They stood at the terminal hand in hand as they waited for Skyler and Kaylian Mason to get off of the plane. When Jona spotted her parent’s she started waving her arms and called out to them. “Mama, Daddy, over here!”
When the spotted her they went directly to her and the young man standing with her whom they assumed was Jeremiah Draiman. Skyler Mason was a fairly tall man with red wavy hair that stopped just short of his shoulders and ice blue eyes. His shoulders were broad, his chest thick, and his hips were narrow, but not nearly as narrow as ‘Miah’s were. ‘Miah had his Uncle Matt’s thin willowy build. His twin brother James was similarly built, but a little thicker in the chest.
Kaylian Mason was a petite woman with dark hair that reminded ‘Miah of his mother, aside from that fact the Kaylian’s hair was straight and his mother’s was curly. Her shoulders were very laid back and her body was very proportionate. Jona seemed to be the best of both of her parents.
Jona threw her arms around her parent’s necks and hugged them tightly. “Mama, Daddy!” she said. Her joy was evident. “It’s so good to see you again! It’s been forever!”
Jeremiah saw her parents both smile and return her hug. “We’re glad to see you again too, baby girl”, Kaylian said.
She released them from her embrace and turned to ‘Miah. “Mama, Daddy, this is Jeremiah Draiman- my boyfriend.”
‘Miah smiled politely and extended his hand to her father. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both”, he said.
Skyler took his hand and shook. “It’s nice to finally meet you as well.”
After her husband released the boy’s hand, Kaylian pulled him into a hug. “Finally, I get to meet the young man that seems to have captured my daughter’s heart”, she said. She pulled back and gave him a good once over. “You’re not really how I pictured you, ‘Miah.”
‘Miah’s eyebrows shot up. “OH? How did you picture me, Mrs. Mason?”
“I pictured you looking more like you father, to be truthful.”
“I look like Dad in the face, but my build is more my mother’s brother’s.”
“Well, either way, you’re a very handsome young man. I can see what attracted Jona to you in the first place.”
“You beautiful daughter here made me chase her because she thought I was my man whore twin brother.”
“You have a twin?”
“I’m actually a quadruplet. I have an identical twin brother named James, and a set of identical twin sisters who were in a separate sac. Their names are Meagan and Makayla.”
“Wow”, Skyler said. “I bet your parents had fun with the four of you.” He had a sly grin on his face. Jeremiah was picking up that Skyler Mason was a bit of a smart ass. He could see where Jona got it from.
“Oh, not near as much fun they did raising TEN kids. Eight just WASN’T enough for some reason.”
“Sounds like a woman’s thing.”
“Would you believe that it was actually my father’s idea to have ten kids?”
“I’d be hard pressed.”
“Then, I’ll let him tell you himself.” She looked over his shoulder toward the exit. “Shall we?”
---------------
“So, Jeremiah, tell us more about yourself”, Kaylian said as Jeremiah drove down the highway toward his parents’ home.
Oh, great, he thought as she asked him to talk about himself. I should have known this was going to happen. “What would you like to know, Mrs. Mason?”
“What took you out to Chicago to begin with?”
“School. I’m a proud graduate of the Loyola University School of Philosophy, in which I hold a Bachelors’ degree as well as an Associates’ in Theology.”
“Didn’t your father attend Loyola when he was around your age?”
“Yes he did. Both of my older brothers and one of my older sisters are also graduates of Loyola. My brother Malachai has a degree in Business Admin. My brother Jacob graduated from Loyola Pre- med and went on to Johns- Hopkins University and graduated as a Neurologist. And my sister Jordan holds a Master’s in English.”
“Why Philosophy and Theology?”
“Well, I was going to go Pre- Law and try to get into Harvard for Law, but I decided that I just couldn’t look myself in the face every morning if I became a criminal defense attorney. That’s more my brother James. So, I decided that I would rather posses the ability to sit in a room alone and argue with myself and never win”, he said with a chuckle.
“Interesting. Ok, so, you called your twin brother a man whore at the airport. Why is that?”
“James enjoys the things that our last name brings him. Personally, I damn near asked if I could enroll under my mother’s last name because I didn’t want my professors to think that I was looking for favors because David Draiman’s my father, and Malachai, Jacob, and Jordan Draiman are my siblings.”
“So, James’ like to sleep around?”
“Not anymore. He’s settled down recently. He’s found a good girl and he’s the only Dad her three year old son knows.”
“What do your parents think?”
“They’re actually very proud of him.”
“Tell us about your mother.”
He chuckled. “She’s a amazing woman. She’s just recently retired from doing massage for about forty years so that when Dad travels she can go with him. She loves to cook, loves to do things an organic, natural way. That’s how she raised all of us. Before we look to modern medicine, we look to holistic, natural medicine, even though one of us is a doctor. My mother is 62 and doesn’t look a day over 35 other than the fact that she’s going silver.”
“She sounds like a lovely woman. So, is that hype about your father true?”
