Chapter Twenty-Five
‘O h God,’ I squeaked.
‘Oh, God ,’ said the attendant.
‘Oh Gaaaad,’ repeated a familiar American voice belonging to a dressing gown-clad glamorous woman who had appeared in full view.
Two people, also in dressing gowns, stepped out from behind her, near the entrance to the pool area. All three were presumably unable to wait any longer for the signal that the riff-raff had been cleared out.
Mum looked embarrassed, while Lucy broke into a peal of quiet, resigned laughter. There was no mistaking who it was.
I pulled my wet body out of the pool and stood on the side. At least I had waxed my bikini line, it could have been a lot worse. I instantly began to shiver as my wet skin met the cool air.
‘Oh hi, Mandy!’ I shouted, brightly, displaying an excitement that I didn’t really feel.
Her eyes narrowed and for one horrible moment I thought she was going to pretend she didn’t know me. My pulse quickened.
Then her face opened up in recognition. ‘I barely recognised you, all soggy. I thought you were a fan about to ask for a selfie.’
‘No such luck!’ I replied.
‘You remember Ebony from LA, my cosmic doula?’ Mandy said, encouraging Ebony to step forwards.
‘Of course, hi, Ebony,’ I said, shaking with cold and feeling very naked. Ebony and Mandy had fully made-up faces, which had discoloured the collars of their white towelling robes.
‘And this,’ Mandy continued, turning to a woman on her left – her eyes were sparkling as she proudly announced, ‘this, is someone very special.’
She took the woman’s right hand in both of hers. ‘This is Natalia. Our surrogate.’
‘Natalia, this is Amber Green, my stylist.’
Although she was encased in a robe, you couldn’t miss the large, round shape of Natalia’s midriff. She was a fairly short woman, with dark brown curly hair and olive skin. She looked at least a decade younger than Mandy.
‘Natalia doesn’t speak great English, I’m afraid. She’s from Mexico originally, but lives and works in Florida. She’s our angel.’ She smiled at the woman, who had a kind and friendly face, yet seemed nervous. Natalia stepped forward, smiled, and shook my hand formally.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ she said politely.
Mandy looked across at my mum and Lucy, and I introduced them all.
‘I’m sorry we had to clear the pool,’ Mandy said, at last making reference to what had happened.
‘It’s my fault,’ Ebony interjected. ‘It was all getting a little tight, timing-wise.’
‘Timing-wise?’ I looked at her puzzled.
‘Today marks a full moon, so we’re planning to honour its energy and guidance for the unborn child, whilst harnessing the power of the elements.
’ She said it so matter-of-factly, I wondered if I had missed something.
‘Earth, water, fire, and air,’ she continued.
‘We’re going to tap into cosmic forces by honouring the elements and seeking their guidance to explore our own inner cosmos.
The pool is our water. Think of it as a birthing pool for all of our souls. ’
I nodded slowly, noticing Lucy do the same. Mum gave me a sideways look which suggested she did not buy into any of this woo-woo nonsense. I didn’t feel any less confused, but Ebony had a way of speaking with such authority, none of us dared question her.
Undeterred, she lifted her face upwards, towards the sky.
We all copied her, lifting our chins to peer above us as if waiting for a divine entity to give us a sign.
Ebony pointed out the daytime moon, it appeared pale against the blue sky.
‘You see it? It doesn’t shine as brightly as during the night, but it’s just beginning to appear, and it’s critical we get the timing right.
It’s such a majestic and serene sight, let’s all rest our eyes for a moment and take a breath here.
’ She closed her eyes, Mandy and Natalia followed suit.
I kept one eye open. ‘That’s beautiful. Now try to visualise yourself as a cosmic being, connected to the vastness of the universe.
You may like to imagine stardust flowing through your veins, or maybe you are a celestial body, weightless and free, orbiting the moon with an umbilical attachment to it. ’
This was too much for Lucy, who made a snorting noise next to me.
‘I’m sorry, I think I need to sit down,’ she muttered.
‘How far on your pregnancy journey are you, my cosmic sister?’ Ebony asked, guiding Lucy towards a nearby sunlounger.
‘Nearly six months,’ she said.
‘Snap!’ Mandy said excitedly, as she gently patted Natalia’s middle.
Natalia looked sympathetically at Lucy. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked softly.
‘Well, the sickness has passed, but I feel tired a lot of the time. Otherwise, pretty good. You?’
‘I feel good,’ Natalia replied. ‘I feel so blessed to be able to do this for Mandy and Jose.’ She smiled shyly at Mandy, who squeezed her hand.
