Chapter 39

Finally it came time to head in and David called Jake.  “We’re ready when you can have someone one come out to get us.”

“I’ll have Jeremiah head out there and pick you two up.  I was starting to worry that you two weren’t going to come in”, he chuckled.

“Nah.  Mom just wanted to hang out here for the day.  She needed a little time to think.”

“What happened?”

“If she wants you to know, Jacob, I’m sure she will tell you.  Just get someone out here to get us or bring everyone out here along with the Menorah so that we can have the evening’s festivities.  Either way, something needs to happen before sunset.  Your mother and I aren’t getting any younger, you know.”

Jake chuckled.  “Yeah Dad.  You and Mom make that frighteningly more and more apparent as time wears on.  Do you think everyone will fit out there in the cottage?”

“No.  I know everyone won’t fit out here.  That means someone needs to come get us.  I think tonight, Mom and I will just take the golf cart to come back out here so that we don’t have to play the waiting game.  We can just come in when we’re ready whether that means first thing in the morning or right before sunset.”

“Whatever makes you happy, Dad.  Jeremiah is on his way.  I just texted him to have him head out there and he said give him a couple of minutes and he’ll be right out.  He should be pulling up now, as a matter of fact.”

Brie had been standing at the door and was wrapped up tightly in her coat.  “I see headlights, David”, she said as she tried to grab the bag that held the gifts they’d gotten their grandchildren.  “Damn it”, she said under her breath.

“Hanging up now, Jake.  We’ll see you in a few”, David said as he watched his wife’s frustration.

“Ok Dad”, Jake said.  “See you in a few.”

David put his phone in his coat pocket.  “Leave it for Jeremiah, love.  He’s much younger than either of us are.”

She shook her head.  “That’s not the point.  My damn hands don’t want to work.  It’s too cold here.  As soon as we can get back to Israel we need to get back.  I need to see a doctor about this.  I can’t pick up this bag.  This is nonsense.”

He pulled his frustrated wife into his arms and held her tightly.  “I know it’s frustrating, Brie.  Just relax.  See if one of the girls would be willing to try to loosen up the muscles in your hands so that you’re not in so much pain.”

She nodded, her face pressed into his chest.  “I’m not used to having this many issues, David.  I can’t use my hands the way I used to.  There was a time when my hands were my livelihood.  If I had had these problems when I was still working, my career would have been over.”  Tears filled her eyes as she started to cry from the frustration as well as the pain she was feeling.

He rubbed a hand up and down her back.  “I know, baby.  I’m upset that you’re so upset and in so much pain.  I wish that there were something I could do to take the pain away.  I can’t.  But, I’m here for you and you know that, right?”

She nodded.  “I know, David.  I just don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to do this.”

“When we get home, we’ll get you in to see the doctor about this.  Maybe there’s something he can do to help with the pain and the lack of function.”

“Between my hands giving out on me and my spine fucking up again, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“I’m here to take care of you, my angel.  Don’t worry about it.  Remember what you were told last night and just hang in there until the very end.  I’m with you no matter what, my love, and you know I’ll do whatever I can to make this easier for you.”

Before she could respond, Jeremiah knocked on the door.  “I’ll thank you later for the comfort.  For now, I’ll give you this.”  She stretched up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.  “I love you, David.  Thank you.”

He smiled down at her as he wiped the tears from her cheek.  “I love you too, Brie.  You’re more than welcome.  It’s my job.”

---------------

Jeremiah couldn’t help but overhear his parents’ conversation as he approached the door to pick them up.  He heard his mother’s frustration with her spine and her hands and his father’s quiet reassurance that he would stand beside her and take care of her no matter what.  It reminded him of breaking the news of his inheriting the Spondylosis from his mother to his wife.  Jona was of course worried about him, but she was going to take care of him the way he would have done the same to her.  “Jona, love, I have a little bit of bad news from the doctor”, he’d said as he got off of the phone with his doctor.

“What’s going on?”

“Remember how I told you my back has been bothering me a lot recently and I was going to have my doctor check it out?”

“Yes.  Did he get back to you with the diagnosis?”  She had been at the counter putting together the flowers that they gave Ranger for his nerves.  He was doing better, but the vet said that he needed to stay on whatever herbs they had been giving him for a little while longer before they could start weaning him off of them.

Jeremiah had sighed and patted the seat next to him.  “You’re going to want to be sitting for this, love.”

She took the seat next to him with a look of worry.  “Is it serious?”

He drew in a deep breath.  “You’ve seen the scar on my Mom’s lower back, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know what that’s from?”

“She had to have back surgery, I assume.”

“Yeah.  She had to have a vertebral separation done.  It was from her lumbar spine fusing together.  It’s a genetic condition.  And, I am one of the unfortunate souls in the family to have inherited this from my mother.”

Jona nodded.  “And from now on, I’m going make sure you eat a diet that’s high in sodium so that we can cut this off at the pass.”

“Jona, I…”

She cut him off.  “Don’t argue with me, ‘Miah.  There is no way I’m going to let this happen to you.  You’re going to eat enough sodium to sink a battleship.”

He chuckled.  “I understand that.  I’m not arguing.  I just want you to understand that this is genetic.  You can stuff all of the sodium rich foods you want down my throat- and I’ll welcome it because I don’t have the blood pressure issues that my father and many of my siblings have- but I don’t think it will cut it off at the pass.  It may help to stave it off, but it won’t keep it from happening.  It’s already started.  I’ve been getting screened for this since I was a senior in high school when Mom found out and had to have her back operated on.  Eventually, I may have to have surgery.”

