Parents in pajamas in the parking lot

Mrs. F. turns off her mobile alarm and, still half-asleep, checks the time. It's two in the morning. She has slept, but very restlessly, precisely because she feared not waking up. She doesn't take off her pajamas, puts on some Crocs, and grabs her bag, keys, and a coat to cover herself. She closes the door stealthily and goes down to the garage.

The nightclub is outside Barcelona; now everyone wants to go to "that" nightclub, and her son too, of course. It's normal, thinks Mrs. F. With the pandemic, young people haven't been able to go out, and now they want to make up for lost time. She has already told him: "I'll pick you up at two-thirty. Not a minute more." Because Mrs. F. already knows that the nightclub closes at three, and then everyone who leaves takes advantage of "parking," which is having a botellón (outdoor drinking party) in the parking lot. Her son is with five other friends, and they have paid, it seems, to have a table. Things are very different now from when she was young. In her day, tables weren't reserved. She used to go to the nightclub secretly from her parents. They would never have gone to pick her up.

She arrives at the parking lot, parks where she can (how full it is!) and glances at her phone. They agreed that he would call her when he came out, and she would tell him where she was. In the car next to her, a lady smokes, also in pajamas. In the car behind, a man, also in pajamas, plays Candy Crush. There are many parents in pajamas, sleepy, waiting for their children. Mrs. F gets out of the car and smiles at the lady in the car next to her.

---Hello --she greets. ---Good evening.

---Good evening --the lady replies.

The man in the car behind waves, as if asking permission to leave. They wave back.

---Good evening. I told mine that if he's not here at exactly half past, he'll walk home --says the man. They laugh.

---Now a cubata would do us good --says Mrs. F.

---For me, a coffee with milk would be better --replies the other lady.

---If you want, I'll go buy something from those guys over there --proposes the man, pointing to a car with the hood up and many young people around it.

And the three laugh again.