The other people at the table looked at her in astonishment. It took them all some time to recover from the shock they all felt. “Well”, Brie said with a smile, “I have to admit, that’s rather sudden and I don’t think any of us saw that coming and if Skyler saw anything, he certainly didn’t bother to warn us. But, it’s welcome news none the less.” She looked at David. “Our first great- grandchild, David.”
He nodded slowly. “Absolutely.” He looked at his granddaughter. “Mazl tov, my dear.”
“I’m not done yet”, Miranda said carefully.
“What else could there be to say?” Malachai said. “You just told your mother and me that we’re going to be grandparents, finally.” He was coming slowly out of the shock and was rather happy.
“Zack is the father.”
Jaws all around the table dropped. “Are you serious?” David said quietly.
“Yes, Grampa. Callan and I have only been together for two weeks and we never did anything. He wanted to see if there was going to be anything between us before we did.”
The look on Malachai’s face turned from one of joy to one of anger. “That low life piece of shit is the father of my grandchild? Where does he live? I owe him a good swift kick in the ass for this.”
“No, Daddy. I don’t want any controversy over this. He’s just going to deny it.”
“No one does this to one of my granddaughters and treats her like shit”, David said. He was getting angry too.
“No, Grampa. Please; if you love me at all you won’t make a big deal out of this and hunt him down. Or in your case Grampa, have someone hunt him down and beat his ass for you.”
“Malachai, calm yourself”, Mandy said softly. “You’re making a scene in the restaurant. Are you really going to embarrass us all like this?”
“I must concur with Amanda, David. You and Malachai are justifiably angry. Zachary Winfield is a worthless piece of trash that doesn’t deserve to continue breathing, but at the same time we are better than this”, Brie chided her husband.
“If we run into him in public?” Malachai asked his daughter.
“Feel free to lay into him if we see him in public as long as there are lots of witnesses to say that he went to talk to him and he did something stupid to provoke you beating him to shit”, Miranda said.
“Why don’t we change the subject for now, baby?” Mandy said. “Tell us more about your Marine friend.”
“He’s more than a friend, Mom. When he comes home from South America he wants to meet everyone and see what it would take to get permission to marry me.”
“You two have fallen for each other in just two weeks?” Brie asked happily. “That’s wonderful.”
“Actually, Gramma, I think we’d fallen for each other the moment we spoke to each other.”
“How did you meet him?” Malachai asked as he took a sip of his wine.
“We met on the first day of dress rehearsals. He was staring at me in my Tango dress for the Tango: Maureen scene. He blushed and apologized for staring before I went out onto the stage to dance. He was really polite. After I came off stage, I asked him to eat lunch with me and we talked. He’s a lifer and he’s EOD. He likes to make things go boom.”
“How do you know all this?” David asked.
“We gave each other our verbal dating profiles.”
“I guess the biggest question is does he know who you’re related to.”
“Yes. He’s cool. For real.”
“The last time you said that you brought home a loser”, Malachai said. “I’d love to believe you, but after Zack, I’ll have to trust but verify.”
“And I totally understand that. He’s said that he wants to meet everyone and he’s going to make it a point to do so.”
“Does he know that you’re pregnant with another man’s child?” Brie asked as she discreetly checked her blood sugar and injected her insulin.
“Unfortunately, not yet. Once I have a chance to have a video call with him, I’m going to tell him. I just hope he doesn’t drop me like a hot potato after I tell him.”
Miranda had no idea that not only would Callan not leave her, but he would be the man to put his name on the birth certificate to claim the child as his own. Her son would know a father from the beginning of his life, even if that man wasn’t linked to him by blood.
---------------
After dinner was over, they took Miranda back to her apartment. On the drive there, Mandy looked at her daughter. “While you stepped away to the ladies’ room, your father and I discussed it and you’re to come home after the show is over so that you’re surrounded by family when that baby is born. You are keeping it, right?”
