The Unearthing of Blackstone

by Tiana Laveen

  You mean to tell me a mean ass cat did this to me?! There is no war story, nothing that I can brag about? It was a cat attack?! How embarrassing and lousy!

  “We nicknamed you ‘Tiger Stripe’ for awhile after that,” she teased. He had to admit that was rather funny. “You had to get stitches.”

  “I see…Well, my grandfather was in the middle of telling me—”

  “Yes, I will tell you what happened, okay?”

  “Yes…”

  “Your mother managed to leave a week later, anyway, as planned. She could now only afford to take one child but she was more determined than ever, after what happened. The other tickets were lost after we were forced away from our home, but she had yours and hers. She was in terrible grief over your father, and was doing this for him, too. She was to send for the other children later. Myself and our other sister, Ana, watched over Alex and Catalina. At first, we heard from your mother often. She phoned us and wrote. When she arrived there, in Illinois, she told us about all the beautiful things she saw. We had a relative there to help her. But, when she arrived, she couldn’t find our cousin. She later found out he was in jail and they threatened deportation. He was falsely accused of a crime he hadn’t committed…stealing from a shop I think.

  “She had to stay in a shelter. She told us a nice woman offered to take you and her in. Well, I don’t know what happened…but…something went wrong. She called us, sounding crazy, uh…what’s, um, upset, shouting. You were gone. She said an old woman took you, and she couldn’t find that woman any more, a woman she trusted. That woman was feeding you, and gave you all shelter and clothing before you disappeared. Then your mother woke up one morning, and you and the woman were gone, vanished.

  “She said she looked everywhere, and could not find you. We didn’t hear from her after that, for weeks. Then, we found our cousin, and he found out that your mother…had died. I’m…sorry.” Ela sniffed, hesitated. “Tata had trouble forgiving himself, for letting her go…but it was her dream. She wanted a better life for you, for her children. We don’t know how she died, but…my cousin gave her a funeral. We couldn’t afford to come there. I’m sorry…” she apologized again.

  “It’s not your fault…thank you for telling me.” His gut churned. He didn’t expect this sort of resolution.

  My parents are dead. My mother didn’t give me away. I was stolen by someone…more than likely one of those damned runners for the illegal adoption agencies. No wonder the adoption papers never made sense. By the time I was in foster care, they just tried to get me placed. No wonder no one really could confirm who’d left me at the church with that little note that said, ‘His name is Ace.’

  He swallowed hard and itched inside of his own skin. He slowly slid the desk drawer open, and stared at the pack of unopened Marlboros.

  As if sensing his needs, his aunt spoke again, a smile in her voice.

  “Do you know how you got your name?”

  “No. I only knew that my mother named me that, according to the adoption agency my parents got me from.”

  That final adoption agency that handled his paperwork was actually established and legal, but Ace had discovered they didn’t have much information regarding him and his biological parents, due to the previous chain of events. No one even knew he was Romanian, an illegal immigrant, let alone what had occurred.

  “That’s what they told my mother, anyway, I mean, my adoptive mother, the woman who raised me.”

  “I will tell you the story. On your mother’s birthday, she got a present in the mail. She was pregnant with you at the time. It was a deck of cards. She’d never seen cards like this before. She had signed up for some prizes in a magazine, and they sent these things from different countries. Sometimes, it was a music record. Sometimes, it was candy. Well, for her birthday, they sent another gift.

  “This time, it was a deck of cards from America. She opened it up, and on top was the Ace of Diamonds. She liked it so much, and wanted to go to America so bad, that she decided to name you, ‘Ace.’ She felt you were her good luck charm.” His aunt laughed, though it was evident from the choppiness in her banter, she was holding back tears.

  He quickly wiped his eye, brought a hand in front of his eyes, welcoming the darkness. “Thank you for telling me.”

  “Estibinevenit. That means, you’re welcome.”

  He smiled. He needed a pause. Sitting up, he ran a hand across his chest.

