Page 168 of The Moon Sister
‘She said he thinks he is a babyoso,’ Charlie translated.
‘Oso?’ queried Ally as she cradled her son.
‘It mean “bear”,’ said Angelina.
‘How perfect,’ breathed Ally. ‘And with all that wild dark hair, he looks a bit like one too.’
Tears welled in my eyes as I observed the poignant scene playing out before me. And yet again, I felt the hairs standing up on my arms andknew– even if we couldn’t see him – that Theo was present, watching the first few moments of his son’s life here on earth.
‘Would you like to hold your nephew?’ Ally asked me.
‘I’d be honoured.’ I took the bundle that Ally proffered towards me and on instinct I raised up the miniature human I was cradling in my arms, turning my gaze to the whitewashed ceiling of the cave and giving silent thanks to the powers above – whoever and whatever they may be – for the miraculous circle of life.
When Ally had drunk some water and Angelina had cleaned mother and baby up as best as she could, I sat on the bed with my sister.
‘I’m so proud of you, darling,’ I said. ‘And I know Theo is too.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, tears pooling in her eyes. ‘It was actually okay – a lot easier than I thought it would be.’
True to form, my amazingly brave sister had taken the trauma of premature childbirth in her stride.
‘As far as I can see, he’s perfect. The only thing we can’t do is weigh him,’ said Charlie. ‘I’d reckon he’s about three kilos.’
‘We can weigh him! We have scales in the kitchen,’ said Angelina.
So little Bear was plonked unceremoniously on the big, rusting scales that normally held potatoes or carrots or flour.
‘3.1 kilos,’ pronounced Angelina. ‘Ally, you want to go withambulanciamen to hospital?’ she said as I watched my sister latch her baby onto her breast.
‘No, I think that if you two are happy, then I’d like to stay here, please.’
‘Okay. You happy, Mister Charlie?’
‘I’m happy, yes,’ Charlie confirmed, having examined Ally and pronounced her as well as her baby. ‘I’ll go and send them away.’
Having made Ally as comfortable as possible, we left her to rest and get to know her little bear. Then we sat outside in the cool evening air and toasted the birth with a glass of manzanilla wine.
‘Watch the alcohol, Tiggy,’ Charlie cautioned me. ‘I’ll allow you just this one as it’s a special occasion.’
‘Thank you, Doctor.’ I raised an eyebrow at him.
It was then agreed that Angelina would sleep in Pepe’s bed to watch over Ally, and Pepe would move into Ally’s room at the hotel.
‘Can you call Thom tomorrow for me? I can’t get a signal here. His number is on this,’ she added, as she pointed me to her mobile phone by the bed. ‘And Ma of course. We’ll need to get the little one a passport to get him home – tell Thom my birth certificate is in a box in my file drawer marked “documents”.’
‘I’ll do it first thing. Now,’ I kissed mother and baby gently, ‘sleep well, both of you.’ I was about to leave the room, then I turned to Ally and smiled. ‘I think we both know now what Theo meant about being prepared. Night-night, darling.’
On my way back to the hotel, I paused and looked up at the Alhambra. It had stood there for almost a thousand years, solid as the earth it had been built upon. It had watched the trials and tribulations of us humans – from the Moors of a millennium ago, to Ally’s beloved Isabella of Spain, to me – and I suddenly thought that Ally was right, and that our lives were so very fleeting compared to anything taken from the earth. In the valley below me, trees had stood there for hundreds of years, and even after they were pulled from the earth, had provided furniture from their sturdy bodies that still remained long after the people that had sat down on them had passed on.
It was a humbling thought and the reality of it belied the power that humans believed they wrought upon the earth. The truth was, the earth was in charge and would outlast each and every one of us. And all I could do was to accept my place in it; that I was a mere snapshot in time, which was fine as long as I used my time here wisely.
What a lot I have learnt since I’ve been here, I thought as I walked into the hotel.
I had been intending to go straight to bed, but my mind was still buzzing with the enormity of the evening’s events. So after saying goodnight to Marcella, I made my way out onto the terrace and looked up at the stars.
I don’t know how long I stood there, lost in my thoughts, but I jumped when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Charlie standing behind me, nursing a glass of brandy in one hand.
‘Hello, you,’ he said softly. ‘You’re supposed to be in bed.’
