by Pat Mestern
“I knew from an early age that her maiden name was Jennie LaMariée. She said that it had been anglicized to Bride on all her official documents, driver’s license, old age security, SIN number. She was born in Cobalt, north of North Bay. After the first big fire the family moved south to Guelph then Kitchener. That was where she met and married my adoptive father, Hector Chambers. As I mentioned, they ended up living in St. Marys, in Hector’s parents’ home. I vaguely remember grandparents on the Chambers side.”
“Was there ever mention of an extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins?”
“Never.”
“And, you never had to do a family history in high school?”
“Once I asked Mother some questions about her ancestors and she told me that all the information on her family had been destroyed in the Cobalt fire some years before. I had no reason not to believe her.”
It took more miles of driving and a lot of reflection on Ramona’s part as to how much she should reveal, given what she’d found in the papers Lulu had provided. She decided to let fate play its hand.
Espanola
2:00 p.m.
Don held the door for Ramona to enter the lobby of the retirement wing, part of the hospital complex. This was what George, Sr., and Nibi Olsen called home. They had already spoken with the administrator who acknowledged that he had received a phone call from Jonas regarding their visit. He explained that although Nibi was frail she was up to having visitors. He said that when he mentioned Ramona’s maiden name she seemed to recognize it.
As they walked to Nibi’s room, escorted by an attendant, Ramona asked about George, Sr., saying that she knew him years ago. The answer was that he didn’t even recognize his family and was in the last stages of Alzheimer’s. On the other hand, Nibi Olsen was one of the sparks of the facility. For her advanced age her mind was as sharp as a tack and she didn’t even need glasses to see.
The attendant opened the door to Nibi’s room. “You have company, Nibi.” She said quietly to Don and Ramona, “I’ll leave her to you. Bring her to the lounge in a half hour for tea and cookies.”
Don indicated that Ramona should go first. Nibi was seated in a chair facing an open window. Her white hair contrasted with the turquoise chair covering.
“Nibi. Nibi Olsen,” Ramona said. “We came to see you. Remember me? I’m Ramona, Tomas Carmello’s niece.”
Nibi turned her head toward the voice. Piercing dark eyes scanned both Ramona and Don. Slowly she stood and, holding the back of the chair for support, looked more closely at both her visitors. Her thin frame was slightly bent, her fingers gnarled and arthritic, but otherwise Nibi was in surprisingly good form for a woman who was going to be one hundred years old soon.
She pointed at Ramona. “I recognize you. I have seen you in photographs.”
“Pictures that Harry Forest had at the cabin on Matinenda.”
“Yes.”
“They would be of my Aunt Charlotte. I look a lot like her.”
“I remember your father fishing with Ollie on Matinenda. Where is Harry? Did he come with you? He didn’t visit me last month.”
Ramona looked at Don who nodded slightly to indicate she should tell Nibi about Harry. “Nibi, I’m sorry to have to tell you but Harry died in January of this year.”
Nibi bowed her head and crossed herself. “He was a good man.” She took a step closer to Don and looked closely at his face. Her voice quivering, she asked, “Is this your husband? What is this man’s name?”
“This is my friend Donald Chambers.”
Donald stepped forward to shake Nibi’s hand.
Instead of extending her hand Nibi put her arms out, took another step, and embraced Don. She wrapped her arms tight around his chest, as far up as she could reach. “Ngwis gdaaw. Ngwis gdaaw,” Nibi whispered. “My son? My son! You have found me.”
Ramona gasped. Don took a step back. Nibi moved with him, still holding him tightly. Ramona touched Nibi gently on her shoulder. “He doesn’t know you are his mother, Nibi. He was never told.”
“Nibi loosened her grip. “He is here. He must know.”
“You’d better sit down, Nibi. There’s a lot needs to be said.”
Nibi took Don by a hand and led him toward the bed. “Come sit with me. You were not told?”
“No. I am confused, dumbfounded,” Don said.
Ramona sat on the bed and took Nibi’s free hand. “Jennie died without telling him,” she whispered.
