The night before the pictures were taken, Eli and B loaded up the paintings and took them to homestead to show them to the family and to deliver "Darkness" to his grandfather. "We got them all mounted and framed, right?" Eli asked, with raw nerves in his voice.
"Yes baby", B said calmly.
"And they're all covered so that no one can peak?"
"Yes Eli."
"Good. I want everyone to be surprised. None of them have seen any of my professional work and I want Gramma and Grampa to have a chance to see a small part of this gallery collection. This is really important to me."
B just smiled, listening patiently to Eli's fretting. "I know, Eli. Just calm down. I've got this. You know that I will take care of it all. All I want you to do is have your insane chats with your muse where you paint and draw these amazing pieces and I'll take care of it from there. Not only am I your partner, I'm your manager. I will do what you don't have time to think to do. I manage you and your creative self. All I ask is that you just create."
Eli smiled. "You take such good care of me. You make sense of my crazy mind. I can't even do that."
"I don't think you’re supposed to be able to. It's my responsibility to sort through the madness to find your method. So far, I think I'm doing a fairly good job."
"You do an amazing job. Don't ever doubt that."
"Coming from you, I don't. Now, we have a painting to deliver and more art to show off. Why don't we get in the car and go?"
Eli nodded. "Why don't we do that?" Eli got in the passenger seat so that B could drive. He knew how to drive with the paintings in the back. Eli would have scuffed the paintings or broken the frames that held the sketches. It wasn't that he was reckless. It was just that he wasn’t always careful. If he were a flower delivery driver, he would have wrecked more vases than he would have delivered in one piece.
Upon arrival, Eli runs to the door and walks in. “Can I get a little bit of help out here? I have a have a bunch of stuff that needs to come inside.”
“How many people do you need, Eli?” David asked.
“I’d say five or six. B and I will also help, but we still need a few hands.”
“Levi, Ira, Anthony, Hunter, Matthew, and Seth- go help Eli bring in whatever he needs brought in.”
The boys all stood and headed out to do what their grandfather instructed them to do. When they walked in with large covered frames. Behind them were B and Eli carrying armfuls of smaller frames. “What is all this, Elijah?” Brie asked.
“Don’t worry, Gramma. I’ll explain in a minute. I want to make sure that everything is in the house before I play show and tell.” He stepped back out with B to do just that. After a couple of moments, everyone inside heard the hatch of the trunk close and Eli and B walked back in. “Ok. If I could get everyone present to come to the living room please, that would be fantastic.” Everyone flooded in and sat down.
“What is all of this, Eli?” David asked.
“Well first off, Grampa, I wanted to give you a gift. It’s something that I saved for you and Gramma from my first gallery show. I thought you would like it so I wouldn’t let the gallery sell it. I kept telling potential buyers that it was spoken for.” He reached behind him and checked beneath the drape to make sure that he had the correct painting. After pulling the painting in front of him, he pulled the cover off with a flourish. “I present ‘Darkness’. It was inspired by the song that you wrote, Grampa. I was listening to the version you did with Aunt Jordan the year before you retired and I was inspired to paint this. I didn’t want it to go to anyone but you.”
David looked at the canvas in shock. The detail in the painting was astounding. “Elijah. It’s magnificent. Wow. I love it, grandson. Thank you.”
“I’ll hug you in just a minute, Grampa. Gramma will want a hug too after I show you my other gift to you.” He grabbed the next frame and checked under the canvas to be sure that it was the one he wanted. “If you’ll both recall, I snapped a picture of the two of you the other night while B and I were here with my phone. My method behind that madness was not only for my next show but, as another gift to the two of you. I’ve given Mom and Dad several like this and I think they even have one of them up in the living room.” He pulled the canvas off. “This is ‘Love Eternal’, and it’s my gift to you and Gramma- after the show next month, that is.”
“Oh my God, Eli. It’s beautiful”, Brie said with a smile.
“I’m glad you like it Gramma. I wanted to do something special for you and Grampa. This is that something special. It’s not much, but it’s what I’ve got to give.”
