I took a deep breath and leaned forward. With shaking hands, I pressed play again.
‘Let me explain what’s going to happen. I’ll be using my crystal ball to help me, as well as a guide from the spirit world. I’m recording our discussion so you can listen to what I say on another day in the quietness of your own home where it will be easier to take in. Although I’ve been asked to give you a general reading, is there anything you’d rather I focus on? Any burning questions?’
‘Er no, well, erm… maybe work and men?’
‘You sound so young,’ Elise squealed, ‘and drunk.’
I hung my head in embarrassment at the sound of my childish squeaky voice and the slurred words. This was going to be cringe-worthy.
‘Work and men?’ repeated Madame Louisa. ‘I can certainly make sure I cover those topics. Let’s start. I’m contacting the spirit world. I have a lady with me. An elderly lady. She says she’s on your mum’s side of the family.’
‘My grandma?’
‘She says yes.’
‘Bollocks,’ Clare said.
I pressed pause. ‘What is?’
‘You led her. She mentioned an elderly lady and you immediately let her know your grandma is dead so now she can pretend it’s your grandma she’s communicating with.’
I scowled at her and pressed play again.
‘She says you look like your mum and that, if you find the photo taken at the lighthouse, you’ll see that you look just like your grandma too, except you don’t have the heart shaped birthmark on your cheek that she has.’
Goose bumps pricked my arms. I wasn’t familiar with the lighthouse photo – I’d have to ask Mum about that – but I could clearly remember the birthmark. I stared at Clare, trying to mentally convey that the birthmark couldn’t be a lucky guess, but she wouldn’t catch my eye.
‘Your grandma says she hopes you enjoyed your drinks but doesn’t envy you the headache you’ll have tomorrow.
‘You’re a warm and caring person, Sarah. You’re always there for your friends and you’re a great listener, doing your agony aunt bit when they’re in trouble. Your friends always come to you first with theirproblems and you like feeling you can help. Yet, when you have a problem yourself or are worried about anything, you put on a brave face and try to work through it by yourself or you bury your head in the sand, hoping things will get better on their own. This approach doesn’t work. As you get older, you’ll realise that being more open about your doubts could have prevented you from getting stuck in a rut with your job and your relationship.
‘In years to come you’ll find yourself in a relationship that should never have lasted as long as it did. It would never have lasted that long if you’d talked to your friends about your concerns.
‘You need to hold on to the beliefs you have of love and marriage because you will find it; it will just take quite a bit longer than you’d hoped in your great plan of life. But, when you find the right one, you’ll have exactly what your parents have; just like you long for.’
I stopped the CD and looked at Clare then Elise. ‘Do you think she could be talking about Jason? And she mentioned my life plan. And my parents.’
Elise nodded but Clare just pulled a face that I knew meant, ‘What a pile of crap’.
‘Will you just press play, please?’ Clare said. ‘I don’t think we need to be analysing every sentence, do we? And she didn’t say “life plan”. She said, “your great plan of life” which is very general and very different, so it is.’
‘You’re very close to your family. I see two mother figures in your life. Do you have a stepmother? No. Not a stepmother but definitely a mother figure. Godmother? I see her surrounded by flowers. Do you know who I’m talking about?’
‘My Auntie Kay. She owns Seaside Blooms on Castle Street. She’s my auntie and my godmother.’
‘I see. She’s a very important influence on your life, isn’t she? She’ll be pivotal when you reach your thirties but I’ll come back to that later. We’ll return to the more immediate future for now. You’re going to university after college. You’re currently planning to become a teacher.’
‘Did Mandy tell you that?’
‘No. As I said, the spirit world and the crystal are guiding me.’
Clare raised her hand and I pressed pause again. ‘Well, that was a load of old tosh.’ She pointed at Elise. ‘She’s the teacher, not you.’
Elise and I exchanged looks.
‘At the time the CD was made, Ididwant to be a teacher,’ I said.
‘But you did business studies. You wanted a job in marketing or PR like me.’
