For hours, an elderly woman waited at the railway station for her son, but he was nowhere to be found!

Agatha arrived at Paddington Station straight from her little village, lugging two hefty bags that looked suspiciously like theyd swallowed a whole supermarket. Though she wasn’t the most frequent family visitor, she’d splurged her last pounds on gifts, hoping to sprinkle a bit of happiness into her relatives rather dreary lives. Never one to turn up empty-handed, she’d outdone even herself this timeone bag felt like it was stuffed with bricks and the other, possibly, with the entire Christmas department of Marks & Sparks.
Despite the exhausting journey (the train was predictably late and the tea, as usual, was undrinkable), she didnt hesitate for a moment, comforted by the promise that her son would be there to whisk her away. Yet, when Agatha finally made it onto the platformhuffing, puffing, and sweating like shed just run a marathonthere was absolutely no sign of her darling boy. Resigned, she deposited the bags on the chilly tiles and fished her phone out to call him.
It rang, and rang, and rang. By the tenth ring, Agatha was about ready to write him out of her will, when suddenly his voice came through, bewildered as if just discovered he was on Earth.
Oh, Mum! Blimey, I am so sorry. Honestly, it slipped my mind you were coming today. We decidedsomewhat spontaneously, I might addto visit my wifes folks in Kent for the week. Were not around at all. Seems your trip was all for nothing. Please, just catch the next train home. We didnt plan on this, I forgot to say, we just jumped in the car and went.
Tears pricked her eyes, but she simply replied, cool as you like: Alright, love.
With arms already feeling like overcooked spaghetti, the thought of dragging those blasted bags all the way back filled her with dread. So, she marched over and handed the bundles to a couple of rough sleepers beside the stations Pret A Manger. Better they enjoy them than have her arms drop off halfway to the village.
She didnt utter a word of complaint to her son, whorather convenientlynever realised quite how much his thoughtlessness had stung. Agatha had poured her heart and soul into raising him, and now, not only was he too busy to pick her up, he hadnt even glanced her way in months. To add insult to injury, a month later, his wife phoned to ask if Agatha could watch the grandchildren that weekendapparently they had a mates wedding and really couldnt miss the open bar.
Grandma Agatha, quite fed up with only being remembered when it was convenient, delivered her well-practised No, sorry, Ive plans and for once, let them wrangle their own childcare nightmare.