The boys were up early to eat and say their good- byes before they loaded their things into the back of Ira’s car and took off for Las Vegas. David and Brie were sure to be in the main house to bid their grandsons farewell. Ira watched David walk into the house carefully with a hand on his lower back. “Did you throw your back out last night, Grampa?” he asked with a chuckle.
David shook his head. “Nope. Just feeling my age, Grandson. I think I’m actually starting to get old. Finally.” He laughed.
Jake and ‘Miah exchanged a look. “Do my ears deceive?” Jeremiah said.
“Is Dad finally admitting that he’s old?” Jake added.
“No. I said I think I’m starting to get old, not that I am old, boys. Never in a million years. I’m still young at heart, God dammit.” He took a seat at the table.
The boys both rolled their eyes. “Where’s Mom?” ‘Miah asked.
“Playing with one of the little mastiff puppies that came running up to her as we were coming in.”
Jake chuckled. “Goliath and Kiana need to stop fucking so much and stop having puppies so that we can get rid of the ones we have.”
“Goliath and Kiana?” David asked.
“The mastiff pair I have out there. They’re from breeding purposes only. They’re pets, but they aren’t supposed to be popping out pups so much.”
“How many litters have they had?”
“Too many. I’ll take you out later so that you can see Goliath and Kiana. You’ll see why we call Goliath, Goliath.”
“Should I be afraid?”
“No. You might be shocked, though.”
“Anyway”, Levi said as he drew the attention back to himself and the three boys that were taking off after breakfast. “So, Grampa, you think you’re finally getting old. What constitutes old in your eyes?”
“Feeling it and thinking that you are. I’m not old, by God. I’m far from it. I don’t think anyone will ever convince me that I am. Not until the day I die.”
“And when do you think you’ll be old enough to die, Grampa?” Anthony asked.
“That’s not a case of, ‘When will I be old enough?’. It’s more a case of, ‘When I’m called home, I’m called home’. That could be any moment. I could just be sitting here and stop breathing for whatever reason. That’s when it’s my time.”
Levi laughed. “Well if that’s the case, then I need to go on and tell you what I planned to do with the quality education that Loyola is going to provide me.”
David looked at Levi suspiciously. “And what might that be?”
“I’m going to major in Political Science and when I’m 35, I’m going to run for president.”
David went still, not breathing for a few seconds. When he finally blinked the boys all relaxed. “You’re gonna do what?” he asked the 18 year old boy in a monotone.
“I want to be the first Draiman to be the president. I’m going to run for local stuff right out of college and build a career of politics.”
David nodded slowly and looked over his shoulder to see if his wife was coming in. “I want you to repeat that to your Gramma, Levi.”
Brie was standing outside the opened back door dusting her dress off before coming in. “Say it nice loud, Levi. My hearing not that bad, but I am a good distance away.”
He chuckled. “I just told Grampa that I want to be the first Draiman to run for president”, he said a little more loudly.
Brie looked at Levi, then back to her husband. “I know you want to say it.”
David looked back at Levi. “Boy, have you lost what’s left of your ever- loving mind?”
“No. I think that I can do it. I can be honest. I was raised with a good background and a pride in who and what I am. Between you and Gramma, and Mom, Dad and Ronnie, I have a good set of morals. I think I can actually be honest.”
Brie smiled. “My aunt was an honest politician. So was the wonderful man that made sure that Jake had his funding for his research and awarded you the Kennedy Center Medal.”
“McAlister?”
“Yes. What I’m saying is, the boy has a point.”
David sighed. “Touché. I’ll admit that one, love.” He looked back a Levi. “Stay on the straight and narrow. Keep the morals that you were taught and remember the things I’ve been trying to teach you from the cradle. Don’t bridle your tongue, but be tactful. Those are my words of wisdom and advice. Now, the three of you should eat some breakfast and get the hell out of here if you want to beat Denver traffic.” He gave the three young men a smile.
“You’re not going to rip my head off?” Levi asked.
“Why? You made a good point. And, I’d forgotten that your great- great Aunt had served as the Transitional President as well as the President after the Utopians fell. She was a good woman. A bit of a pain in the ass, but a good woman none the less. I had to concede the point. I couldn’t rebut it.” He shrugged.
The boys all ate their breakfast and said their goodbyes. “We’ll be back in a couple of weeks”, they said after dropping their dishes in the sink so they could be rinsed.
“There are no maids around here”, Jake called as the boys tried to run out the door.
