When James walked into the kitchen with a little boy in his arms and a red head’s hand in his, David looked a question at him. “Ok, James Matthew, I have two questions. First, who are these two? Second, what is it with you and red heads?”
“Well, if you don’t mind me answering those questions in reverse; I don’t know, Dad. There’s just something about them. They’re just so feisty and they’ve got just enough spunk to keep up with me. To answer the first question, the beautiful girl on my left is my girlfriend, Kimberly and the little boy is our little boy, Hunter.”
“What do you mean, ‘our’ little boy, James?” Brie asked.
“He’s my little boy, but James has kinda stepped in and filled that Daddy role”, Kim said shyly.
David and Brie both smiled. “Say no more; we totally understand”, Brie said. “We’ve been in you two’s shoes before.”
“Ah, yes. Malachai”, David added.
“But, Malachai carries your last name. How is that?”
“I adopted him when he was five. His father never was in the picture; didn’t even sign the birth certificate. After my wife and I married, I started the adoption process. It didn’t take very long for it to go through, either.”
“Guess it helps to have a last name like Draiman, huh?”
David shrugged. “Sometimes.” He turned his attention to the little boy that James held. “So, little buddy, what’s your name?”
“Hunter”, he said as he chewed on his fingers.
“Don’t chew on your fingers, Hunter”, David said.
Hunter took his hand out of his mouth. “Can I ask somethin’?”
“Sure. What’s on your mind, little man?”
“Seeing as I call him ‘Daddy’, can I call you Grampa?”
David scratched his chin for a second. “I don’t know. What do I get out of it?”
“Another grandson?”
David looked at Brie. “What do you think, baby? Can he call us Gramma and Grampa?”
Brie scratched behind her ear for a moment. “Hmm… well, he’s cute enough to be our grandson.”
“But is her ornery enough to be our grandson?”
“What’s that mean?” Hunter asked.
“Are you mean enough to be our grandson?”
“I beat Uncle ‘Miah in a video game on the way from the airport.”
“What game?”
“It was some boxing game thingy. I beat him up bad and won by, like, a BILLION points.” James laughed silently at the eccentric little boy in his arms.
David and Brie exchanged a look. “Yep, he’s ornery enough”, they said in unison. “Yes, Hunter, you can call me Grampa. BUT, on two conditions.”
“What?”
“You call her Gramma”, he said as he pointed at Brie, “and you give us both a BIG hug right now.” Hunter held his arms out to his Grampa and David took him and hugged him tight. David then passed the little boy to his wife who did the same.
After Hunter’s feet were on the floor, James spoke. “Go out into the living room and see if Uncle Jake or Uncle ‘Miah will play more games with you, Hunter.”
“Otay, Daddy.” Hunter then ran out of the room. “Uncle Jake! Will you play games with me?”
James laughed. “He’s a trip, isn’t he, Dad?”
“Yeah; he’s a trip”, David said as he pulled out a chair at the Kitchen table. “So, how did you two meet?” he asked James and Kimberly.
“Well, we met in class. She’s a native of Chicago and a legacy at Loyola much like any child with the last name of Draiman. Gotta love having you, Malachai, Jordan and Jake ahead of us to set a precedence. Anyway, I was in World Lit. when I saw this beautiful red head walk into the class. We sat through lecture, did what was required in class and when the Professor dismissed us, I made it a point to talk to her. About a week later, I met Hunter and started falling for them both right then and there. Our first date was at Chuck E. Cheese and being the gentleman that you raised me to be- I paid.”
“How long has he been calling you Daddy?”
“About a month or two now, maybe?” He looked at Kim. “Isn’t that about it?”
“Yeah, I think so, babe.”
David nodded. “You know, James. I’m very proud of you.”
“Why is that, Dad?” James asked.
“It takes a very special person indeed to treat a child that’s not theirs as though they’re their own. I’m extremely proud of you, son.”
“Me too, James”, Brie called from the island where she was cooking. Jona was helping out with the cutting of vegetables and herbs for dinner. “You’re doing something wonderful for that little boy that he will always be thankful for and he’ll never forget it.”
James smiled. “Thanks, Mom and Dad. You guys are the greatest.”
---------------
Maddie came into the house complaining loud enough for everyone to hear no matter where they were on the property. “I hate this SHIT!” she shouted. “I’m a fucking BLIMP!”
