Circle of the Ancestors

by Susan Gabriel

  After finishing the basket, Sam approaches Mr. Peabody, who runs the museum store. He puts his first basket on the counter, not knowing whether to expect laughter or criticism. Mr. Peabody, thin and balding, narrows his eyes to look at it.

  “Is this one of your grandmothers?” Mr. Peabody asks, testing the weave’s tightness. Compared to his wife’s whispers at the library, his voice booms.

  “It’s mine,” Sam says.

  “Yours?” he asks. After several seconds, Mr. Peabody smiles. “She taught you well, Sam. I’ll give you twenty-five dollars for it.”

  “Twenty-five dollars?” Sam asks. He could do a lot with twenty-five dollars.

  Mr. Peabody nods. “Bring me everything you make,” he says. “I’m sure I can find homes for them.” Then he pats Sam on the shoulder. “Your grandmother would be proud,” he adds, his voice softer.

  “Mr. Peabody, why did Grandmother not tell me she had a basket in the Smithsonian museum?”

  He pauses like he’s remembering. “That sounds like her, Sam. She was very modest, you know. I submitted it for her and they accepted immediately. She just didn’t see the acquisition as a big deal. Everybody else did though. A reporter from Asheville came to interview her. I’ve still got the clipping around here somewhere.”

  He searches through a drawer and pulls out an old newspaper clipping faded with age. It is a photograph of Grandmother, much younger, her long hair still black.

  “Every basket she made was museum quality. Not just the one. And it looks like you are following in her footsteps.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Sam says. He likes the idea of following in his grandmother’s footsteps.

  Somehow, as predicted, the world provides for their needs. Sam makes twenty-five dollars off every basket, and, with his part-time job at Raven’s store, Sam and Allie have enough to pay for their groceries. Also, Judy, at the casino, slips him a twenty whenever she sees him and Sam’s mother inexplicably begins to send money whenever she can. She even sends letters to him and Allie care of Becca and Old John. Great Spirit watches out for them and Sam never forgets to thank the generous ancestors.

  Months later, Jake arranges for Sam to come to Washington for the ruby’s unveiling. The Smithsonian pays for his plane ticket, and Jake invites Sam to stay at his apartment. Allie will stay with Becca and Old John but is left in charge of Little Bear and Sam’s bike for the duration of his stay. Also he gives her money for ice cream in his absence.

  Several days before Sam’s trip to Washington, D.C., an article appears in the small newspaper in Rachel’s Pass about his ruby and the Smithsonian. No mention is made of Tink Watson’s alleged discovery. After his father lost his job at the casino, Tink and his family left town. It is still a mystery whether or not Sam’s ancestors played any role in Tink’s giving back the ruby. But Sam likes to think the entire thing was their idea.

  The Asheville newspaper also runs a story, along with a press release from the Smithsonian. It describes Sam’s ruby as the most perfect star ruby ever found in the United States, valued at more than Jake predicted. Turns out that what Sam thought was simply an ordinary rock is an extraordinary gemstone.

  Earlier that spring, Milton Thomas, the jewelry store owner, went out of business and also left town. Oddly, Rocky never mentioned the ruby again. Sam attributed this to the ancestors, too, who somehow convinced Rocky to leave it alone.

  Almost a year to the day after Sam found the ruby, he packs a backpack with an extra pair of clothes, socks and underwear. The next day he leaves for Washington, D.C., and the unveiling of the ruby at the Smithsonian Museum.

  Before Old John drives Sam to the airport, however, his friends hold a celebration at Raven’s store. Allie, Beth and Little Bear are there with Buddy—who now wears socks and showers regularly because of a girl named Hannah—also in attendance. It took months and many more apologies before Sam forgave Buddy, but now their friendship is strong again. Old John and Becca are there, as are Young John, Old John’s poker buddies, Miss Lily, and Mrs. Peabody from the library. This is Sam’s tribe. His family. Though there is no sign of Rocky.

  After refreshments, Sam joins Old John in old Abigail for the trip to the airport. Abigail sputters to life and Sam waves from the window to the people who wish him well. He and Old John leave early with four hours to spare, even though the nearest airport is only an hour and a half away. On the way out of town they pass the casino. Rocky’s old Buick sits in its usual parking place. As they get closer Rocky gets out of the car and waves Old John down.

