“I wonder how Mom and Dad are enjoying themselves”, Jeremiah mused as he and Jona enjoyed a little bit of breakfast the day after the OFFICAL anniversary.
“I’m sure they’re having fun, baby. And, they should be home today, so I’m sure they’re going to regale us with the story. They did so after my parents left with their first trip to Israel”, Jona replied.
“Oh yeah. The pictures and the scuba story.”
“I curious as to whether or not your Dad allowed them to give him a hot stone massage.”
“Who knows? I want to know if Maddie got over her squeamishness of Mom and Dad being naked and actually managed to give them a massage.”
“No. You know Maddie. She’s so weird about your parents’ naked bodies. So fucking what, they’re naked?”
“Hey, I agree. Jake and I both think that way. Hell, Jordan’s even taken that stance on the whole thing. Meagan and Makayla are rarely around anymore. I think they’ve both moved out to Chicago permanently. Jay’s still weird about them doing what they do. Jessi sees it but is oblivious. Marc, he could care less.”
“What about Malachai?”
“He’s got his own shit to worry about. Mom and Dad are the farthest things from his mind. He’s too involved with his kids’ stuff to really care. Miranda and Isaiah in acting lessons, Miranda also in dance, Elijah doing whatever he does. And from what I understand, now that things aren’t rocky anymore, they’re looking into adopting and or finding a surrogate so that they can have more of their own.”
“Yeah… no. Not my gig. I couldn’t do that for them.”
He reached over and grabbed her hand. “No one asked you to, baby. And if they were to ask, I’d knock the hell out of my older brother. That’s just plain insulting. That’s like a slap in my face and shows me that he has no respect. Hell, he almost got his head taken off by Jake a while back.”
“But, Jake’s usually so calm.”
“Not when it comes to his kids, he’s not. I don’t remember if I told you, but Miri got a really rough start. She was a month early. Delilah was in an accident that put her into labor. Jake was scared he was going to lose them both. She fought through it and came home earlier than expected. She’s Jake’s little miracle. So, you can see why he would be so protective.”
“I’ve noticed that he gets pretty messed up if she gets hurt by someone else’s negligence.”
“And that’s why I keep a close eye on my niece and nephew when I watch them. The last thing I want is to give Jake license to kick my ass.”
“What am I going to kick your ass for?” Jake asked when he came in from work.
“If Miri or Ira get hurt while I watch them and it’s my fault.”
“Damn straight. My children get hurt and I go on the war path.”
“Just like Dad”, Jeremiah laughed.
Jake nodded. “Just like Dad.”
“Speaking of, what time are they supposed to be home today?”
Jake shrugged. “Hell if I know. I’ll have to check my email to see when the plane is suppose to take off. I’m sure it won’t be until after I do that.”
“You have your laptop with you, why don’t you do that then?”
“Because I need to eat, retard. Diabetic, remember?”
“Let your laptop boot up while you start making something to eat, Doctor.”
Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Fine, Jeremiah.” He pulled his laptop out of its case and plugged it in. As he waited for it to boot up, he started warming up a tortilla to make a quesadilla.
“So, over the weekend have you missed you woman, Jake?” his younger brother teased.
“Yeah, of course I have. As you well know, it’s nice to have the warm body of the one you love curled up next to you each night. There have been times when I’ve had to leave and had to leave her here. I missed her then and I miss her now. Good news is that she’ll be home before Mom and Dad arrive. I’ve actually arranged for them to arrive separately and to be picked up separately.”
“Who’s picking Mom and Dad up?”
“Maddie and Colton. You know how Mom gets. She’ll want to see the baby as soon as they land. The rest of the grandkids, though she loves them, can wait for her to get home.”
“I hope she’s not going to be like that if we have kids”, Jeremiah chuckled.
“If, Jeremiah?”
“The prospect of having kids is a little frightening to me, Jake”, Jona said shyly.
He nodded. “Ah. I see. Ok. Well, I guess I can’t say that I blame you, then.”
“I’m not going to pressure her into something like that. It’s a pretty big thing to become a parent”, Jeremiah said as he took Jona’s hand and brought her it up to press a kiss to her knuckles. He knew they’d have at least one child and that he’d get his son first. That’s about all he knew at that point, but he was satisfied with that. He also knew that Jona knew that they would have a child together. That’s all he needed to know; and Jake didn’t need to know that he knew. He and Jake may have shared the gift of foresight, but Jake was special enough to know what ‘Miah’s dreams were unless he could read minds as well and even he knew that was highly unlikely.