They played Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who would go back to take care of the dishes while the others loaded their bags in the car. Levi lost, and turned back to load the dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them off.
Before pulling away, they were sure to go back to say good bye to their grandparents. “You boys have fun”, Brie said when they all gave her a hug and said they’d see her soon.
David chuckled when the boys turned to him and added, “And try not to get arrested.”
---------------
After everyone was up and around, Jake did exactly what he said he would do. He took his father out to the dog pen and showed him the bullmastiffs that he’d bought. “I loved Sampson and Delilah. They were great dogs. But, I didn’t want Akitas after having to put them down. So, after a few years- about when Miri was in middle school or high school- Delilah and I started talking about what kinds of dogs we wanted to have around the property. I wanted something that would scare the hell out of anyone that thought they would come onto this property meaning harm. That’s when we decided on Bullmastiffs.”
David nodded. “I see. Well, let’s see these dogs then.” Jake whistled a couple of times and out came the dogs from their house. The biggest of them trotted over to the fence and looked like a monster. David jumped. “Oh shit, what the hell is that?” he asked, grabbing his son’s arm to keep from falling.
“Don’t hurt yourself, Dad”, Jake laughed as he grabbed his father’s elbow. “That’s Goliath.”
“That is not a dog. That is a freak of nature.”
“He’s a gentle giant. He’s a big bear.”
“He’d rather lick me to death?”
“Yeah. The one you have to worry about is that evil bitch in front of you.”
“This is Goliath’s mate?”
“Yeah. Kiana. And she’s evil as hell.”
“You let her know she’s the Alpha. You show her fear. You can’t do that or they run over you. Here. Let me show you.” He reached out and grabbed the dog by her collar and put his hand in front of her nose to sniff. She tried to bite him and he tapped her on the snout. “No”, he said in a stern voice and repeated the action. When she tried to bite him again, she got her snout smacked again. “I said, no. Don’t bite.” He put his hand in front of her nose again. One more time, she tried to bite and got the firm tap on the snout. “Kiana. I said don’t bite”, he said sternly with a bit of a growl in his voice. The next time he put his hand in front of her nose, she took a good sniff and licked the back of his hand. He scratched her behind the ear with the hand that was on her collar as she licked him and looked at Jake. “And that’s how that’s done. You’re the owner and you’re the Alpha. You can’t let her run you over. Remember how I would grab Sampson by his collar and physically put him where I wanted him when he didn’t want to listen?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m the Alpha, You do what I say. The dog doesn’t run the show.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind and try that. How hard were she popping her on the snout.”
“Not hard. Just hard enough to let her know that I meant business and I wouldn’t tolerate being bitten. I’m top dog.”
Jake laughed. “That you are, Dad. You certainly are.”
---------------
Miri took care of her animals first thing in the morning so that she could go spend the day with Ranger. Her fish had been taken care of, her ferret, her rats… all fed. She was working on her class project with the horse. She wasn’t going to be deterred. If she had to spend all day with him for a while, she would.
When she made her way out to the barn that morning after her brother and two cousins left to tend to the horse, she had a bounce in her step. She’d made detailed notes on what she’d done the day before with him. She was going to need to change the dressing on the infection in his front leg. She was hoping to be able to get him to trust her enough that she didn’t have to tranquilize him.
When she got close to the barn, she approached slowly. She knew he was still on edge. He was in a new environment and surrounded my new people. It was something she understood. She’d been shy before. She was shy every time she started a new school or new classes with people she didn’t know. “Hey buddy”, she said with a smile as she slowly approached him. “How ya feeling today?” He whinnied happily. “Good to hear.” She tried moving a little faster, still measuring every step. He didn’t react. That made her smiled. “You just needed some time to move about the corral to get familiar with your surroundings, huh Ranger?” She got him his oats and put them out with the flowers mixed in. She was giving him the flowers at every meal and feeding him twice a day. He loved the mix and she was happy that he was calming down and becoming more comfortable.
She grabbed all of the things she would need to groom him and change his bandage. First thing she did was glove up to deal with the infection in his left front leg, just above the hoof. After grabbing the stool, she sat down and changed the dressing carefully. She looked at the wound carefully. “Looks like it’s clearing up rather well, Ranger. You’re going to be able to carry a rider again in no time. She cleaned it with saline and redressed it after putting the antibiotic ointment on it.