  “Is this okay with you?” Old John asks Sam.

  Sam nods and Old John pulls to the side of the road as Abigail idles.

  His father walks over to Sam and rests his brown hand on the window. He smells like cigarettes.

  “I don’t have the ruby anymore,” Sam says.

  “I don’t care about ruby,” Rocky says. “I just wanted you to know that I’m proud of you, son.”

  Rocky touches Sam’s shoulder and Sam shrugs it away. He’d like to trust Rocky again but he’s not there yet.

  “We’ll talk when you get back,” Rocky says, rubbing away the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

  Old John pats Sam’s leg as if to remind him they need to go and gives Rocky a nod.

  As they drive away, Sam remembers what Grandmother said about Rocky’s journey not having anything to do with Sam’s. That may still be true, but for the first time in years, Sam has hope that his father might find his way back to their ancestor’s ways and be a father again.

  Sam has never flown, let alone been in a jet. During takeoff he experiences the same exhilaration he felt when he first saw inside the ruby. His heart races and his palms sweat as the land recedes below him, getting smaller and smaller.

  The plane circles once and flies over his western North Carolina home. It is odd to see the mountains spread out in front of him. Sam could hike for years all over these mountains and never see all of it. The rolling green hills are dense and lush with growth. His grandmother would love seeing them from above. Then Sam imagines Grandmother’s spirit rising up to meet him. She is everywhere, he reminds himself. Then he imagines the red-tailed hawk, soaring high above the landscape on the currents of a wafting wind. A year ago he wondered what it would be like to soar and now he knows, at least with the help of a machine. He has no way of knowing if the ancestors are pleased, but this hope keeps him company on the plane.

  As far as he knows Sam is the first of his ancestors to fly. Will they mind that he is leaving their home, at least temporarily? His dreams of them have stopped and he hasn’t heard his grandmother’s voice for months. As soon as he made the decision about the ruby they disappeared. He fears their displeasure and can’t imagine what trials they may send him on now. It is as if the distance between Sam and the Spirit World is separated by a wide gorge that he’s uncertain he will ever get across. More and more he is convinced that they are gone forever.

  CHAPTER 26: REUNIONS

  At Reagan National airport in Washington, Jake Waters shakes Sam’s hand. “You’ve gotten taller,” he says.

  It’s true. Sam has grown a lot since last summer. He is now as tall as Rocky and his voice has deepened.

  They take a taxi to Jake’s apartment located within walking distance of the museum. Sam meets Jake’s wife, Rose, who makes up the sofa bed in the living room where Sam will sleep. Their small apartment is filled with her art work. Large canvases are covered with paintings of ancient, beautiful trees. In nearly every painting, large contorted roots anchor every tree to the ground. It reminds him of the ruby’s original home.

  A large aquarium dominates one wall and immediately captures Sam’s attention. Blue and yellow tropical fish swim in and out of a coral labyrinth that nearly fills the whole tank. The fish wander into caves in the coral, disappear into the inner recesses and then find their way out the other side. These fish look strange to Sam, especially when compared to the minnows, trout and bass found in the mountain streams
near his home. Sam feels like a minnow lifted out of his tiny pond, and nowhere near as exotic as the people or fish in Washington, D.C.

  “I have a few things yet to do at the museum,” Jake says. “Sam, would you like to come along?”

  Sam pulls himself away from the aquarium. “Sure,” he says, but he isn’t sure of anything anymore.

  They leave the apartment, walk three blocks, and then turn down a huge sidewalk next to a field called the mall. The trees and grass are not like Sam’s home. Nature is tamed into manicured and watered lawns. Sam isn’t so sure he likes it.

  Jake points out the Washington monument on one end of the field and the Capitol Building on the other. The photographs Sam has seen in books don’t do justice to the city's bigness. Rachel’s Pass has mountains. Washington, D.C. has monuments that look as big as mountains. And there are people everywhere. More people than Sam has ever seen in one place in his entire life.

