The memory made her smile more than it should. It was a few months before the divorce. Before everything happened. Before she’d found out what he’d been up to. In hindsight, the clues about his latest antics had all been there. Selfies? That alone should have started the alarm bells ringing. There he was, posing like an absolute eejit in front of swanky yachts and then sending the photos to his mates. At least, that’s what she’d thought he was doing. Turns out the truth was very different.

  An involuntary shiver ran down her spine and she shook it off. Why was she thinking about that waste of space now when her son was on the phone planning something wonderful? Excitement pushed the dreaded memories out of the way and took centre stage again. With a bit of jazz hands for extra effect. This was going to be sen-fricking-sational.

  ‘Can I get back to you on the destination, Mom? Here’s the thing, I want it to be a surprise, so I just need you to trust me.’

  She definitely did. Even if the very thought of that made her inner control freak – the one that found life after she was forced to pick up the pieces after her divorce – want to lie down in a dark room.

  ‘Fine by me, son. I’m just happy to be getting the chance to do this.’

  ‘Me too, Mom. It’s going to be great. I have to go just now – plans to make and things to arrange.’

  ‘Okay. Dinner this week some time?’

  ‘Sure. I’ll come over Wednesday. I’ll bring some wings. The Lakers game is on at eight, so we can catch that.’

  That had always been their thing. No gender stereotypes in their house. She was the one who’d always watched sport with him, gone to games, made it a priority to be involved in the stuff that interested him. Dinner this week and then a trip with her son. Her smile was making her cheeks hurt.

  She picked up her cell and texted Trevon.

  Change of plan. On way to gym. See you there.

  The Holiday, The Proposal and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days could wait. Life wasn’t so bad after all.

  9

  ZARA

  16 May 2023

  The minivan they’d ordered to take them to the airport turned up bang on time. At the shop window, Zara gave a cheer as she watched it coming down the street at 8 a.m. – mostly because, at the very same time, a taxi was arriving containing her sister.

  Zara wrenched open the front door. ‘I swear to God, you’re going to give me a heart attack. I was leaving without you,’ she told Millie, watching as she pulled herself out of the cab, still in the bright red minidress she’d worn to go out the night before. Although, it now appeared to be partially covered by a man’s shirt that was tied at her waist, and she was wearing hotel slippers on her feet. Her fake tan, eyelash extensions and dark wavy weave were still, however, looking spectacular.

  ‘You worry too much,’ Millie told her, blowing her a kiss as she passed her at the door. The only consolation was that Zara had insisted her sister fully pack the night before, so Millie’s cases were sitting, ready, waiting to be loaded into the van. ‘Let me just go brush my teeth. I’ve showered, so I promise I’m peachy fresh. And then I’ve got the best story to tell you. I think I’m in love.’

  Zara was already multitasking, pushing cases out of the door to the minivan driver while discussing Millie’s romantic life. ‘With the same guy you were in love with last week?’

  ‘Nope. I’m over that one. He wears socks with small animals on them.’

  In fairness to the van driver, he didn’t bat an eyelid at this information.

  Zara got the van loaded, taking extra-special care of the case containing Gran’s dress. It was one of those folded-over suit-carrier thingies and she was taking that in her hand luggage. The very thought of it going in a suitcase that could potentially get lost made her stomach lurch. Millie said she felt the same about the bag containing her make-up.

  ‘I’m back. How do I smell?’ Millie asked her, before exhaling in her face.

  ‘Minty,’ Zara confirmed, relieved to see that Millie had also lost the red dress and slippers and changed into cream leggings, a matching crop top, white trainers and a sexy long oatmeal cardigan. On mere mortals, cream was a brave colour choice for travelling, but Millie liked to stand out. Zara couldn’t help but compare it to her own travel wear: jeans, black boots and a navy blazer over a white T-shirt. Unremarkable, bordering on boring. Sometimes she was fairly convinced that she and her sister had never shared a womb.

