workman's circle cemetery is real. it is where two of my great-uncles are buried there, and its next to the cemetery where my bubbie and other family members are buried. i would of used that one, but i dont know the name of it.

two yiddish words/phrases are used. ~~~Danken got= thank god ~~~goy= non jew. not exactly the nicest way of saying it. my bubbie was known for saying it in a very negative way very often.

cain park is a beutiful amplitheater, i always used to go to yiddish/hebrew/jewish choir concerts there. as far as i know, bsb has yet to perform there, so this concert never happened lol.

Chapter 31

~August 1999~

The “Into the Millenium Tour” was swinging in full force. Lenni and Felicia were having a wonderful time being on tour. Felicia’s job was coming together in terms of what she needed to do. When it was just her and Fatima, they watched tapes of what the boys and dancers were doing to see if there was anything they needed to improve on. When it came to new dance moves, Fatima was the one to teach them, while Felicia reviewed dance moves with the other group. Right now, they were in Akron, Ohio, and Felicia just finished up her rehearsal with the boys, in preparation for tomorrows show at Cain Park. Felicia was now sitting on the grass, watching as Fatima was getting frustrated with the dancers.

“I’m glad I have this job instead,” Felicia mumbled. She opened her laptop and went to map-quest and started her search.

“Hey kiddo,” Kevin said, sitting next to her.

“Hey….daddio,” Felicia smirked, typing in the name of the place.

Kevin rolled his eyes and saw her computer screen. “Whatcha doing there?”

“Oh, nothing interesting,” she said as she scanned the screen, looking for the right address. Once she scrolled to the bottom, she found it. “Got it.”

“Got what?” Kevin asked, looking at the address. “Workman’s Circle Cemetery? Why do you want to know the address of that place?”

Felicia sighed. “If you come with me, I’ll explain on the way.”

Kevin stood up and held out his hand to her to help her up. “Come on, lets go.”

“Okay, so now that we are almost there, explain,” Kevin said as he was driving down I-77.

Felicia sighed and looked up from her laptop. She brought it with her because it was the only directions she had. “It’s where my family is buried,” she said softly.

“Oh…” Kevin said, looking at the road. “When was the last time you were there?”

“Their funeral. After that, I was moved to the home. I had no say in what their headstones had on them, and I wasn’t able to go to the unveiling either,” she said starting to tear up.

Kevin put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

Felicia sniffed and wiped away the tears before they could fall. “That’s okay. It’s not your fault or anything. But it is also why I brought my camera,” she said, holding it up. “Since I don’t know when I’ll be back, I want to take a picture of them so I can always have it with me.”

Kevin gave her a small smile. “That’s a good idea. Um, you mentioned an ‘unveiling’. I know we didn’t have one for my dad. What is it?”

“It’s a Jewish custom. Basically, when the headstone is ready, it is put on the grave with a cheesecloth over it. Then some family members come with a rabbi and they take the cloth off. It’s also like second funeral,” Felicia said. “I’ve only been my mommy’s cousin’s, and I didn’t even know the guy. I wish I could of gone to this one instead,” she said softly.

They got off the freeway and drove down the narrow road. As they got closer, Felicia turned off the radio. The cemetery was really off the beaten track; only those who knew about it would be the ones going there. They pulled in through the gates, and Kevin parked in the car.

“Do you want me to come see it with you?” Kevin asked.

“Well, I want to see it first, but then you can come up,” she said, stepping out of the car. “Could you help me find three rocks though?”

“Yeah. Why?” he asked as he followed her to the wooded area.

“Another Jewish thing. You put a rock on the headstone to show someone was there,” she said as they picked out the rocks.

“I’ll be at the car if you need me,” Kevin said as he walked back.

Felicia sighed and took out her camera from the case, looking for the headstones. Now, where was it…. Rosenthal, Steinberg, Wolfe, Levine…. She stopped as she saw two headstones; one for both her parents, and a separate one for her sister. She took a deep breath and walked up to them, reading the inscription on each before putting a rock above them. She stood back and took a picture of each, before going back to talk.