“Mom and Dad will be home early this evening. Delilah and Maddie will be home about an hour before that. Colton will meet them at the airport with Asher and they’ll wait on Mom and Dad to land so that Mom can see Asher.”
“Has Mom said that Asher needs to be present?”
“It’s unspoken.”
“What if she and Dad just want someone to pick them up and not to have to worry about their grandkids?”
Jake stared at Jeremiah as though he’d sprouted a second head. “What?”
“I didn’t stutter Jacob. I’m pretty sure what I said was English and not Swahili.”
“I heard you, Jeremiah. Something caught my eye in my email then I heard what you said and it’s almost seems like you knew it was going to happen.”
“What was it?”
“I’m going to kill them”, he mumbled before he looked up at his younger brother. “Mom and Dad postponed
\their flight home a day. What do they think? I’m made of money? I may be a Nobel Prize winner, but even I don’t make that God damn much.”
“Call them and ask is the best advice I can offer, Jake.”
“And possible get cussed for interrupting them?”
“Jake, Brendan Francis once said, ‘Some persons are very decisive when it comes to avoiding decisions’.”
Jake flipped his younger brother the finger then dialed his father’s number.
---------------
It wasn’t that he didn’t hear the phone blowing up in the drawer of the bedside table. He was ignoring it. He was a little preoccupied at the moment. But, the incessant buzzing of his phone against the wood of the drawer was pissing him off. He stopped and yanked the drawer open and pulled the buzzing thing out of its wooden prison. “This had better be good, Micah”, he growled into the phone after answering the call.
“Why did you and Mom postpone your flight home, Dad?”
“We want to see your Uncle, Jacob. Now, what about the fact that I was ignoring your call did you not comprehend, Jacob Micah Draiman?”
“I thought you might still be asleep and not hearing the phone.”
“Ok, I thought that I told you this rule, but if I don’t answer it right away, then I’m busy. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing. Got it?”
“Yes sir; Dad. I apologize. Common sense should have kicked in and it didn’t seem to.”
“Whose idea was it for you to call incessantly, Jacob?”
“It was Jeremiah’s idea for me to call, but I decided to blow up the phone. I saw the notification in my email that you had postponed the trip home and I nearly went crazy.”
“It was done at no cost to you. Check your credit card statement. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I was busy when you called and I’d like to get back to what I was doing, Jake. Good bye.” He didn’t wait for his son to say good bye. He hung up and threw the phone across the room.
“What the hell was his problem?” his wife asked as she opened and closed her hands to keep the circulation going. Having her hands bound to the headboard to any bed was risk to lose circulation; especially when her hands were bound together and about her head.
“The fucking flight.” He pulled away and loosed her hands. “And he officially ruined the mood. I could take his head off.”
She rubbed her wrists as she regained sensation in not only the joint, but then tendons around the joint as well.
“I bet I could fix that if you want me to try.”
He shook his head. “Not right now, baby. I need to catch my breath anyway. Just let me hold you for now.”
She rolled into his side and laid her head on his chest. “So, why did we really postpone our flight home?”
“I felt like it”, he said with a laugh. “Just wanted to fuck with Jake’s head a little bit.”
“And then he blew up your phone to ask why.”
“And interrupted what I was doing with you.”
“Shit happens, David.”
“I know.”
“Well, while we’re still up here, why don’t we drop in on Danny and Nicole? I need Nikki’s advice on something.”
“What?”
“I’m going to ask her advice on something for Jeremiah and Jona’s wedding.”
“Liar.”
She laughed. “Is it wrong that I wanna see Nikki?”
“No. But using Jona and ‘Miah’s wedding as an excuse was pathetic.”
She giggled. “That it may have been, but the fact remains.”
“We’ll go over to pay them a visit. I wanted to go over the Millennium to scout the venue for our final performance any way.”
“I just hope you two don’t think you’re going without Nikki and me.”
“I didn’t think we would be, baby. The thought never crossed my mind.”
---------------
“Oh, JEREMIAH!” Jake called.
Jeremiah pried himself off of the couch from under Jona and went into the kitchen to see what the hell his older brother wanted. “Can I help you Jake?” he asked calmly.
“Yeah, you bring your ass over here so that I can kick it.”
