Not long after James brought Hannah and Josie home, the family got an unexpected phone call from someone they all had been dying to hear from since she left at the beginning of the summer. The call came on Brie's phone. "Shalom, everyone!" Jessi exclaimed over the phone.
"Shalom, baby girl! How are you liking living in Israel for the semester?" David said when he sat next to his wife on the couch.
"I love it here. It's so steeped in the history of not only the Judeo- Christian peoples, but of the world. I love going to the Wailing Wall and the Temple of Solomon. They're so interesting."
"Do you speak Hebrew everywhere you go?" Brie asked.
"No. Only in the Jewish quarter. We speak English in the Christian quarter, Armenian in the Armenian quarter and Arabic in the Muslim quarter. It's so much fun because you never know what dialect you're going to run across."
"Have you gotten to venture out of Jerusalem yet?" David asked.
"Not with the class, no. I've gotten to do a little traveling with Uncle Ben, though. That's a ton of fun. He takes me to all of the fun places he knows. He said, 'A girl your age shouldn't follow an old man like me around everywhere. You should see the sights. I'll take you to a few of the places I used to hang out. I'd rather stick close to the house though. It gives me time to do my class work."
"How are the professors treating you?"
"The prof's out here at HUJI are amazing. They're awesome. They don't care that I'm related to you or to Uncle Ben. They grade me strictly on my merits."
"And how are your grades doing?" Brie asked.
"Straight A's, Mom. Apparently, I speak better Hebrew than several of the others who grew up here and my Armenian and Arabic aren't too shabby."
"So, what is your plan after college? What are you going to do with this degree?"
"I want to work for the UN or the US/ Israeli Embassy's. I'd love to work for both. I actually get to meet the Israeli Ambassador to the US soon. He's coming back for a few days to do something and my class gets to sit with him."
"Are you taking any political classes to go along with this?" David asked.
"Nope. I just want to work as a translator. Now, what have I missed since I've been here?"
"James is a new daddy now. He's having to get used to having twins."
"Did he have girls?"
"Yep. Hannah and Josie. Mom calls Hannah 'Nikki'."
"And Jeremiah and Jona are going to have a little boy that's going to look just like the both of them. His name will be Matthew Ryan."
"How do you know all of this?"
"I had a dream about it a few nights ago. Are Jeremiah and Jona excited?"
"They seem to be. They're both really busy working though and don't really have the time to really be too excited. Maddie's been threatening to make Jona take leave at about 7 months so that Jona can just enjoy being pregnant", Brie said with a laugh.
Jessi couldn't help but laugh too. "I hope I'm home by the time all the big stuff goes down. I really want to make the final Disturbed show. It would kill me if I missed it."
"You're coming home for Hanukkah, aren't you?" David asked his youngest child.
"I had planned on it."
"The semester will be over by the time Hanukkah rolls around and after that you're going back to Chicago for school, right?"
"That's right."
"Baby doll, the final show is in Chicago. It's at Millennium Park. We'll be out there a few weeks ahead of time to go over the specifics for the stage and other fine details like that."
"What other details will you need to go over?"
"The camera crew placement for the broadcast."
She laughed. "God,. I feel like such a blonde."
"You act it at times."
"Hey! I'm not the only one. Maddie and Jordan are just as bad about it at times as I am."
"I think the only two that don't act like blondes are Meagan and Makayla", Brie laughed.
"And that's because they're the biggest nerds of all of us."
"Jessi, it's late over there. Don't you have class in the morning?"
"I do. I just wanted to check and see if you guys were all ok and see how everything is going. I'll be home for Thanksgiving, then for Hanukkah. I can't wait to see everyone."
"We can't wait to see you either, sweetheart", David said.
"Get to sleep, baby girl. We'll talk to you again soon."
"Ok, Good night, Daddy. Good night, Mama."
"Good night, baby", they said in unison and Brie hung up.
---------------
David and Brie decided to try one last time to make a trip out to Israel to find a house. The last two had been interrupted for one reason or another. Brie did her four month check up with Jona the day before they took off and made sure that she had an emergency number to get in touch with a good friend of hers if she needed anything. "I've told her everything about what's going on with you; that you're having a normal pregnancy so far and that you like to do things holistically. She's all for it. Her name is Gina. She's great at what she does. If you need anything, give her a call."
"I will. Have fun on your trip."
"I'm not going to have fun. I'm going to find my new house. Every time we go out there to find a house, our trip is interrupted. Not mad, I just want my house soon. The ride of almost over."
"The ride's not over until you're both dead."
Brie laughed. "Very true. But, Disturbed is about to retire in a few months, and I want the house to be locked in before that happens. Then we can go back and actually buy the house before we leave the country for good."
"And then you two can live out the rest of your lives in peace; coming back only to celebrate Hanukkah and Thanksgiving with your family."
