Finally, Miranda could go back to having a normal life. She was ready to get into rehearsals and get this play over with. After RENT was over, she was going to take a sabbatical and go home for a little while. It would be nice to be around her family for a while. She needed the rest. She was just feeling so tired and stressed recently. She wasn’t even worried that her period was late. Her hormones were always weird when she was stressed.
There were days that she was grateful that she lived just down the block from the theater they were performing at because it saved on cab fare. The big pain was having Will with her, though she understood that it was a necessary evil. He was there in case Zack decided to be a pain in the ass. He was her protection.
When they arrived, she went straight back to the dressing room and greeted her cast mates. They asked her how her break was and if anything exciting happened. She told them that she got to take family pictures and that she and Zack broke up.
She was in her red Tango dress for “The Tango- Maureen” standing off stage right when she felt eyes on her. She tried to dismiss it and bent over to adjust the strap on her shoe when the gaze intensified. She whirled around and looked at the man who was staring at her. “What exactly are you staring at?” she asked.
The man’s face turned red. “You”, he said as he blushed. “I’m sorry ma’am. I shouldn’t stare. It’s impolite.” His southern drawl captivated her. “I’ll go back to work now.”
She smiled. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a bad day so far. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did. When we have lunch, would you mind sitting with me?” she asked. “It would be nice to have someone other than my brother and my Dad’s bodyguard to talk to.”
He grinned a little lopsided. “Sure. We can talk at lunch. I do apologize for staring at your ass though, Miss. It was rather rude of me.”
“It’s ok, sugar. I’m not offended. I’m actually kinda used to it with this dress on. I’ve got to go on now. I’ll see you in a bit.” She took her dance partners’ hands and whirled out onto the stage as the song played. “She cheated (she cheated), Maureen cheated (fucking cheated), I’m so mad that I don’t know what to do”, Joanne and Mark sang as Maureen tangoed with another man and another woman.
The young man watched at the guy playing Mark intentionally hit the girl he’d just had an exchange with in the head as he danced with the black girl. The girl tried to play it off, but her wince was too visible and the director called cut. “What happened?” the man yelled.
“Either Zack or Keisha smacked me in the head as we were doing the scene. It’s bull shit, Frank”, the girl said loudly.
“Has something happened in the last few days or weeks that I need to know about?” the director asked.
“Zack met my family and was nearly escorted off my grandfather’s property by my uncles and father. He committed one of my grandfather’s cardinal no-no’s and disrespected me by acting like a fucking moron.”
“Your family shouldn’t have put their nose in our relationship, especially not your nosy ass brothers and cousins”, the man on the stage said
“Watch how you talk about my family, mother fucker. My Dad’s body guard won’t be able to get up here fast enough to keep me from beating the hell out of you in this skimpy ass dress.”
“ENOUGH!”, the director yelled. “One more unnecessary crack about the Draiman family, Zack, and I’ll replace you with your understudy and you’re fired. Hit Miranda again, and you’re fired and your understudy will take over. Think I’m kidding, try me. Marc Draiman is a close friend of mine and I know what the family is like in passing.”
When he heard the last name, he was stunned. This tall, statuesque woman is a member of the infamous Draiman family?, he thought to himself. I think that I’ve heard that name before in connection with a Master Guns that became notorious in the Corps for his kill count as well as a great deal of other things. Cartwright was his name. Master Gunnery Sergeant Cartwright. I wonder if they’re related. That would really cool. I’m for sure curious where our talk over lunch is going to lead. It would be long before he found out.
---------------
When lunch time rolled around, Miranda sat next to the sweet young man she’d been hanging out with before her cue to go on. She smiled at him. “Hi”, she said as she sat next to him backstage.
He looked over at her. “Hi. I was hoping you weren’t kidding when you said you were gonna sit with me at lunch. I really didn’t want to eat lunch with my ignorant brother.”
She laughed. “You’re funny. I like you.”
“Thank you.”
“So, I’ve never seen you before. Are you a new hire?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m here helping my brother with some set production. I’m on two weeks leave right now and trying to make the most of it.”
“You’re on leave? Are you in the military?”
“Yes ma’am. I’m Staff Sergeant Callan Maguire, USMC. I’m in EOD.”