“Well, yeah. I don’t believe in abortion just because I don’t like the father.”
“Good for you. Now, bring yourself home after the show is over.”
“Mom, you and Dad worry far too much about me.”
“It’s not up for debate, Miranda Jayde. You’re to come home after the show is over. Sublet the apartment or something, but bring yourself home.”
She sighed. “Ok. I’ll be home in two weeks then. Does anyone know if Aunt Kenna is a midwife or not?”
“I believe she is”, Brie said.
“I want her to deliver my baby if she is. I don’t want a doctor.”
“Ok, that’s fine. You’ll have to speak to her about it if that’s what you want.”
After they dropped her off and were back at the hotel, her parents and grandparent all sat in her grandparents’ room and shared their thoughts on the news they’d all received. They weren’t upset by anything other than the fact that her loser ex was her baby daddy. The women cautioned the men to respect Miranda’s wished. “I know you want to kick his ass, Malachai, but what would it accomplish?” Brie asked her son.
“For one, it would show him that he fucked with the wrong girl”, Malachai responded.
“No it wouldn’t”, Mandy said. “It would only get you arrested.”
“Nationwide ‘Make- My- Day’ laws.”
“How are you protecting her if it’s already happened? I’ve already had to deal with you getting arrested once in our relationship and that was that night at the fair so many years ago. I’m not doing it again now. Malachai, you’re 50 years old. You can still take care of yourself, of that I have no doubt. But you need to learn to control that temper.”
“I agree with your wife”, Brie said.
“What would you suggest should we run into him tomorrow while she’s spending time with us on the town before the show?” David asked.
“You”, Brie said, “let Malachai deal with it. You’re 84 years old. You are certainly not as young as you used to be. She may be our granddaughter, but she’s their daughter.” She looked at Malachai. “And you; try not to be outright confrontational. Let him know that he’s going to be a father and see what he says. If he expresses interest in the baby and being there, then that’s something that will have to be worked out between Miranda and Zachary to work out. If he insults her, do your best to keep your head about you and for the love of GOD, don’t hit him. Give him a tongue lashing, but do not lay your hands on him.”
“If he should lay his hands on me?” Malachai asked.
“Then beat the hell out of him.”
---------------
The next day they all went sightseeing. Miranda wanted to show her family some of the places she frequented after they all ate lunch. As they sat at the table, she marveled at her parents and grandparents. “I can’t help but feel like the fifth wheel here”, she laughed.
“What’s the matter, Miranda dear?” Brie asked her.
“I’m the only single person at a table full of couples. It feels a little odd and makes me miss Callan”, she said a little sadly as tears leaked from her eyes.
“Why are you crying?” David asked.
“I don’t want to, it’s the damn hormones.” She wiped her eyes.
“I hope he can deal with the mood swings”, Mandy said with a smile.
Miranda dried her eyes and smiled. “I’ll be fine and I’m sure he’ll be ok.”
They continued to sit and talk, Miranda continuing to tell more and more about her Marine. So far, he was impressing her parents and grandparents and he hadn’t met them yet. “I want to stop at the mall before we go back to the hotel to get ready for the show”, David said. “I want to pick something up for the little one there.”
“I think that can be arranged”, Malachai said as something caught him from the corner of his eye. He watched to see what the movement was, the old training that his uncle had given him many years before kicking in. He looked to see Zack Winfield being seated with a young blonde. The girl was in for a surprise. Malachai looked to the people at his table. “Excuse me a moment. I need to go have a talk with someone.” He stood and walked over to the table, laying his hand on the boy’s shoulder before speaking. “Well, hi Zack. I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?” Malachai asked jovially.
Zack looked up at him. “Well hello Malachai. I’ve been fine. How have you been?”
“Can’t complain too much. Listen, I wanted to give you a bit of news. Miranda is pregnant and the baby’s yours.”
Zack looked at Malachai like his nose had grown. “Are you serious? How does she know the baby’s mine? I have it on good authority that I’m not the only person she’s been sleeping with.”
