Her hands glided over the person on her table’s skin for the last time. The next time this happens to this woman it will be Maddie and NOT me. I’ll be in Israel, she thought. She placed her right hand on the woman’s sacrum and her left at the base of her skull and took a few deep breaths in and out through her nose. “Alright, Ms. Davenport, have are you feeling?” she asked quietly.
“I feel amazing”, the woman said.
“That’s good. Ok, I’m going to go downstairs now and wash my hands and start filling out my notes. I want you to get off of the table slowly for me, ok?”
“Ok. I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll see you downstairs.” She went quietly for the door and slipped her slip on shoes over her feet before stepping out of the room with the client’s file in hand. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she was met by a bald man with a smile on his face. “Well, hello there, handsome. You never meet me at the bottom of the stairs after a massage. What’s changed?” she asked him.
“The fact that after this one, the only person on the planet you’re going to be massaging is ME. That’s what.”
She smiled and shook her head. “You’re such a goober, David. What in the world would I do without you?”
He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, beautiful. Your life certainly wouldn’t be as exciting”, he said with a wink.
She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I know that’s right”, she said. “Now, can we kindly move this to the kitchen so that I can wash my hands and arms, please?”
He stepped out of the way and let her lead the way to the kitchen. She washed her oil covered hands and arms over the kitchen sink and dried them off with a towel that was ONLY used by herself, Maddie, and Delilah after finishing a session. “So, how does it feel to have just done your final professional massage, baby?” her husband asked as he wound his arms around her waist from behind.
“Not sure yet, baby. Ask me after I’ve filled out my SOAP notes and I’ll let you know then.” She turned half way in his arms to kiss his lips, then pulled away to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. She jogged out of the kitchen and all he heard was, “How are you doing, Ms. Davenport?”
“I’m doing great. I’m just sad that you’re not doing this anymore.”
“I know, but I decided to do this over ten years ago. The decision only became more solid after I had back surgery a couple years ago.”
“Well, I can’t say I blame you for doing it this way then. I really can’t.” There was silence, then he heard. “Here you go. Fee and tip. You did amazing work. I just hope your daughter is as good as you are.”
“Madison? Oh, she’s as good in some ways, better in others. She knows what she’s doing. If I’ll let her work on me and tip big, then she’s good.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Brie. Have a nice retirement.”
“I will. I’m flying out to Israel with my husband in a couple of days.”
“That should be fun.”
“Oh, I’m sure it will be. He’s been there a million times. This will be my first trip.”
“Well, have fun. I hear it’s a beautiful country; so steeped in history and culture.”
“That’s what my husband tells me.” The door opened. “You have Maddie’s number so that you can schedule with her, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Alright. I’ll see you around.” The door shut and she came back into the kitchen. “OH MY GOD. That woman NEVER shuts UP!” she said as she sank into one of the many seats at the table to fill out her notes.
“Is it that bad?” David asked and rubbed her shoulders.
“David, that woman has been a client of mine for five years and has never shut up since the day I first started seeing her. Every time she’d get on my table, I’d damn near kill her because she just wouldn’t stop talking.” She started filling out the last space for notes on the file quickly. As long as she’d been doing this, she was an old pro at it. She knew all of the tricks and short hands for medical jargon and used them to finish her notes in a matter of a couple of minutes. When she was finished, she closed the folder and set her pen on top of it with a sigh. “WOW”, she said. “I’m finished. I’m officially retired. I finalize the sell with Maddie and Delilah when we get back from Israel, and you’re the only client I have left.”
“How does it feel?” he asked as he set a glass of iced tea in front of her.
She took a sip of the tea and nodded. “It feels great. I’m ready to get the hell out of here and spend a month in the Holy Land.”
He smiled at her and took her hands in his, criss crossing them over her chest. “You and me both, love. You and me both.”
---------------
As they made dinner for the night, Jessykah- the baby of the Draiman family- came into the Kitchen. “Hey Mom, how does it feel to be officially retired?” she asked.
Brie laughed. “It feels pretty damn good to be honest. No more having to deal with stupid people that don’t want to follow my instructions in between sessions.”
“I follow instructions”, David said, feigning insult.
She laughed again. “Yeah, because I make you.” She stretched up and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Anyway, I was generalizing.”
“Mom, Dad, really? Do you two have to do this now?” Jessi teased.
“Don’t wanna watch? You know where the door is, Jessykah Danyelle”, Brie said to her youngest child.
Jessi laughed. “You two are weird”, she said as she walked away. “Oh, don’t forget that Jordan wants everyone to watch her TV segment tonight. She’s even going to be here to watch it. Gotta love pre- recording.”
“What was that for again?” David asked.
Jessi paused at the door. “Some achievement or something she got. I don’t really know.”
David chuckled. “Figures. Oh, Jessykah, where are your niece and nephew?”
“Which ones, Dad?”
“The two that live here?”
“Oh, they’re watching ‘Little Einsteins’ if they’re not taking their nap that is. Now, can I ask a question?”
“Yeah, what’s that?” Brie asked.
“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon. Why are you already working on dinner?”
“Because the quads are coming home from Chicago tonight and James and Jeremiah are bringing guests.”
“Is Jeremiah bringing Jona?” Jessi’s eyes lit up. She adored her older brother’s girlfriend. Jona Mason was a smartass with a quick wit and that’s what got her Jessi’s respect.