  Zara stopped Millie at the door of the van. ‘Passport?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Purse?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Phone?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve also got an uptight sister who keeps checking stuff. Do I get extra points for that?’

  ‘Nope, you just get to count your blessings.’

  Millie climbed in first and then Zara clambered in behind her.

  ‘Hang on,’ Millie put her hand up. ‘Where’s Kev? Didn’t he come to snog the air out of your lungs in a long, passionate goodbye?’

  Zara gave the van driver their parents’ address before answering. ‘No, he’s doing t’ai chi at the park this morning. Says it’ll balance his zens. Or his chakras. Or… I’ve got no idea. I got to t’ai chi’ and switched off.’

  ‘You know, it’s truly amazing.’

  ‘What is?’ Zara asked, mentally running through her own checklist, while clicking on her phone’s Maps app to make sure there were no traffic jams on the way to the airport.

  ‘Every time I think that guy can’t get any more boring, he climbs to a whole new level of snoozeville. He’s like the gift that keeps on giving.’

  Zara, very maturely, flicked Millie on the thigh and gave her the pursed lips of disapproval. Although… okay, maybe she had a point. Kev wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute but at least she knew what she had with him. He was kind. And safe. And they both just let the other person be themselves. Then there was the fact that she’d been with him for pretty much her whole adult life. She’d take that kind of stability over Millie’s rotating door of conquests any time. No judgement, but she couldn’t maintain that level of effort or expenditure. Millie’s monthly hair bill cost more than their mortgage.

  Her sister’s head flopped down on to Zara’s shoulder and Zara ruffled her hair. ‘You’re a fricking nightmare, you know that?’

  ‘I do,’ Millie agreed. ‘But you love me.’

  ‘Only sometimes. Eeeek, I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see Mum and Dad’s faces when we announce where we’re going. This is going to be amazing and I’m not even going to tell them that their old pals are coming. I’ll save that until we get there. Keep the surprises coming. I spoke to Aiden again last night – he’s managed to get both his mum and dad to agree to come, although, he did say it was slightly complicated because they are divorced now. I think he’s looking at this as an opportunity to improve their relationship. Must be so difficult to be in that position. You know, I never take for granted how lucky we are that Mum and Dad are still happy. Thirty years. It’s just amazing and—’

  Millie’s snore made Zara jump. Brilliant. She’d been talking to herself like a complete diddy for the last five minutes.

  She distracted herself by checking the traffic again. Still fine. Then she ran through all the details from all her holiday lists in her mind. All done. And the shop was in the safe, capable hands of her trusted part-timers, Tilly and Tina, who were working the full week to cover for them. They were good to go.

  When they reached their parents’ house, the van slowed at the kerb, and Zara reached over to open the door, letting Millie’s head fall and earning a dramatic ‘Ouch!’ from Sleeping Beauty.

  ‘We’re going on holiday,’ Zara announced, throwing her arms wide, then hugging first her mum, then her dad.

  This was amazing. Brilliant. One of the best days ever. Time and time again, she’d imagined in her mind how all this was going to play out today – the excitement, the surprises, the beaming faces of her parents when they learned what was in store for them. Now that it was all happening, she felt like the total cliché of a kid at Christmas.

  ‘On you go into the van, Mum – we’ll get the luggage.’

  Her dad helped her load up their cases, while Mum climbed in and sat next to Millie. By the time they got back in, Millie had replaced Zara’s shoulder with her mum’s and was sleeping soundly again.

  ‘Let me guess – she stayed out all night and got back ten minutes before you left this morning?’

  ‘Yes, she did, but it was one minute, not ten,’ Zara confirmed, matching her mum’s grin.

  ‘Thought so. I wish I had half of the energy she’s got, I really do. At least her life’s never dull.’

