Let her go alone. Maybe shell end up getting kidnapped, Judith frowned.
A stuffy evening on the cusp of a long-awaited holiday should be full of eager anticipation and cheerful preparation.
But in the flat of Thomas and Grace, the air is thick with tension. In the centre of the living room, standing like a monument to anxiety, is Judith Atkinson. She clutches the television remote with white-knuckled fingers.
I wont allow it! Have you both gone completely mad? Her voice, seasoned from years of commanding classrooms (shes a retired teacher), rings with cold authority.
Frozen mid-frame on the TV is a dramatic news segment: a stern-faced presenter traces bold red arrows across a map of Southern Europe, emphasising looming threats.
Grace, calmly packing her suitcase with a steady hand remarkable given the atmosphere, merely sighs.
Shes been through this scene before. Thomas, wearing the exhausted look of a man plagued by repetition, tries to interject.
Mum, thats enough! Its all nonsense! Were going to a reputable hotel, on a proper package
Nonsense? Judiths hands wave so forcefully the remote nearly flies into the wall. Thomas, why dont you open your eyes! Shes going to drag you into all sorts of trouble! In Spain, of all places Its crawling with criminals! Youll pop out to buy a drink and never come back! Theyll harvest your organs; youll end up in a freezer. And her– she gestures dramatically at Grace, shell be sold into slavery or some brothel! I saw it on a documentary!
Grace stops folding her clothes. She gazes at Judith, catching her eye with a patience Thomas could never muster.
Mrs Atkinson, Graces voice is soft but very clear, do you honestly believe that every Spaniard is some sort of mafia doctor and part-time pimp?
Dont mock me! You have no answer for the facts! They show it on the telly! People after a cheap thrill, off they go and their families get sent bits of them in a tin!
Thomas runs a hand down his face.
Mum, its content for pensioners whove run out of crosswords. They stir up fear to keep you hooked. There are millions of tourists
And thousands go missing! Judith retorts. Grace, youve probably already bought the tickets, havent you? Bet you wont return them?
I have, and no, I wont, Grace replies simply. Weve saved for two years for this trip. Ive checked the reviews, read the travel forums, booked through a licensed travel agent. Were certainly not planning to wander into dodgy alleyways after dark. Well go on day trips, sunbathe on Costa del Sol, eat paella…
Theyll poison you, you know. Who knows what they put in their weird little stews, Judith mutters. Tom, darling, please think it over. Let her fly off if she musther risk, her problem. You stay here, safe and sound. A mother always senses danger.
For a moment, a heavy silence sits between them. Then Grace says whats perhaps long overdue.
Fine, she says, snapping her suitcase shut. Youre right, Mrs Atkinson. No one ever got anywhere without taking a risk. Ill go by myself.
Grace! What are you saying? Thomas is taken aback.
You heard your mother. Her instincts cant be wrong. I cant be responsible for your kidneys and your liver, and I certainly cant risk having you sold into slavery. So youll stay home, drink tea with your mum, and watch conspiracy programmes about the world falling apart. And I she flashes a cold smile, Ill enjoy the inferno. On my own.
Judith looks triumphant and at the same time, wrongfooted.
Shes won the argument, but Graces readiness to meet all her horror stories head-on seems to have thrown her.
Yes, well, she finally says, tone much subdued, your choice. Cant say you werent warned.
Thomas tries to protest, to reason with Grace, but shes adamant. On the eve of her departure, they sleep back-to-back, both silent.
Will you change your mind? Thomas asks.
No, says Grace, curt and final.
*****
The plane touches down in Malaga, and the citys dry, sun-drenched air wraps around Grace like a blanket.
Fear? Not in the slightest. Just exhaustion and sharp, excited curiosity. True to her plan, she spends those first days wandering lively, friendly streets, marvelling at magnificent cathedrals, and sampling impossibly delicious street food.
No one so much as tries to nick her purse, let alone abduct her. The cheery market vendors merely grin and haggle a few euros off the price of oranges.
Grace sends a group message to Thomas andby Judiths demandJudith as well: a smiling selfie with a fruity mocktail against a turquoise sea. Caption: All organs accounted for. Not a peep about slavery. Looking forward to more.
