Family Reunion (33 page)

“
I pushed him away...I pushed him away…and now he hates me! Oh God please ... please!"
He’d watched her crawl about the floor searching for something but not finding. She stopped begging and stood again, staring at herself in the mirror again and began laughing, then screamed,
"Do you know who I am God?!! I am – Princess
Ceś
-alena Huebana!! Do you hear me?! I am Princess
Ceś
-alena and you can’t treat me … this way! You can’t-…"
Then came a growling scream, the shattering of glass, and retching sobs. Someone began banging on the locked door. He ran back to his bed, shaking, wiping tears from his eyes, as several voices blended together in the room next to his. Back then, the name she had called out had meant nothing. Princess Ceś alena had meant nothing to him. Michael had meant nothing to him…but now it held all the meaning in the world. Back then he’d felt disgusted in himself that he should feel sympathy for her and had angrily wiped the tears from his eyes.

Now, he ran. Princess Ceś alena. Ceś alena Huebana, the mother of ...Michael Ramsey Webster. He'd read it himself. Princess Ceś alena Huebana, mother of Golden Hope Webster, he'd read it and knew that it was true. His heart pumped as did his legs, so fast they practically lifted him from the ground. He ran non-stop around people. All were a blur as his rapid feet ate up block after block. Over and over again, his mind re-read the ledger, re-read the page where was written the proof to see, that Maynard Ramsey Webster owned slaves, one of them, a female fancy,
'Princess
Ceś
alena Huebana'
she had stood so above all others that her registry was entered on a page with only four others. Three sons and a daughter, with Manny's written claim at the bottom to say,
"Our Children."

His mind felt as if it were in a maelstrom attacked by powerful emotions crashing dangerously at the shore. With all senses heightened in crazy disorder he reached ‘Seasons In Fashion’ entering at top speed, knocking over tables and dress stands.

"Hey! Young man! Stop! You can’t go back there come, back here!!!” The young woman clerk shouted at him as she came from around the counter. Lena had just stepped off the stool and into her dress with Suzette behind helping her when Rory came barging in through the privacy curtain.

"Rory! What are you doing here!" Lena screeched in shock.

"Young man, you get out of here this very instant! You have no business back here. Oh Lena I'm so sorry; out young man, now!"

"I gotta talk to you,
now
! Let's go!” Rory blasted, ignoring Suzette as he stood over his mother, who stared up at him aghast, stunned as he grabbed her arm to pull her out. "What has gotten into you?! Don't you use that tone with me…let go of my arm!"

"See here young man, you turn her loose! How dare you come in
here handling my client in such a way, you get out of here now!" Suzette screeched, grabbing his arm to pull him out. Rory snatched his arm away, "Lady - take your hands off me!" He snapped. "This happens to be my mother! Yeah that's right, so close your trap, mind your business and we'll be out of here! Let's go dear -
mother
! Now!" He dragged her from the room as Suzette stood, mouth agape.

"Rory, you let go of me this minute! Do you understand me! Rory... Rory! I will not-...will you slow down! Oh I can't believe this! You've done it this time!" Lena scolded as her son tugged her from the shop, refusing to loosen his grip, out on the street, he pulled her, ignoring her protest as she dug in and swung at him, slapping his arm and back. Ignoring the licks delivered, he didn’t care if she beat him to death he was not letting her go and led the way, taking long strides. The time was now to get to the truth; he began tossing questions back at her. "Why!? Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Tell you what?! Dag-blast you Rory, you stop this right now! Let -me - go!" She yelled, digging in her heels and snatching her arm away. He had no choice but to stop. Lena stood with her hands on her hips in indignation. Rory turned to her. "Who are you? Hm? I want to know now! Right now! Your name, your whole name, not just - Lena! But the whole - damn - thing!" He blurted down at her. Lena stared up at her son shocked.
'Why
is he looking at me that way? Oh my God, he knows ... but how?'

"Look Rory-…" Lena began calmly. "I don't know for sure what this is about but here is not the place for it. Let's go home and talk, okay?"

