Not long after recording with Reckless Disregard, David and the guys went back into the studio to record their final album. Brie opted to stay home from this particular trip because she knew how David was when he was trying to write. He needed to just take himself out of the ‘real world’ and put himself in a place that at times could be a very dark place. She knew it was no place for her. She’d be there to pull him out of that sink hole when he returned home, like she always was.
It didn’t take very long to finish the final Disturbed record. But, there was a problem. Schedules for each of the members of the band just wouldn’t allow for a full scale tour. “This is a problem”, David said over the phone as he and the guys discussed their options. “I can’t do anything this spring because there’s so much going on in my family. Brie and I are going out of the country at the beginning of March. Jeremiah and Jona are getting married in May. The only time I could really do anything would be after the spring.”
“And Jonathan’s wife is due in June. I think she’s actually due on Brie’s birthday”, John said. “So, summer is out for me because I want to be here for the birth of my new grandchild. Fall would be better for me.”
“And neither of those is good for me for reasons I’m not exactly willing to share”, Mike said. “I could tour in the winter.”
“Guess we’re not going to do a final tour then, because there’s just too much going in for me in the winter”, Dan added. “We’re all just too busy throughout the year.”
“I hate to disappoint our fans though”, John said.
“I concur”, David said. “Disappointing the fans would be the worst travesty of them all.”
“Why don’t we do ONE final show and broadcast it live all over the world?” Mike suggested.
“Mikey, has anyone ever told you that you’re a genius?” David laughed.
“I’ve heard it upon occasion during my time on this planet”, her laughed in return.
“Where should we have it?” John asked.
“That’s a no brainer”, Dan said. “Our fucking hometown, Chicago.”
“Not what I meant. Where in Chicago? Having Disturbed’s FINAL show ever in Chicago is just common sense.”
They thought about it for a few minutes. “How about Wrigley Park?” Mike asked.
“HELL NO!” David said. “That’s Cubs territory.”
“Fuck, that’s right. I can’t think of anywhere else that would be good though.”
“Millennium Park”, Dan suggested.
“Are you sure it’s big enough?” John asked.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s big enough. Hell, I’m sure that when it’s been announced that we’re going to put on our LAST show there, the city will completely shut down for the show.”
“Gotta love Chicago”, David said with a laugh.
“So, when you would be a good time to have this damn thing?” Mike asked.
“Well, I going to go out on a limb and say that this year is out”, Dan said with a laugh.
“No, really, Danny?” David joked.
“Just thought I’d throw that out there, brother. You know me.”
“How about next spring?” John suggested as he laughed.
“Sounds good to me”, Dan said.
“I’m game”, Mike said.
“David?” John asked after they’d waited several minutes for a response.
“Sorry, I was checking my calendar for next spring. So far, so good. But, I have a feeling that my birthday needs to be clear. Something big is going to happen that day.”
“I was thinking that it should be in April anyway”, John said.
“Then, next spring sounds good to me.”
---------------
After the conference call ended, David went down to the kitchen to find his wife sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop. “What are you up to, beautiful?” he asked.
“Finalizing everything for our trip to Israel at the beginning of March”, she said. “I love those sites where everything is one stop shopping. Airline and hotel for one flat rate. Saves us money in the long run.”
“Like we don’t have money to throw around”, he chuckled.
“It’s nice to have that nest egg in case we need it, honey. You have to admit.”
“We have a HUGE nest egg, Brie. If none of our children had gotten scholarships, I would have been able to pay for their educations, their weddings, for us to renew our vows again, move out of the country three times over and STILL not be broke afterward.” He laid a hand on her shoulder as he spoke.
She laughed as she took his hand over her shoulder. “Very true, David. You’ll have to forgive me. I still fret over everything. You know how much of a perfectionist I am.”
“Yes, my love, I know. Speaking of your anal retentive attention to detail, how is the planning of Jeremiah and Jona’s wedding coming?”
