Family Reunion (36 page)

When Leon turned down the alley he was brought up short discovering an unconscious man with a bloody face. With no time to worry over him, he took off again, wondering who'd had a hold of him, by the look of his face he thought maybe, Manny. Further on, he turned down a junction within the alley and saw Mike drop another man as did Joe who let his go after he screamed he’d had enough.

Running up to Mike and Joe he shouted, "Where's your father?" Mike turned to Leon, saying. "He was here a few minutes ago, working over that big fella' there, I think he went inside after Rory's mother."

Joe walked up nodding as he agreed. "Yes, he's in there, I saw him break in that door and run in."

Mike turned about to run there when Leon called out to him, "Mike wait." He stopped to look back at Leon. "Why? He may need our help."

"Rory's mother Mike…have you seen her?" Leon asked.

"No, not yet, I only heard her screaming, why?"

"Mike ...Rory's mother ... she's ... your mother Mike. The woman in there is Lena. His mother and your mother are the same. Rory's your brother."

Mike's eyes glazed over, he was stunned. Slowly he turned and looked at the warehouse, and then took off toward it with the pressure of his blood pounding and swelling to his temples. Joe was close on his heels as Leon turned back to run and get a carriage that might be needed for Lena.

Mike and Joe were within yards of the warehouse entrance when
suddenly, they saw them. Mike stopped as if he had struck a wall. His father was walking slowly, carefully from the warehouse, carrying his mother in his arms.

He bent over weak in the stomach feeling as if he'd been punched. He could not believe his eyes, his mother; Lena was right in front of him, living and breathing. He swallowed, feeling shivers race over his skin as goose bumps broke out on his arms. He stood with tears in his eyes trying to collect himself. From what he could see of her, she had not changed much other than seeming smaller than he remembered.

Despite her torn and dirty clothes, with her hair pulled free of its pins, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He felt an undeniable lump swell in his throat and stood satisfied to look at her for a moment.

It was then that he saw it; his parents were beautiful, simply beautiful together. He, with as little romance as a man could have, felt proud of the picture they made. He shook his head in wonder,
'How could such a little woman possibly give birth to me? To Hope? To…Rory? My brother... oh – my - God!'
He thought with a groan and shook the thought from his mind. All he wanted right then was to touch his mother. He wanted to see her eyes when they fell upon him. Carefully so as not to break the spell, he slowly stepped forward. Manny and Lena were still silently staring at each other when Mike softly said, "Ma ... mama, mama." At those softly spoken words they still did not move, Mike reached out hesitantly and touched his mother's hair at her shoulder. "Mama." He repeated, a little stronger. Lena felt her head swimming as the words and voice of a man called out to her, "Mama."

That word broke through her unbelieving mind; all of her motions were as if she were in a dream. Reluctantly, she turned from the aqua blue eyes that had held her transfixed, expecting to see Rory, who else after all would be calling her mama? Upon seeing the source of the words Lena's head tilted in confusion as to who he was, even though in her heart she suspected.

To see someone standing before her so much like the man holding her only convinced her more that this, most certainly, was a dream. It didn't matter that before when she’d dreamed of him, he had always been only ten years old.

She looked him over to see that his hair was long to his shoulders, held back by a black leather strip. The top of his hair was cut short as were the sides a little past his temples. He had a mustache and beard joined to his side burns, which were very well shaped to his jaw line.

Lena felt herself being slowly lowered to
the ground and as she went, she could not take her eyes from the young man before her. He was so much like Manny that she gazed at him amazed.

"Mama?" Mike repeated, wondering at the expression on her face, as if she didn't know who he was. “Mama, don’t you remember me?”

Lena smiled up at him. She had no idea at the significance of this dream, or whatever it was that placed her before this man who might be her son.

"Miss Lena, are you all right?" Joe stepped up beside them and asked. Lena turned to him, not really recognizing him at all, as her expression clearly showed. "You don't remember me either do you? I'm Joseph Avery O'Brien. You once knew me as Red Crow; my mother as Red Dawn and my father as Chief Long Bow, remember?" She smiled and nodded. "Of course I do." She remembered the boy, but not the grown up man. How he'd changed, and he was so handsome and kind looking that she had to smile at him.

"What's the matter with her?" Mike asked Joe.

Joe smiled, he knew what she felt, the disbelief, the miracle that certainly could not be, not after so long. "It has been a long time, has it not Amber Swann."

Lena nodded, "Yes it has." She searched his features and then asked,

"Where is your father, Long Bow…where is he? You have grown to be so much like him. My son, you too have grown to be much like your father." She said softly, and then smiled forlornly. Mike and Joe looked at each other. Manny stood unable to speak, feeling his head filled with a hazy fog that would not clear. He too seemed afraid to move for fear of shattering the dream.

"Mama?" Mike called her attention again. "Aren't you happy to see me?" Lena looked up at him with her same sad smile. "Of course I am." She slowly, hesitantly reached up to touch his chest and when she felt his heart hammering below her hand, she said as if to herself, "You seem so real to me, this all seems so real. I can't help but wonder, when - will I wake and find you all gone." She smiled.

"Mama - listen to me. This is not a dream and you're not sleeping. You're wide awake and I'm standing here before you alive and well. Joe -or- Red Crow is here on the other side of you. And father, my father, Manny is right behind you mama. This is not a dream!"

Lena slowly drew her hand away from touching him as she cast
her head downward afraid. The world of her dream seemed deathly quiet, no one made a sound. Then she thought, praying,
'Oh God…what if I'm not dreaming, what if I'm awake and seeing them?'
Her hand began to tremble and she grabbed it to her breast with the other.

Mike felt a lump in his throat. "Mama, believe me, this is real. We've been looking for you. We never stopped!"