  I need to call Brooklyn, tell her what’s going on. I can’t believe this…

  “I want to thank you and my grandfather for speaking to me,” he managed to choke out.

  “You can’t thank us, we thank you. I know you have more questions. Family…is important, Ayyyce.”

  He grinned. He liked how she said his name.

  “Yes, it is very important. I would like to meet all of you, and my sister and brother, too.”

  “We would like that, as well, but my father, your grandfather, is sick, and can’t travel that far.”

  “No worries, I will make arrangements to come to you, if that is okay?”

  “Yes!” she said giddily. “Yes, please come! I want to know so much about you! What do you do, you know, work? Is your adoptive family still nice to you? What do you like to eat and do?!” She barraged him with questions, making him chuckle. He heard his grandfather speaking Romanian in the background.

  “Ahhh.” His aunt laughed. “Your grandfather said if you come here, he will cook for you. He likes to cook. He cooks well, too!”

  “What a coincidence. I also like to cook. My wife says I cook well, too.”

  “Wife?! Tata! Ayyyyyce is married! Children?”

  He burst out laughing and slid his desk drawer closed.

  “No, no children yet. Just got married.”

  She thinks she may be pregnant, actually…

  But he kept that detail to himself until they were certain.

  “Actually, I’m a detective here in Chicago. I have my own business.”

  “Ahhhh! Important man!” She laughed. “Tata!” she yelled out, “Ayyyce is a big detective!”

  He was really laughing, now.

  “As handsome as you are, I bet your wife is beautiful and fun! Will you bring her, too?”

  “Of course. Matter of fact, let’s make arrangements now.” He pulled up his schedule on his computer. “I see a good time period right…here. Okay, how about a month and a half from now?”

  “Yes, yes! I wish you could come tomorrow!”

  “I wish I could, too. But I need to get some things together first, and my wife has a couple of important work related presentations and trips. So, it is a bit delayed, but I can’t wait to come.”

  “I will tell your brother and sister. They will come here, okay? They are not very far. I will also give you their number, so you can start speaking to them. I’m so excited!” the woman screamed. It even sounded like she was jumping up and down. “Tata! Ayyyce is coming in less than two months! He is bringing his wife! She is beautiful and fun.”

  Ace grinned all through the rest of the conversation. He didn’t understand how he could be so sad and so happy at the exact same time. He called his wife immediately afterwards, and she soothed him over the phone, understanding his words despite the tears that wouldn’t stop falling from his eyes — and not minding how he repeatedly choked over his words as his chest filled with heaviness.

  The horses…

  And all the Romanian king’s horses, and all the Romanian king’s men, couldn’t put Ace Blackstone back together again…

  ~***~

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  The flight from O’Hare airport to Otopeni International Airport was rather grueling. True enough, Air France had taken great care of Ace and Brooklyn, but thirteen hours later, his legs felt stiff as wooden boards. At times, they’d run into fog, creating armrest bracing anxiety. Not one to typically lose much sleep over flight turbulence, this time, he was a ball of nerves. The tiniest thing set him off as he took a
seat in the airport and watched the love of his life make her way into the ladies’ room. In less than thirty minutes, they would be in a cab, being taken through a wooded area then flown up a foothill to the enchanting city of Brasov, nestled in the Carpathian Mountains.

  He’d gotten word from his aunt that his sister and brother were at their grandfather’s home right at that moment, waiting, and she made no apologies in letting him know that a feast awaited him, along with a shopping extravaganza planned for his wife the following afternoon; just she and all the women. He wasn’t invited. Instead, he had to stay with the menfolk.

  He slowly reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and removed a photo of his parents that his aunt had emailed him soon after their first phone call. Slowly running his fingers down it, he looked into his mother’s eyes — a woman he wished he remembered. He imagined a part of him did; yet, it was hidden away, tucked neat and clean, so that her memory would not be soiled. From such trauma he’d emerged; no wonder he’d ended up in such a state of affairs.

