Family Reunion (63 page)

"Sssh baby, please … don't cry ... please don't cry." Lena wanted to scream and cry out herself, of all her children, her Hope, her spirited daughter who saw hope and promise in everything, had suffered the curse of what it meant to be what she was. She knew she would travel through hell and back all over again if she could erase her pain and remove the memory of that time from her mind. To bring back the child she’d lost.

"I – I found out, that Joseph had – had seen my father, my brother and – I was so angry – I was foolish – I ran away – oh mama, I'm so scared mama, I'm so scared. I don't think... I can ever ... carry another child …again. If I could just – forget - but the pain won't…go away."

"I know baby, I know. I'm so sorry, so sorry."

Hope looked at her mother. "Why? You aren't to blame! I love you mama - God as my witness, I would do it again…and again. You are my mother, if the world should ask it of me; my answer would be the same."

Lena began crying again as she pulled her daughter back into her arms because she knew her Hope meant every word. "I know you would baby … and you must never do that again."

"How could I not?"

"No Hope…not ever again. Believe me when I say, to know that you would, is plenty enough for me to be proud. If the world were a different place, then yes. Right now, you cannot, you should not – fight your life away on my behalf!"

"It's not fair!" Hope cried out, angry once more, sniffing, tears rolling. Lena reached up and stroked them away. "Do you love me?" Lena asked softly. Hope nodded, "Of course mama." Lena nodded, "Then please…live your life. I need you to do that. Be what you need to be, to survive
now
– right now.
That's what I need you to do…please…I'm
begging
you."

Hope looked down, reluctantly, she nodded that she would.

Mike swallowed several times to rid himself of the boulder size lump in his throat. Humble and filled with remorse, he approached his mother and sister. "'Hope ... I'm - so sorry ...I...I didn't know... I didn't know." Lena stepped back and her daughter went into her brother's arms.

"I
know Mike, it wasn't your fault either." She hugged him, "I love you…I'm sorry for calling you a bastard."

Mike chuckled, "Its okay…I am a bastard…the lot of us are."

Hope looked up and smiled. "Don't feel sorry for me Mike. Just understand what I'm trying to tell you. We've all gone through too much of our own hell to make more where there need not be any. This world will do enough to us; please let’s not do it to each other."

Mike closed his eyes, holding his sister to him, his chin on top of her head. "Yes, little sister, you are right. Anything you say, you got it." He assured her. She drew back from his chest and looked over at Rory, who was very red in the face, fighting tears. She pulled away putting her arms in her father's jacket and pulled it closed around her. She knew not to embarrass him, so said instead. "Can we please ... not have walls dividing us? Let's just try being happy together, please…okay?"

Rory looked down and nodded.

"I don't want any more tears mama." She said looking back at her mother. "I know baby." Lena returned softly. Hope stared over at her father, who was still silent and standing away from them alone. Lena finally looked in his direction as well. Mike and Rory seemed to follow suit. Mike felt he should be the one to try and fix things and called out to him, "Dad? Once more, I need to – well – apologize, please hear me out."

Manny swallowed and stood up but kept his face averted from them, unable to answer him right then. He couldn't help but think, if he had fought back when he could have, perhaps all that they'd suffered could have been avoided. Regret was eating him alive – his own daughter had stood with more courage and valiance than he’d displayed as a man.

"Daddy-…" Hope started.

"Look um... I'm fine, go finish up so we can go - okay." He responded, with just a hint of harshness. "Daddy - look at me." Hope pleaded. Manny shook his head. "I can't ... not right now, go ... go do as I said! Get your brothers to help you!"

Lena felt her heart constrict. "Manny...you expected your sons to deal with their problem and have it out here and now. I think you should apply that to yourself as well ... say what's on your mind." Lena pressed, walking to stand at his other side. Manny closed his eyes, willing himself to be patient. "Lena...do me this small favor. Please, for right now, just go - leave me alone ... I need you to go, please." He turned to her asking, looking into her eyes. She saw his eyes and felt every ounce of his pain.

"Don't push me away. Don't do this-…"

"Look!"
He shouted, staring down at Lena because he could not bring himself to look at his kids. Glaring into her eyes, he demanded, "Get everything together – load the wagon – and go. Just…leave me alone … please."

Mike felt his gut tightening up, unable to see his father this way, and feeling he was partly to blame. He turned to Maria and the kids, with a gesture of his head, the message was clear, load up to leave.

Lena looked away at their children. "Do as your father says."

"I love you daddy, please don't be hurt." Hope chanced, unable to walk away and leave him without saying that. It was his undoing; he turned and ran out the back French doors, leaving them there, unsure of what to do.

"Mike go after him!" Hope cried out.

"No…leave…all of you…just go back to the ship." Lena ordered.

"What about daddy?" Hope asked about to cry again.

"I'll be here with him. Take the coach and go back, just send it back with Letton."

Lena paced back and forth in the breakfast room, looking out the doors for Manny. Seeing the kids off, she'd walked about the empty mansion waiting for him to return. He had still not returned an hour later. Returning to the breakfast room after standing in every window upstairs in an attempt to spot him, she walked outside looking around the grounds for him. There were woods east of the mansion and so she headed for them, wondering if she should have gone toward the lake. "Manny! Honey, where are you? Manny please, answer me!?!" She called out, wondering if he was even on the grounds still.

"What are you doing?" He asked startling her. Lena gasped and turned to see him standing against a tree.

"Looking for you?" She answered.

"You should have left with the kids."

"And leave you here alone?"

He looked away. "Josey tried to tell me, I wouldn't listen."

"Tried to tell you what?" She asked softly, walking up to him.