“Oh? And how is that? You were replaced in the play.”
“I know. You’re daughter’s a whore.”
The words of the man that he shared genetics with rang in his head. Irian Cartwright was a whore then and she’s probably a whore now. Malachai’s grip on the boy’s shoulder tightened. “You had better watch your tongue about my daughter”, he whispered in Zack’s ear. “You have no idea how badly I can fuck you up.”
“Get your hand off of me before I knock your head off.”
“Hit me, boy. I fucking dare you. You need a good lesson in manners. I wanted to let you know that my daughter is having your child. Stay away from her and my grandchild or I will ruin that pretty little face of yours. Do you and I understand each other? I hope so, because I mean everything I said.”
“You can’t hurt me, Malachai. Miranda is just pulling this to get back with me. As you can see, I’m with a new girl now.”
“As I recall, she was the one that ended things with you”, he said loud enough for the girl at the table to hear. “And you almost got your ass handed to you by my sons and nephews. Now, I’m going to go back to my table and eat lunch with my wife, daughter, and parents and you’re going to leave before I decide to throw my self-control out the window and beat your face in for calling my daughter a whore.” He stood and looked at the girl that was with Zack. “Young lady, take it from the father of his last girlfriend- he’s not worth your time. He’s a stuck up, spineless piece of shit who thought it was funny to hit my daughter in the head when her back was turned and he left her with something to remember him by. Be careful, or he will do the same to you.” He walked away and took a deep breath as he walked back to the table they were dining at. “And he’s been told he’s a piece of shit.”
“I saw your hand flex on his shoulder, Malachai. What did he say that almost made you lose it?” Brie asked.
“He called her a whore and I heard Jason all over again calling you a whore, Mom. I wanted him to know that I was about to hurt him.”
“Well, I’m proud of you”, Mandy said. “You didn’t. You respected Miranda’s wishes.”
“And I almost wish that I didn’t. On the bright side, I did warn the little girl that he’s with about him. She doesn’t look all that pleased with him. That alone makes me smile.”
---------------
Finally, after making all of the stops Miranda wanted to make, she was taken to the theater and her family was taken back to the hotel to get ready. It was sure to be a beautiful night. Arrangements had been made for David and Brie to enter and exit through the back due to their ages and David being as recognizable as he was.
Getting ready for the show was a jiffy for David and Brie. They showered together and David dressed in the room while Brie dressed and made herself pretty for the show in the bathroom. She stared at her hair in the mirror as she tried to figure out whether or not to wear it down or up. The dress she wore was an oriental style that with slits up to the knee and it was made of red silk. The imagery of dragons was embroidered into the fabric and decorated it perfectly. She wore low heels with the dress and put chopsticks in her hair. Simple makeup and light jewelry and she was ready.
David’s suit was black and he wore a blue dress shirt underneath the jacket. Like the night before, he opted out of a tie. He really didn’t like them and considering his age, he had the right to be picky.
Brie came out of the bathroom and smiled softly. “Well, don’t you look dashing?”
“And you’re a vision in red. What made you decide on that dress rather than the one you wore last night?”
“This is theater, dear. I would like to look nice. I might not exactly look my age in it, but considering that we’re in our 80’s and we’re in better shape than we were in our 60’s I think I deserve to show off a little.”
He smiled and kissed her gently. “You look ravishing, love. I can’t wait to take that off of you.”
“After the show, David. Miranda’s expecting us and from what I understand, we have box seats.”
“Fantastic.”
“We should be going. The limo will be here soon.”
“Then allow me to escort you down to the lobby so that we can catch our limo.”
She grabbed her clutch and took his arm, laying her head on his shoulder as they walked down the hall. It wasn’t long before they were meeting Malachai and Mandy in the lobby so that they could all catch their rides.
The excitement in the air was nearly palpable. It was going to be an amazing show; they all knew it.
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