“I am your mother, Ngwis gdaaw. I birthed you, at the lake.” Nibi’s voice broke. She began to cry, softly at first.
Don looked to Ramona for answers, direction. “If that is true, how did I end up being the child of Jennie Bride?”
“The bush was not a place to raise a sick child. Tomas flew Harry and you south. Harry gave you to Liza’s cousin to nurse to health, to love.”
“What did my father think of giving me away?”
“He understood.”
Don was speechless. He stared at Nibi then at Ramona and finally managed to say. “Harry Forest knew about me? He knew where I was. He was involved in raising me. That’s why I ended up dealing with his estate.”
“Yes,” Nibi said. “You were sick, very sick. There was no doctor.” She lowered her head. Tears flowed freely. “I could not raise you in the bush. I did not want you to die. And I could not leave my ways to live in a city. That was my regret, my penance, for years.”
“What did I have?” How old was I?”
“You were seventeen months old. You had a cough. All the time you were coughing, a disease of the lungs. Jennie nursed you back to health.” She patted Don’s hand. “You had good doctors, good food. You would have died in my arms.”
Don looked at Ramona. “You knew about this?”
“I garnered little bits of information from the various papers I was going through at the cottage. There were clues but no solid evidence or information. I surmised …”
“You surmised but didn’t say anything?”
“If Nibi hadn’t been alive; if you didn’t have the opportunity to meet her, I would have said something to you, Don. I didn’t keep anything from you on purpose. I didn’t want to get your hopes up if I was wrong. I’m not a detective or ancestral guru. I didn’t want to build your hopes up and then see them dashed.”
Don shook his head. “Unbelievable! The twists and turns in one’s life are incomprehensible!”
Ramona knew it was time to leave mother and son alone. She stood up and said, “I’m going to ask if we can have tea in the room so that you have time to talk to Nibi, to your mother, in private. I’ll come back with the tea tray in fifteen, twenty minutes.” Neither Nibi nor Don objected to her leaving.
Several times during the next half hour Ramona quietly opened the door and checked on Don and Nibi. There was no way she was going to intrude when a son was hugging his mother or son and mother were holding hands and crying. After she noticed Don had moved to sit facing his mother, she entered the room carrying a tea tray.
“I hope you’re ready for a cuppa. It took some persuading for staff to allow me to bring tea to you, and not you to the tea.” Ramona set the tray down and sat by Don. She reached for Nibi’s thin, gnarled hand then took Don’s in her right hand. “I feel for both of you. I am so happy that you have finally been reunited. And, what I just said does not do justice to the emotions you must be feeling at this time.”
Don squeezed Ramona’s hand. “I’m overwhelmed, and that’s an understatement.”
Nibi held her free hand out to Don. “I regretted being parted from my child, but I always held onto the belief I would see him again before I died. I wanted him to know who his birth mother was before she died. You cut it to a fine line, Mahng Bincojiing. I can go in peace.”
“Mahng Bincojiing. What does that mean?” Ramona asked.
“Loon Child, his Ojibway name, given when he was born. The loons were calling in the bay on the night he was born.” Nibi released her grip on Ramona’s hand but continued
to hold Don’s. “Tea. We should have tea.”
As Ramona poured, she said, “Don, if you want to stay here for a while, I can catch the bus to Toronto. It won’t be a problem for me to get home from there. You have so much to catch up on, so much you need to know, and need to tell Nibi.”
“Mother and I have discussed what to do next. You and I are going home today. I’ll be back for her one hundredth birthday celebration.”
“And you will come too, Ramona. I remember you as a child and as a young woman. I remember Ollie teaching you to fish from the dock. I remember cooking beaver tail for you and your father. I might be old of body but I am sharp of mind. You are part of my life story.”
“Of course I’ll come,” Ramona said. “I’ll bring some old pictures I have that Dad and Uncle Tomas took of our visits. You and Ollie are in some of them.”
“We will have tea and then you and Don must leave to catch the ferry.” Nibi stroked Don’s face.