  It was a throwaway comment and normally it wouldn’t have registered, but there was something in her mum’s tone that jarred. Was she okay? Come to think of it, her eyes were a little puffy and she looked a bit drawn and there was a bit of a defeated slump across her shoulders. It wasn’t that Zara expected her mum to come cartwheeling out of the house, but she wasn’t giving the vibe of someone who was about to go on an all-expenses paid celebration with her family. Even Dad was looking chirpy, staring out of the window and humming something upbeat but indecipherable.

  ‘Are you okay, Mum?’

  That immediately changed her mother’s whole body language and she broke into a smile. ‘I’m so sorry, love. Just a bit tired, that’s all. Did a couple of double shifts this week so the others on the ward could get some time off.’

  Ah, that explained it. Her mum worked way too hard and Zara had been suggesting for ages that she cut her hours down, but Brenda was having none of it. Maybe with Dad taking early retirement next month, Mum would slow down so they could spend more time together. They deserved to take it easy and enjoy life more. And this trip was the perfect place to start.

  The van was on the M8 heading towards Glasgow airport now and Zara couldn’t see any traffic issues ahead. Excellent.

  ‘Are you going to tell us where we’re going then?’ Mum asked, and much as Zara was bursting to tell her, she shook her head.

  ‘Not yet. We’ll tell you at the airport when Millie wakes up. This is a gift from both of us, so it’s only fair.’ Zara decided not to mention that they were using every penny they’d inherited from their gran – she knew that Mum would only object. Like Zara, her mum had always been uncomfortable when anyone made a fuss of her or made her the centre of attention, and she definitely wouldn’t want to know that Gran’s money – intended for her granddaughters – was being diverted to this. It was going to be worth it though, to show their parents how much they meant to them, and how delighted they were that Mum and Dad were reaching such an incredible milestone.

  Traffic slowed over the last mile or so to the airport but they still got there in plenty of time. Zara mentally ticked that off her potential pitfall list for the journey.

  ‘Millie, come on. We’re here,’ she nudged her sister’s leg with her foot relentlessly until Millie woke up.

  ‘Is it just me that wants to sing Elvis songs and have a wee dance?’ Millie asked, and Zara shot her daggers, fearing she’d give the game away. Thankfully, Mum and Dad were both too busy climbing out of the van to notice.

  They piled their luggage on to two trollies, paid the driver, and then, excitement bubbling, Zara led them into the terminal, heading in the direction of the British Airways desk. She saw her mum register the destination - London Heathrow - on the screen above the counter and watched as she smiled and all the tiredness dropped from her face.

  Wow. If Mum was this happy when she thought they were only going to London, wait until she found out where they were actually headed.

  Before they joined the queue, Zara stopped at a pillar about twenty metres from the check-in desks. It was now or never. She knew the ground agent would mention that they were transferring on to Vegas, so it was time to get in there first and then enjoy every second of their parents’ delighted reactions.

  She gave Millie the subliminal signal and they launched into an unrehearsed explanation of their gift and what was to come.

  ‘Mum, Dad, you know that – apart from me – we’re not really a big gesture kind of family…’ Millie began, and Zara rolled her eyes. Trust her sister to point out the obvious. ‘But thirty years of marriage, well, that’s pretty much a miracle and it deserves a really special celebration.’

  Okay, she’d redeemed herself, Zara decided, and took over the reins. ‘And we know you’ve made so many sacrifices for us over the years. Millie’s acting classes alone could have bought you another house.’

  ‘Two houses if you add in my dancing classes, but I’m great at a nightclub, so it was money well spent,’ Millie piped up.

  Zara glossed right over that. ‘And then, helping us to open the shop… well, we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for you.’

  ‘Working long hours and smelling faintly of soil,’ Millie interjected.

  Honest to God, why couldn’t she have a normal sister? Although, not that Zara would ever admit it, but this one was worth it for the amusement she provided.

