– Its a bit daunting to travel alone with my daughter, you see two women, unfamiliar with the language, anything could go wrong… muttered Margaret with a wave of her hand. But with the two of you, it feels much safer somehow. Well be close by if anything happens.
Oh, Grace had no idea just how close theyd all be during this trip.
– Its just such a shame, Grace sighed.
She and James had started making holiday plans with his brother, William, and Williams wife, Sophie, months earlier.
Jamess brother and his wife made the perfect company the sort you could take for a pint, a getaway, or even somewhere more daring they all shared the same sense of humour and idea of an ideal holiday.
Last year theyd had two joint trips, both turning out brilliantly.
But now
Well, it wasnt Sophies fault shed fallen ill last minute Grace would never have blamed her.
Still, she was perfectly entitled to feel disappointed, wasnt she?
– Theres nothing for it, really. Youll have to traipse round the remnants of old empires without us, William sighed.
He was frustrated too about the ruined plans, but of course, he couldnt just leave his poorly wife at home to go swanning about Europe out of sheer decency.
And no one would have expected that from him, anyway.
But it was a real pity about the holiday money theyd lose most of their deposit at this point. And the trip itself had sounded so promising.
That evening, Jamess mum, Margaret, popped round unexpectedly.
Her visits werent unusual she and James were quite close. And generally, Margaret was pleasant enough company.
Sure, she had her quirks as most traditional mothers-in-law do, shed sometimes try to teach Grace how to run a household. But compared to the mothers-in-law her friends always complained about, Margaret was an absolute soft touch.
She visited often about four times a week but only rarely insisted on doling out homemaking advice.
And sometimes, Grace even found those bits of guidance useful. She certainly didnt consider Margaret to be a menace.
So, when Margaret suggested joining them on their trip, taking her youngest daughter, Charlotte, buying William and Sophies tickets and heading off to Spain with James and Grace for a sunny break Grace welcomed the idea.
– I couldnt possibly go travelling alone with my daughter, you understand just us two, new language, dont know the ropes, anything could happen said Margaret. But with the two of you, it doesnt seem half so worrying.
Well stick together if anything happens.
Oh, Grace had no idea just how much togetherness was in store.
Had she known, shed never have agreed to a family holiday with her future mother-in-law and Charlotte.
Still in some ways, it was lucky she got to see the real sides of James and his family before signing any wedding paperwork sparing herself the trouble of later untangling a marriage.
She might say she got off lightly.
When Grace told her friends shed agreed to the family plan, they thought she was mad.
Who goes on holiday with their mother-in-law, even a future one? Shell run the whole show, have James dancing attendance, and recruit one of you to babysit Charlotte.
But Grace reasoned that Charlotte was already nineteen and hardly needed family chaperones on holiday.
In fact, day-to-day, Charlotte barely interacted with Grace beyond the odd greeting or request to pass the salt.
It seemed unlikely that Charlotte would crave deep conversation on a Spanish beach.
And as for Margaret Sure, theyd have to take her pace into account, but two weeks accommodating her didnt seem impossible.
If it did prove tricky, at least after this, thered be a good excuse next time.
After all, Grace had always been taught not to refuse something unless shed tried it first.
Her friends didnt really know Margaret they just assumed she was like their own, battle-axe mothers-in-law.
Theyd even admitted Grace was lucky by comparison. Now suddenly, they insisted on warning her off the joint holiday.
But it was too late now Margaret was already looking forward to it, and James was delighted at the thought of treating his mum.
The first warning sign came on the flight.
Charlotte bagged the window seat no one minded. Grace, used to flights for work, couldnt care less about staring out at the clouds.
James preferred the film selection, and Grace always chose an aisle seat for strategic loo-dodging reasons.
Across from her sat Margaret, visibly nervous and when the plane hit turbulence, on the verge of tears.
Grace couldnt very well say no when Margaret begged to swap seats to sit beside her son.
But when the bumps stopped, no one seemed inclined to swap back.
Margaret even leaned over to watch Jamess film, then promptly dozed off on his shoulder.
Dont get annoyed, Grace told herself. Anyone that scared would want to feel safe waking her would be rude.
Still, her inner voice noted that Margaret roused the moment the food trolley came down the aisle.
And honestly, she could have swapped with Charlotte instead by then, the blind was down and Charlotte was glued to her own film.
Watching Margaret resting on Jamess shoulder, Grace found herself growing increasingly agitated. And things only grew worse at the airport.
James, without a word to Grace, dashed off to help his mum collect luggage and find water.
Suddenly, Grace felt surplus to requirements invisible, even.
– Darling, whats got into you? Youre not being left out, you know. Mums never been abroad. You saw how she was on the plane
Grace bit back her retort what on earth made your mum decide to come along, then? and remembered her own upbringing: respect your elders, help those in need, put others first.
She was an able-bodied young woman, after all she didnt need fussing over.
James, as a devoted son, was right to comfort his stressed-out mum.
Nothing bad had happened to Grace just because James helped carry his mums suitcase and checked she was alright.
But she had no inkling that the episode on the plane and in the airport was just the start.
Because come the very next evening, Margaret with nearly a fanfare proudly moved into their room
Life, Grace realised, often teaches us the value of boundaries. You can only understand the real dynamics of people family or not when you travel or live together. Sometimes, a little inconvenience saves you years of regret.
