Chapter 78

With the house paid for they set about making sure that they would have furniture when they came back within the month.  They also made sure that the necessities like light, water, and gas were taken care of as well.  The turn on date was the mid May.  As soon as they had everything packed and taken care of, they would have a moving company come out to take care of moving their things.

Brie decided NOT to argue with David on the big flat screen TV for the living room.  She knew that he would get his way as far as that was concerned.  Where they argued was the other furniture.  “I don’t want to stick to the couch in the summer when we’re there, David.  Leather in the desert is out of the question.”

“Well, so is vinyl.  We’ll stick to that just as badly.”

She looked at him like he was an idiot.  “I wasn’t thinking vinyl, you moron.  I was thinking about suede.”  She took him by the hand and lead him to a nice deep red micro- suede couch and sat down on it.  “Try it.”  She patted the seat next to her.

He took a seat and chuckled when she curled up against him.  “You know what this reminds me of?” he asked.

“Buying the furniture for Malachai and Mandy when they were expecting the twins?””

“How did you know?”

“That’s where this imagery took  me.  And if you’ll recall, I argued about the TV then but I didn’t today.”

“I did notice that.  Why?”

“I’ve gotten used to watching our movies on that huge 75 inch flat screen in the living room”, she laughed.

He kissed the top of her head.  “You’re so funny”, he laughed.  “Well, I have to say that I really like this couch.  Not crazy about the color, though.”

“We can always ask if they have it in a different color.  Let me guess, you want it in black?”

He laughed.  “Am I that obvious?”

She laughed as she sat up so that he could stand.  “Only all the time, love.  Only all the God damn time.”

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Everything they needed from the furniture store was purchased.  The next thing they were going to need were things for the kitchen.  Shopping for the kitchen wasn’t going to be nearly as difficult.  Brie had a very clear picture in her head of everything they would need for the kitchen.  As they walked through the store, she grabbed what they needed in an amount that was perfect for the two of them with occasional company.  At any given time, there would only be two people in the house at a time.  When she grabbed a 1 gallon glass jug, he looked at her like she was insane.  “We don’t need one that big do we?”

“Don’t you want sun brewed tea?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then I’m going to need the jug.  It’s easier to set the tea out in something like this rather than a pitcher with a handle on it.”  She laughed.  “Did you ever see us having this argument?”

“We’re not arguing, we’re discussing.  And, honestly, no.  I never saw us having this conversation.”

“Isn’t retirement lovely?” she laughed.

“I’m still adjusting.  I’ll let you know once it sinks in”, he chuckled.

“Well, I think it’s wonderful.  Just think, we’ll be living here in a month.”

“It’s strange.  I’ve been looking forward to retirement for a year now and now that I’m actually retired I can’t believe I’ve done it.”

She stopped and wrapped her arms around his neck.  “Baby, it’s going to take a little adjusting.  It took some adjusting for me too.  You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to call a few of my old clients over the past two years.”

“How did you work through it?”

“I found ways.  Made myself little projects and stuff like that.  Organizing the Kennedy Center thing, all of the huge get together’s and stuff that we’ve done, Jona and ‘Miah’s wedding, playing midwife for Jona AND Maddie.  I’ve had projects.”

“Well, once we get back to the states, we’ll pack out stuff to move out here and we’ll take off the Australia for a couple of weeks.  That way we don’t have to hunt for a project for you to do.”

She smiled.  She knew that it would be hard for him to resist the urge to write now that he was officially retired.  It would be hard for her to watch him go through that.  She had a suggestion, but she wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear it.  It was the only thing she could think of to suggest to him to help him.

With his arms around her waist, he wondered what was going through her head.  When she fell silent like that he knew that there was something making those wheels turn.  What could she possibly be thinking?, he asked himself as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek.  He pushed the thought from his mind as he spoke.  “I love you”, he whispered.

“I love you too, she said softly.  “Now, let’s finish this trip, take this stuff out to the new house and go back to the hotel.

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Once their week was over, they went home for the last time.  There were a few items of business that still needed to be handled.  First, David needed to sell his portion of Intoxication to James.  Danny and Justin were coming out to make that sale official.  Danny was selling his portion of Intoxication to Justin at the same time.  Abe had drawn up the paperwork for that and the next item of business:  the sale of the house that David and Brie had raised their family in to their second oldest son and his wife.  For Brie, it was an exciting prospect.  For David, there were mixed feelings.  Everything that he had worked for in life was being sold to his children.  That’s not how it was supposed to work, right?

Before either of the contracts of sale were signed by any of the parties involved, David needed to have a long talk with his daughter Jordan.  He was still upset about the insinuation she had made about him being sick and not telling her and her siblings.  The day after they arrived home, he called her over so that he could talk.  When she arrived, Jake sent her to their father’s office where their parents were packing.  She knocked on the door.  “Who’s there?” David called.

“It’s Jordan, Dad”, she said.

He and his wife stopped packing.  “Do you want me to leave, honey?” Brie asked.

“No, stay please.  I’ll need you to help me remain calm.”  After she nodded he took a deep breath.  “Come in, Jordan.  It’s not locked.”  They moved to sit behind the desk.

Jordan crept in slowly.  “You wanted to talk to me, Daddy?”

“Yes.  Have a seat.”  He pointed to the chairs in front of his desk.  Once she was seated, David took a deep breath.  “Jordan, that stupid shit you said a week ago; explain yourself.”

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

“Why did you let your imagination tell you that I was sick and was hiding it from you children?”