It was too much too soon; she couldn't grasp how it could possibly be happening to her? With all the misery and pain of loosing her children and the man she loved, after all this time, after sixteen years!

Too long!

She could not bring herself to believe it was true. She could not afford to allow herself to believe. Fear kept her guard up and she backed away from Mike. One step then two, the third landed her against a hard chest. Lena pulled away and looked over her shoulder at the man behind her.

Her heart started wildly beating in her chest.
'This is not happening! This is not happening!'
She denied in her mind.
'Don't you dare believe this! It's a dream, in a minute it will be over, and they will all be gone! Just be calm and wait it out!'
She coached herself through growing panic, trying to control the shaking taking over her. Happiness was something far from her reach, for some reason she felt she was not worthy of the kind of joy it would bring. There was no way the man before her was her son Michael, who was taken away so very long before. There was no way that the man behind her was really Manny! Lena became frightened, because the dream seemed to go on, not fading as it should, she could not stir herself awake from it.
'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! It's happened! I've lost my mind! Am I somewhere this very moment standing and talking to ghosts of people that aren't there? That are real only to me!? That only I can see? Oh please, please, please, do not plague me with madness of the mind as well, not that too, please God!'
Tears started streaming from her eyes as she closed them tightly and began to pray out loud to chase the demons away.

"Our father who art in heaven-…"

"Mama – mother please!" Mike, now afraid, called her name.

"...-hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come-…"

"Mama! Stop it!" Mike yelled to cut through her desperate prayer, grabbing her by her upper arms. Making her cry out in pain, she didn’t care. Lena threw her hands over her ears to block him out, afraid of being taken away and committed, her voice trembled with fear; she knew it had finally happened, she'd truly gone mad. “-Thy will be done, on earth as it – is…"

"My God! Dad, don’t just stand there!! Say Something!” Mike yelled at him.

Manny closed his eyes,
also overwhelmed by what was taking place, deeply astounded. This was more than he had expected to face after all this time, for the life of him he couldn't speak.

"-...oh my Father please do not take my mind from me, I beg you-and though I walk in the shadow of death-…"

"
Mother!
Listen to me!" Mike pulled her hands from her ears. "You – are not – losing your mind!! Listen to me … this is real! Do you hear? I am real! It's over mama… it's over… we searched for you… and we've found you! This – is – real – not a dream – it’s not a dream mama, it is real!!"

Lena's eyes slowly opened as she stood shaking. She looked up at Mike and then past him to their surroundings. "That's right mama, look around you. We're in an alley. Men were after you. Your father sent men looking for you. But we've been looking too! They tried to take you again… like they did before. Difference is, they had to fight us for you! Mama…it's over! I'm your son, and – I’m here – I’m with you - we're back together again." He announced as tears ran down his face.

With the sun shining down on her, it's heat flowing over her skin, the buildings that closed them in the alley were all clear to see. She tasted her own salty tears. No dream could make all those senses available. Lena's whole body shook uncontrollably; her first born, Michael, stood tall and strong before her. "M-M-Mi-Michael?"

He smiled. "'Yes mama, it's me."

"Oooh God! Nooo, it can–not…be…Michael! Michael!!"

"Yes it’s me, it’s really me…" He sobbed, picking her up as she screamed out his name, over and over, shaking and sobbing, even with her arm in agony as it was; nothing could override what went through her at that moment, squeezing his head to her chest.

Mike's sobbing was muffled with his arms locked around his mother's small body, her midriff absorbing a weeping he could no longer contain. Unable to see him, she held onto him, kissing the top of his head as her body quaked with their joint outpouring.

Mike held her so tightly her ribs were in agony, she didn't care. She had her son back! Manny was there! They had come for her. They had searched for her after all and she was found! Joe, with tears in his eyes turned from them. Walking back down the alley, he thought of his wife who would be waiting for him. "My Gold Raven, now… now you can be whole again." He said to himself.

There was not a spot on her son's
face that Lena had not kissed; his tears had long ago mingled with her own. Mike in his joy, had carried her a small distance from his father as he turned in circles embracing her. Slowly he began to laugh, instead of cry. As if she were his child, he held her high and shook her, making Lena laugh out through her own tears.

"Look at you! Oh look at you!"

"Look at you, so big and strong. So beautiful…so - so beautiful." Lena praised him with motherly pride. Mike's laughter sounded deep and loud, to the very walls of the alley. "Handsome mother, handsome!" He agreed in his deep, happy bellowing voice. Lena nodded grinning. "Oh yes, very handsome indeed!" Her shoulder and arm pain made her wince a bit, but she was too happy to care about the pain. Noticing, Mike finally lowered her.

Manny stood back, watching with tears in his eyes, feeling as though he was an intruder witnessing their reunion. As she stood before him again, he hadn't known how to react. Now his guts twisted seeing her smother their son with love, joy and kisses. She had fallen right into his arms. He had held her right next to his heart and now his son held her. Manny didn't know what to do, his mind was too jumbled and once again, with her present, he was weak and at a loss. Watching them, he would admit to no one the jealousy he felt at their closeness, even after all of those years. Heart sore, he realized that she hadn't turned to him and grabbed him as she held their son. He couldn't help but feel a little abandoned. He wanted her to rain him with the kisses his son was receiving but he said not a word. He felt he must be content to stand back and watch his son, who it seemed had no intentions on releasing her.

Mike put his mother down saying. "Oh mama, this time it's forever. No one will ever tear us apart again." Lena nodded with her eyes closed. "No, never again son, not ever again." She raised her head from his chest, hugging him and looked over her shoulder to the man who stood a short distance from them. Reluctantly she drew away to look into her sons face and Caress his cheek lovingly, he bent down to her as she kissed his brow telling him, "Let me go now son – I need to speak to him."