  As they walk across the large grassy area, Jake tells Sam about the ceremony scheduled the next day to open the new exhibit. Bikers, joggers, and people on rollerblades pass them as Jake talks. Vendors sell ice cream, hot dogs and souvenirs from carts on nearby sidewalks. All the activity is overwhelming. Jake slows his steps as they pass the Air and Space Museum, where one of the first airplanes ever built hangs in the glassed entrance. Next, they pass a sculpture garden and an old-fashioned carousel.

  It would take days to explore all this, Sam thinks. Yet he already misses home.

  “This is it,” Jake says. They stop in front of a massive building with the words, “Natural History Museum” emblazoned on the front. It is just like the building in his dream!

  At the top of the mountain of stairs, Sam hopes to see his grandmother waiting as she did in the dream. But all he sees is a steady stream of people walking in and out of the building moving like ants in and out of the opening of an anthill. Many people sit resting on the cascading steps in front. These tourists have a different look about them than the ones he’s seen at the casino. Many have their children with them and have smiles on their faces.

  In this strange place, Sam misses his grandmother even more. In a way, the dream led him here, but it also lied. He doesn’t sense his grandmother’s presence here at all. Suddenly, Sam finds himself questioning if he did the right thing. Doubts fill him. He needs his grandmother here to tell him he did the right thing and that everything is okay. He waits for her to voice her reassurance. Nothing.

  Maybe he misread all the signs. Maybe there weren’t signs at all. He should have never taken the ruby from its hiding place. He recalls how the reluctant stone clung to the great oak tree’s roots. Maybe the ruby didn’t want to leave its home, either.

  How can I be a Cherokee warrior if I’m just another thief? he wonders.

  “You’ll get to see the ruby in its new home tomorrow,” Jake says, as if he senses Sam’s discomfort. Jake’s words reassure him, at least momentarily.

  Over a hundred steps rise to the entrance of the museum. They remind Sam of the climb up to the mountain summit where he first saw the red hawk and where he fell and nearly killed himself. As he climbs the concrete mountain, Sam touches his face, remembering the bear and the ceremony in the dream the morning before he found the ruby. He has a scar from his fall down the mountain. Everything that happened has led him to this place. Even so, he would gladly give the ruby back to the mountain if it meant he could see his grandmother once more.

  Sam stops at the top of the stairs, where his grandmother stood in the dream. The world around him blurs.

  “What is it?” Jake asks. He sounds concerned.

  “I saw this place in a dream once,” Sam says. “Grandmother was here and several of my ancestors. At first I had no idea what it meant. But I think they were trying to tell me that this is where the ruby should be.”

  “There may be something to these dreams,” Jake says. “The story of this ruby is amazing in itself.”

  Jake opens the large doors of the Smithsonian and lets Sam enter first. Once inside, Sam’s doubts shrink before the scene. The large woolly mammoth Mrs. Peabody told him about looms over him. It is massive with coarse brown hair the same color as the bear in his dream the morning he found the ruby. Two tusks swoop upward, reminding him of two giant limbs on the oak tree, home to the ruby.

  “I’d hate to run into something like that in the woods,” Sam says. “Every last one of my ancestors would have to chip in to win that battle.”

  Jake laughs. “You are very fortunate to have such a powerful clan, Sam.”

  An absent clan, he thinks.

  Jake’s office is two floors up, he says, and he directs Sam to the elevator. As soon as they enter his office, a secretary hands Jake a note to return an important phone call.

  “Do you mind waiting here?” Jake asks. “I’ll only be a minute.” When Sam agrees, Jake goes into his office and closes the door.

  Sitting in the small waiting room, Sam looks through magazines and the secretary asks if Sam wants soda or juice. Did she feel guilty for almost stopping him from talking to Jake Waters that first time he called? None of this would be happening, if she hadn’t let him through.

  When she glances at Sam’s cap and feather and smiles, he realizes how strange this might look to someone not from Rachel’s Pass. No one here is like Sam, at least as far as he can tell, and with his ancestors apparently having abandoned him, his loneliness intensifies. But then Jake comes out of his office, grinning like he has a secret.

  “How about we have an early dinner,” Jake says. “I’ll have Rose meet us at the restaurant.”