“I honestly don’t know. All I can really say is that I’m not ready for you guys to move out of the country.  That’s the truth.  I know you and Mom need time to be alone together like Davina and I do.  You’ve watched those of us that are married go on our honeymoon and various vacations over the years and have even babysat when we asked you to.  But, most of all, if we need something all we have to do as find you here at the house and talk to you.”

David and Brie looked at each other, then back at their daughter and David spoke.  “Jordan, you’re all adults now.  You don’t need us to hold your hand anymore.  You mother and I need to have time alone now.  We’ve spent the last thirty years being parents.  And, while you and your siblings will always be our children, it’s time for Mom and Dad to have our lives to ourselves now.  Your mother, that saint that she is”, he said and kissed her knuckles, “allowed me the freedom to travel and take my music all over the world.  She never complained.  She never said that she regretted a damn thing about being with me.  She still hasn’t.  She stayed here and made sure that you and your brothers and sisters had what you needed so that you could all do what you’re all doing with your lives.  Now that we’re bother retired, she’s asked that we move out of the country.  I’m going to oblige her because she’s earned that much at the very least.  But, if something were seriously wrong with either of us we’d let you know.  You know that, Jordan.  The fact that you insinuated otherwise is rather offensive.  We understand that occasionally people get carried away and let their imagination get the best of them.  This time, Jordan Hannah, you took it just a little too far.”

Jordan hung her head as she listened to her father lecture her.  She knew everything he was saying was true.  Especially the part where she let her imagination get the best of her.  “I’m sorry, Dad.  I should know better.  Flights of fancy like that should be reserved for the little ones.  I should know better than that.”

“So, what brought that on, Jordan?” Brie asked.

“I don’t want you guys to leave the country, Mom.”

“Get over it?”

Jordan sighed.  “I know I need to get over it.  I need to be a damn adult.  I don’t know why I’m suddenly having all of these abandonment issues.”

“Maybe you need to go back into therapy to deal with these crazy issues.    You never had to deal with abandonment because one or both of us was always there and when your father wasn’t around and you wanted to talk to him, I had NO problem calling him so that you kids could hear his voice.  We would video conference when you had things to show him.  When he would come home he and I would spend weeks watching game and concert video so that he could see what he missed for all of you.  There is no reason for you to feel abandoned by us leaving the country.”

Jordan sighed again.  “I know, Mama.  I’m just being a baby.  I’m being a 30 year old baby.  I’ll get over it.  All that matters is you two being happy and enjoying the rest of your lives.  I’m sure that if either of you  fall sick, you’ll let us know.  I’m really sorry for what I said.  I guess I need to grow up.”

Brie and David laughed.  “You said it, not us.”

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Abe was downstairs waiting on David and James to come down.  Danny and Justin had already arrived and Delilah was playing hostess.  She made sure that everyone had a drink and was offering a snack when James came down.  “Lilah, would you mind taking Hunter and the girls for me so that I can do business?” he asked with one of his girls in each arm and Hunter on his heels.

“Sure.  Have they eaten?”

“No, not since breakfast.  I haven’t had the time to get down here.  I was arguing with a professor over my grades so that I can get my degree.  I know I was passing that class.  Turns out the jack ass was forgetting to grade my work.  I threatened to sue and he started finding all of my assignments.  Told him that if I had anything less than a ‘B’ because he wanted to be an ass I would have his license to practice law.”  He came down and took a seat in the kitchen after leaving his kids with his sister in law in the living room.  “Hey Uncle Danny.  Hey Justin.  How have things been since the concert, Uncle Danny?”

“I’m still adjusting to retirement.  Your Aunt Nikki took all of my guitars and hid them so that I can’t try to write music.”

“I wonder how Aunt Brie’s going to keep Uncle David from writing now that it’s all over”, Justin laughed as he took a sip of his tea.

“I have no idea, Justin”, James laughed.  “I’m sure that my mother has something in mind.”

“I’m not thinking about writing right now.  I’m focusing on packing so that your mother and I can move out of the country.”

“You two are still serious about that?” Dan asked as he ran fingers through his graying hair.

“Yep.  It’s what Brie wants and it’s what she’s going to get.  We’ve already bought the house we’re going to be living in.”  He looked at Abe.  “I trust that everything is in order?” he asked.

“Yep.  Just as you and Dan asked.  I also brought the paper work for you and Brie to sign to sell the house to Jacob and Delilah if you want to get that out of the way too.”

“Sounds good.”  He pulled out a chair and sat down.

Abe handed David and Dan both a copy of the contract to look over.  “Everything that you outlined is there.  Since you were both equal partners in the company your shares of the company are being equally assigned to your sons.  The boys share the responsibility for the finances, finding new talent, ect.”

David and Dan both nodded as they scanned the documents in their hands.  “I like what I’m seeing.  What about you, David?” Dan asked.

“It all looks like it’s supposed to look to me.  Shall we sign these and get this over with?”  David picked a pen up off of the table and signed the contract relinquishing his half of Intoxication Records to James.  He held the pen out to Danny, who did the same.  James and Justin only needed to sign and they were full partners in Intoxication Records.

The boys signed and shook hands.  “Well, cousin, I look forward to doing business with you”, James said with a grin.

“Same here, cuz.  When will you and the kids be in Chicago?”

“Soon.  I finalized the purchase of my house while were out there for the show.”

“Great.  We’ll have to get together once you and the kids get out there.  And, maybe Hayley’s sister will take a little interest.”

“You trying to set me up with someone already, Justin?”

“She already likes what she’s heard.  And I haven’t told her that your Dad’s Uncle David.”

“Alright.  I’ll give it a shot.  Now, I have to go check on my kids.  I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Justin.”

“Call me once you get out to Chicago and we’ll get together that night at my place.”