“It’s perfect, Elijah”, David said. “You obviously put a lot of thought into this. It’s amazing.”
“I’m glad you two like them. I guess we can call them a late anniversary gift. So, happy belated anniversary.”
“Thank you, Elijah”, Brie said.
He went to his grandparents and gave them each a hug, receiving a peck on the cheek from his grandmother and turning a couple different shades of red when he pulled away. “Anyway”, he said as he blushed, “I wanted to show off the rest of the collection so far, as well. The focus of this collection is going to be you psycho people.” He reached behind him and grabbed the next frame. Pulling the cover off, he showed everyone in the room. “This one, I call ‘Nightmare’. The inspiration was being at the show in Chicago 15 years ago and watching Aunt Jordan and Dad onstage with Matt and Brian. That was… magical.”
“I think your father and I are going to fight over who gets that one, Eli”, Jordan laughed. “I think that’s one of my fondest memories as a recording artist.”
“You got that right, Jord”, Malachai laughed, “on both counts. One of my fondest memories and we are going to fight over that damn painting. Betcha I’ll win.”
“No fighting now”, B said with a chuckle. “Save it for the auction to be held after the showing. The collection will be up for a week in New York, then a week in Chicago and the auction will be the final night.”
Jordan and Malachai exchanged a look. “We’re there”, they said in unison.
Eli just rolled his eyes. “Any who… back to showing off the collection.” He grabbed the next one and uncovered it. “This one is ‘The Bonds of Brotherhood’. Inspired by the final bow Disturbed took that same night. I know that Uncles Danny, Mikey, and John are no longer around to see it, but I would really have loved for them to see this too.”
“They would have loved it, Elijah”, David said. “I do. Very well done and it’s just like I remember it being that night. The lighting, the random lighters… everything just like I remember it when we took that bow.”
“Thanks Grampa.” He grabbed the next frame and removed the cover. The canvas was divided in thirds. Each section contained a cradle, but there was a different person in each frame. One held David, one held Malachai, and one held Jordan. David had a note pad in his hand and his laptop on the table as he sat and tried to work out lyrics to a piece he’d just been emailed. Jordan had a keyboard sitting on the coffee table and a notepad in her lap. Malachai had his guitar strapped to his body and a note pad sitting on the table. “I call this one, ‘From the Cradle’ because whether we admit it or not, this is a very musical family and I can remember times of seeing Grampa singing to the cradle of whichever new grandbaby had just been born as he wrote music. I remembered Dad doing it when the triplets came along. I saw Aunt Jordan do it with both Levi and Jasmine on a few occasions. I wanted to immortalize those memories.”
“They all did the same thing with you and your older siblings”, Brie said with a smile.
“Really?”
“Yep”, the three individuals in question responded in unison. “And I did it with all of your Aunts and Uncles”, David continued.
“This is the last one before I start passing around the sketches for everyone to see.” He grabbed the last one and pulled the cover off of it. “This one is called ‘Hands That Heal’,” he said. The picture was of Brie giving one of the new babies a massage as she cooed softly to it. “I remember Gramma giving the new babies massage after they would eat and she would burp them. It’s something that has always left a lasting impression on me and I felt that the world needed to see it too.”
“Don’t let that go to auction”, Maddie said. “That would look amazing in the clinic.” She looked at Jona and Delilah. “Don’t you two agree?”
“Oh yeah” Delilah said.
“Absolutely. I’m sure that Damien would agree”, Jona said with a nod.
B cleared his throat. “What we can do is say that it’s being donated after the exhibit to the clinic. Would that work?”
“We’ll buy it”, Delilah said.
“No, Aunt Delilah. I wouldn’t feel right making you guys pay for that painting. I’d feel much better about donating it to ‘The Draiman- Mason Wellness Connection’, in honor of its founder.” He winked at his grandmother.
Brie laughed. “Elijah, you don’t have to do that.”
Eli shook his head. “On the contrary, Gramma. I absolutely do.”