“He’s a regular guy at home. There’s no hype to Dad when he’s at home.”
“Will he be wearing…?”
‘Miah knew what she was talking about. “That’s doubtful. He doesn’t really wear them when he’s at home. He and Mom have a deal that while he’s at home, he can put them in long enough to keep the holes open, but that’s about it.”
“What are some of your hobbies?”
“I like to go four wheeling every now and then. I’m a drummer. I do some writing, mostly poetry and short stories.”
The questions kept coming as he drove, and he fought not to ask why all the questions. He just answered them, no matter how uncomfortable the asking of them made him. He thought to himself as he drove, This is going to be a LONG hour.
---------------
Jeremiah Draiman couldn’t have been more happy to walk in the door of his parents’ house. “MOM! DAD! We’re BACK!”
David came downstairs with a bunch of stuff for his grandchildren in a bag. “Hey you two”, he said.
“Dad, save me”, Jeremiah mouthed to his father.
David set the toys on the coffee table and went to the door. “You two must be Skyler and Kaylian Mason. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both. I’m Jeremiah’s father, David Draiman.” He extended his hand to Skyler.
Skyler took his hand and shook. “It’s nice to finally meet you as well, Mr. Draiman.”
“Please, call me David.”
“Then call me Skyler.”
“No problem. Just let me go see what my wife is up to in the kitchen and I’ll be right back.” David walked off and went to the kitchen door, walking in carefully. “Baby, it’s just me. Jeremiah and Jona are back with her parents. Can you take enough of a break to come greet them?”
“I’ll be right there”, she said. “Just let me wash my hands real fast.” Water ran for a few moments and a small woman with curly brown hair that was going grey came out of the kitchen with a bright smile. “Hi, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you both. I’m Brie Draiman, Jeremiah’s mother. Welcome to our home.” They each shook her hand and introduced themselves. “It’s nice to meet you both. I hate to leave you alone with my husband, but I’m trying to get dinner finished up.”
“Jeremiah said that you like to cook”, Kaylian said.
“Absolutely. For me, cooking is cathartic just like making music is for David. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to step out back to get the meat off of the smoker.” She turned and left the room.
“How long has she been cooking?” Skyler asked.
“All day. She actually threw flour at Jeremiah earlier for going into the kitchen uninvited.”
Kaylian looked at Jeremiah. “Did she really?”
“Yeah, I should know better shit than to walk into my mother’s kitchen when she’s warned everyone that’s NOT a woman that if they walk into the kitchen they’re going to get something thrown at them”, Jeremiah answered as he blushed.
“She almost pegged Dad with an egg when he came in before you and Jona left”, Jordan came out and said with a smile.
“Mr. and Mrs. Mason, this is my older sister Jordan.”
She smiled and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. I hope my little brother hasn’t told you too many lies about me.”
“Do you have a Master’s degree in English from Loyola?” Skyler asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“Then, so far, he hasn’t lied about you once.”
---------------
Skyler and Kaylian took a seat in the living room and watched the Draiman grandchildren play. Skyler was trying not to show that he was excited to be sitting in the same house as the Voice of the Resistance; a man that he’d admired since he was a young man. David Draiman was an inspiration to him. He just couldn’t keep still. His wife thought it was cute. The young Draiman grandkids thought it was curious, so the four of them walked up to him and Miri, being the ring leader, tapped him on the knee. “’Scuse me, Mister”, she said sweetly. “Why are you bouncing up and down?”
Skyler looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi truck. Kaylian smiled sweetly at the children and answered for her husband. “He’s just really excited, that’s all.”
Jeremiah came into the room and saw his niece and nephews surrounding the man he was going to ask for Jona’s hand. “Miri, Hunter, Ira, and Levi; you guys leave him alone and don’t pick on him.”
“But, why?” Ira asked. “He’s sitting here bouncing like a rubber ball, Uncle ‘Miah.”
‘Miah squatted down and got on the kids’ level. “You know how you have a Mommy and Daddy, right?”
“Yeah”, all the kids but Levi said.
“I don’t have a Mommy and Daddy. I have two Mommies.”
“That’s because you’re super lucky, Levi. But, the rest of us only have a Mommy and a Daddy. Well, that’s Aunt Jona’s Daddy. You can’t pick on him because he controls whether or not I can make Aunt Jona the mommy of MY kids.”
“Jeremiah, leave those kids alone”, Kaylian said. “They’re ok. They don’t mean any harm.”
She had the same gentle chiding in her voice that his mother got. He couldn’t help himself, it was a reflex reaction. “Yes, ma’am” he said and had a seat in one of the big armchairs to make sure that his nieces and nephews didn’t pester the Masons too much. He watched Kaylian play and laugh with the kids, but got on to them if they did something she was sure their parents’ wouldn’t approve of. He couldn’t help but smile. I wonder if she’s going to be like that when Jona and I have kids, he thought. Yeah, she’s going to be like this with her grandchildren. I can see it already.
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