Page 31 of The Old Gals’ Bucket List

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 and leaving 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 to change 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.

Mary looked up and saw two people on a jet ski speeding over the water, leaving a foamy trail in its wake. ‘I’d love to go on one too. It looks so exciting. I’m sure we can arrange it.’

Sandra shuddered. ‘Really?’ she asked. ‘Aren’t you scared of falling off?’

‘You wear life jackets, and don’t have to go that far out,’ Mary told her. ‘Me and Keith used to talk about having a go but…’ Her voice tailed off.

‘Keith wanted to go jet skiing?’ Patti repeated in surprise.

Mary nodded. ‘He used to be more adventurous, even just a few years back.’

‘Then we must definitely do it,’ Patti said. ‘What do you say, Sandra?’

Sandra hesitated then nodded. ‘Okay,’ Sandra agreed. ‘Things don’t seem so scary if we do them together.’

‘We’re like the three musketeers,’ Patti said. She held her hands out, crooking the two little fingers. Mary linked her little finger into the right one and Sandra linked her little finger into the left one then they formed a circle. ‘All for one and one for all!’

Mary felt a glow flood through her. It was so good to have these women as friends and to spend this precious time with them.

She’d been so lonely the past few months.

‘Thank you so much, both of you. Let’s leave jet-skiing for another day though.

Going around the shops and watching the sunset is enough for today.

’ She fastened her water bottle and put it back in her bag. ‘Are you both ready to hit the shops?’

‘You bet,’ Patti said, and Sandra nodded in agreement.

They had a wonderful afternoon shopping, Mary enjoyed their company so much.

They were warm, friendly and fun. Sandra bought some souvenirs for Kali and Rana, and Patti bought a gorgeous top for Kit.

They each bought a fun beach hat, and a colourful sarong for around the pool.

And a selfie stick. Which they tried out straight away, taking several photos of the three of them for their Insta account.

Then Patti noticed a huge inflatable giant unicorn hanging up in one of the shops they passed.

‘Oh, I must get that for the pool!’ she exclaimed. ‘Do you mind, Mary?’

‘Go for it! It will be fun,’ Mary replied with a grin. ‘Why don’t we all get an inflatable pool toy each and we can have a pool day tomorrow?’

Sandra was already checking out a giant pink donut ring. ‘I fancy this!’

Mary went for a white and gold Pegasus. She felt a surge of excitement as they all paid for their purchases, luckily the shop sold deflated ones in sealed packets so they didn’t have to struggle carrying blown up ones. She hadn’t enjoyed herself so much for a long time.

‘I’d better check how Keith is,’ Mary said. She had already messaged him a couple of times and received one brusque ‘I’m fine, enjoy yourselves x’ message back.

This time, there was no reply.

‘I think he’s sulking at being left on his own for so long,’ she said. ‘But I’ll be blowed if I’m staying in when you two are here. That’s rude. Besides, I want to enjoy myself too.’

The shops were open late so they stopped for a bite to eat then had another wander around until about eight o’clock then went back to the car and put their shopping in the boot.

They changed into trousers and long-sleeved tops in the toilets, then took the cool box with the bottle of fizz in it out of the boot, wrapped their throws around their shoulders and set off for the beach to watch the sunset.

Mary poured them all some fizz, only half filling her glass, and they took several selfies as they sat there sipping the sparkling drink watching the sun set over the ocean, the sky melting into shades of red, orange and yellow, reflecting on the still ocean and transforming it purple and pink mixed with the blue.

They all took a photo of the spectacular scene.

Then watched as the golden orb of the sun descended slowly, as if it was in no rush to go, finally disappearing over the horizon.

Sandra put the photo on their Insta account with the caption:

Another thing ticked off the bucket list.

They’d put several photos up while they were away, and they’d attracted lots of comments. She also sent the photo to Kit.

Mary sent her photo to Keith. A few minutes later a message pinged into her phone. She opened it up to see a picture of the sunset from the terrace.

Keith

Snap

Was his reply.

‘I think he’s telling me that I don’t have to go to the ocean to see the sunset, but I’m glad I did,’ she said.

Kit replied.

Kit

Oh, Gran, that’s totally gorgeous. Lucky you! xx

‘I think I’ll send it to Don,’ Sandra said. ‘Show him what a good time I’m having so that he stops worrying. I’ll write “Having a great time. Currently watching the sun go down over the sea. Isn’t it beautiful?”’ She looked pleased as she sent it.

The reply shot back. Sandra opened it and frowned. ‘Well, that didn’t work. He’s replied “Mum, you shouldn’t be out so late. It isn’t safe”. It’s only 8pm in the UK, for heaven’s sake!’

‘I’m sorry to say it, but I really don’t think you should move near your son if he doesn’t want you out after nine pm! You’ll have no life,’ Mary said. And under her breath she muttered, ‘Like me.’

She desperately wanted the old, fun-loving Keith back. She missed his company. She was bored and lonely, and if it wasn’t for Leo, she’d have gone out of her mind.