She smiled. “You’re a Marine. I like you more. I’m Miranda Draiman.”
“So, which of the infamous Draiman’s is your parent?”
“I’m the oldest daughter of Malachai Draiman, the lead and rhythm guitarist for Reckless Disregard.”
“So, you’re David Draiman’s oldest grandchild?”
“One of the oldest grandchildren. I’m a twin.”
“Oh. Nice. I was really young when the man died, but was one of your grandparents related to the late Master Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Cartwright?”
“Yeah. My Gramma is his baby sister.”
“Wow. That’s pretty cool.”
She smiled. “You’re not intimidated are you?”
“No”, he said with a grin. His voice and face contradicted what he was feeling inside. Her grandfather was David Draiman and she was the great- niece of the most infamous Marine in the history of the Corps. It was just a trifle intimidating. Was he up for the challenge? He was always up for a challenge.
She grinned back. “So, you’re a Marine. What’s it like to have two birthdays?”
“I don’t actually.”
“You don’t?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I share my birthday with the Corps. My Dad always used to say that I was destined to be a Marine. But, I’m not just a Marine.”
She laughed. “You’re not?”
“Oh no. I’m also a Scorpio. I enjoy long walks on the beach as long as they involve cadence, good music, guns, and making shit go boom. My dislikes are tools who think it’s funny to hit a female in the head. I’m looking for a good woman to stand by me. Not in front of me and not behind me. She needs to be family oriented, strong and independent because I am a lifer in the Corps, and want a family of her own.”
Miranda laughed out loud. “Where is the signup sheet for this? I’m in.”
He laughed. “Really? I just gave you my dating profile. Why don’t you give me yours?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m a Leo. I too like long walks on the beach- but they don’t have to have cadence to them, good music that’s NOT my dad’s band or the musical stylings of my Grampa. I like watching things go boom. My dislikes as also tools who think it’s funny to hit a female, as well as assholes who have no spine. I’m very family oriented and I need a man who is as well. My family is the most important thing in the world to me. He also needs to be supporting of my career. I want to act. That’s my passion. I want to be able to stand beside my man and I want him to stand beside me. I want a marriage like my grandparents have. They’ve been perfect for each other since the day they met, from what I understand and I want that. You’d have to see my grandparents together to understand what I’m getting at but when you see it, you’ll know.”
He nodded. “Do you have a problem with a man that’s gone a lot?”
“Nope. My Mom’s had to do it with my Dad his entire career, my Gramma had to do it with Grampa. It’s only fair that one of us carries on the tradition.”
“Ok, I just have to know. Is your family as big as everyone says?”
“My family is huge. My grandparents had 10 kids. I have five siblings myself. I think all together, my grandparents have 27 grandchildren.”
“HOLY SHIT! THAT’S ENORMOUS!” he shouted.
She laughed. “That’s my family. Imagine all of us piled around a single table during the holidays. And my Uncle Jeremiah’s in- laws live nearby and usually join us for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.”
“So celebrate the high holy days?”
“No. Just Hanukkah.” She looked at him. “How do you know so much?”
“Well, I’m curious for starters. But, I was raised a Mormon. Obviously because I just shouted ‘Holy shit’, I don’t practice anymore. We’re all about tradition and stuff like that. I had a really good buddy in high school that was Jewish and he told me all about the High Holy Days and even invited me to his bar mitzvah.”
“Did you go?”
“Sure did. My parents gave me 50 bucks to give him. Mother fucker was rich that day.”
“That’s too funny. You should tell my grandfather that story should you ever get to meet him. He’d get a kick out of that, I think.”
---------------
They were doing the second run through of the show. The scene was “La Vie Boheme” when everyone was dancing on the tables in the diner. The scene was carefully choreographed to prevent people from getting injured.
Callan was having trouble focusing on what he was doing. He was too busy watching the girl he’d just spent lunch talking to and getting to know. Was this what it felt like to be in love? And if so, was it love at first sight?
As they ran through the scene, Callan watch and saw something that would piss him off not only as a man but as a Marine. The worst part was that at the moment there wasn’t too much of anything he could do about it. As the scene played he watch the guy that had hit Miranda earlier in the day do so again and try not to make it obvious. He jumped like he was going to go after the tool only to be stopped by his brother. “Let the director handle it”, his brother whispered.