"Oh no no no no, not this time lady! Every time you say okay, minutes later you change and clam up on me! We're not going home, we're going someplace else, there's someone I need you to meet!" Lena was losing her patience. "You listen here young man, I am your mother! We're not going anywhere to meet anyone! We're going home and that's - that!"

They were so involved in their argument; they paid no attention to the coach that pulled into the alley where Lena stood on the edge of the boardwalk, facing her son.

"Listen, mother or not, we're going where I say this time! If I have to pick you up, and I can …to throw you over my shoulder and carry you there, kicking and screaming, then so be it – I will do it!" He gritted down to her, his threat serious. Lena's eyes widened. "Oh you have really gone too far this time! How dare you order me about and
threaten me
!"

"That was not a threat, now, let's go!" He reached down, grabbed her hand and turned to pull her his way again. "Rory Everard-…" He heard her growl in anger and then stopped, snatching her wrist from him.

No
more games, he was now mad,
'All right, you asked for it… fine I'll carry you.'
He spun with the intent of grabbing her to pick her up but she was gone. He stood there puzzled, wondering how she could have disappeared so fast, thinking,
'Now where'd she go?'
No sooner had the thought left his mind when he heard a piercing scream, startling him so the hair on his neck stood on end. He turned one way then the other in confusion. People stopped to look about, beside those who had already been looking at the two of them argue. The bystanders paled at the unfolding events. Rushing to the alley off the boardwalk, a few steps away, he stopped and to his horror saw his mother being dragged away.

She was screaming, fighting and kicking with all she had. There, waiting to receive her, was a black coach and two men beside it, as two others held her and forced her towards it.

Rory's heart felt as if it would burst. With fear jetting his adrenaline, white lights flashing before his eyes, his feet were suddenly moving at top speed toward his mother’s captors.

One moment, Nate and Dwight were in the clear, all seemed to be going according to plan as they made their way toward the men who would force their captive into the coach, and the next moment he heard a tortured bellow.

"Ha-a-ay!!! That’s my mother!! You bastards that’s my mothe-e-er!! Let her go-o-o!!!”

Nate turned and saw too late a fist, then felt it ram with a resounding smack into his nose. Overwhelming, blinding pain exploded in his head upon impact. Rory didn't realize or care about the number of them; he was tense with an adrenaline rush of power.

"He broke my nose! He broke my fuckin' nose! Kill the bastard!" Nate squealed in agony. Dave and Moosey stood momentarily stunned beside the coach as Rory turned on Dwight, who was still holding Lena. "Let go of my mother!!" He bellowed, reaching over his mother's head, grabbing the man's hair, yanking him sideways as his fist struck him in the head again and again.

"Rory nooo – run Rory, run! Do-o-on't!! Run Rory, Please!!”

"Nooo! You run, I’m not leaving you!!"

Lena saw what he couldn’t, that Moosey and Dave finally snapped into action. The men knew that she was the priority and charged forward to grab her, Lena was trying to help her son, screaming, "Let him go Rory, come on son ruuun!" Before she could get him to move, she felt herself being lifted up off the ground from behind and carried away from her son by Moosey as Dave assisted Dwight with Rory.

"N
ooo, nooo, please don’t hurt him – please nooo!" Lena screamed in terror to see him trying to fight two men. Although he was giving them a good fight, it was too much for him. "I’ll go with you – you have me – you have me – let him gooo! I beg you, I’ll go with you! Look! I'll go with you! Just leave my son alone!!" They ignored her and continued to beat on Rory who was losing strength fast. Afraid they might kill him, Lena turned on Moosey, fighting with all she had, scratching, clawing, digging into his flesh and biting, she made him stagger as he tried to grasp her hands, she was too desperate and fast. Their instructions were not to harm a hair on her head. Nate who was leaning there holding his bloody nose didn't like the audience they were attracting at the end of the alley. Neither did Patty who hadn't figured it would be this hard, he grew chicken, snapped the reins to the coach and took off. Wilkes, who was with him up top yelled. "What the hell are you doing, they need help!" Patty shook his head.

