Circle of the Ancestors

by Susan Gabriel

  “It was Grandmother’s favorite,” Sam says.

  He could have said more about how the scent of lavender materializes at strange times and sometimes in places where the herb doesn’t even exist. He doesn’t know Jake Waters well enough to tell the secrets he has learned from the Spirit World in the three short weeks since his grandmother’s death.

  Jake praises the garden and asks Sam questions about how he chooses the plants and harvests it. Then he eats a tomato right off the vine like his grandmother always did.

  Grandmother would like Jake Waters, too, Sam decides.

  While Sam waits on the porch, Jake returns to the car and collects a small overnight bag. Inside, Jake looks around the house and nods thoughtfully. Fortunately, Sam picked up Rocky’s mess, so the house looks halfway decent.

  Sam tries to imagine what a stranger like Jake Waters sees when inside his grandmother’s house. The furniture is solid and simple. A huge stone fireplace covers one wall. A quilt, graced with beautiful fabric hummingbirds his grandmother made, adorns another. Late afternoon sunshine pours in the windows. Grandmother’s favorite baskets blend with the naturalness of the stone and wood. It is a room filled with Grandmother’s spirit.

  Jake examines several framed photos on the mantle. Most of them are from when Sam and Allie were younger, but then he picks up a photograph of Sam’s grandmother sitting in her rocker on the front porch. Jake studies the photo carefully, as carefully as he studied the ruby.

  “I think I would have liked your grandmother, Sam.”

  Sam smiles. A second later the screen door slams as Allie comes home from Beth’s asking if she can spend the night over there tonight.

  “Who are you?” Allie asks Jake.

  Jake introduces himself and shakes Allie’s hand like she is a grownup. She smiles like this pleases her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me we had company?” she asks Sam, with the beginning of a pout. Allie hates to be left out of anything.

  “You can put your things in Grandmother’s room,” Sam says, pointing at the door.

  Jake excuses himself and takes his backpack. While he is gone, Sam tells Allie the whole story, about finding the ruby and losing it to Tink, and getting it back again. He apologizes for not telling her sooner.

  “You didn’t have to keep the ruby a secret from me,” Allie says. “I’m your sister.”

  “I didn’t know what else to do, Al. Especially after the ruby got stolen. I didn’t know whether there were more thieves out there, or who else might come looking for it. I thought you’d be safer if I left you out of it.”

  Sam then offers to show her the ruby. Her pout dissolves as she looks at the stone. In her small hand, it looks huge.

  “It still looks like an ordinary rock to me,” she says. “I thought you said it was a ruby.”

  “It has to be cut and polished before it will look good,” Sam says. “But, look inside.”

  Allie looks into the stone and her eyes widen, though she holds back her amazement.

  “I don’t see why you had to make such a big deal out of keeping this old rock a secret,” she says, handing the ruby back to Sam.

  Sam grins at her temper and then sets about fixing Allie and Jake grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. He slices two large tomatoes from the garden, sits them at the center of the table and then puts some apples in the oven with cinnamon sprinkled on them for dessert. As the three of them sit at the kitchen table, Jake asks questions about their daily life. Allie quickly warms to Jake and for a moment Sam misses Rocky, and imagines what it would be like to have a real dad around again.

  CHAPTER 23: CONFRONTATION

  The next morning Jake Waters walks into the kitchen, looking clean shaven and rested.

  Sam makes a pot of coffee the way Grandmother taught him. Even though he doesn’t like coffee himself, he loves the way it smells when it brews. It reminds him of his early mornings with his grandmother.

  “I slept better than I’ve slept in years,” Jake announces. “Must be the mountain air.”

  This pleases Sam. “Grandmother used to say the air up here has healing powers,” he says.

  After tasting the coffee, Jake raves about how good it is. “I’ve got to tell you, I had the strangest dream last night,” he says, sipping his coffee.

  “Grandmother says dreams are messengers from the Spirit World,” Sam says.

  “Well, this is an interesting message,” Jake says. “Do you mind if I tell you?”

  Sam nods.

  “An old woman came to me,” Jake begins. “I think it was your grandmother, Sam. She came into my room and sat at the foot of my bed. She talked to me in this language I couldn’t understand.”