“Yes”, David said. “And James is bringing two people home. He wouldn’t give names. He said he wanted them to be a surprise.”
Jessi laughed. “Ooh, mystery guests. Do we know if they’re male or female? Ages?”
“No and no.”
“Oh, this is going to be a fun family dinner tonight. So many people at the table it’s not funny, barely any room for elbows. I’m NOT looking forward to that.”
“Why do you think I commission that big banquet table we eat at during the holidays, Jessykah? When you have ten kids, that means potentially ten significant others, plus their kids, plus extended family equals the need for a really big table.” There were times that David had to break things down for his youngest child. She was smart as a whip, but there were times when she acted as blonde as the fake highlights she wore in her hair.
“Oh. Oops, I forgot about the Hanukkah table.”
David and Brie both laughed. “Just go back into the living room and keep an eye on Miri and Ira until Jake gets back from picking up the quads and any guests from the airport”, Brie said as she shook her head and went back to making dinner. Once Jessi was out of the room, Brie looked at David. “She’s so smart, but so clueless sometimes.”
“Sounds like somebody else I know”, he teased.
She smacked his arm playfully. “Asshole.”
---------------
Before introducing his visitors to his parents, James got them settled into his room. He was borrowing a toddler bed from his older brother Malachai and his wife Amanda. The little boy that would be sleeping in the toddler bed was someone pretty special to James Draiman. The boy’s name was Hunter; his mother’s name was Kimberly. He’d asked his brother Jacob to keep their parent distracted while he got the bed into the house.
“James, I’m nervous”, the redheaded, blue eyed beauty said. “What if you’re parents don’t like me? What if they think I’m a hussy because of Hunter?”
“They won’t think that. You know how I am with Hunter, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You know I love that little boy like he’s my own.”
“Yeah.”
“My Dad did the exact same thing with Malachai that I’m doing with Hunter.”
“Really?”
“Yep. My Dad adopted Malachai when he was five. My Mom was in the same boat you are when she and Dad met.”
“Wow, so your Mom knows what I’m going through with Hunter?”
“Yeah. I’m sure she’ll sit and talk to you about her experience if you’ll just ask her.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She gave him a soft kiss. “Now, let’s get this introduction over with.”
James chuckled. “Let’s go.” He picked up the sleeping three year old that lay on his bed and woke him up. “Hunter. Hey buddy. Gotta wake up now.”
“But, Daddy, I don’t want to!” the little boy complained sleepily.
“You wanna meet Gramma and Grampa, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You wanna meet Aunties, Uncles, and cousins?”
“Yeah.”
“You can’t do that if you’re asleep, buddy.”
“Aww, but DADDY!”
“Hunter, what have I said about that whining?” The little boy pouted as he rubbed his eyes, but he stopped whining. “That’s better. Gramma and Grampa are excited to meet you, so why don’t we put on a smile, Hunter Shane?” Hunter smiled big and bright. “That’s good. Now, are you ready to go meet Gramma and Grampa?”
“Yeah!” he shouted.
“Then let’s go!” James reached out to Kim with his free hand and took his girlfriend and adopted son downstairs to meet his family.
---------------
“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Draiman”, the sweet soprano of Jona Mason said when she and Jeremiah walked into the Kitchen when they arrived.
“Hey, Jona, honey”, Brie said with a smile. “How was your trip?”
“Pretty boring.”
“She slept the entire flight”, Jeremiah said teasingly. He made it obvious that he was teasing her.
“If the in flight movie had been any good, I might have stayed awake.”
“I know, baby. I even had trouble staying awake for that stupid crap. I swear; romantic comedies have gotten worse as time has gone on.”
“What makes you say that?” Brie asked with a laugh.
“The script blew, the acting blew harder; the actors blew hardest. It just plain blew, Mom.”
Brie set her knife down on the cutting board and covered her face on her with a hand as she laughed. “Well, why don’t you just be blunt about it, Alexander?”
“You two didn’t raise me to hold my tongue. If I think it, I say it. Just like you and Dad, Mom.”
“It’s one of the MANY things I love about him”, Jona said, “though there are times I think he’s too good for me.”
“Jona, there’s nothing on this planet that’s too good for you; least of all me”, Jeremiah said as he brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. He leaned into her and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Jona.”
She smiled. “I love you too, ‘Miah.” She looked at Brie. “Is there anything I can do to help you with dinner?”
“Actually, yes. Could you do me a HUGE favor and clean the potatoes in the sink for me. My husband’s just standing here and talking my ear off about all the places he wants to take me while we’re in Israel.”
“Oh, speaking of your vacation”, Jona said, “I talked to my parent the other day and they want to meet you both, and ‘Miah while they’re at it. My Mom adores ‘Miah and my Dad likes that he’s so respectful. My Dad just wants to see what kind of a family he comes from and that kind of thing.”
“I have a quick question”, David said. “Have you two told them who his parents are?”
“Yes, Dad, and they believe us.”
David nodded. “Alright. Next time you talk to your parents, Jona, tell them that we’ll be home from our vacation in about a month and we’ll be more than happy to meet them then.”
She nodded as she shook the colander full of potatoes out for them to strain off the excess water. “No problem. I’ll let them know. When do you two leave?”
“First thing in the morning. Malachai’s driving us to the airport.”
“Well, have fun, you two. I’m sure none of us can wait until you get back.”
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