Dream Holiday... Nightmare

Gemma trusted her friend to do her a special favour...

- Rebecca Shepherd

Gemma Hilton, 35, Sheffield

The sound of my little girl squealing with joy could have shattered glass.

I’d just told Lola, then 4, we were going to Florida.

‘There’s ages to go,’ my hubby Michael, 37, groaned. ‘Why did you tell her now?’

True, we now faced daily queries of how many more sleeps till she could meet Mickey – but excited, too, I couldn’t keep it to myself!

We all needed a break, having just lost my beloved grandmother Doreen, who’d passed away from old age.

So my parents Philip, 66, and Julie, 57, were joining us on our dream Disney hol.

We’d never have been able to afford it but, thanks to one of my best friends, we’d got a great deal.

Rebecca Waterfall, 27, used to live next door and worked for a travel company – she offered to use her staff discount.

‘I really owe you one, love,’ I told her.

She’d been a good friend to me, looking after Lola if I popped out. I’d return the favour by watching her pets when she went away.

Even when she’d moved away to work in Manchester, we kept in touch.

We paid the deposit on our holiday and the excitement began to build. Then…

‘Would you be able to pay the rest of the money now?’ Rebecca asked out of the blue.

Because she was doing a family-and-friends rate, she needed all the money at once. Luckily, Dad had had a pension payout and was able to pay the remaining £5,000.

We didn’t think anything of Rebecca’s request – she was doing us a massive favour.

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