"No no, it's too much! I'm gettin' the hell out'a here!"

"Aaah shit! Patty…Patty where the hell you going?" Nate cried, his face bloody. "Moosey, grab that woman and come on!"

Moosey, whose name fit his shambolic nature, looked at him with a baffled expression during Lena's attack, wondering what he was to do with her going wild on him, if he couldn't hit her? Their instructions were clear; she was not to be harmed. Pain finally registered in his brain, making him drop her. Almost a block away, Wilkes was finally able to jump off the coach since Patty was not going to stop to let him off. The last thing he wanted was to face Greyson’s and Winston's anger.

Back on her feet, Lena found a sizable stone and swung it with all of her might into Moosey's head stunning him, dropping him to his knees, but not knocking him out.

Nate turned, holding his nose to see Moosey down and Lena rushing him, throwing his hand up to block her he yelled at Dwight and Dave, "Kill the bastard already and-…ai-i-i-i-i-ih." He howled in agony as shattering pain paralyzed him from Lena kicking him in the nuts, followed by a blow with the same rock she’d used on Moosey to Nate’s already broken nose. The impact knocked him cold. The two men turned Rory loose, realizing they were wasting time. Lena launched the rock, hitting Dwight and took off knowing herself to be the prey, they couldn't afford to let her out of their sight so they dropped Rory as she ran, and followed.

Moosey struggled up from the ground, shaking his head, trying to clear it, trying to gather his senses he staggered off after them. "Catch her, catch her, catch he-e-er!!" Dave yelled.

The
people at the end of the alley viewing the whole scene felt for her, but were frozen with fear, not wanting to get involved. There were too many men after her and she was, after all, just a Negro. They looked down at what happened to the young man who tried to help her. Two men ran to him to help him up and give aid, Rory with, their assistance, struggled painfully to his feet, he could barely breathe for the pain in his rib cage. His mouth was swollen and bleeding, one of his eyes swollen shut. He staggered out of the alley with one thing on his mind, he had to get help.

"11:45, I sure hope the hell he's there." Manny spoke out loud after putting his pocket watch away as he entered Carmine's restaurant. He looked up to see Mike, Joe, and Hope gathered at a table in the corner of the dining room waiting for him.

"I've had a piss of a morning; damn it I was hoping Leon would be here by now." Manny started off as he reached the table.

"And I've been looking for you as well… I met Rory today and he- …"

"Ah hell!! I forgot to meet him! He came looking for me! I left to meet him and was intercepted by Captain Dempsey, he was in need of my assistance on the Sea Wolf…bloody hell…there are days when it's one thing after another."

Hope chewed her lip wondering if she was jumping to conclusions after her meeting earlier with Rory. "So you say you met him? Where'd he go?" Manny asked. Hope shrugged, "He saw me…and just took off?"

"Just like that?" Manny asked. Hope nodded, deciding she would keep her theory to herself until Leon came and reported what he'd found at Dustinhurst. "As soon as we meet with Leon, I'm going to have to find him." Manny spoke agitated and anxious. Mike was the same, as he stood asking, "How much longer do you think he'll be?"

"Dustinhurst is quite a distance out of town, maybe something went wrong and he couldn't talk to her right away, and so had to wait for some reason." Joseph commented.

"He'll be here soon daddy, you'll see, we just have to wait. Why don't we all go ahead order and eat." Hope suggested.

"No, I can't." Manny shook his head. "I can't stand this waiting, I hate to wait. It gets on my nerves to wait and I hate for things to get on my nerves." His stomach was so shaky and nervous it triggered anger in him mixed with extreme impatience. For reasons he couldn't explain, his system was pumping him with an adrenaline rush. His upper body kept tensing and relaxing.

He felt nervous anxiety
without a clue as to why. He turned from them unable to sit down and walked to the door of the restaurant. Feeling much the same as his father, Mike joined him there. To keep from blocking the restaurant door, the two of them walked out on the boardwalk to look down the block in the direction Leon would be coming from.