‘That’s beautiful,’ Ebony purred. ‘We’re planning a small ritual whilst submerged in water to align the inner world of the growing foetus with the cosmic rhythm that surrounds us,’ she informed us.
‘It is a formative step in the cosmic journey of motherhood. You’re welcome to join us, Lucy, if you’d like to? ’
I nudged Mum in the small of her back, not intending to make her yelp, but she let out a high pitched ‘Ooh!’
Ebony turned to her. ‘You are the cosmic grandmother of the unborn child, I presume?’
‘That’s partially correct. Hannah Green.’ Mum held out her hand. She said it in the official voice she reserved for new clients, rather than new friends, aka the ‘don’t mess, I’m a qualified lawyer’ tone which instantly made me feel everything was under control.
‘You form a link in the unbroken chain of ancient ancestors who have enabled this unborn child to exist today,’ continued Ebony.
Mum looked offended and also baffled, she had never thought of herself as an ancient ancestor or had to exert authority over a cosmic doula before. ‘And you are—?’
‘Think of me as an astrological midwife.’ Ebony politely took Mum’s hand and laid her other hand on top, sandwiching it tenderly. Mum raised an eyebrow, this kind of overt affection from a stranger was way out of her comfort zone.
‘You could do with relaxing,’ she muttered.
‘If Ebony’s okay with it, you’re all welcome to join us for the celestial bathing ritual, if you would like?’ Mandy offered.
‘Of course, the sisterhood welcomes everyone,’ Ebony replied smiling, her wide face framed by white hair braided in cornrows close to her scalp. She looked a similar age to Mum and was stunningly beautiful. There was a pause as the two women gauged our reactions, expectantly.
‘Does it help with blood pressure?’ Lucy asked, surprising me.
‘Of course, it’s one of the best antenatal classes you can do. It will make you feel renewed,’ Ebony said calmly.
‘I could do with that to be honest,’ Lucy mumbled, rubbing her back.
‘Please join us.’ Ebony put a gentle hand on her back.
‘Let the full moon guide you. Just as the moon goes through its phases, our lives and experiences follow a similar pattern of growth and change – and there is nothing more symbolic of this than a pregnancy. The full moon is also associated with the release of negative energy and letting go of what no longer serves us during this time – emotional baggage, high blood pressure, that kind of thing.’
‘Cancelled weddings and related admin?’ asked Lucy, one eyebrow raised.
‘If that is what you need from it, yes,’ Ebony replied. ‘By embracing the energy of the full moon, we can surrender and make space for positive transformations.’
‘I’m in.’ Lucy nodded.
‘I’m out, if you don’t mind,’ Mum added, and I linked my arm with hers in solidarity.
‘Let’s get started, Cosmic Beings.’ Ebony smiled.
Then she placed a bowl of crystals by the side of the pool and lit some incense. ‘To create our sacred space.’
Mum and I took this as our cue to back away from the poolside, put on our dressing gowns, and cover ourselves in towels, as we lay back on the sunloungers to quietly observe the ritual from a ring-side seat – or pretend we were dead – we weren’t sure which way it would go yet.
A neat waitress came past to offer us coffee, though it seemed like a ruse to rubberneck the spectacle unfolding in the pool before us.
We watched closely as Mandy, Natalia, and Lucy held hands with Ebony, making a circle in the centre of the pool. At least twenty candles floating on lotus flowers were bobbing around them.
A low humming sound emanated from Ebony who had closed her eyes and was chanting something indistinguishable. Every now and then she would break the circle to place her hands on the midriff of one of the women, and the humming would get louder before subsiding into a whisper.
She then encouraged Mandy and Natalia to turn to face each other, and Lucy looked to be on the periphery. At one point Lucy became distracted and engaged in a game of air hockey above the water, batting away lit lotus flowers with her hand every time one floated too close to her bump for comfort.
After every chant, Ebony turned and threw her hands towards the moon dramatically as she called upon each element to honour their presence within the woman’s body.
Lucy shot a dark look at Mum and me, as if we should throw her a lifebelt. She seemed to be regretting taking part, but, just like us, felt too scared of Ebony and disrupting her cosmic vibrations, to say or do anything out of turn.
‘Do you think she’s okay?’ I muttered to Mum, behind my hand. ‘Should we do something?’
Mum was silent for a moment, then she smirked wickedly. ‘Lucy will be fine. This is much better than any show I’ve seen recently.’
Ebony began to move through a series of affirmations which involved a womb blessing where she placed her hands gently on each woman’s belly, to ‘channel cosmic mother energy’, as she blessed the womb and the growing life within.