My daughter convinced me to go on vacation to the seaside: “All inclusive, Mom, you won’t have to do a thing.” I paid for the tickets myself. Upon arrival, I discovered I’d be staying with my grandchildren, while she and my son-in-law would be in a different building.

 

I didn’t sleep a wink that night.

 

“You wake up early anyway.”

 

Those words kept echoing in my head. At first, they seemed like an innocent explanation. Now I realized they had become a convenient excuse for my daughter to waste her time as if it had no value.

 

At six in the morning I dressed the children and went with them to building C.

 

I knocked on the door.

 

Anna answered the door in her pajamas, her eyes puffy. She looked as if she hadn’t slept either.

 

—Mom? Did something happen?

 

“Good morning, David,” I said, looking over my daughter’s shoulder. “Could you take the kids to breakfast? I need to talk to my daughter for a moment.”

David looked first at me, then at Anna. He didn’t ask any questions.He placed little Mark on his shoulders, took Sofia by the hand, and they walked down the path toward the restaurant.