“Let me guess. You interrupted Mom and Dad.”
“Yep. And it was your idea.”
“No, Jake. That was all you. I didn’t tell you to blow up Dad’s phone. I just told you to make up your mind. To call, or not to call… that was the question. Not only did you call, but you got your fucking head bitten off. Grow up. ‘The more willing you are to take responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have’- Brian Koslow.” And with that, Jeremiah turned and went back out to the living room.
Jake was stunned into silence. Where do he and Dad come up with that shit?, Jake asked himself. Do they just make this shit up off of the tops of their heads? He shook his head and sent Colton a text to let him know that the only people he was picking up were Maddie and Delilah. He couldn’t wait to see his wife again. He needed to feel her solid in his arms. To keep from feeling lonely, he’d been letting the kids sleep with him. He loved his children, but he needed their mother. He sighed and pushed the thought away. He walked into the living room where his children were playing and his brother and future sister in law were watching something on TV. “Miah, do you mind keeping an eye on the kids for me? I need to get some sleep.”
“Go get some sleep the, Jake. The kids are fine. They’re just playing.”
Jake smiled. “Thanks, little brother. And, I’m sorry for being a jack ass and jumping your ass over nothing.”“Don’t sweat it, Jake. I’m over it. Been over it since I walked out of the kitchen. Go get some sleep. I’ll tell Delilah where you are if you’re not up when she and Maddie get back.”
“Thanks, Jeremiah.” And he turned and headed out to the little house behind his parents house that he shared with his wife and children. Soon, he would be buying the big house from his parents and they would move to Israel. Then, he and Delilah would start expanding their family. He wanted at least two more. As he climbed into his empty bed, he longed to have his wife there with him and took comfort in the fact that she’d be home soon.
----------------
“Well, if we’re going to head over there, David, then we should head out soon”, Dan said as he and David sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee together.
“In a minute, Danny. I’d like to actually finish my coffee before we leave.”
“Are we taking our wives on this trip?”
“Brie already told me she’s going whether I like it or not.”
Dan laughed. “She’s got that leash tight, huh?”
“No, we just celebrated 30 years together yesterday, Danny. I want to spend as much time with her away from the house, kids, and grandkids as I possibly can before we go home tomorrow and we have to start finally getting Jeremiah and Jona’s wedding out of the way.”
“When ‘Miah’s big day?”
“June 5th. They both seem excited. I know my son’s happy and I know that he makes her happy. That’s all I really care about.”
“As long as they’re happy. So, when are we going to get an invitation?”
“As soon as Brie has them printed up and can get them sent off. I’m sure that Jeremiah would like his extended family there.”
“Who’s going to be his best man?”
“I don’t think he’s picking one, but his brothers and Logan are going to all be grooms’ men. My girls are all going to be brides’ maids.”
“Is Jona going to pick a maid/ matron of honor?”
“Nope. She doesn’t want it to see like she’s picking favorites from what Brie says.”
“Ah. Nice. She’s a sweet girl. Jeremiah would bring her over every now and then when they were staying
out here. She’s good for him.”
“Yeah. They’re perfect for each other. They balance each other quite nicely.”
“I noticed that. She has her moments where she’s a smart ass, but she keeps him focused and calm.”
“And she’s good at it too. She just has this way with him. I can’t describe it.”
“Well, whatever it is, she does it well from what I saw while they were up here. How does she like being so close to the rest of the family out there?”
“She’s assimilated rather well. And her family is relatively close by.”
“That’s good. How’s James doing?”
“He’s going to be a father soon. His girlfriend is pregnant.”
“Wow. You’re family is just blowing up.”
“So it seems. And, here we are, a fucking year from retirement ourselves. What are you and Nikki going to do with yourselves?”
“Dunno honestly, brother. We’ll just have to wait and see. What about you and Brie?”
“We’re going to move to Israel and live out the rest of our days.”
“Nice. Whose idea was that?”
“Hers, actually. She asked if it could happen and happily agreed to do it.”
Dan nodded. “Are you ready to see it all end?”
“Yes and no. I love music and I love performing, but I’m ready to live a quiet life now. I’m tired, Danny. I’m ready to just go hide in the Holy Land with my wife and live quietly for the rest of my life.”
“Well, why don’t we go grab our wives and head over to Millennium Park so that we can see if it’s big enough to have our last show so that you can do just that?”
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