"You know the plan. Good girl. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go pack for my trip."
"No problem."
Brie went down the hall to the rooms he shared with her husband so that she could pack her suitcase. She found her husband doing just that. "Decided to get a jump on things for me, baby?" she asked with a laugh as she leaned against the door frame.
"I know the things you'll definitely want to take with you. I'm leaving everything else to you", he said with a smile.
She made her way into the room and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for getting things started for me. I really do appreciate it. You have no idea how much."
He slid his arms around her waist. "It's my pleasure, love. I'll do whatever will make things easier on you. You know that."
She pressed her lips to his for a chaste kiss. "I know, and I'd do the same for you." She kissed him once more. "Do you want your massage before we leave?"
He grinned devilishly. "I can think of something I want massaged, and it's NOT my back." He winked.
She laughed. "Then why don't we go into the bathroom and get a shower before we finish up in here?"
"Stop reading my mind", he laughed as he pulled them to the bathroom in the master suite.
She laughed back. "Stop broadcasting so loudly."
---------------
James had Marc helping him change the twins' diapers and feed them. Hunter was down for a nap. "How do you do it, bro?" Marc asked him as he sat and gave little Josie a bottle.
"I have no fucking idea, Marc. There are time when I think my patience is wearing thin, then Hunter looks at me and says, 'It's going to be okay, Daddy.' My nerves aren't so frazzled any more."
"Is he trying to help out?"
"As much as a four year old can. He gets me diapers, tells Mom when I need a bottle for one of both of the girls and brings them to me. If their pitch their pacifier, he'll find it."
"I thought you didn't want them on a pacifier."
"At first I didn't, but they actually make life a little easier on me."
"That's good. So how is Law School going?"
"Not bad. Still managing straight A's in all of my classes while raising three kids alone."
"Not so along, but I get your drift. How's the big project coming?"
"Not bad. Apparently, my group isn't the only one that wanted to do the case we picked and the professor has come across that a bit with this group of students. So, he decided to make it interesting. The two groups that want to do a particular case have to take one side of the argument and present it as though were we were arguing the case in court. My partner and I have the defense. The jury is going to be some of his higher level Law students and he's going to recruit people to act as the different defendants. I'm actually going to have to fly out there in December to present my case based on everything we now know about the case."
"That sounds like fun. How are you graded?"
"Depending on the case. The case my team and I are doing went to trial twice."
"Doesn't double jeopardy apply there?"
"Not when the second trial is to overturn a conviction."
"What case are you doing, Jay?"
"The West Memphis Three."
"You mean that group of boys that Disturbed and Reckless Disregard both pushed to have released from prison because they were railroaded? Wasn't one of them on Death Row?"
"Yeah on both counts. It was my partner's idea. I told him about the song Disturbed did when writing Asylum, and he wanted to put it in the presentation had there been one."
"You gonna play it to celebrate after you win?"
"More than likely. He wants to blast it in the Commons afterward if the jury rules in our favor. I've requested that we be the first to present so that I can get back for Hanukkah."
"And the prof says?"
"No problem."
"It's nice when the professors are willing to work with you, huh?"
"Oh yeah. I like it that way."
---------------
Marc sat on the couch with a balck haired beauty laying in his chest. The movie what was playing had been her idea, but he really didn't care what they watched as long as she was with him. He'd made it a point in hight school and the short time he was in college so that he could focus on his grades and education. Now that he was done he was it was time to actually enjoy his life.
The beautiful young woman lying on his chest looked up at him. "I feel like we're sneaking around to be together. It's kinda sexy", she said with a giggle.
He laughed. "Really? You wanna sneak somewhere else?" he asked. He got the same devilsh grin on his face that his father and brothers got when they were about to charm the woman they were with out of their clothes.
"What did you have in mind?" she asked innocently.
"Well, there is a hot tub out back that it seems everyone in my family seems to enjoy 'sitting in' every now and then. Maybe a nice dip in there?"
"Are you sure your parents won't get upset? This is their house."
"And all of the Draiman children are adults now. All they really ask is that if we're going to do what grown folks do that we respect them and not fol around on the couch. The hot tub, the pool, the game room and my room are all open otherwise."
"Instead of the hot tub, let's go down to the game room. We can play a game of air hockey and see where things go from there."
He chuckled. "Ok. Whatever you want to do, gorgeous. Let's go down to the game room and play some air hockey. We'll have to shut the door though. Air hockey is pretty noisy and if we things go where I'm sure they will, we don't want to wake anyone up. The entire basement was soundproofed when Dad put in the studio."
She smiled. "Then let's go and I hope you're prepared to lose your ass."
"Please, 'Cedes, I've been playing on that table since I was young. My Dad would guide my hand do that I could win against my brothers."
"We shall see, Mr.Draiman. We shall see."
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