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Mum's Big Break - Louise Emma Clarke



Finishing the letter, Jessica rested her pen and looked up from her sunbed. It was hot today – she guessed at least thirty degrees – and Chris and Bella were still splashing around in the pool. She smiled, watching them for a moment. 
This was their first family holiday since Bella was born nearly two years ago, and after a long, wet winter, the feeling of warm sunshine on her skin was very welcome indeed. 
Jessica sighed and shut the notebook, moving it to the table alongside her sunbed. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift away, listening to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore behind her. This was the life. 
‘Mrs Holmes?’ 
Her eyes shot open.
‘Sorry to disturb you, Mrs Holmes. I trust that you were expecting me?’ 
Jessica blinked up at the blonde lady stood over her sunbed and nodded. ‘Of course, yes, hi Annika,’ she said, pulling off her sunglasses.
Annika was wearing a formal chocolate-brown skirt suit and thick black tights with heels. Jessica couldn’t help feeling immediately self-conscious in her swimsuit, reaching for the kaftan that was slung over the back of the sunbed to cover herself up.
‘I hope you are still enjoying your time at The Merrygold Hotel and Suites?’ Annika asked in an accent Jessica hadn’t quite managed to place, but she guessed was German or Scandinavian.
‘Oh yes,’ Jessica said, pulling the kaftan over her head and wiggling from side to side to ease it over her twenty-six-week bump. ‘It’s been great, apart from the toddler still suffering from jetlag, but we’re used to staying up most the night anyway so it’s nothing new…’ She laughed gently, trying to break the ice.
Annika cocked her head to the left and curled the corner of her lip into a slight smile. After a pause, she said: ‘Would you like to follow me? We have a tour of the hospitality rooms scheduled for 10 a.m., don’t we? I hope it is still convenient?’
Jessica did her best to keep the smile fixed on her face. ‘Oh sorry, yes silly me.’ She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up slowly, pausing to find her centre of gravity. ‘Should I change? Or am I OK in this? Sorry, I probably should’ve gone back to our room to get ready…’
‘No, that will be fine. We will start with the conference room. Just follow me and I’ll lead the way!’ As Annika strode away with her clipboard in her hand, Jessica threw her phone, notebook and pen into her canvas beach bag and slung it over her shoulder. She hurried to slide her flip-flops onto her feet, turning to Chris in the pool as she strode past. 
‘Another tour!’ she mouthed, rolling her eyes. ‘I’d better go or I’ll lose her!’
Chris rolled his eyes back and nodded, moving to the side of the pool. Placing Bella on the side, he called after her, ‘So we’ll just wait here for you then? How long will you be this time?’
Jessica turned back to him and shrugged, before disappearing inside the revolving doors to the hotel. 
Jessica knew that Chris was rapidly losing patience with the tours, the personal greetings, the cocktail parties and the endless introductions since they had arrived in Dubai, but what could she do? She had been offered this holiday in return for posts on her social media feed and they’d hadn’t paid a penny to be here, so she could hardly tell these people to go away and allow her to enjoy a quick snooze on her sunbed instead. 


Location: United Kingdom

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