Trouble in paradise

TO say that things had been fraught with my sister would be an understatement.

My stomach lurched, and it wasn’t due to the turbulence we were flying through.

I glanced out of the window at the stark mountains below, unseen thermals creating eddies that dropped the plane at brief and sudden intervals without warning.

I could see the woman sitting next to me gripping the arm rest between our seats.

I knew we were safe, that this was a normal part of flying, but it certainly didn’t help my current mood.

It was Patrick that had nudged me gently into taking this trip.

“Lockdowns have long ended, and life in Spain is as much back to normal as it is here now. You should go, Alex. Really, you should.”

I had been putting it off.

It was so easy to make excuses for not travelling, not socialising, working from home and locking myself away from the majority of people long after I needed to.

Janice and I fell out some time before COVID hit.

Feelings were offended on both sides and things were said that neither of us were proud of.

Since then, outwardly courteous but brief and sporadic messages had held together the fraying tatters of our relationship during repeated lockdowns.

But travel and borders had re-opened some time ago and I knew that Patrick was right.

This was now the time that I needed to find a way to mend things.

“Please, fasten your seat belts as the captain prepares for landing.”

My ears began to pop as I glanced back out of the small oval window once more.

Bare brown mountains had given place to rural pockets of dwellings, matchbox-sized cars on isolated roads, an occasional rectangle of blue as a more affluent householder enjoyed the luxury of their own private pool.

Before I knew it, the world around me sped up furiously.

My neighbour was still hogging the arm rest, knuckles white with the strength of her grip, so I placed my own hands in my lap, clenching them slightly.

A collective gasp echoed around the cabin, followed by the sound of clapping as the plane lurched slightly from one side to the other before slowing down and coming to a halt.

Wheeling my small case along the concourse, I glanced at my reflection in the full-length window.

Not too bad for just over fifty.

My practical yet flattering loose summer shift dress was perfect for travelling in, and my floppy raffia h