"To fight, to suffer back then with – whatever things came…not to take the easy road. I didn't listen…by doing it my way, look what I did to us…to our children."

"You didn't know Manny; no one ever knows the outcome of what they decide."

"I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. You cannot do what you
know
is wrong, and expect it to come out all right…you cannot and
it will not!
"

"Perhaps not…but your children need you-…"

He exploded, "When my children needed me, I wasn’t there!!! When you needed me – I wan’t there!!! When Mike needed me ... I – was not - there!!" He raged. "Look what they did to my daughter – look what they-…”

He gripped his hair on top leaning back against the tree. "They are my children, my living – breathing – children – they are human! My God! I've all these pictures in my head, pictures of the hell my family has gone through…because of me! Me!! How can one man's wrong, affect so many lives?" He cried out gruffly, wiping away his tears before than ran down his cheeks.

"Manny." She called to him softly. He looked down at her with red rimmed eyes. "It's over. The worst is over. We're all back together again. Time…will heal us all, one way…or another…we will all - heal. You have a promise to fulfil to me. We're getting married Sunday. There is much to be done…take my hand, let us close and lock up here…and be about our matters." She held out her hand.

"Lena…it keeps coming back…my sin against you…my wrong, it keeps coming back to me. Manifesting itself in all…in every possible way it can…to destroy me." He whispered with his chest hurting.

"No…not you Manny. It hasn't destroyed you my husband; it has only made you stronger, wiser – given you the insight only few men will ever be blessed with. Our children, they too are stronger. Hope…yes, even her, stronger…wiser … take my hand…" She held one out as the other reached up and wiped his eyes. "…we have much do to…let us be about our matters."

"I love you." He murmured softly.

"I should hope so; you have the rest of your life to spend with me."

"Oh yes…please." He pulled her back to him and they stood holding each other.

"Tell me you love me." He urged.

"I love you… I love you… I - love - you."

* * *

Arriving back at the ship, Lena was surprised to see Sandra there. She had a look of distress about her. Gaitsu brought tea to them and they sat and talked, Sandra filling her in on the new happenings with Georgia Mason. Explaining how Georgia had an lawyer and was in the process of having the case reopened with suspicion of foul play, saying that she arranged for George to be murdered in order to escape their marriage while claiming his wealth for herself.

Manny sat listening
and when she was done – the three of them discussed his idea of protecting her business interests. She agreed to turn all of her businesses over to him, setting it up to look like a buy out. "I will have Joe set things up and file my claim on all of them first thing Monday."

"But we're leaving Sunday?" Lena reminded him.

"Joe and Hope can catch up to us. This must be seen to without delay." He explained, and turned to Sandra. "I'm going to have my son in law represent you. I'm confident in his abilities Sandra, so you need to fill him in on everything. Hold nothing back."

"But - he's - an Indian. Will he be respected on the same level as a long standing white lawyer?"

"By the time this comes before a judge, he won't have to stand alone. I will have contacted my family attorney…Charles Wilson. I know I can get him to stand with Joe. For now, we need to get things in motion. Trust me; I would not suggest this if I doubted my advice. He's here in my office, no better time than now to speak with him." With a reluctant sigh, Sandra rose and followed Lena and Manny to his office, where they left her to talk to Joe.

The rest of the day was a hectic one with so much to be done in preparation of the wedding. All were in constant motion to get one thing or another done. Mike was especially busy, escorting first Rory, who had convinced him into taking him to get Mailon and her father. Manny was pleasantly surprised that at least his sons were trying to get along. Neither of them wanted to bring up their issues anymore after seeing what their sister had gone through, so for the time being, peace reigned.

Hope had gone back to the ship, spent some time with her husband and took a brief nap. Refreshed, she joined her mother, Maria, Lolita, and Celina who Mike would next escort as they went hunting for sea chests, while his mother saw to her last fitting. Manny was left with his three grandsons to meet with Mailon and her father…which he did in the family room.

Rory and Esteban were left to entertain Mailon on the deck of the ship, as well as watch out for Felix and Papo. The latter two having a good time teasing Rory and Esteban as they postured and dazzled the girl.

Aware of Sandra being on the ship, Rory excused himself and went to search her out to speak with her concerning some of his things which he would need bringing to the ship before they set sail.

Instructed to start from the beginning, Sandra did so, describing her husband’s character and the events that led up to the night he died. Leaving nothing out, she explained Lena's innocence and how she’d tried to help her.

She was in tears and sobbing as she went on
telling him what happened to Lena and how she couldn't take it anymore and so she killed him. Because of her uncle’s insistence, the truth had been covered up bringing Lena forward as the guilty one to save their name. In conclusion, she went into the trial, its ruling, the results of it and Lena's time spent in Dustinhurst, with her uncle in control of everything.

Rory stood leaning outside his father's office door with his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He felt as though he couldn't breath as the long forgotten memory of that night came back to him in shocking waves of horror. He'd forgotten the nightmares of that night that he'd suffered from. It had taken years before he could block it all and the cruelty of George Sinclair from his mind.

He also remembered his mother grabbing her robe and charging from their room. He remembered crying out for her and jumping from his bed to run after her, so afraid for her, so afraid of being alone. He didn't want her to go near the monstrous man. He had run out in his bare feet behind her, calling her but she hadn’t heard him and soon left him in her speed to reach Sandra. He remembered climbing the stairs and reaching the hall where the actual fighting had taken place. He remembered clinging to the corner of the wall, hiding there as he peeped around it in tears of fright as his mother was tugged to and fro, attacked and slapped. Fear of the huge man had kept his feet from moving to help her.