The Stopover

Dana Kellna had devoted her whole adult life to the skies as a flight attendant, or as she preferred to say, as an air hostess, and had fallen madly in love with airline pilot - Lex Favori. They even lived together for a while. Although he was half Italian, his use of the language was poor, but that didn't stop Dana embracing Italy and Sicily, and in fact she made frequent stops there. Sadly it wasn't long before Dana and Lex had a serious falling out and Lex deserted her. It was a terrible shock!

Coincidently, her uncle Norman had purchased a bar in Catania, Sicily which British army ex-pats would use as a friendly watering hole. It was quite handy for Dana who would occasionally drop in every few months and help out. The bar, Grammaticos, was like home from home and Dana soon got to know the locale and the locals got to know her. She became especially friendly with her uncle's half-Italian wife Maria who was a kind helpful woman.

One day, Dana and her best friend and fellow colleague Margo organised a sort of break in Catania for their airline crew. It was really like a Stopover, a term used by crews to describe a longer than average stay in any part of the world. But it would be impractical to expect Dana's uncle Norman to put them all up, and so they got a discounted hotel suite down the road.

Dana knew that the girls would have a good time. They were a bunch of attractive high spirited professional young women who were determined to get the most out of life. Invariably this meant going out and about, playing the field, and generally experiencing what the world had to offer. And Catania with it's night life and bars and restaurants had everything a tourist might ever want or need. It was just a shame that Dana's ex, Lex Favori suddenly turned up with two middle-aged women in tow and stopped Dana in her tracks!

Dana's cabin crew chums thought she was foolish to entertain Lex after what he had put her through. But she had always nurtured a soft spot for him despite his apparent past cruelty. There were also certain burning questions she wanted answers to such as, why did Lex really leave her in the first place? Was it for another woman? Or was it because, as he said at the time, she was smothering him?

Whatever the reason, here he was back again. Dana didn't know what to make of it. Not only had he changed his name, but the two ladies he was with were quite besotted with him. Or rather, one was. The other was in Sicily to start a business or find one for sale. And what better person to ask for advice than a person like Dana who was familiar with Sicilian customs and local law.

So against her better judgement Dana found herself being roped into Lex's little circle and gradually certain things from the past came to light. She starts finding answers to old questions and eventually learns what Lex's true agenda is. Frankly, it surprises her, and if she is honest, it actually gives her a smidgeon of hope again!