  “That’s Tsalagi, our Cherokee language,” Sam says. “I bet she welcomed you to the house.”

  Jake takes another sip of coffee. A look of curiosity hasn’t left his face. Sam guesses Jake isn’t used to visits by ancestors, especially Sam’s. Allie walks into the kitchen, her hair tussled, her shoes untied. She slept on the couch last night so Jake could have Grandmother’s bed and doesn’t seem angry anymore about the ruby. Or maybe she is just too sleepy to be angry. Jake greets her warmly and she smiles while Sam makes her and Jake breakfast.

  “I’m curious, Sam, where did you put the ruby last night?” Jake asks.

  “I slept with it,” Sam says. “But I need to find another hiding place. It woke me up every time I rolled over.”

  “I was just curious because in my dream your grandmother was holding it. It glowed like it was on fire,” Jake says.

  “You must have Indian in you somewhere,” Sam laughs. “Grandmother was telling you something.” He places scrambled eggs and toast in front of Jake who thanks him.

  “Like what?” he asks.

  “Maybe you’re going to help keep the sacred fire from burning out,” Sam says.

  “Interesting,” Jake says. He puts some of Grandmother’s honey on top of his toast and moans like it is the best honey he’s ever tasted. Even though Jake is a stranger, Sam likes having him around.

  “Well, I’ve got to get to the airport,” Jake says to Sam, washing his plate in the sink. He hands Sam a business card adding that if he needs anything to call him.

  Sam glances at his arm marked with the remnants of Jake’s phone number. A business card is much easier to save.

  “Keep that ruby safe,” Jake says, gathering his things. “And think about what you want to do with it.”

  Sam agrees.

  They walk outside as Rocky pulls the Buick up in the yard. Already daylight, it is later than he usually gets home. But he is smiling, which he hardly does anymore. However, the smile goes away when he sees Jake Waters.

  “Who are you?” Rocky demands. He stands at the bottom of the steps and squints to see Jake clearly.

  Jake introduces himself and extends his hand. Rocky rejects it.

  Sam doesn’t like Rocky being rude to Jake. But then something about having Jake there makes Sam feel safe enough to tell Rocky about the ruby. He has to tell him sometime or somebody else might tell him.

  “I found something up on the mountain,” Sam says.

  “Found what?” Rocky’s eyes narrow.

  “A ruby,” Sam says. His eyes briefly meet Rocky’s who seems more like a stranger than family these days. They have come a long way from skipping stones together.

  Full of suspicion, Rocky turns and looks at Jake. “Who did you say you are?”

  “Jake Waters. I’m from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.”

  “That must be some ruby,” Rocky says to Sam. “Why am I just now hearing about it?”

  “I just heard about it, too,” Allie chimes in, joining them on the porch.

  “Well, let’s see this ruby,” Rocky says, motioning for Sam to hand it over.

  Sam hesitates, but takes the ruby from his pocket.

  When Rocky grabs it from his hand, Sam feels momentary panic. What if Rocky takes the ruby and leaves? But Rocky st
ands dead still, his mouth gaping as he looks at the ruby. Then he holds it to the light like he’s taking aim with a shot gun.

  The longer Rocky holds the ruby, the more Sam fidgets. He has no idea what to do if Rocky refuses to give it back. Regrets crowd out his thoughts. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Rocky about the gemstone until it was somewhere Rocky couldn’t get at it.

  Finally, a smile crosses Rocky’s lips, as if he has hit the jackpot he's waited for all these years.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Rocky asks Sam, his voice low, but his gaze doesn’t leave the ruby.

  Sam pries the ruby from Rocky’s fingers. “That’s why Mr. Waters is here,” Sam says. “I’m going to give it to the Smithsonian.”

  Rocky’s gaze darts in Jake’s direction. If it were a real dart it would draw blood.

  “You’re going to let a white man take your treasure?” Rocky says to Sam. “That one’s been done before, son.”

  “Give it a rest, Rocky,” Sam says.

  But Rocky ignores him. “What I want to know is why you people are always coming around messing with something that’s none of his business?” Rocky says to Jake.