“Maddie, love, you’re not that bad”, Colton said to reassure her.
“You’re supposed to think that. You’re my husband. Bet you my brothers all think I’m huge.” She looked at Jake. “Hey, Jake, how do I look?”
Jake looked at her over the shoulder that had Delilah’s head resting on it from where they sat on the couch. “You want honesty or do you want me to lie?”
“Be brutally honest, Jake.”
“You look about like a pregnant five ton hippo right about now, little sister”, Jake said with a chuckle.
Delilah smacked him on the thigh. “That was mean, Jacob Micah Draiman.”
“She asked for brutal honesty, love. That’s what I gave her.”
Maddie ignored them. “Jay, how do I look? Be honest.”
“Oh, no, Maddie. You’re not getting me smacked upside the back of the head. Not a chance in hell”, James said. “Kimmy will pop me one in the back of the head if I say what I want to.”
“Damn straight I will”, the red head with her head in James’ lap said matter of factly.
“How about you, ‘Miah?” Maddie asked.
“Do you want me to get in trouble too?” Jeremiah asked his sister. “I don’t get the violent smack like Jay and Jake do. I get the kind talking to. ‘You’re not yourself, ‘Miah. What’s the matter?’”
“Oh, yeah. Jona. She’s good for you, little brother.”
“Well, leave me out of your hunt for validation that you’re the size of the Goodyear blimp. I have NO OPINION.”
---------------
“So, when do you plan on leaving for Israel, Mom and Dad?” Meagan asked at dinner.
“First thing in the morning”, David answered. “By the time all of you crawl out of bed in the morning, you’re mother and I will be landing in O’Hare to change planes to fly out of the country.”
“That’s so cool. I wish we could all go with you”, Marc said.
“Umm… NO”, Brie said. “I need a vacation. I have been nothing but a mother for the last 33 years. I need a break and this trip to Israel to is my break from being MOM.” She spun her fork in the pasta on her plate and took a bite.
“Well, geez, Mom”, Jordan laughed, “don’t make it so obvious that you’re sick of us.”
“I’m not sick of you kids, Jordan. I just need a vacation. I’ve been doing massage for the last 37 years. I need a break.”
“You definitely deserve it, Mom”, Delilah said. “And don’t worry, Maddie and I will take care of everything with your former clients.”
Brie laughed. “I’m not worried about you two taking care of everything. I’m worried about Maddie being able to perform the massages.”
“If she can’t, then I will, Mom. Massage was added to the program I went through, remember.”
“Good. I’m glad you two will have everything under control.”
---------------
“What a surprising day”, Brie said when she climbed into bed next to David that night.
“Oh, yeah. You can say that again”, he sighed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I can’t believe how big our family’s gotten.”
“I know. Six of our ten children have a significant other. Four of them have children and one of those kids isn’t biologically our son’s child.”
“James is doing the right thing by stepping into that little boy like he’s his own.”
“Yeah, he is. He’s a great Daddy.”
“Watching him cut up Hunter’s meat at dinner brought back memories”, he chuckled.
“Oh, I remember. The night we got Malachai back here after we picked him up from my parents’ house. I made dinner as usual and you stepped into the Daddy role, just like I thought you would, and cut his steak in the small pieces so that he could eat it. I thought it was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.”
“I was just doing what any good man would for his son.”
“Like father, like son. That goes for ALL of our boys.”
“Speaking of our boys, what do you think about this whole thing about Jona’s parents wanting to meet us?”
“I’m ok with it. I think it’s a good idea.”
He nodded. “I think so too. Jona’s a great girl; a little insecure, but she’s great. Just as talented with herbs and oils as Maddie and you respectively.”
“I keep telling her if she wants to pick my brain, I’m more than happy to talk with her.”
“She’ll come around.”
“I honestly wonder if those two are intimate.”
“I doubt it. She skittish, but like I said, she’ll come around. She may just want to wait until he puts a wedding ring on her finger.”
“True”, she nodded and yawned.
“We should really get some sleep, baby. We have a pretty early flight in the morning.”
“Yeah”, she said and arched into a stretch. “Let’s get some shut eye.” She stretched from and pressed her lips to his. “Good night, David. I love you.”
“Good night, Brie. I love you too.”
They both sighed softly and got settled into the bed. It wasn’t long before they were both snoring.
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