  ‘Anyway,’ Zara said firmly, ‘as I was saying, we want to repay your love, your support and your general brilliance. So we’re taking you to—’

  ‘London!’ her mum blurted, beaming, as she gestured to the information screen. ‘Och, girls, I’m thrilled. I was hoping it was there. I can’t wait to go tour the galleries, maybe see a show…’

  ‘Well, you’ll definitely see a show, but it’s not London, Mum. It’s somewhere a bit more exciting than that. You see, we thought it would be perfect to take you back to where this all began, so we’re going to…’ A pause, then a conspiratorial glance, beaming faces, and a synchronised screech from the two sisters.

  ‘LAS VEGAS!’

  Zara was frozen in the moment, arms thrown wide, smile on face, unable to comprehend why her mum was just staring at her like she couldn’t compute what was going on. Had they actually said Las Vegas out loud? She was sure they had, yet their mother’s expression was more stunned horror. Had mum been so desperate to go to London that she was now disappointed they were going to the entertainment capital of the world? What the hell was going on? And why did her body and facial expression refuse to change until she got some kind of reaction from her parents?

  When it came, it was even more confusing. She was sure her mother whispered, ‘Oh no,’ and her dad, not untypically, said nothing, just glanced at her mum with a face that conveyed something between uncertainty, anxiety and horror.

  Millie regained her powers of speech first. ‘Okay, we were expecting a response that was very slightly more enthusiastic than that one. We did just tell you that we’re taking you to Vegas, right? Or did we accidentally confess some dark secret that ends with anonymous tests in a clinic? Kidding, Dad.’

  Zara shook her head, trying to make the synapses in her brain fire up in the right direction. This wasn’t on the list. It was supposed to be pure joy and wild excitement at this stage, not paralysed shock. ‘Mum? You are happy about this, aren’t you?’

  There was an excruciating delay that was only a few seconds, but felt like a week and a half, before her mum finally forced – and Zara was sure that was the only way to describe it – forced a smile. There was another pause before she managed to add actual words.

  ‘Of course, we are, darlings. It’s just a bit of a shock, but thank you so much. This is… this is… this is wonderful.’

  For the first time in her life, outside of Santa, the tooth fairy and the risk of your vagina falling off if you wore miniskirts in sub-zero temperatures (that last one was directed at Millie, aged fourteen), Zara was fairly sure her mother was lying to her.

  10

  BRENDA

  This. Was. A. Nightmare.

  Las Vegas.

  The one place on earth that she’d quite happily go the rest of her life without revisiting.

  How could this possibly have happened? Actually, she didn’t even need to question that. Her lovely, thoughtful, sentimental Zara and her wild, party animal, Millie. How could she not have considered that Vegas could be on the cards? In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Brenda just wished she’d seen it coming so that she could have reacted better. The girls had looked shocked and crushed by her reaction and she didn’t blame them.

  She’d somehow managed to slap on a smile, put one foot in front of the other and get on the plane to London. Sitting on the tarmac at Glasgow, she was mortified to admit it, but she’d prayed the domestic flight would get delayed, cancelled, anything at all that would mean the second leg of the trip was off and they could just head for a London hotel and revert to her original hope of finding a way to get through the next few days with Colin by filling the hours with shows and wandering around the tourist spots.

  Unfortunately, she hadn’t been that lucky. The Glasgow flight was on time and they’d sailed through Heathrow Terminal Five and made it in plenty of time for the second leg of their travels. Now they were soaring towards the end of their ten-hour flight to Vegas, sitting four abreast in the front row of premium economy. If this was any other trip, to anywhere else on earth, she’d be relishing the treat. The comfy chairs. The lovely meals. The regular top ups of her wine glass. She’d never flown premium economy in her life. They definitely hadn’t travelled this way last time they’d gone to Vegas. The cheapest economy seats. Right up the back. They’d been too excited to care that the wall behind them vibrated every time someone flushed the toilet. The very thought of that trip stirred up a whole juggernaut of emotions, and she slammed the door shut on them before they could enter and take up residence in her mind. There was not one single cell in her brain that wanted to relive any moment of her last visit to Vegas.