  Charging ebony, white and brown horses had ran so fast past him, they looked as if they were on fire, lighting up the night sky, and their blood sprayed across a black canvas of weeping stars. His father lay only several feet away from him, dead at his then tiny feet while his grandfather swooped his tiny self up in his arms, protecting him from the animal rampage caused by a militia with arsenal aimed at anything that moved. His mother wailed and yelled, having to be held back as she screamed her children’s names, while her husband remained in a puddle of his own blood on the dirty mountain road. All the anger issues, a military and a boarding school, pulsating cries for help, mysteries solved and mysteries unsolved — and so the cycle continued. He’d never forget his Sarah’s face, his true mother, when he told her that he’d found his birth family.

  Being her — the woman he adored so much — she grabbed him and hugged him hard, almost breaking him into two, tears streaming down her face. Then, she cupped his face in her hands, looked up at him and said, “Sad green eyes, now you’ll be happy? Now my baby boy will be at peace…”

  Ace stared at that printed off photo long and hard. His parents appeared happy. From his understanding, they were dirt poor, too, but in love. He looked at his father, and a feeling of warmth washed over him. Ace realized he had his father’s eyes, his mother’s hair color and texture, and a combination of their features. They were a couple, a family. They had children, and people they loved and cared about all around them. The world had done them wrong, dealt them a bad hand to play, and they tried to work those cards the best they could. His mother found the Ace, and believed it was her ticket out. She’d left one hell and unknowingly entered another, and somehow, the game had ended before she’d even had a chance to finish the round.

  He’d spent a month trying to find her grave, and he finally did. A plain and cheap one, right there in the middle of Mt. Hope Cemetery. He contacted his family in Romania and gave them two options: He’d set her up nicely, give her an elaborate new tombstone, or have her remains sent to Romania. After a few discussions, they decided to leave her in Chicago. They surmised, that was where she wanted to be, so best let her rest there. He agreed, and made arrangements to fly them all in the next summer to visit her gravesite. Though his grandfather wouldn’t be able to attend due to his poor health, he planned to send video footage to him so that he could see his child’s final resting place. Brooklyn helped her husband ensure the gravesite looked spectacular, but it did little to ease his sorrow. He’d hoped for more. He knew one day, once the dust cleared, he’d dig, and try to find out what in the world happened to his mother. It could take him the rest of his life, but he would keep trying, no matter what.

  Ace looked around the airport as people moseyed past with their luggage, spoke into their phones, or sat in chairs with their computers open. He scratched his ear, taking it all in, as he waited for Brooklyn. She was taking forever, but that was okay. Pregnant women tended to do that. He was becoming accustomed to the frequent bathroom breaks and knew not to give her any grief about it, despite how anxious he got as each minute passed.

  “Hey baby.” She bounced towards him, a balled up brown paper towel in her hand as she dried her fingers. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes, whenever you are.” He looked at the photo one last time, slipped it back in his wallet and grabbed their carry-ons so they could start navigating their way to luggage claims. She wrapped her arm around his waist, giving him instant comfort, their steps in unison. They walked in silence, the people around them turning into a blur, and the sounds seemed suddenly amplified. Flight announcements came over speakers in various languages, and what should have felt completely odd to him, did feel a bit like home already. As they reached baggage claims, a little boy stood by whom he presumed were his parents. Ace glanced at Brooklyn’s stomach, knowing that inside of her grew the continuation of an almost lost generation. He’d now be able to tell his child about his heritage, about his father’s side of the family. The whole notion was dreamlike. They didn’t know the sex yet, but they knew that their son or daughter, conceived during their honeymoon, was in good health, and nothing else mattered to him.