“I will see your face in my dreams until we meet again soon.”
Chapter 12
Late Friday, August 14
The Chi-Cheemaun Ferry
The waters of Georgian Bay on the left and Lake Huron on the right stretched to the horizon as the ferry made its way south toward Tobermory. As Don had made a reservation before leaving Lake Lauzon, the only thing he had to worry about after meeting his mother was getting to the ferry dock on Manitoulin Island in time to board the ferry.
With the car safely stowed he and Ramona went up to the deck and stood by the rail. They hadn’t said very much while on the drive to South Baymouth. Each kept to their own thoughts on personal issues. The crossing took only an hour and a half, so they decided to forgo eating anything until they disembarked in Tobermory. The truth was that under emotional strain and tension neither thought it a good idea to eat before or during the trip.
The silence was finally broken by Don. He reached for Ramona’s hand and said, “I apologize if I snapped at you in Nibi . . Mother’s room.”
“There’s no reason to apologize,” Ramona said. “Believe me, if there had been concrete evidence I would have told you. Another day or two and all the pieces might have fallen into place. I brought the boxes. What’s in them belongs to you now.”
Don shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Let’s get this straight. Nibi … Mother gave me over to Liza DuChamp who gave me to her cousin Jennie LaMariée-Chambers. I was seventeen months old and suffering from some sort of lung or heart issue. Tomas flew Harry and me south. He drove Harry and me to the Chambers residence in St. Marys. Mother, Jennie, simply couldn’t part with me after her husband Hector died in action during the war. Harry kept tabs on me through the years and gave updates to Ollie and Nibi via letters and his annual visits.”
“Unbelievable, isn’t it,” Ramona said.
“After Jennie was widowed, Harry made sure she and I didn’t lack the necessities of life.”
“Did your mother ever ask, insist, that you to be returned to her?”
“No. She told me that the life she and Ollie lived was not suitable for a child. She actually felt it better that I be raised by Jennie. They didn’t encourage her to come north to the Algoma area with me. She said that if they saw me, they’d not let me go south again.”
Ramona squeezed Don’s hand. “Jennie did an admirable job of raising you.”
“And, after Ollie died, Harry did an admirable job of supporting Nibi. Her expenses are being paid for through a bank account in her name that Harry contributed to.”
“How could he do that? He didn’t have a lot of money.”
Don laughed. “From what I found in the safe deposit box, Harry’s worth a lot of money, made it through mining stocks and other investments that had roots in uranium finds.”
“Elliot Lake!”
“Among other ventures, he certainly didn’t flaunt his wealth. It appears that your Uncle Tomas had been advising Harry about investments.”
“He did teach Harry about prospecting. I found some information in one of the boxes, notes about claims, locations of mineral deposits, garnets, gold …”
Ramona, thinking about the Harry she knew and the man her aunt had fallen in love with, realized what a very special man he was for all his quirks and unusual habits. “I have a feeling Harry didn’t want the money so he used it to help others that he cared for.”
Don put her arm around Ramona to steady her as the ferry changed course slightly. “At least I know now why Harry chose me to oversee the dispersal of his estate. I couldn’t comprehend why he was so adamant that I be his executor. I figured that the bank had something to do with the issue. Now I’m not so sure.”
“You’re going to have DNA tests done, aren’t you? I noticed there was a mug missing from the tray, the mug Nibi drank from. I assume that when you left the room to go to the restroom, you commandeered something to put it in.”
“You’re clever. I asked one of the staff for a few plastic bags. The mug went into one. A pair of panties went into the other. If nothing else, I’m thorough.”
“You don’t believe Nibi is your mother?”
“I want to be sure she is. And mark my word, I’m going to find out for sure who my father is. Why was Harry so eager to help Jennie financially if he wasn’t in some way responsible? What about that wandering eye and those wandering hands of your uncle?”
“You definitely have two candidates. I’m confident it isn’t Harry.”
“I’m leaving all doors open. Personally, I hope Tomas isn’t the culprit.”