---------------
It wasn’t an easy night for anyone in the Draiman family as they worried about what they were going to wear for the pictures the following morning. After trying on a few outfits for David’s vote, Brie finally decided on what she was going to wear. Still very active and very petite at 80 years old, she could wear a pair of slacks and blouse and get away with it. She didn’t even have a lot of wrinkles, and she’d never used anti- aging products or had any kind of laser surgery to tighten the skin. She’d taken a lot of supplements when she was younger it was paying off. She barely looked her age. After finding a pair of nice sandal flats to finish off her outfit and she was ready.
David went with his usual black on black, picking a pair of black slacks to wear with a black button down dress shirt and black boots. He’d stopped wearing his piercings a long time before so there was no point in wearing them now. They’d all grown in. He didn’t like wearing them for family pictures anyway.
David had taken the same supplements that Brie had started taken as they hit their 40’s and 50’s. It had been her idea so that they could keep their energy up as their family grew to the monumental proportions that they were at the present time. The years had been kind to both David and Brie because they wouldn’t tolerate anything less.
They went out to their little cottage on the property after spending the first few nights they were in town in the main house to set Jacob’s mind at ease. He was still reluctant to let them go out to the cottage, but the assured him that they would be fine. Neither had started saying their prayers or chatting with ancestors asking to come home. “I would know”, David said with a laugh. “Your mother still to this day gets more sleep than I do. If you ever come out there in the morning to get us and we’re both still sleeping, we’re probably both dead.” Everyone got a good laugh out of that.
As they sat on their couch and watched TV, they looked at each other and smiled. “Are we seriously going to have a picture taken of our entire family all together tomorrow?” she asked with a laugh.
“Yeah. We really are. And we’re going to have our first professional photo together since our wedding taken tomorrow too. Knowing Jake, he’ll insist that we do all the big family stuff, then me and you. It’s Jake.”
David chuckled. “I know. Amazing how he freaks over nothing, though. Cracks me up.”
“At least he comes by it honestly.”
He laughed. “I know. You’re as just as bad.”
“I know. I remember the night Malachai got arrested for the pervert who wanted to kidnap Maddie and Jordan. I was so scared that Malachai wouldn’t come home that night because you had to wait for him to be arraigned to post his bond. Logan told me to lie down and go back to sleep.”
He chuckled. “So I’d heard. You still fret over every little thing. But, it’s one of your many endearing qualities.”
“Is that why you’ve stayed with me for over 40 years?”
“I’ve stayed for over 40 years because I love you and I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.”
She giggled. “Good answer.”
He laughed. “I thought so. So, are we ready for this tomorrow?”
“I think so. I’m actually kinda dreading it.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I’m afraid someone’s going to turn it into a spectacle. And when that happens, I’m going to lose my mind.”
“I’ll beat you to it. I will not let anyone ruin this. Jake is doing something nice for everyone and the first person that acts a fool will hear it from me.”
She smiled. “That’s why I said that everyone had better dress their best. If anyone looks like a slob, I will flip. I know we didn’t raise a bunch of slouches and I refuse to have my picture taken with a bunch of slouches.”
“I know. But, what I’m trying to figure out is what we’re going to do with Jacob and Jeremiah and their line of thinking that we’re getting ready to cross over. I mean, yes we’ve excepted that it’s going to happen, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting ready for it.”
“I’d be talking to Matt or my parents if that were the case. I’d be dreaming about them. You’d probably be saying your prayers or talking to Ben.”
“More than likely talking to Ben or your asshole brother.”
She laughed. “Bright side… I’ll finally get to meet my brother I never knew, But, I’m not ready yet. He’ll call us home when we’re ready and he’s ready.”
“You think we’ll have great- grandchildren by the time that happens?” he mused.
“It’s possible. You never know with our family. I mean, I wasn’t even in my 50’s yet before I was a grandmother. Now look… those same grandkids are almost 30.”
He laughed. “I know. Ain’t life grand?”
“I know. And it just keeps getting better.”
---------------
Malachai escorted Miranda to the airport to pick up her boyfriend who was flying in from New York. He'd heard of Zachary before, but this was their first time meeting. From what he'd heard the boy seemed nice. He wasn't going to hold his breath. He'd met too many jerks with his sisters to give anyone the benefit of the doubt when it came to his daughter.
