Jeremiah gasped when he came out of the dream. Sweat had beaded on his torso and face. He cursed silently as he tried to climb out of bed. “Oh no you don’t”, Jona said softly. “You had me scared there for a minute. I tried to wake you and you didn’t respond. What happened?”
Jeremiah sighed as he lay back against the pillows again. “I had one of my fucked up dreams”, he said with an unhappy laugh.
“One of the prophetic ones that certain members of your family are known for having?”
“Yeah, one of those.”
“What did you see, baby?”
He laughed again unhappily. “For one, I saw that if I want to wait until you and I are both wearing wedding bands to have kids, we need to get married soon. Apparently the powers that be have seen fit for me to get a sneak peek of our first child together.”
“Oh? What will we have?”
“A boy.”
“If we have a boy, I want to name him Matthew.”
Jeremiah cracked half a smile. “I had an uncle named Matthew.”
“Really? What was he like?”
“He was a good guy. He was a Marine for the longest time. He trained Malachai and a lot of my older cousins in firearms. He was just really great guy. He was a bit of a hard ass, but being a Marine will do that to people.”
“He’s not still living, is he?”
“No. He died over a decade ago. He had a bad case of lung cancer. He and his wife, Jennifer, lived with us the last couple of months of his life. He was so bad at the end that he was coughing up blood and black gunk from his lungs.”
“That’s really sad. I’m so sorry, ‘Miah.”
“I’m not, to be honest. Yeah, when died it was painful. He was my Uncle Matt. He had survived all kinds of crazy things in his life. He survived being imprisoned by the Utopians and being tried as a traitor and spy. But, he’s not suffering with that pain any longer.”
“Your Uncle Matt is THAT Matt? Matthew Cartwright? The sniper that supposedly assassinated the Utopian President according to the history books?”
“Yeah, and it’s not supposed that he killed President Harold Gentry. He did kill that slime ball. And, my twin… is named after him. Mom and Dad just took and flipped the name around to keep the J’s and M’s balanced.”
“That’s pretty cool. Well, I like the name Matthew because I’ve never met a Matt that I didn’t like.”
“And you would have LOVED my Uncle. He seems to like you.”
“Did you see him?”
“Yeah. That’s why I smiled when you said you wanted to name our first son Matthew. He actually brought that up in the dream.”
“Well, Matthew it is, then. Now, he needs a middle name. What was your Uncle Matt’s middle name?”
“James.”
“Oh, that’s right. You said that your brother James was named after your uncle. Well, we’re not going with James. How about something a little more Irish; like Ryan.”
“Matthew Ryan?” he mused as he scratched his head. “You know, I like it. But, we really should focus on the wedding first.”
“How do you know I’m not already pregnant?”
“Trust me; I’d know if you were.”
-----------------
Brie could finally breathe once she got the things the Kennedy Center would need for the ceremony honoring David off to them. She’d called for a courier not long after Jake and Marc had finished the video. She couldn’t wait to see David’s reaction to what Jake had to say and the magic that Marc had worked with the audio/ visual things that were in the video. There were pictures of David alone, with his parents, with the band, with his brother, with his wife and children; and video of early performances through the more recent concerts that Disturbed had done. Sound bytes from different shows were played as strategically placed interruptions in the dialogue. They were always snippets from different speeches that he’d given over the years or catchy little quotes that he’d given during shows or interviews. “I can’t wait for your father to see what you did, Marc. He’s going to love it”, she said to her youngest son as she readied breakfast for the morning before getting started on Thanksgiving dinner.
“I know he will, Mom. Jake and I had a goal to actually move him to tears with it. I think we may have succeeded.” He looked around the Kitchen. “Speaking of the Old Man, where is he?”
“He ran into town for me. I needed something for the stuffing so he offered to run into town for me real fast to get it. Why is it that you and your brother insist in calling him old?”
“I only do it because it pisses him off. If he wouldn’t respond, I’d probably stop doing it.”
“I’ll be sure to explain that to him.”
“All we’re trying to do is keep him grounded with all these achievements that he keeps winning. I mean, think about it, Mom. Dad was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from Loyola about a year ago. He’s getting this Kennedy Center thing. The band as a WHOLE was just inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and awarded a life- time achievement award from the Academy of the Performing Arts- the same people that pass out the Grammys. He’s bound to get a big head from all of this.”