Ramona laughed. “I hate to say it but I find the word ‘culprit’ both funny and accurate to my uncle’s way of living life to its fullest. You had to know him to love him. Why wouldn’t you want him to be your father? Jonas is a good handsome specimen of what he was capable of producing. You’re not so bad looking yourself.”
Don turned to look at Ramona. He reached for her hands. “I’m glad you see me as good-looking because I think I’m falling in love with you, Ramona Carmello. And I wouldn’t feel right marrying a first cousin.”
“Oh my goodness! Oh dear! I … I don’t know what to say. As Mother used to say ’There’s many a slip between the mind and the lip’. Oh dear …”
Don smiled. “Say nothing, for now. We’ll know soon enough, Ramona. If Tomas isn’t the culprit, I hope you have some feelings for me, other than the sort you bestowed on Jonas. I want to think we could ‘spark’ for want of a better word.”
Ramona looked to the horizon then down to the blue waters of the bay before she turned to look at Don. “I’m going to take a big leap of faith, Don. If Tomas is not your father, I think we could produce quite a few sparks and have fun doing it.”
Don laughed and put his arm around Ramona’s shoulder. “Let’s watch the sun set and pray Tomas was prospecting somewhere when I was conceived.”
Chapter 13
August 2004
Castello dei Sogni
Ramona and Lorraine sat on chairs in front of a huge old steamer trunk. Two piles of linens and other items separated their chairs. They carefully removed cloth objects from the trunk, examined each for deterioration then refolded and placed them, depending on their condition on one of the two piles.
“I can’t believe the work that went into embroidering these tea towels and pillowcases,” Lorraine said.
‘I can’t believe there are so many items that have never seen the light of day since they were gifted. I mean some of these linen items were wedding gifts to Grandmother and Mother.
“And you,” Lorraine said. “It’s the act of generosity that counts, not the item. I assume from some of the intricate embroidery designs they were never meant for use, just for admiring. Why did you say we are doing this?”
Ramona sighed then shrugged. “Since I got back from Algoma, I needed something to do to get my mind off … things.” She wasn’t about to elaborate on her innermost thoughts and concerns, even to a good friend, a woman she looked upon as a sister.
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br /> “That fellow, Don. He hasn’t been to see you in at least two weeks.”
“He’s busy,” Ramona said. “You shouldn’t be keeping tabs on me.”
“There’s nothing much else to do in this burg,” Lorraine said, “unless you count trying to save that church building, trying to keep our underground water source from being sucked dry by money-mad corporations, and trying to find a home for five kittens.”
Ramona laughed. “You’ve still got those kittens.”
“Yep. It’s hard to give ‘em’ up. So what about the church and cemetery? Knowing you, there’s something you’re cooking up to hit the beggars with.”
Ramona stretched then let her shoulders relax. “I’ve hit a bit of a snag in my … our efforts to try to save the church and cemetery. Tell me, what did you find out about who bought Grandmother’s place, the Carmello Compound?”
Lorraine leaned back in her chair. “I’ve heard absolutely nothing. Nobody’s talking. I’m trying to get blood from a stone. I’m being met with a wall of silence.”
Lorraine was expressing what Ramona encountered when she went looking for the information. The lawyer who was involved went on a long holiday. “Sold” was definitely posted over the signs when she and Don drove by the property on their way down from Tobermory. The signs were gone a day later when she went out for groceries. The real estate agent who had the property listed refused to give her any information.
“Rumours abound,” Lorraine said. “I’ve heard a strip mall, a fancy restaurant in your grandma’s house, an expansion of the park area. It’s just sheer speculation, all of it.”
“The rumour mill is sure grinding,” Ramona admitted. “Come on. Let’s have a cuppa. I made chocolate brownies just for you.”
“Good idea,” Lorraine said. “You seem pretty preoccupied. I mean, your mind isn’t quite with me today.”
“That’s an understatement. My mind is a complete muddle.”
“Anything I did or said that stirred the mud?”
Ramona laughed. “Lorraine, at the moment you’re the only reasonably sane person in my life.”