Page 20 of One Moment in Time
‘Nope, you just get to count your blessings.’
Millie climbed in first and then Zara clambered in behind her.
‘Hang on,’ Millie put her hand up. ‘Where’s Kev? Didn’t he come to snog the air out of your lungs in a long, passionate goodbye?’
Zara gave the van driver their parents’ address before answering. ‘No, he’s doing t’ai chi at the park this morning. Says it’ll balance his zens. Or his chakras. Or… I’ve got no idea. I got to t’ai chi’ and switched off.’
‘You know, it’s truly amazing.’
‘What is?’ Zara asked, mentally running through her own checklist, while clicking on her phone’s Maps app to make sure there were no traffic jams on the way to the airport.
‘Every time I think that guy can’t get any more boring, he climbs to a whole new level of snoozeville. He’s like the gift that keeps on giving.’
Zara, very maturely, flicked Millie on the thigh and gave her the pursed lips of disapproval. Although… okay, maybe she had a point. Kev wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute but at least she knew what she had with him. He was kind. And safe. And they both just let the other person be themselves. Then there was the fact that she’d been with him for pretty much her whole adult life. She’d take that kind of stability over Millie’s rotating door of conquests any time. No judgement, but she couldn’t maintain that level of effort or expenditure. Millie’s monthly hair bill cost more than their mortgage.
Her sister’s head flopped down on to Zara’s shoulder and Zara ruffled her hair. ‘You’re a fricking nightmare, you know that?’
‘I do,’ Millie agreed. ‘But you love me.’
‘Only sometimes. Eeeek, I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see Mum and Dad’s faces when we announce where we’re going. This is going to be amazing and I’m not even going to tell them that their old pals are coming. I’ll save that until we get there. Keep the surprises coming. I spoke to Aiden again last night – he’s managed to get both his mum and dad to agree to come, although, he did say it was slightly complicated because they are divorced now. I think he’s looking at this as an opportunity to improve their relationship. Must be so difficult to be in that position. You know, I never take for granted how lucky we are that Mum and Dad are still happy. Thirty years. It’s just amazing and—’
Millie’s snore made Zara jump. Brilliant. She’d been talking to herself like a complete diddy for the last five minutes.
She distracted herself by checking the traffic again. Still fine. Then she ran through all the details from all her holiday lists in her mind. All done. And the shop was in the safe, capable hands of her trusted part-timers, Tilly and Tina, who were working the full week to cover for them. They were good to go.
When they reached their parents’ house, the van slowed at the kerb, and Zara reached over to open the door, letting Millie’s head fall and earning a dramatic ‘Ouch!’ from Sleeping Beauty.
‘We’re going on holiday,’ Zara announced, throwing her arms wide, then hugging first her mum, then her dad.
This was amazing. Brilliant. One of the best days ever. Time and time again, she’d imagined in her mind how all this was going to play out today – the excitement, the surprises, the beaming faces of her parents when they learned what was in store for them. Now that it was all happening, she felt like the total cliché of a kid at Christmas.
‘On you go into the van, Mum – we’ll get the luggage.’
Her dad helped her load up their cases, while Mum climbed in and sat next to Millie. By the time they got back in, Millie had replaced Zara’s shoulder with her mum’s and was sleeping soundly again.
‘Let me guess – she stayed out all night and got back ten minutes before you left this morning?’
‘Yes, she did, but it was one minute, not ten,’ Zara confirmed, matching her mum’s grin.
‘Thought so. I wish I had half of the energy she’s got, I really do. At least her life’s never dull.’
It was a throwaway comment and normally it wouldn’t have registered, but there was something in her mum’s tone that jarred. Was she okay? Come to think of it, her eyes were a little puffy and she looked a bit drawn and there was a bit of a defeated slump across her shoulders. It wasn’t that Zara expected her mum to come cartwheeling out of the house, but she wasn’t giving the vibe of someone who was about to go on an all-expenses paid celebration with her family. Even Dad was looking chirpy, staring out of the window and humming something upbeat but indecipherable.
‘Are you okay, Mum?’
That immediately changed her mother’s whole body language and she broke into a smile. ‘I’m so sorry, love. Just a bit tired, that’s all. Did a couple of double shifts this week so the others on the ward could get some time off.’
Ah, that explained it. Her mum worked way too hard and Zara had been suggesting for ages that she cut her hours down, but Brenda was having none of it. Maybe with Dad taking early retirement next month, Mum would slow down so they could spend more time together. They deserved to take it easy and enjoy life more. And this trip was the perfect place to start.
The van was on the M8 heading towards Glasgow airport now and Zara couldn’t see any traffic issues ahead. Excellent.
‘Are you going to tell us where we’re going then?’ Mum asked, and much as Zara was bursting to tell her, she shook her head.
‘Not yet. We’ll tell you at the airport when Millie wakes up. This is a gift from both of us, so it’s only fair.’ Zara decided not to mention that they were using every penny they’d inherited from their gran – she knew that Mum would only object. Like Zara, her mum had always been uncomfortable when anyone made a fuss of her or made her the centre of attention, and she definitely wouldn’t want to know that Gran’s money – intended for her granddaughters – was being diverted to this. It was going to be worth it though, to show their parents how much they meant to them, and how delighted they were that Mum and Dad were reaching such an incredible milestone.
Traffic slowed over the last mile or so to the airport but they still got there in plenty of time. Zara mentally ticked that off her potential pitfall list for the journey.
‘Millie, come on. We’re here,’ she nudged her sister’s leg with her foot relentlessly until Millie woke up.