“She wants flowers that are temperamental and don’t thrive very well in our climate out here.”
“Wow. That’s messed up. What flowers?”
“Lisianthus. Bluebonnets are in this same family and those ONLY grow in Texas.”
“Lovely. What else is there to do?”
“I have to start getting everyone in the wedding party fitted for dresses and suits. ‘Miah has requested no ties.”
“Leave it to Jeremiah not to want ties.”
“David, Jeremiah not wanting ties I have no problem with. Remember Jake and Delilah’s wedding?”
“You mean the two of them tying the knot dressed like you and me? Yeah, I remember.”
“Thankfully, Jeremiah and Jona are a little more lenient as far as this all goes. Delilah had a vision and thought marrying Jake while he looked exactly like you and she looked exactly like me was what she wanted. Jona’s a LOT less picky, which means I can get a little creative.”
“So, how are you going to get the flowers Jona wants?”
“Her mother’s going to get them and have then carefully shipped up here to us around the time of the wedding.”
“Have you set a date for that?”
“Yeah, June 5. Miri wouldn’t let us do this on our birthday. ‘I’m ok with sharing my birthday with you, Gramma, but I won’t share it with Uncle Miah and Aunt Jona to get married’, she said to me when I suggested it.”
“Opinionated little shit, isn’t she?”
“Oh, David, you have no idea just how opinionated your granddaughter is”, she said with a laugh. “But, anyway; what did you and the guys decide as far as a final tour?”
“We’re not doing a final tour. We’re all just too fucking busy. Instead, we’re going to do one huge show in Chicago and broadcast it worldwide.”
“That should work. But, I have one more really awesome idea.”
“What’s that?”
“Make it free.”
“For those in attendance?”
“And broadcast it for free. Your final gift to the fans before you call it done.”
“I’ll have to run it past the guys, but, you’re a genius, love.”
“Not really. I was just putting myself in the shoes of the fans. ‘If my favorite band were retiring and were only putting on one more show, I’d hope and pray that they were awesome enough to make it available to their entire fan base’, was the thought process.”
“I don’t care. I love it almost as much as I love you.”
“Well, I would hope that you love me more than some abstract concept, babe.” She laughed and the sound was music to his ears.
---------------
Brie had everyone gathered at the tailor have their measurements taken for the gowns and suits for the wedding. It was a crazy day, indeed. When everyone got home, Brie collapsed on to the couch with a heavy sigh. “Is everything ok, Mrs. Draiman?” Jona asked.
“Yeah, sweetie. I’m just tired. I’m not as young as I used to be anymore. It’s been such a full day that I’m just exhausted. Being a perfectionist for a wedding that isn’t even my own is tiresome.” She laughed a little with the last sentence.
“Well, you really don’t have to fuss over it so much. I’m not really picky.”
Brie could have picked up on Jona’s nerves about saying, ‘I do’, to Jeremiah from five miles away. “Jona, honey, what are you so nervous about?” she asked.
“I’m just a little nervous that you’re going to put all of this time and effort into the wedding and it’s not going to turn out how you want it to.”
“Jona”, she said as she took the young woman’s hand in hers, “I’ve planned several weddings. Granted, not everything goes perfectly according to plan, but it’s as close to it as we can pull off.”
“How many weddings have you planned?”
“Let me think. I planned David and I’s second wedding. I planned Malachai and Amanda’s wedding. I planned Jacob and Delilah’s. I helped plan Maddie’s wedding. She wanted to do most of that work on her own.”
“So, you’ve done this a lot?”
“Yes, dear. I’ve done a LOT of this. I got some experience with planning weddings as well as other events.
Before I met my husband I planned rallies and all kinds of different things as well as ran my own business.”
“Wow. You must be a master of organization, then.”
