. As she got onto the bus, her phone rang and she promptly answered it.
“Hi Hannah” said Steve.
She was tired but was never too tired for him.
“Hiya” she replied, quite sparkly.
Steve went on to tell her how he had been looking at getting there and told her about the ferry and the hitch-hiking and train.
“Well, at least you are researching all this” she said.
It was true that he was looking at every aspect of his trip, but of course, only the ones he knew about. Parts of it were likely to be unforeseeable – to anyone. Now it was done, the plan was in place. The campsite booked, travel methods planned. He was ready and couldn’t wait.