He sat and watched as his oldest child bounce in her seat and pace. "Miranda Jayde. Sit down."
"Daddy, I can't wait for you to meet him. He's a really nice guy."
"Of that I have no doubt. But, you need to relax. He's still gotta go through me and your brothers to meet your grandfather. You know this and I know this. If he has any sort of problem with that, then he can take himself back to the Big Apple."
"He's actually really excited to meet everyone, but a little nervous. He really wants to make a good impression."
"Well, we'll see. Won't we?"
She laughed. "Oh Daddy. Did you hear what Uncle Jake and Grampa did to Miri's boyfriend the other night?"
"No. What happened?"
"Apparently he was acting a fool over web chat when he figured out that Grampa is THAT David Draiman and Miri told him that if he couldn't impress Uncle Jake then they were done. Uncle Jake had her call him and tore him a new ass over the phone. Not long after he called back and Grampa laid into him pretending to be some guy named Ian Moone."
Malachai chuckled. "Ian Moone? I love it. Your Grampa is a genius."
"What does that mean?"
"If you switch the M and the N it spells I AM NO ONE. It's classic. I'm gonna talk to Aunt Jordan and the guys about calling out next record that. It would be priceless."
Miranda laughed at her father. "Daddy, you’re funny."
"Glad I amuse you."
She smiled and looked back toward the gate where Zack was supposed to be coming from. The plane had just landed and she couldn't wait to see him. She'd only been away from him a couple of days, but she hated being away from him for even a few minutes. At some point, she wanted to become his wife.
When she spotted his, she started jumping up and down to get his attention. Malachai laughed. "Just go to him goofball."
She jumped down from her where she was standing on the seat and ran to Zack, jumping into his arms and throwing her arms around his neck. "Hey you!" she squealed.
He laughed. "Hey you back. Did you miss me?"
"Absolutely not. My enthusiasm is a figment of your imagination."
"I thought so. Wanted to be sure though." He set her on the floor. "So where's your dad?"
"Over here. Come on." She led him back to where her father was standing. "Daddy, this is Zack Winfield, my boyfriend. Zack; my father, Malachai Draiman."
Malachai extended his right hand. "Nice to meet you Zack."
Zack took the hand and shook. "It's a pleasure to finally be able to meet you, Mr. Draiman."
"Please, just call me Malachai. Mr. Draiman is my father."
"Ok then. Malachai. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"And you. You seem like a really nice guy. Proud for my daughter to be dating you. Shall we head on back to the house so everyone can get some rest for tomorrow?"
"Sleep sounds really good right about now", Zack laughed. "I can't sleep when I fly."
"It's a learned skill", Malachai said with a laugh. "Been doing it for far too long."
"I know. I'm a big fan."
"Well, I hope you're a Disturbed fan too because you now have to go through my father to be able to continue seeing Miranda."
"I am and I look forward to the challenge."
---------------
Jeremiah and Jona were relaxing after Jeremiah spent half an hour freaking out over what he was going to wear for the photos the next day. "What are you so worried about, 'Miah?" Jona asked as they watched their show and unwound.
"You know how big a perfectionist my mother is. I don't want her freaking out on me because I don't meet her expectations."
"She won't freak on me will she?"
"No baby. You always look amazing."
She smiled. "And so do you. What are you so worried about?"
He sighed. "I just want this to be special for my parents."
"And it will be. Just relax. Do you want some chamomile tea to settle your nerves?"
He smiled softly. "That sounds good. Thank you, baby."
Jona uncurled herself from the way she was lying against her husband and went to pour him a glass of the chilled chamomile she kept in the fridge. When she returned and handed him the glass, he captured her hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. "How is it that you know exactly how to take care of me?"
She laughed. "Sheer dumb luck."
He laughed as well. "Well, you must be really lucky."
"Of course I am. I have you."
"Are you saying that it's a give and take?"
"How else would we work so well?"
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