“You have to be to be with a family as big as mine. All of my children were involved in something at school so there were all kinds of events that I had to keep track of. Malachai was in basketball. Jake played soccer. Jordan was in volleyball when she wasn’t on the road, and I had to keep track of when she was in the studio or promoting a new whatever or touring for a new record. Maddie was in the choir from elementary school through graduation. She even sang Taps at my brother’s funeral. It broke my heart. Jeremiah and Meagan were both in the band in school and they’re both very talented drummers. During the summers when Disturbed wasn’t busy, Mikey would come out and give them lessons. I had to keep track of all of that. Makayla was a cheerleader through high school. James was the all- star quarterback in football. Jessi played softball and Marc played baseball. Jessi has a cannon for an arm and pitched through junior high and high school. Marc has a hell of an arm and was Centerfield until his junior year and was moved to pitcher.”
“Wow. How did you do it?”
“Well, when everyone started doing their own thing, I had to start color coding calendars. Each child had a different color.”
“How did you balance David’s career with the kids’ activities?”
“I put his ass on a schedule too. See, when David was home, we had a rule. He never missed a home game. It didn’t matter what the event was, if he was home we were both there. If he wasn’t home, then I was there. The kids understood. They knew that when Dad was away, he was making money to buy them the things they needed and to pay the tuition for the very exclusive private school we sent them to.”
“Being the children of a rock star must have been hard.”
“It was at times for all of them. There were times when they wanted Dad there and he couldn’t be. But, it wasn’t just hard on the kids. It was hard on David too because he wanted to be there for the things he missed and he couldn’t be because of his career. But, when he was home, he was HOME. He spent his every waking moment taking care of things for home. If Danny sent him new music, he worked, but that was the only time. He didn’t do interviews while he was home. When he’d get offers to do so, he respectfully decline. ‘I’m at home with my family and that’s where my attention should be’, he tell the reporters. It was great to see the looks on faces.”
“You took a lot of pleasure in that, didn’t you?”
“I sure did. I especially liked running them off myself. I can be an evil bitch when I want to be.”
“I bet. But, it seems to be David’s wife, sometimes you have to be. Do you think I’ll have to be like that with ‘Miah?”
“’Miah and his father are two totally different people. ‘Miah’s pretty laid back, if you haven’t noticed. But, there are times that he can be hot headed. If someone is endangering his family- especially me or his sisters- he will go off the deep end. He and Jake have the same set of rules. You don’t insult David, you don’t insult me, you don’t hurt his woman, and you don’t hurt any of the females in his life be they his nieces or sisters in law. Those are the best ways to make him come unglued. But, for the most part, you don’t have to worry about him losing his temper. He really doesn’t have one; unlike his father. Jeremiah- like Jake, Marc, and Makayla- tends to take after me. I’m the more level headed of David and me.”
“That’s good. I’m glad that I’ve managed to find a guy that’s level headed.”
“Either way, Jona, you’re good for him and he’s good for you. You two will be happy together for a very, very long time.”
---------------
David stood at the top of the stairs and listened to everything that Brie had said to Jona, recalling the years that he and his family would spend months at a time apart. He remembered hearing about all of the games and concerts he’d missed because of being in the studio or on the road. Those were the times when I hated what I do. I wanted to be there for everything and I couldn’t be. But, money had to be made and I had a job to do. Disturbed fans have certain expectations of us and though they’re a bitch sometimes to live up to, I had to do it. I missed my wife and kids the most on those long lonely trips around the country or overseas. I hate to admit it, but I’m glad it’s almost over. I’m sad to see it end, but it’s winding down none too soon. It’s about time I spent my time with my wife and children- especially my wife. I’m sure she’s suffered more than anyone at this point. Yet, she’s never complained. She’s such an angel. I’m sure she’s wanted to say something and never has. He felt himself starting to get emotional and walked away from the stairwell. He went to his office and locked the door behind himself so that he could be alone in his thoughts. Once he was seated behind his desk and his computer was booting up so that he could go back to work on the book he was working on, he laid his head on his desk and let his emotions overcome him.
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