  He reached for a large black bag, seeing the small, fuzzy red heart that Brooklyn had attached to it coming around. As he took it off the conveyer belt, he saw out the corner of his eye a woman standing by herself. He stopped and stared. His heart froze. She looked so much like his mother, Laura. If time had stopped, no aging had occurred, he imagined she’d look much like that. Sadness registered on the woman’s face as she stood there dressed in dark gray, her hands clasped, watching the bags go round and around. For a moment, Ace paused, and did something that he knew didn’t make much sense, but he felt compelled. He began to mumble to himself... a bit louder than a whisper, but too low to be intelligible to the people around him.

  “Mom, I know that’s not you over there…but I just want to pretend for a moment, if that’s okay. If I could see you right now, I’d tell you how much I love you, and how sorry I am that I never got to have a relationship with you. I’m sorry that you tried to make a better life for me and ended up losing everything in the process, including your own life. I’m sorry I assumed that you and my father didn’t want or love me. It is obvious that you did; you died trying to show me just how much. I can’t bring you back, but I can tell you…that I’m here.” He wiped a stray tear from his eye. “I’m in your home country, and I’m grown, and I’ve changed. I appreciate life, Mom. I appreciate the opportunity you gave me. It took me a long time to find myself, but I think I have now, thanks to a great mom and an awesome wife. You were a great mom and awesome wife, too…and you didn’t die in vain.”

  He felt Brooklyn’s shoulder against him, and then she laid her head on his shoulder.

  “Oh, there it is,” she said, pointing to his big brown luggage bag.

  He jaunted over to get it, and when he returned his gaze to the spot where the woman once stood, no one was there. He looked frantically to the left, to the right, everywhere. How could she get away so fast? As if she’d vanished…

  Ace grunted as he heaved his bag off the belt, then walked hand in hand with Brooklyn through the rest of the airport. Each step seemed to echo, and his heart was beating in a ridiculously crazy rhythm. He paused to look over his shoulder, back at the luggage claim area. Sure enough, that woman was gone.

  “You okay, honey?” Brooklyn asked, her face full of concern.

  “Yeah, I’m fine baby…just thought I saw something.” He forced a smile. “Let’s go.” He squeezed her hand a bit tighter as they walked out of the doors and into a brand new world that he’d once known, so very long ago…

  ~***~

  I was born into a world

  Where love had died from pain-

  The mountains rolled, of Romanian stories untold

  And gave birth to a boy with a strange name.

  I ran amongst wild horses

  And spoke in ways I no longer r
ecalled at all-

  From communist governments and growling bellies,

  My grandfather still stood proud and tall.

  I was told by a wise person

  Many years ago, that tragedy brings rebirth-

  I held tight to my mother, Sarah’s words

  But saw them as a curse.

  A man walked into my office

  One autumn day and desperation dwelled in his eyes-

  My world would change, after that fateful morning

  The old Ace Blackstone would die.

  So it seems

  That Mom was right. Rebirth was where pain did roam.

  I turned over the rock, and found love,

  And there stood Ace Blackstone…

  ~THE END~

  ~***~

  BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

  1. In this book, “The Unearthing of Blackstone”, the two main characters are on separate journeys to find themselves when their paths meet. In what ways are Ace and Brooklyn similar, and in what ways are they different?

  2. Ace was drawn to Brooklyn in a way that he wasn’t accustomed to experiencing. What do you believe it was about her, that drew him to her?

  3. Brooklyn was ready to make a change in her life around the time Ace entered it. What about Ace do you believe made her feel as if he was a good person to take a chance on?

  4. Ace’s past caused him to act in ways that were self-destructive. Even though he had a good family, what do you think caused him to behave this way and lack trust in others?

  5. Ace’s mother, Sarah, is a unique character. Why do you think she and Ace got along so well?

  6. Earlwood Sr. is a layered character who the reader doesn’t know completely until further towards the end of the book. Do you think he had a problem with Ace dating his daughter because he was white? Or was it strictly because of the nature of how they met?

  7. Do you think Earlwood Jr. actually knew what his father had done, despite his declaration later on in the book?