All Jo wanted was a break in Majorca, but her mum insisted on a sleepy corner of Scotland . . .
BY KATE FOSTER
DAY ONE
Holidays are supposed to be the highlight of the year. But as she stands on the windswept beach at Forth Bay, Jo wishes she was anywhere else.
There’s nothing wrong with the Scottish coast – in fact you could say it’s glorious in the summer, if you don’t mind the cold wind that comes in off the North Sea, and the threat of a spit of rain.
And Jo has taken loads of photos today. Later she will update her social media with filtered snaps of the unspoilt sand and blue skies and quaint cottages and the glass of wine she had at lunchtime, and everyone will say, “Jealous, enjoy!”
If you looked at Jo’s social media you’d think she was the happiest divorcée alive.
But all she can think of, as the kids paddle and shiver in the shallows and her mum stretches her freshly painted toes on her deck chair, is how am I going to get through this week?
The Forth Bay Hotel is old-fashioned, with creaky floors and flock wallpaper. Everything harks back to the past. It all just feels so outdated.
“The sun’s out now,” calls Mum. “It’s starting to really warm up.”
“Fabulous. Let’s make the most of it,” Jo calls back, shivering and not really feeling the warmth at all. Jo tries her best to sound cheery, but as a gull soars overhead and cries forlornly, searching for discarded chips or ice cream cones, she wishes she could make the same cry.
Mum, who is really quite elderly now, had wanted to revisit the seaside town where they’d spent happy family summers years ago. The seaside town where Mum herself was born and raised in a family that went back generations.
But those days were long in the past and, with Dad sadly gone and Jo’s divorce still stinging, Jo just wanted to move forward and do something special. To make proper holiday memories.
“I’ll take us all to Majorca instead. The kids will love spending time with their granny,” she had pleaded.
She’d even found a lovely all-inclusive hotel, with fabulous photos online, glittering in the sunshine, all brand-new and Scandi-style and whitewashed walls.
But Mum was firm. “None of us has the money for a big holiday. We’ve not been to Scotland for years. It’s time for us to make the trip again.”
Their summer holiday agenda was as tightly packed as a school excursion. It felt like one, too. Museum trips. Bracin
