Jeremiah was more than willing to help during the little time he had off of work. When he wasn’t putting together he lesson plan for the Dean for the different topics he taught at UCCS he was making phone calls for Jake. He’d stepped into the role of the second lieutenant with relative ease. He hadn’t even realized that’s what had happened for several years, until right around Matt’s tenth birthday and he realized that Jake was turning to him rather than Malachai- who lived in the area as well. He mentioned it to Jake and to their father and everyone pretty much shrugged it off, including Jeremiah himself.
He found a photographer named Kelly Demarco who had an open enough calendar that she could do the come out to homestead and do the shoot. He instructed her to call to talk to Jake about the details that she would need to know. The only thing he was sure to tell her was that there would be around 50 people in the large group shot and that most of them would want family shots as well. She thanked him and made sure to call Jake.
Jacob was impressed that the young photographer wasn’t intimidated by the size of the group or the last name attached to the order. “SO?” she said. “Your last name is Draiman. That’s supposed to scare me? I know the prowess and power the name has. But, you’re all people just like me. Yes, there are Grammy winners, Oscar winners, you yourself are a Nobel Prize winner. I know. You’re all human beings.”
“So, you’re not taking this job because it could skyrocket your career?” Jake asked her.
“No. I’m doing it just to do it. I know how infamous the family is but it’s still a job and I’ve got the time to do it. Now, how many people am I looking at? How many groups will there be aside from the large family? This is so that I know how long to charge you for.”
“You’re looking at around 50 people. I’m gonna say that’s on the low side. Max I think would be 55 or 56. I honestly can’t tell you how it’s going to break down into smaller groups. You’ll just have to come out and see what groups are going to want to have photos taken. I know my parents are going to want a portrait together; my wife and I will want a portrait together and a family portrait of the six of us. My brother that you spoke to earlier will want a family portrait of his four and probably one of himself and his wife. You have to keep in mind, Ms. Demarco; it’s a huge family that sprouts from my parents having ten kids.”
“I understand. I could give you a ball park estimate, but I don’t want to insult your intelligence with the number. You know it will be higher than what I give you. Much higher.”
Jake chuckled. “I understand. I’m sure it’s going to be a couple thousand dollars.”
“At least. Who’s going to be ‘writing the check’?”
“I will be. It was my idea and it’s my gift not only to my parents, who are in their 80’s, but to the rest of my family.”
“Will you be ok with me giving you the price after everyone is photographed?”
“That’s fine. I would suggest booking a couple of days just in case we need you that long.”
“I’ll block out a week. That way if you need me, you have me. If not, I have time to process and print the photos. And, I’ll take multiple shots in each one.”
“Hey, you’re the expert. I’m just a doctor who needs to finish his lunch to get back to seeing patients. Thank you, Ms. Demarco. Email me with the dates, please?”
“Not a problem, Doctor. I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.”
“The sooner we can do this, the better it’s going to be.”
“Alright. That’s not a problem. I will let you know by the end of the day, even if I have to call you after business hours because I’m away from my computer.”
“Thank you. You’re great. Have a wonderful day and I look forward to hearing from you again.”
“You have a wonderful day, too, Dr. Draiman.”
Once they hung up, Jake quickly finished his lunch and checked to see what patience he had now that his hour was up. He had about 30 minutes until his next appointment so he opted to call Jeremiah real quick. “Brother!” he said when ‘Miah answered the phone.
“Well, what’s up, brada?” Jeremiah said with a laugh.
“Just got off the phone with the photographer. She’s awesome. She’s looking forward to the challenge of photographing our family.”
“Well, you told her the sooner the better right?”
“Yes, I did. I know Miranda’s got to get back to New York for rehearsals. I know Eli’s working on a collection for a gallery showing in New York and in Chicago. Jessi and Dave only have a week left off. Marc brought work with him because that’s the awesome thing about doing most of your work for your father in law. Meagan, I’m sure, needs to get back to NASA. The rest of us can juggle things around to be here for the shoot. Hell, James works for himself technically. Himself and Justin. He’s got the time to stay.”
“Yeah. That’s the great thing about it all. And we all know that Mom and Dad are going to want to go home soon.”
“Maybe. They don’t seem to have a problem staying here. The only thing is that they’re going to want to travel to New York to see Miranda on Broadway. How long they’ll be content staying here in the states, however, is up in the air.”
“Because it’s our parents. Mom likes Israel.”
“And Dad likes to see Mom happy. It’s always been that way and will be until we bury one of them.”
“What are we going to do if they both go at the same time and they’re both in Israel?”
“I dunno. I know Jessi and Dave check on them daily now that they’re in their 80’s and all. They hate it.”
“They hate that I call them once a month to make sure they’re on and still breathing.”
“I call them twice a day and make sure they’re still breathing.”