“Hi guys. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come any sooner. I just want you to know that I miss you all so much, and I always think about you. If you don’t already know, I was adopted. They aren’t Jewish, but they care about me, and I think that’s all that matters. Denise, my mom, is really cool and down to earth. And I have a brother; his name is Alex, but likes to be called AJ. I don’t call him that though. He will always be Alex to me. Aside from that, I have five great friends. Four of them are in a singing group with Alex. Kevin, he’s the oldest, he took me here today. And I have a friend named Lenni. She’s a dancer just like me,” she paused before going towards her sister’s stone more. “I still dance, and I actually have a really cool job. I am an assistant choreographer for my brother’s group. It’s really cool. I know you would be so jealous of me if you could,” she smiled softly before going back to her original spot. “I know you guys have watched me for eight years, and I hope I made you proud. I just miss you so much,” she said before she had to turn away, as if that would hide the crying from her family. She waved for Kevin to come over as she saw a green mini-van pull in behind them.

“Are you going to be okay?” Kevin asked, wrapping an arm around her.

Felicia nodded as she wiped away her tears. “Yeah, I think so. Thanks for coming with me. I don’t think I could of come alone.” She saw an elderly couple step out of the van. She thought she recognized them, but just shrugged it off. Even though, she did see them look at her funny too.

Kevin looked over at the headstones. “They are beautiful. Now, we should probably head back before everyone goes ‘did Kevin kidnap Felicia?’”

Felicia giggled softly. “No, they’ll say I kidnapped you,” she said as they walked back, going by the couple, who were still watching them.

“F-Felicia?” the woman asked, sounding like she was going to cry.

Felicia turned around. Now I know I know them, but from where. “huh?”

“Esther, lets leave her be. You always think you see her.”

Esther…. that was my bubbie’s name. “Bubbie? Zaydee?” she asked hopefully.

“Danken Got! You came back to us, you finally came back,” she said as she pulled Felicia away from Kevin and nearly suffocated her, but Felicia didn’t care as she returned the hug.

“I-I thought I would never see you again!” Felicia exclaimed as she cried in happiness. Her Zaydee joined the hug as well, as Kevin looked on with mixed emotions.

“Let me look at you,” Bubbie said as she pulled back to see her granddaughter. “Oh my, you have grown so much! The last time we saw you I was barely taller than you, and now you are a giant compared to me.” Felicia giggled at the comment. “How old are you now?”

“I’m 18,” Felicia said, wiping away her tears again.

“18!!! Has it already been eight years?” Bubbie stated and looked over at Kevin. She saw the cross around his neck and held onto Felicia. “Who is this goy?” she asked, giving him the evil eye.

“Bubbie!” Felicia exclaimed and went over to Kevin to pull him over. “This is my friend, Kevin Richardson. Kevin, if you couldn’t already tell,” she said, laughing slightly, “this is my Bubbie and Zaydee, Esther and Leonard Rudnick.”

“Its nice to meet you, sir, mam,” he said extending his hand to shake. Zaydee accepted it willingly, while Bubbie, being the Yiddish woman she was, shook it like it was poison. Felicia just rolled her eyes at that, chuckling at her Bubbie’s antics.

“So, what are you doing up here?” Zaydee asked Felicia and Kevin.

“Well, Kevin and my brother are in this singing group. They are performing at Cain Park tomorrow, so I decided to come up and visit mom, dad, and Erica,” Felicia said.

“Do you think you will be able to come home with us? Just to catch up?” Bubbie asked hopefully.

Felicia sighed and looked at her watch. “I don’t think so. I want to and all, but we didn’t exactly tell anyone where we were going. We should head back before anyone worries too much.” She suddenly got an idea and looked at them. “Do you think you could come to the concert tomorrow?” she asked.

“Well…..what type of music is it? I doubt it’s a Yiddish concert, correct?” Bubbie asked.

Felicia laughed. “No, not at all. But we would be backstage while they perform. It’s really insulated back there, you can barely hear anything.”

Bubbie was about to protest, but Zaydee spoke up first. “We would love to toots,” he said, calling Felicia his nickname for her. I missed that.

Felicia looked at Kevin. “Do you think we can put them on the list?”

“I don’t see why not,” he said, trying to remember if the backstage list was full. “Yeah, I think there is still room.”

Felicia smiled before giving hugs to Bubbie and Zaydee. “The show starts at 7:00 pm, but we will be there the whole day. You can come whenever you want.”

“I love you so much,” Bubbie whispered before letting go.

“I love you too. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Felicia said before she and Kevin headed back to the car. She got in and buckled up. “I can’t believe that happened.”

“I know, that is just, so crazy,” Kevin said as he pulled out of the cemetery.

“Man, I just realized something,” Felicia said, hitting her forehead.

“What’s that?”

“She’s gonna freak when she finds out mom and Alex aren’t Jewish!”

Kevin chuckled as they made their way back onto I-77.