  If Jake is flustered he doesn’t let on. Jake tells Rocky to calm down, that he is leaving soon and that it’s Sam’s ruby to do with it whatever he wants.

  “Grandmother wants him here,” Sam says. “And if she were still alive she’d do everything in her power to keep that ruby away from you. That’s why she left me the house—not you.”

  Sam is tired of being scared of Rocky.

  “We’ll talk about this later,” Rocky says to Sam.

  “We’ve done all the talking we’re going to do about this ruby,” Sam says. “And if you try to steal it, I’ll call the tribal council. They were all friends of Grandmother’s and they won’t let you get away with it. And, furthermore, I’ll tell the ancestors.”

  “The ancestors?” Rocky asks. “To hell with the ancestors. They haven’t come to help me out.” But something makes Rocky pause.

  Sam’s father walks toward his car, but then stops and turns around as if he remembers why he came in the first place. Sam’s spine straightens as Rocky walks up to him and places two, hundred dollar bills in his hand.

  “Here’s the money I borrowed the other day. Returned with interest,” Rocky says. “I told you I’d win it back.”

  Too shocked to speak, Sam stares at the money. With that, Rocky gets in his car and slouches low in the driver’s seat. The Buick starts with a roar and chokes out black smoke. The wheels spin and kick up gravel as Rocky speeds off.

  Jake exhales, like maybe he was scared, after all. Sam puts the bills in his pocket and doesn’t tell Jake how helpful Rocky’s money will be to him and Allie.

  “I’ve never stood up to him before,” Sam tells Jake.

  “Well, I’m proud of you then,” Jake says. “That took a lot of courage.”

  Nobody has called him courageous before, not even his grandmother. Maybe Sam has what it takes to be a warrior after all.

  Sam and Jake say their goodbyes and Jake drives down the road toward town. The courage Sam claimed minutes before fades as quickly as the dirt cloud that follows Jake’s rental car. But Sam has no regrets about standing up to Rocky.

  His thoughts turn to the next task at hand: finding yet another hiding place for the ruby while he makes up his mind about what to do. Sam will consult the ancestors and wait for a dream or another sign. Until then, Sam’s new hiding place has to be somewhere Rocky and any lurking thieves will never think to look.

  CHAPTER 24: THE DECISION

  A week has passed since Jake Waters’ visit and Rocky hasn’t come home. Is he afraid to cross the ancestors? Or is he simply biding his time and plotting a way to get the ruby?

  After Jake left, Sam hid the stone in a third hiding place—one he carefully chose himself. He hasn’t told anyone its location. Not even Allie, who begged him to use one of the places she and Beth came up with. In order to keep the ruby safe, he will risk her anger. Only he and Little Bear know its latest location, and Sam trusts Little Bear not to tell.

  Sam spends the morning in his grandmother’s garden harvesting the last of the corn and green beans. He will take it to Raven’s later, but for now he sits on the porch swing and contemplates what to do next. The summer, now drawing to a close, was filled with both blessings and curses. Not to mention his life has changed forever.

  The night before, Sam lost sleep, going back and forth in his mind about the ruby’s fate. If he were rich it would solve all his problems, but being rich is about more than having money. When Grandmother was alive, Sam felt rich despite their simple lifestyle. Somehow, anytime she needed money it just showed up. They had all the food they needed, a house for shelter and Grandmother filled him full with rich stories of their ancestors.

  Little Bear lies with his back against the house, just as he did as a puppy. He sleeps, his legs twitching as he runs and plays in his dreams.

  Does Little Bear dream of his ancestors, too? Sam wonders.

  The smell of lavender travels on the breeze as it did the day Sam found the ruby and the day Jake Waters arrived at his house. He imagines his grandmother close by, a thin veil of lavender separating their worlds. If only he could reach out and touch her, or at least see her face again, but she lives in the invisible world now. Grandmother said this world was but the tip of an iceberg to what lies beneath the surface.

  The porch swing squeaks its familiar rhythm and creates memories of the hours he sat in this same place next to her. The breeze rattles the dream catcher hanging on the end of the porch. Feathers and small bones dangle from the web in the center, designed to catch remnants the dream world leaves behind. Oddly enough, Sam hasn’t remembered his dreams lately. In a way, this makes him even lonelier.