“Apparently, you don’t know your father very well. He could honestly care less about the awards and things like that he and the other guys keep getting. None of them did any of the things they’ve done for the glory. Much like Jordan and Malachai don’t champion the causes that they do for the glory; or Jake doing the research he did a few years ago. He knew he was swimming in Nobel Prize territory if he succeeded, but he went ahead anyway because of the men and women that he worked with and saw suffering.”
“I know that, Mom, but Dad’s getting all this recognition for things he did a LIFETIME ago. Don’t you think that might go to his head?”
“No. For one, I won’t let it. I’d have to kick his ass if it did.”
“You and Dad fight?”
“Playfully, but yeah. We’ll spar in the gym every now and then. It’s just something to do. He teaches me things and I’ll teach him things.”
Marc smiled. “That’s pretty cool. Is that why you two put us in all those classes when we were younger?”
“Yeah, just in case you need it. It’s also why you boys are all trained in firearms and the girls were given the option.”
“Why were the girls not made to learn how to shoot?”
Brie shrugged. “I honestly don’t remember why we decided that way; pretty sure your father doesn’t remember either.”
---------------
Dinner was finally ready after a full week of preparation. Kaylian helped where Brie would let her, citing that she was company and should lift a finger to help with the meal. Kaylian threw back at her that Jeremiah being engaged to Jona made them family; not company. Brie stopped bitching from that point on.
When Jordan and her family arrived at the house for dinner, she sat down next to her father. “Daddy, when are you going to clear your schedule so that you can record with me?”
“It’s not my fault that things keep popping up, Jordan. I’m trying to make room”, he said with a sigh.
“But, Daddy, aren’t you and the rest of the band looking to retire soon?”
“I haven’t spoken with your uncles about that just yet. Things have been far too hectic.” He sighed again. “Here’s a thought, Jordan baby. When are you guys going back into the studio?”
“The beginning of the year.”
“What date?”
“January 24, I think.”
“I’ll make sure that I’m available around that time so that I can record with you. What did you have in mind?”
“I want to do two songs. ‘Darkness’ and ‘The Animal’.”
“Why do I have a feeling that there’s a catch to this, Jordan?”
“Would I do that to you, Daddy?”
“Yes. Yes, you would.”
She smiled. “All I want you to do other than sing with me is shoot a video for ‘The Animal’.”
“Do what?” David’s jaw fell just a touch.
“You heard me, Dad. I want you to do a music video for ‘The Animal’ with me.”
He hung his head and laughed. “Oh, Jordan”, he said as he tried to breathe from laughing so hard. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re really a very funny girl?”
“I’m serious, Daddy.”
He sighed. “I know you are, Jordan. You’re so damn adamant that it’s just a little funny. But, I’ll do it. You had better have a really good concept in mind for this so that I don’t regret it.”
“You won’t regret it, Daddy. I promise.”
---------------
After dinner that night, David and Brie started packing for their trip out to Washington for the Kennedy Center ceremony. David couldn’t help but chuckle as he packed. “What are you laughing about, baby?” Brie asked him.
“I was just thinking; I haven’t seen all ten of our children look so nice at the same time since Matt’s funeral”, he commented. “I mean, they all looked like they were ready to go to church for a funeral or wedding tonight at dinner. I can’t help but wonder if there’s a hint there.”
“I know Jeremiah seems to be in a bit of a hurry to plan the wedding. He told me that he dreamed of the first child he and Jona are going to have and he doesn’t want kids until there’s a wedding band on that left hand.”
“So, it was a hint that they’re ready for another wedding. Got it. Now that THAT mystery is solved”, he laughed as he picked a suit from the closet to wear for the ceremony.
“You’re so fucking sarcastic, David.” She laid a pair of open toe heels next to her suitcase then looked for the gown that went with them.
His arms wound around her waist and he pulled her against him. “Oh, you know you love me.” He started kissing her neck.
She smiled. “Yes, I love you. What does that have to do with anything?” she asked as she tried to keep her breathing even.
He spun her around to face him. “Playing hard to get?” he growled in her ear.
She took a deep breath as she swallowed her pulse and nodded. “And failing miserably, might I add.”
He pressed his lips to her throat just over her pulse as his hands slid up her back to unclasp her bra. He kissed up her throat to her ear and her breath caught in her throat. When his lips found hers he had pulled her blouse off of her body with her bra as he hands started to nimbly undo the buttons on his shirt.
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