“No wonder Dad says I’m not nearly as bad as you but I’m still bad.” Jeremiah laughed.
“Well, we’ve got to make sure that we know when they go. We know they’re going to leave us eventually, but when is the question.” Jake sighed. “Well, go check on them and text me to let me know what they’re up to. I’ve got to go see a patient. Not that I’m looking forward to it. Some local new money media monkey who’s having headaches. He thinks it’s a tumor.”
“Go let the local yokel know that he’s not dying brain cancer and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, ‘Miah.”
“Later Jake.”
Jake hung up and grabbed everything he would need, stopping to talk to his nurse about the notes she’d taken on the patient he was about to go see. Knocking on the door, he opened it and walked in. “Good afternoon, Mr. Wilkins. What seems to be the issue?”
---------------
Jeremiah headed into town to the clinic to let his sisters and wife know what was going on with the family photo. Jona seemed to be excited by the idea of having family photo done not only with the Draiman family but with her own and the four of them together. They needed a new family.
When he walked in her greeted the receptionist at the desk by name as he walked by to go to Jona's office. "Hi Bethy", he said to the young woman as he walked past.
"Hi Professor Draiman. How are you today?"
"Busy, busy, busy; much like every other day."
"You're to see Jona?"
"For starters. I also need to see Maddie and Delilah. Maybe Damien if he's not too busy. Who's available at the moment?"
"Your wife. She just finished with a client and is preparing for her next one, which won't be for about 30 minutes because they're in with Maddie right now."
"Ah, I see. Well, I'll go talk to my wife and tell her hi reap fast then. I'll be seeing you in class this fall?"
"Yes sir, for Ancient Religions."
"Can't wait to have your opinion added to the lecture discussions. Now, dear, if you'll excuse me." He headed back his wife's office and knocked on the door. "Knock knock, beautiful."
Jona looked up from her notes. "Well hey handsome. What brings you by?"
"News on the big picture day event coming up. Jake will know by the end of the day. I decided to come into town and let you all here at the clinic know and Jake will tell Jordan and Malachai."
"Have you told my parents? I'm sure that they'll want to be involved as well."
"They know. Jake had the idea to involve your family because they're just like family too."
"My Dad must be excited about that."
"He seemed like it. Your mom was her usual calm self and thanked me for the news, then went to calming your father. They've got Matt and Rina for the moment. Matt's keeping Grampa Skyler busy with one of his little models he likes to build. Rina, when I left, was helping Gramma Kaylian with dinner."
"Who are we eating with tonight?"
"I don't know yet. I think your Mom wants us and Damien over tonight. I'll ask later."
"Ok." She looked at the clock. "Maddie should be done with my client about now. I take it you're here to let Delilah and Maddie know too."
"Yep."
"Then you had better go, huh?"
He smiled. "Maybe so. I'll get out of here so that you can deal with your client, love. I love you." He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.
She smiled and kissed him back. "I love you too, baby. I'll see you at home."
He gave her another kiss and headed to Delilah's office to give her the same information that he'd just given his wife; then did the same for Maddie before heading back to the house. He still had to finish putting together lecture presentations and getting ready for his summer classes. He missed the days when he got to take the summer off and get paid. But, there wasn't a high school in the country that would let him teach theology. It was strictly a collegiate subject. If he wanted to teach it, then it had to be at a college. Such was life.
As he drove home, he thought about the family portrait. He was looking forward to seeing what it was going to be like to have a picture of the full family together. All of the kids and grandkids in one photo. They could even do a picture of the ten kids together and one of the kids and their parents alone. It was going to be quite a day.
---------------
Eli and B were back at their hotel room. Eli was working on a gift for his grandparents. He had already decided that "Darkness" was going to be a gift to them. It was an ode to his grandfather's band. It was a picture of his grandfather as a younger man, his head bowed; a microphone in hand and his arms at his side as the lights went down on the stage. He felt that the piece captured the symbolism behind the song rather well. The piece he was working on was actually a portrait of his grandparents together. He'd snapped a picture of them with his phone when he went over to tell everyone about his preference the day before. He loved how in love his grandparents were and wanted to capture it in a painting. It wasn't often that people painted portraits anymore, but he was good at them. He loved painting people. That's what his last collection was of, random people he'd painted.
His phone rang on the bedside table where it was sitting. B answered it so that he Eli could continue his work uninterrupted. "Hello?" he said
"Is Eli available?" the voice of his father asked.
"I'm sorry to say, Mr. Draiman, but Eli is kinda busy at the moment. He's painting."
"Ah. Do you know what he's working on?"
"Something for his grandparents. He won't say what, though I've asked him a million times. I don't think he wants anyone to ruin his surprise for them."
"Well, would you tell him that there's a family portrait day coming up and you're both needed there?"