  “Grandmother, please tell me what to do now,” Sam says, wishing to hear his grandmother’s answer on the wind.

  He listens, respecting the silence and the Great Spirit’s timing of things, but there appear to be no answers for him today.

  “I give up,” he says, swatting at the dream catcher. He is tired of making grown-up decisions. For the first time since finding the ruby he actually wishes he had thrown it into the streambed.

  In the next instant, the screen door squeaks open and the wind slams it shut with a bang. Sam jumps. Did the door announce the arrival of the answer he has waited for? If so, it arrived special delivery on the wind.

  Sam stands. His decision is as clear as the mountain stream. The ruby needs to reside in a place of honor, a place of pride to his ancestors. The ruby came from Cherokee land and is a sacred relic of the tribe. His people have watched over this forest for centuries. The ruby has a bigger purpose than to make Sam’s life easier. It needs to be in Washington, D.C., along with Grandmother’s basket, to honor the giftedness of the Cherokee people.

  At the moment of Sam’s certainty, Little Bear lifts his head from his dreams, his tail thumping against the wooden porch, as if applauding Sam’s decision.

  CHAPTER 25: GRATITUDE

  Jake Waters is talkative when Sam calls and sounds glad to hear from him. He not only asks about Sam, but also about Allie and Little Bear. He doesn’t mention Rocky, but neither does Sam.

  “I’ve thought a lot about it, and I’ve made my decision,” Sam says. “I want to give the Smithsonian the ruby.”

  “Are you sure, Sam?” Jake asks.

  “Yes, sir. It’s something I truly want to do, and I think it’s what my ancestors want me to do, too.”

  Sam’s decision doesn’t take into account how he will buy groceries or pay the light bill, but somehow he believes it will work out. According to his grandmother, the Cherokee way is to trust the Great Spirit to provide, and it is Sam’s job to be grateful.

  “The Smithsonian will take good care of your ruby,” Jake says. “Thousands of people will get to enjoy it every day. We’ll credit you for the gift, of course, as a member of the Cherokee tribe and ma
ke it so that your ancestors also get credit.”

  This is exactly what Sam wants—his people acknowledged and respected for their contribution.

  After Sam hangs up the phone he goes out to Grandmother’s porch and looks into the blue cloud-free sky. His imagination explodes into what his people call a vision. He imagines the red hawk soaring over the mountaintops as his grandmother watches him from the Spirit World. Then his Grandmother is everywhere. Not only in the trees and the mountains, but in every living thing. She lives inside Sam, as well, in his memories. Sam’s grandmother is still with him, yet in a different form. This doesn’t make him miss her any less, but in a way it comforts him. Sam takes the carved hawk that he recently finished from his pocket and places it on the porch rail next to Grandmother’s rocking chair, a gift to her memory.

  Donating to a museum involves more steps than Sam realized. Paperwork is sent for him to sign, spelling out the terms of the gift. It states that a special exhibit will be built that Jake designed himself to showcase the ruby. The ruby’s original home didn't require blueprints and builders. Nature managed to protect it perfectly. Sam has observed that things always get complicated when humans get involved—especially white men, but perhaps this is his prejudice.

  A few weeks later one of Jake’s interns arrives in Rachel’s Pass to collect the ruby and take it to Washington, D.C. where it will be carefully cut and polished. Sam meets the intern at Raven’s store, as he did Jake Waters, and hands her the ruby. She places it in a metal box with a lock on it. After she leaves, it is strange to think of the ruby on its way to Washington, D.C.

  In a way, keeping the stone safe kept his grandmother close. But now it is gone, just like she is.

  Later that day Sam returns to the ruby’s last hiding place. He builds a small fire in the woodstove in the corner of his grandmother’s workshop. The smell of wood smoke brings back many memories. Grandmother taught him to make baskets here, though he was never as good as her. Sam picks up several pieces of sweet grass and begins to weave the crisscross pattern. Somehow, weaving a basket makes his loss hurt less. He studies one of her creations on the bench and tries to copy the design. He returns to the studio and works on it every night for a week.