  “That sounds nice,” Sam says.

  After dinner, back at the apartment, Sam watches the fish swim in and out of the caves of the dimly lit aquarium as he tries to fall asleep. His thoughts swim, too. A year ago he never dreamed he’d be in Washington, D.C. for the unveiling of a rock he found in the mountains near his home. Nor would he have ever thought his grandmother would go to live with the Great Spirit. When he realizes the next day is the anniversary of his grandmother’s death, sadness falls over him like the darkness.

  In his dreams, the tank becomes the ocean and Sam swims in and out of the coral caves, searching for his grandmother. He wakes in the middle of the night covered with sweat. As nice as Jake and Rose Waters are, they are still strangers. He misses his grandmother, Allie, and Little Bear. He misses the forest around his home. He misses the mountain streams and the fog that doesn’t clear until mid-morning. Having never ventured far from home, he never knew what missing a place felt like. It was as if the ground was suddenly gone beneath his feet.

  The rest of the night Sam sleeps fitfully and is still groggy when he gets up. He dresses in semi-darkness and enters the kitchen the next morning where Jake has prepared a breakfast of eggs and bacon, and Rose has baked cinnamon rolls. With the coffee brewing it smells like Grandmother’s kitchen. Perhaps Jake and Rose aren’t strangers after all. Like the Cherokee people, they appreciate the natural world. Rose paints pictures of trees and Jake collects rocks. You don’t have to live in the mountains to appreciate them.

  “The showing’s at four o’clock,” Jake says. “You can hang out in the museum until then, there’s plenty to see.”

  “Actually, I have something I want to look for,” Sam says. He thinks of Grandmother’s basket, if it is even still on exhibit. Since she never got to see it, he can do it for her.

  Later that morning Sam and Jake walk across the mall again and Sam notices for the first time the trees planted in straight lines along the walkways. Do they wish they could grow wild in the forest?

  On his own, Sam studies the dinosaur bones and walks through areas depicting the history of the world and the evolution of humans. He passes the cave men and women with their children and then goes around a corner and finds figures of the early Native Americans standing in a garden where they are growing the Three Sisters—maize (corn), beans and squash—like Grandmother always did in her garden year after year. I
n the exhibit is a large basket that looks just like something his grandmother would make. A small sign, the size of a post card, on an outside wall identifies the basket artist as Mary Hummingbird, his grandmother’s Cherokee name. He touches her name and moisture fills his eyes. Grandmother always said that tears purified people from the harshness of the world. He likes to think they have some use besides embarrassing him.

  A family walks up to the exhibit speaking in a foreign language, and Sam wipes his tears on his sleeve. A boy about his age gives Sam a slight bow when he sees him. The language they speak sounds similar to Cherokee in some ways. He likes thinking that people from all over the world have seen his grandmother’s basket. She has honored their people with her gift.

  The family leaves and Sam stares at the waxed humans who are supposed to be his ancestors, depicting a time long past. But to Sam, his ancestors are much more alive than that. At least they used to be.

  Sam remembers the motion his grandmother’s hands made as she wove the strands of bark and grasses, her hands swift and skilled, working effortlessly. He makes the motion with his own hands and then notices his watch. Jake needed him to return to his office by 3:30 and it is 3:25! Sam runs back in time past the cave people and the dinosaurs and the gift shop to the elevators. When he arrives Jake has changed into a suit and he asks if Sam would mind wearing a jacket, too.

  “But, I don’t own one,” Sam says, feeling embarrassed again at first, until Jake walks over to the closet and pulls out a navy blue coat in Sam’s size.

  “My gift to you,” Jake says. “Rose helped pick it out so it ought to fit.”

  “But this is expensive,” Sam says.

  Jake pauses and then tells him that it wasn’t that much. After Sam puts on the coat, he immediately feels about ten years older. It’s like playing cards with Old John and his friends. Jake loans him a matching tie, too. Not a clip-on, but a real tie. He ties it for Sam, being careful to adjust the Windsor knot at the top so it is perfectly straight. Sam’s never seen Rocky wear a tie, not even to Grandmother’s funeral.