‘That sounds fantastic.’ Patti couldn’t believe that one by one she was ticking off the things on her list, with the help of her friend and sister-in-law.
If only Keith would join them. Still, it was his choice and she wasn’t going to let him stop her from enjoying this holiday, and neither was Mary, thank goodness. It couldn’t be easy for her, first she’d had the worry of Keith’s heart attack and now she’d got the stress of how he was coping with it. Hopefully me and Sandra being here would ease the strain a bit for Mary and give her chance to enjoy herself, she thought.
29
MARY
When they got up the next morning it was such a bright, sunny day that Mary suggested they go out earlier than planned. ‘We can sit on the beach for a while, then go around the shops, although they will probably be busy as it’s a Saturday. Then we can have an early supper at a restaurant and go back to watch the sunset. What do you think?’
‘It’s a great idea,’ Patti said, and Sandra agreed.
‘What, you’ll be gone for the day and most of the evening too?’ Keith asked, sulkily.
Here we go. He didn’t want to go out with them, but he didn’t want them to go out without him either. This was going to be a difficult two weeks if Keith carried on like this. She sympathised with him, she really did. But she wanted to give Patti and Sandra a good holiday. And she wanted to get out and about herself. She was sick of being stuck at home. ‘Yes, we will. You’re welcome to come along if you want.’
‘Yes, do come along, Keith. It won’t be very strenuous and it will do you good to get out a bit,’ Patti suggested. ‘Besides, I came over here to spend some time with my brother.’
‘I prefer to stay here. The doctor said I had to be careful and not put any strain on myself.’
‘That was months ago, when you were recovering from your heart attack, Keith. And he also said that gentle exercise was good for you,’ Mary reminded him.
Keith set his lips in a firm line. ‘I’m not taking any risks.’
‘I don’t want you to take any risks either, Keith, but you have to live your life,’ Mary told him.
He shot her a dark look and continued eating his breakfast in silence.
Oh dear, this was awkward, Mary thought. She glanced at Patti and Sandra hoping that they didn’t feel uncomfortable but Sandra kept her eyes firmly fixed on her plate.
Patti was looking at Keith sympathetically. ‘Why don’t you come along later then and join us to watch the sunset,’ she suggested softly. ‘You’ll only be out a couple of hours then.’
Keith shook his head. ‘Like I said, I’d prefer to stay here. You ladies go off and enjoy yourselves, don’t worry about me.’
‘Honestly, I love your brother but he drives me mad,’ Mary said as she drove them down to Fuengirola a few hours later. Patti was sitting in the front beside her as she suffered from travel sickness in the back.
‘He does seem to have got trapped into a spiral of worry,’ Sandra said. ‘My son Don is a bit like that. He’s convinced something bad is going to happen to me. He’s been promoted and moved to Cambridge, so he’s selling the family home. His wife and children are joining him there. They want me to go too.’
Mary’s eyes met Patti’s in the mirror. ‘And are you going to?’
‘I don’t know. But Don is stressed out about moving away andleaving me on my own. He’s messaged and called me a few times already since I’ve been here. His older brother, Martin, died some years ago, and now his dad. So he’s petrified that something is going to happen to me. I guess that’s a bit how Keith is feeling.’
‘I understand but it’s so frustrating. It’s not much of a life, if you’re with someone who is living in fear.’ Mary turned off onto the seafront.
Fuengirola was a typical seaside resort, vibrant and bustling, the beach running along one side of the seafront whilst bars, cafés and shops selling clothes and souvenirs ran along the other side. There were a few families with young children on the beach already and several people paddling in the clear blue ocean, the sun’s rays making little sparkles on the surface.
‘I guess a lot of families travelled last night or early this morning, as it’s half term now,’ Patti said. ‘It’s a good job we booked our flights for midweek, I bet the airport was packed this morning.’ She glanced out of the window. ‘There doesn’t look anywhere to park. Is there a public car park nearby?’
‘There’s one at the port, I usually park there,’ Mary told her as she continued driving along the seafront. She turned off into the big port car park and saw that there were a couple of vacant places. Thank goodness. She wound down the window, took the ticket from the machine, and headed towards a parking space.
‘Do you want to stop for a drink and snack or head for the beach first to have a paddle?’ she asked as they got out of the car. ‘The water will be quite warm now, with the afternoon sun on it.’
Patti and Sandra both looked at each other. ‘Beach?’ Patti asked and Sandra nodded eagerly. ‘I can’t wait to feel the sea ebbing over my feet again.’
Luckily, as Mary had suggested, they’d all dressed in shorts, T-shirt and sandals, but had put longer trousers and a warm throw in the boot of the car for when it got cooler. ‘We’ll come back tochange into the warmer clothes later,’ she told them as they headed off towards the beach.
They paddled for a while then spread out the towels they’d packed into their beach bags, along with a bottle of water, and sat down on the sand. Taking out the water, they had a much-needed drink as they watched the holidaymakers frolicking in the sea.
‘Look, there’s some jet skis! Maybe we can hire one each from here,’ Patti said.