Thomas sends back heart emojis. Judith views all the photos, reads the updates, but doesnt reply.
Next, Grace heads north to Granada. There, in a cosy family-run B&B, shes taught how to make proper tortilla española by the owner, a kindly middle-aged woman named Carmen.
Carmen, with her patchy English, reminds Grace of Judith in an uncanny way.
Much like Judith fretting over Thomas, Carmen worries endlessly about her own daughter, whos gone to work in Edinburgh.
Shes there alone, its cold, people never smile, foods odd, Carmen complains, briskly scrambling eggs. I saw it on TVawful pollution, everyones rude!
Seeing her anxious face, Grace bursts out laughing, the pent-up release sending her into helpless tears.
Carmen looks baffled. So, through gestures, photos, and a little English, Grace shares Judiths television panic, the tales of stolen organs, and doomed holidays.
Carmen listens wide-eyed, then laughs herself, letting loose a musical peal.
Mothers! We are all the same. Fearful of what we dont know. The telly shows nonsense here too!
That evening, beneath stars that seem impossibly close, Grace calls Judith directly by video.
Judith appears worn and wary.
Well? Still alive? she asks without preamble.
Alive and well, Mrs Atkinson. See for yourself.
Grace swivels the camera onto Carmen, who emerges bearing sweet tea and fruit. Seeing Judiths stern face, Carmen grins.
Hello! Carmen waves. Your daughter-in-law is excellent! Very good at cooking! Dont worryIll keep her safe! No slavery here! Then she gives Grace a cheery hug.
Judith says nothing. She stares at the smiling Spanish woman, then at Graces tanned, serene face.
And… your organs? Judith manages at last, her certainty evaporating.
All still where they should be, Grace beams. And my appetites never been better. Mrs Atkinson, its wonderful hereeveryones kind. Carmen worries about her daughter in Scotland, you know, because TV says its cold and people are grim.
A long silence hangs on the line.
Let me speak to herthe Spanish lady, Judith announces.
Grace hands the phone over. Two women, separated by cultures and hundreds of miles, chat for a full ten minutes.
Language means little. Carmen nods, laughs; Judith, initially scowling, gradually softens.
And at the end, Judith even attempts a smilea bit awkward, but no longer just a mask of dread.
When they disconnect, Grace receives a message from Thomas: Mums just turned off the telly. Says shes had enough of hysteria and asked when youre coming home.
Grace doesnt respond right away. She sits under the Granada sky, then snaps a photo: two women, arms around each other, smiling at the camera, and sends it to the group chat.
Caption: Found an ally. Paragliding tomorrow. If anything happensstill havent lost a kidney! Love.
The flight home feels light as air. At the airport, Thomas is waiting, and slightly behind with a bunch of garishly bright asters, stands Judith.
She doesnt rush for an embrace, but nor does she raise a fuss. Clearing her throat, she thrusts the flowers forward.
Well, you survived then?
As you see. No rich clients or shady dealings
Oh, hush, Judith grumbles, looking away. Tell us thenhows your Carmen?
On the way home, Grace regales them with tales of cathedrals, food, and the warmth of strangers, dotted with amusing mishaps.
Judith listens, occasionally asking a question. The television in the sitting room remains off.
On its dark screen, the reflections of three people are visible: husband, arm around wife, and a mother-in-law finally choosing to see the world not through the distorted lens of sensational television, but through the eyes of someone whos ventured out into the wild and returned not just unscathed, but glowing with happiness.
That evening, over tea, Judith, quietly, almost as if testing the ground, says:
Next year if you both fancied perhaps I could come along? Just not anywhere too outlandish…
Grace and Thomas catch each others eyes and share a grin. Its a pleasant surpriseJudith, suddenly peering at life from a different angle.
Though a few days later, she visits, red-faced and excited, and announces in the hallway:
Ive changed my mind. You wont catch me going abroad! You, Grace, simply got lucky! Only last week I sawloads of people rescued from who knows where. I dont want to risk it!
As you wish, Grace answers, shrugging.
Thomas, youve no business gallivanting abroad either! You can see plenty right here in England! Judith declares with an air of finality.
Thomas just shakes his head, not bothering to argue, knowing all too well its pointless.