“He’s a punk, Kade, and he needs to be dealt with.”
“I agree, but let the director handle it. Technically, she’s not your problem. She’s not your woman, so don’t go all Marine on everyone’s asses and jump this tool because he’s assaulting Miranda Draiman’s honor. From what I understand, she can take pretty good care of herself and she has a bodyguard with her.”
“Bodyguard?”
“Yeah the youngest son of her grandfather’s long time bodyguard, Morbus. His name is Will.”
“He’s not doing a very good job of body guarding her.”
“There’s only so much he can do from the audience, Cal. Give him a break.”
Callan sat and fumed as he listened to the director chew the guy’s ass then the bodyguard came up on the stage. “You’d be wise to just stay away from Miranda. I’ll be here with her through the end of the play and if you show your face here or at her apartment, I will shoot you. Don’t think I won’t. I couldn’t do it because you were in the cast. Show your face at the theater again and you will regret it”, the bodyguard said as he waited for the douche to grab his things so that he could be escorted out. He heard the familiar sound as the hammer of a gun clicking back and smiled. I like the bodyguard all of the sudden, he thought as he watched the guy who hit Miranda get escorted off of the property at gun point. I guess it’s true that you don’t fuck with the Draiman’s because one way or another, they will fuck with you.
---------------
Rehearsals for the day were over and Miranda was ready to go home. It was just her and Will in her apartment now that she was back at rehearsal and Isaiah was teaching classes at Julliard. It wasn’t like she wasn’t having a good time with Will. He was an interesting guy. But, the fact of the matter was that he was there to protect her to the best of his ability from Zack.
As she walked out of the front of the theater with Will in the lead, she checked her phone for any messages. She’d have to make it a point to call her parents and let them know what was going on with the Zack drama. She was looking forward to doing the play with Gordon, the understudy for Mark. “Miranda”, she heard a familiar voice call from behind her. She stopped and turned to see who it could have been. It was Callan. “Hey, glad I caught you.”
“I see that. What’s on your mind?”
“I know this is probably a really long shot but while I’m in town, you wouldn’t want to go out sometime would you?”
She smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Sure. Sounds like fun. How long are you in town for?”
“My leave is almost up and I’ve only got about a week left before I have to report back to 29 Palms.”
“Oh, so you’re stationed permanently in California?”
“Yep. San Diego area.”
“That’s pretty cool.” She pulled her phone out. “I’m available the rest of the week after rehearsal. Any time for me is good to be honest.”
“You wouldn’t want to go out tonight, would you? I know that douche may have gotten to you a little bit overwhelmed, but I figured I’d give it a shot. I would really like to get to know you better. You’re an amazing person.”
She smiled brightly. “I don’t really feel like going out tonight because of the douche, but if you want to come to my apartment, we could just hang out.”
“Can I just put it out there that this is a getting to know you thing and I really want to wait until we at least know there’s going to be something between us before we are intimate?”
“Oh, that’s perfectly fine. I’d really like to take it slow rather than rush things anyway. I rushed things with my last boyfriend and that’s the reason he’s my ex.”
Callan nodded. “Ok then. Let’s go to your place. Do you cook at all?”
“Not really. I know how, I’m just never home enough. I’m either here all the time or I’m with my parents in Colorado, or I’m flying out to Israel to visit my Grandparents. I don’t that one often, but I do it upon occasion.”
“Fun. Well, I’m going to run and grab my bag so that we can leave. Do you live far?”
“No. I live a block away. It’s convenient like that.”
“Cool. I’ll get my bag and I’ll be right back.” He jogged away and she watched, looking over her shoulder at Will. “I’m having company. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all. I’ll just hide in a corner or something and let you two get to know each other. You’re fine”, Will responded.
When Callan came back, he had a duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. She wanted to ask what was in the bag, but wasn’t going to for the moment. She’d wait until they got back to and were eating something before she went asking too many questions. She wasn’t very hungry, but it was always good to eat. To be perfectly honest, she was feeling a little sick. She wouldn’t find out what was actually going on with her until the night they opened. By that time, not only would the man walking beside her be her man full time, but he would be gone. Breaking the news to him would be frightening, but he would handle it a lot better than she thought and it would impress the hell out of everyone in her family as well as Miranda herself.
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