Alice Evans Instagram – Me and the girls at the Gare du Nord, Paris, on the 31st January 2025. It’s my late Mum’s birthday. She would have been 85.
I last saw my Mum at the Gare du Nord, Paris, on the 16th September 1999. I had no idea it was going to be the last time. I was flustered because I couldn’t find a place to park and wanted to help her with her heavy case but the minutes were ticking away and we were panicking that she would miss her train. Eventually we decided it would be better for me to drop her up front, as close as possible, and let her get in the queue while I found a spot. She’d just had an angioplasty and her entire arm was still black and blue and I cried as I let her get out with her little case. In the rear view mirror I watched her drag it across the cobble stones into the station as I waited for the light to turn green. That’s it, I thought.
But then, out of the blue, I spotted a tiny little gap between two large cars right around the corner, and managed to squeeze mine in between. Clocked Mum almost at the front of the line – she hadn’t quite gone through passport control. I yelled ‘Muuuum!’ And came running. Her face lit up. I ran into the last hug I would ever have and looked into her big blue eyes. ‘I’ve got to go!’ She laughed, indicating the people getting anxious in the queue behind us I know, I know.’ I said. ‘I just wanted one last hug.’
And so it went.
‘I’ll see you in three weeks! ‘ I yelled up to the bridge she was crossing to get to her platform. She gave me her mesmerizing big smile and a thumbs up. ‘Yes! Got to go now!’ She stumbled across the bridge with her travel paraphernalia. That smile. That little blue jacket slowly disappearing. Me letting out a sigh of relief – she was on her train – and simultaneously wondering where the hell I had put the car..
She died exactly 2 weeks later, at the age of 59. She would have been 85 today. The kids and I had a moment for her: the granny they would have loved ( and vice versa) but who they never got the chance to meet.
It’s kismet for me that our first solo trip to Paris had us arriving at that sacred, but painful place exactly on her birthday. 🩷
#motherlove #mum #mother #girlmum #love | Posted on 01/Feb/2025 06:43:57
