** For authors notes, disclaimer etc. see chapter 1
Cross Country 2 – A journey of a thousand miles begins with….
"Gerry are you sure you know where you're going? You realise we're already cutting it fine to catch the overnight ferry don't you?" Sandra sighed as the satnav said turn left and Gerry ignored it and turned right. He'd been making a point of ignoring the machine since they left the house and now she was beginning to get extremely irritated by it.
"I told you we don't need that thing I know where I'm going and we've plenty of time it's two hours till we have to check in will you relax already." Gerry replied giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He did know where he was going she however didn't. When they'd first planned the holiday the idea of going on the overnight ferry had seemed like the most logical one but as time had passed he knew she'd been regretting not just deciding to go by the channel tunnel and take the most direct route. In the end he'd cancelled the ferry and booked the tunnel but to keep the surprise he had to let her think they were still travelling that night when in fact they were staying in the best hotel he could find close to the tunnel port. Up until they'd left the house the plan to keep it a secret had been going perfectly but he hadn't really thought through how he was going to explain the change in route especially since she'd insisted on using the car's satnav which was directly contradicting everything he was doing.
"I would if you'd just do what the voice on the satnav tells you how hard is it to follow a set of instructions…actually don't answer that you never follow my instructions and I am a real person who can break your arms if I feel like it. Why don't you let me drive?"
"No, look do you trust me?" Gerry asked as they stopped at a set of traffic lights and he briefly turned to look at her.
"You know I do but I also want to actually get to where we're going." Sandra replied sighing as he didn't answer but instead kept staring at her. "Fine but I swear if you don't get us there in time you will have a very boring celibate holiday and if you're going to ignore that thing turn it off that tinny voice does my head in."
"Yes ma'am." Gerry smiled as she sank back into the passenger seat turning up the music on the radio and closing her eyes. She couldn't travel any distance in the car without falling asleep and now that she'd stopped fussing he had every confidence that within moments she's be out for the count and he'd be in the clear until he got them to the hotel.
"Sandra wake up we're here." Gerry said quietly over an hour later when he had pulled into the underground car park at the Hilton hotel.
"Are we on time did we make it." Sandra asked stretching in the seat before staring at out the window of the car and immediately feeling herself tense. "I don't believe this I knew we were going to miss it! Gerry you promised we would be there in time now we've missed the ferry and…"
"Wow down girl we haven't missed anything we're not going by ferry. I know you hated the thought of it seconds after we booked the ferry so I changed it we're going on the tunnel in the morning tonight we have a room booked here five minutes from the terminal." He replied watching as her eyes lit up and the scowl on her face turned to a broad smile.
"Seriously? Oh my god that's the best news I've heard all day." Sandra beamed suddenly feeling a lot more awake and a lot happier than she had been moments before. The idea of spending the entire night on the ferry even with a cabin with an actual bed and everything hadn't appealed to her after the initial holiday planned excitement had worn off. Now the fact that he had taken it upon himself to change it as a surprise simply reminded her why she loved him so much.
"Yes seriously now come on there's a king sized bed and a Jacuzzi bath up there without name on it." Gerry replied grabbing the small overnight bag he had hidden in the back seat and getting out of the car."
Walking through the lobby of the hotel Sandra marvelled at how quickly an infrastructure of service industries sprang up catering to all economic levels when something like the channel tunnel opened. Twenty years before the area they were in was a typical sea port now with a direct line to mainland Europe the area around the tunnel terminal had become like it's own mini city. The Hilton they were now standing in could have been lifted and placed in any capital city in the world and not looked out of place and when Gerry arrived back with their room key and led her toward the lift she really felt like the holiday was beginning properly.
"Gerry I still can't believe you organised all this without letting it slip you are rubbish at keeping secrets!" She smiled as they reached the room and he opened the door standing aside to let her in. The room was plush and her eye was immediately drawn to the floor to ceiling windows at the other side of the room that looked out onto the shoreline lit up by the moon light dappling on the water. Walking toward it she looked out into the night as he came up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing his lips close to her ear.
"When it comes to making this holiday the best you've ever had I can keep a secret." He whispered kissing his way from her earlobe down her neck as she sighed contentedly.
"Oh I think it's going to be the best holiday I've ever hand." She said quietly turning in his arms and kissing him with the sort of slow passion that made promises she had every intention of keeping. Not just that night but for the rest of the two weeks they were going to have away from everything that normally kept consumed their days and she couldn't wait to show him just how much she planned on squeezing in to the shot time they had.