Page 33 of The Christmas Star

I felt the colour drain from my face. No wonder Jackson felt unwell. It wasn’t seasickness he was suffering from; the poor lad was probably in shock. I couldn’t believe Theo and I were stuck on a boat when Mum was putting herself and Jackson, not to mention the general public, at risk. I felt helpless and no doubt Theo would too once he heard what had happened.

Oh, no. It suddenly dawned why Mum’s TikTok account had garnered such interest. First Ramp Lady and now this; people were waiting for her to have a car crash. You bastards.

‘If you’re seeing this, Erin, please don’t worry.’

Don’t worry! You could have caused a head-on collision. Viewers are crossing their fingers you do!

‘I soon realised my mistake. How could I not with all the beeping and flashing headlights coming at me?’ Maeve laughed. ‘Anyway, I pulled onto the hard shoulder and waited until a nice policeman came along. Talk about efficient. He put his cones out and stopped the traffic, enabling us to turn around and go back the way we’d come.’

My heart raced at the thought of the rest of her journey.

‘After that, we drove around roundabouts twice. You know, to make sure we didn’t make the same mistake again.’

I shook my head as I pictured Dad’s old Volvo going round in circles while the two of them figured out which exit to take. Again, I thought it no wonder Jackson felt sick. I was beginning to feel nauseous myself.

‘I was a bit nervous getting onto the ferry but as you can see, I managed it.’

Goodness knows how. You could’ve bounced straight off that ramp.

Mum diverted her attention. ‘Are you sure you’re all right, Jackson? You’ve gone a funny colour.’

I understood why. The poor lad was, no doubt, scared for his life.

‘We’re almost there. We’ll soon be back on terra firma.’ Mum smiled as she got back to her audience. ‘He doesn’t have sea legs like me.’

Yep. That’ll be the problem, Mum.

‘Tonight, Jackson and I are staying in what looks a lovely little hotel. Then we’re back on the road tomorrow. We have a lot of miles to cover to get to where we’re going.’

Which is? Another clue that proved their trip was planned, I willed Mum to name the place.

‘France is such a big country.’

The reason why you need to tell me where you’re going, Mother.

‘And I can’t wait to see Gisèle. She and I used to write to each other but lost touch. That’s why I was pleased when I got my new phone and was able to sign up to not just TickyTok, but the likes of Facebook.’ Mum smiled. ‘It’s through social media Gisèle and I were able to reconnect.’

I stared at Mum in disbelief. While I’d guessed their trip wasn’t spur of the moment, I hadn’t realised it had been organised to that extent.

‘I can’t believe we’re about to meet for the first time. I’ll get to see her family. See her beautiful village with its abbey and cobbled square.’

Recognising that was another clue, I rummaged in my bag for a pen and scrap of paper to scribble everything down.

‘I’ve never travelled abroad before. Derek didn’t see the point. Not when there were so many beautiful places to visit at home. Don’t get me wrong. The British Isles have a lot to offer. But it would have been nice to venture further afield.’ Mum came over all wistful. ‘To throw a coin into Rome’s Trevi fountain; to follow in the footsteps of Christos Kakkalos hiking the trails of Mount Olympus; to gaze at Claude Monet’s Water Lillies at the Musée de l’Orangerie instead of seeing it in a book…’ She pulled herself back into the present. ‘There’s so much to see and do and I’d like to think this trip’s just the start.’ Mum giggled. ‘Travelling might not have been Derek’s thing, but I think he would be happy for me.’

After the slip road incident, Dad would be mortified.

‘He was always on at me to get back behind the wheel and after today, I wish I hadn’t been so obstinate and listened to him. Obviously from hereon in I’ll be driving on the other side of the road.’ Maeve smiled. ‘Another challenge to overcome.’

Jesus blooming Christ.

‘But as long as I keep saying “Kerb to the right. Kerb to the right,” we should be fine.’ She snickered. ‘Hark at me, about to drive in France.’

I tried to calm myself and doubting the gendarmerie would be as forgiving as the UK police, added arrest to the list of potential disasters. Her audience would be pleased though and no doubt looked forward to seeing Mum broadcast from the inside of a French gaol cell. I sighed, already able to see the newspaper headlines. British pensioner causes chaos on French road network.

‘I’m really pleased with how things are going.’

Watching Mum, I felt torn. I could see from her expression she was having the time of her life. Animated and joyous, she was a different woman to the one I’d found half frozen on Dad’s bench, and I knew going after her was the right thing to do, if only to save her from herself. But while a part of me felt bad for spoiling her fun, another part wanted to see her succeed as an up yours to the keyboard ambulance chasers following her progress.