After he was done eating and he was groomed, Miri started rubbing his snout. “You wanna take a walk around the corral, buddy?” she asked when he lowered his head. “I could put you on the lead rope and walk you around for a little bit?” He moved his head up and down with enthusiasm like he was nodding. “You wanna take a walk, Ranger?” He nodded again. “Ok. Let me get the halter. Cool?”
She got him ready and put the lead rope on the halter and took him walking up around the corral. He tried to lead her to the gate. “No. We’re staying here.” He pulled his head toward the gate again and she grabbed him by the halter and pulled him to look him in the eyes. “I said No”, she said sternly. “I run this show, Ranger. I know you want to do more, but you’re injured still and we need to take it a little bit at a time. Eventually, I’ll ride you up to the house so my Gramma can see you. She grew up with horses. I might let my little cousin take you for a ride with me. You think you’ll be able to handle that eventually?” He nodded. “Well, then you need to listen to me then don’t you?” He huffed. “I know it sucks. I used to tell my parents the same thing. Now we’ll walk around the corral for a little while, then we’re going to do the exercises that the vet to me to do with you. Understood?” he nodded. “Good boy. Come on. Let’s walk.”
----------------
“It’s not a dog, Jacob”, David said.
“Dad. He’s a gentle giant. He’s lick you to death before he bit you”, Jake laughed as he made lunch for himself and his parents.
“I’m inclined to agree Jake. Goliath is not a dog. He’s a monster. Have you taken him to the vet and had him check for pituitary problem?” Brie asked.
“That’s just the size he grew to. We’ve had him checked a million times if we’ve had him checked once, Mom. He’s just a big dog.”
“I take it Gramma and Grampa met Goliath earlier”, Sammi asked when she walked into kitchen to get a drink. She pulled a glucometer out of the drawer and tested her sugar.
“Yes we did”, Brie said. “Samantha, were you diagnosed with diabetes finally?”
“Yep. Type 1 like you and Dad, Gramma. It sucks, but I manage. It doesn’t keep me down.” She nodded. “Doing good today. Staying right at about 180 which is my norm.” She looked at her father. “Dad. I would really like to have a salad. Would that be cool with you?”
“Get whatever you want, Samantha Cheyenne. When have you ever been told that you couldn’t eat something?” Jake said as he got down plates for everyone.
“Halloween.”
“I really don’t want to have to explain to you why that is, Cheyenne. You know.”
“I do. I was just saying that you told me no that night.”
“You wanted to gorge yourself on candy. Do you want to go into insulin shock?”
“No. I was just saying that you told me no. It was for my own good, but you still told me no.”
“Get the salad and go, Sammi. I’m talking with your grandparents. I told them that after I was done cooking lunch, I had a tough subject that I wanted to discuss with them. You don’t need to be here when we discuss it.”
“Yes sir”, she laughed. She did what she was told and took the plate to her room. “I’m gonna watch a movie on the Pay- Per- View, Dad.”
“What movie?”
“That new vampire horror thing that Uncle Marc just got done working on.”
“How much do I have to take out of your allowance for this one?”
“Nothing. I gave you the money at the beginning of the month when I pre- ordered it. I have the receipt if you want to see it.”
“No dear. That’s fine. Go on and watch your movie.” He rolled his eyes when the girl walked out of the room as he set the plates on the table in front of his parents. After he grabbed his he sat down. “Ok, I know you two probably don’t want to talk about this, but I need to know what you two want done when you finally do go. What traditions do you want to follow; which ones don’t you want? Makes things easier for me once it does happen, you know?”
Brie dug in her purse and grabbed a piece of paper. “This goes for both your father and me. We don’t want a lot of pomp and circumstance. Just family and close friends. All of the traditions are lined out on the paper. I think the only thing we really don’t want is a Shiva. That’s it, Jake. That’s our joint Living Will.”
“Is your Last Will and Testament drawn up jointly as well?” he asked solemnly.
“Yes Jacob”, David said. “You, Malachai, Jordan, and Maddie are the Joint Executors of our Joint Estate. If one of us goes before the other, the living spouse is the executor until they pass as well.”
“You drew it up jointly because?”
“Nothing was ever separated. It was never my money or your mother’s money. It was Our Money, Our Property. Everything had both of our names in it. I just said it was MINE because I’m the Man of the House.”
Brie nodded. “Exactly.”
“Makes sense”, Jake said as he ate. “I’m sorry I had to bring it up, but it’s important. I need to know.”
They both nodded in response. “We understand that Jake. We’ve have been worried if you didn’t ask sooner or later.”
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