"I will let him know. Do we need to wear anything specific?"
"Just dress nice", Malachai said. "I'll see you both for dinner?"
"I'll have to talk to him about that after his muse stops speaking to him. There's no talking to him right now."
"Oh, I know. If you're here, then you're here. If not, we'll see you when we see you."
"Alright. That sounds good to me, Mr. Draiman."
"Please call me Malachai. Mr. Draiman is what people call my father."
B grinned. "If you insist, Malachai. We should see you soon."
"Ok B. Talk to you later."
"Bye." B hung up the phone and watched as Elijah worked. He knew his way around his canvas. It was a memorizing dance for B to watch. Eli wasn't a brooding artist, which is what attracted B to him. Eli wasn't dark and brooding. He was passionate. When Eli was in communication with his muse, there was no interrupting him. He worked until his muse had nothing left to say. Sometimes he would finish several pieces in a day. Sometimes he would spend days staring at a piece for days until he finally knew what he needed to do. B thought it was adorable the way he would obsess over a painting or a sketch. It was cute.
So, B sat and alternated between watching his man and watching the TV. What else was there to do?
---------------
Ira, Levi, and Anthony had everything they needed for their trip. Jordan had given them all a couple thousand dollars to spend on their trip. They had one of Jake's credit cards to pay for charging the car, eating, and hotel rooms. Meagan gave the boys some money to help with food and rooms, and their grandparents gave them money to blow at the tables. "Do you boys even know how to play any of the card games?"
"Dad taught me how to play black jack", Ira chuckled.
"Mom never had the time to teach me to gamble. She was too busy trying to help put a man on Mars", Anthony laughed.
"Both Mom and Dad frequent Vegas. They were sure to teach me a few things about the tables in Vegas", was Levi's laughing response.
"Ira, you have a deck of cards?" David asked.
"Yeah. I'll go get it." Ira ran up the stairs to his room.
"Boys, have a seat around the table and I'll school you all in cards", David said. He had Jeremiah bring him the poker chips and proceeded to teach his grandsons- and anyone else that was interested- how to play different Vegas style card games. Brie would chime in every now and then, but for the most part she just sat and watched the boys all play cards.
Soon, all of the boys- including Skyler and Damien- were involved with the game in some way. If they weren't playing they were teaching. It was quite the sight to see.
Finally, it was dinner time and the game was put on hold so everyone could eat.
While at dinner, the boys took their opportunity to ask their grandparents questions about their parents. "Hey Gramma and Grampa, did our parents do anything crazy when they were younger?" Ira asked.
"Are you just asking about your dad, or Aunt Jordan and Aunt Meagan as well?" David asked.
"All of 'em", Ira laughed.
"All of your aunts and uncles?"
"Yeah. We just want stories", Anthony laughed.
"Well, there have been all kinds of fun memories", Brie told her grandchildren. "One in particular would be the big snowball fight we had on one of Grampa's birthdays during the Utopian Conflict."
Everyone laughed. "Oh, the memories", Jake laughed.
"What happened?" Miri asked.
"Before Jessi and Marc were really even thought of, during the war, we're had just bounced to yet another safe house", David began. "The day this all happened just happened to be the day before my birthday. Your grandmother and I awoke in the morning to the sounds of our children in the kitchen making us breakfast. There was arguing. Jordan was just a much a smart ass then as she is now. They finally figured everything out and served us breakfast. It was a huge surprise to both your Gramma and me. Well, after we finished I had the wild idea to take everyone outside to play in the snow. I'm not wild about the cold, but it was what I wanted to do for my birthday. We got up and got dressed, then told everyone to get dressed and get their coats and gloves on. After we got outside and I was grinning from ear to ear when out of nowhere I feel something cold peg me in the back. I turned around to Jake and Malachai both holding snowballs. They taunted me. Called me old and a chicken. Finally, I stooped over and rolled a snowball and threw it. From there, a snowball fight ensued; me against the boys. Then Jordan had the bright idea to have the girls join me. The boys felt like it was unfair and tapped their mother. We played in the snow until the sun started to set. After that we came in and warmed up with tea, hot chocolate and coffee as we watch a Disney classic called Finding Nemo. I honestly don't think that it could have been a better day."
"Did you repeat it after Aunt Jessi and Uncle Marc were born?" Ira asked.
"Not that Gramma and I were involved in."
"Why not?" Levi asked.
"We were helping take care of my brother who was dying of cancer", Brie said.
"What kind of cancer?" Anthony asked.
"End stage lung cancer".
"That's so sad", Miri said.
Brie shrugged. "He died happy. He died near his family and he went in his sleep. It was peaceful. That's all that matters. He was at peace when he slipped into the next life."
"Still would have been cool to meet him", Ira said.
"He would have adored each and every one of you."
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