“Well, if we can keep this from getting too bad from a sodium rich diet, then that’s what we’re going to do.  If there does come a point where surgery is a real possibility, then we’ll deal with it.”

And that was why he loved Jona. She wanted to see what could be done to hold off surgery and to manage the pain.  If he could avoid surgery all together, he would be a very happy person.  If only there were something he could have done for his mother.  He hated that there was so much frustration in her and that she was in so much pain.  He could see that his father was in pain as well, but was keeping it to himself because he was comforting his wife.  He knew that both of his parents were taking pain killers like candy and there was nothing that could be done for it.  He hated that he could do nothing for it.  But, he knew there was one thing he could do.  He could talk to God.

God, I know you and I don’t talk often and I do my best not to ask a lot of you when we do.  I’ve asked for healthy children and you’ve given me that.  I’ve asked that you keep my wife healthy and you’ve been kind enough to oblige.  You and I both know that my parents are in pain these days.  Please, end their suffering sooner rather than later.  I can’t stand to see them in this kind of pain- Mom’s crying and Dad’s so focused on taking care of her that he’s not taking care of himself.  End their pain, Father.  I for one can’t stand to see them suffering anymore, he prayed as he reached up and knocked on the door.  When his father answered, he smiled.  “Hey Dad, you and Mom ready to come in for Hanukkah?”

David chuckled at the look in his son’s face.  “We are.  What are you so happy about?”

“I’m faking it, Dad.  I have a lot on my mind and I don’t want to bother those that don’t need the bother with my issues.”

“What the matter?” Brie asked.

“Don’t worry about it, Mom.  You and Dad are supposed to be here enjoying the holiday with your family.  Don’t worry about me and my problems.”

“It’s not bill issues, is it?”

“Mother.  Stop worrying about me.  Let’s just take you two into the house so that you can both enjoy yet another Hanukkah with your grandkids.”  He watched as his mother attempted to pick up the bag that had the gifts for the grandkids inside.  Her hand didn’t want to close around the handles.   “Here Mom.  Let me get that”, he said.

“No, Jeremiah.  I’m going to pick up this bag.  I’m the one that’s in charge here.  Not my hand”, she said.  Her voice was full of frustration and pain.

Jeremiah reached out and took his mother’s hands gently in his.  “Mom, I’ve got it.  Just relax and let me get it for you.”

“Jeremiah, it’s a matter of pride.  I have to prove that I can do it.”

“To whom, Mom?  Certainly not to me and I’m pretty sure that you don’t have to prove it to Dad.”

“To myself, Alexander.  It’s a personal pride thing.  I’ll be damn if this shit is going to beat me.”  She wrapped her hand around the handle again and tried to close her hand around it, only to fail again.  “Screw it”, she said with a sigh.  “We’re burning daylight.”

Jeremiah tried not to chuckle at his mother’s frustration as he reached out and grabbed the bag that carried gifts.  “Mom, I know it’s frustrating.  I hate seeing you like this.”

She sighed.  “Son, let’s just drop it.  The cold is making my back hurt and I really need to sit down where it’s warm.”

“Then why don’t we get you and Dad to the house so that you can both get warm and watch your grandkids open their gifts?”

---------------

The family had dinner and exchanges gifts. Now, they were all just sitting around and hanging out. Most of the kids who were still young enough to have a bedtime were already there. They fell out after dinner. They were all exhausted from playing with their cousins all day. The adults were all sitting around and talking while the older grandkids were in the game room playing games. Some pages air hockey, some played video games, and some still played pool.

As they all sat around, Malachai felt a little reminiscent. He was about to become a grandfather and it made him miss his grandparents just a little. "Hey Mom, Dad; do you remember the day you guys came out and picked me up in Tennessee at Grandmamma and Granddad's house?" he asked.

David looked at his oldest child like he'd lost his mind. "Oh God. Don't make me relive that again today."

"What do you mean?"

"Dad and I were just talking about that his afternoon", Brie said with a smile.

This piqued everyone's interests. "What happened?" James asked.

David shook his head. "No. I'm not going there."

Maddie pouted. She was dying to know stories about at least on set of her grandparents. "But why not, Daddy? We don't have any memories of our grandparents. You should share." She was sure to lay the guilt on thick.

Jordan had the same desire that Maddie did. She didn't have stories about her grandparents. "Yeah Dad. You should share that memory with us."

David was still against it. "I said no. You are not laughing at my expense during Hanukkah. I won't allow it. I'm still your father, dammit."

Brie looked up at her husband from where her head rested against his arm with a chiding look. "What harm will it do, David?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to live through that again."

"You already told me, Dad", Jeremiah said. He had no idea just what kind of trouble he'd just started.

David shook his head again. "Not all of it. I intentionally left out the more painful parts of that night."

Malachai laughed. "It wasn't just painful for you, Dad."

Brie shook her head, agreeing with their son. "Nope. Though I couldn't breathe for the first portion of it."

Jordan's face filled with surprise. "Oh, now you three have to share."

Maddie nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah. I mean, it's not bad enough that you won't share. Now you're just teasing."

David sighed. "Are you two seriously doing this to me? My own daughters? Whatever happened to those sweet little girls who came running when I was being pelted by snowballs by your brothers?"

The girls exchanged a look and turned their puppy dog pouty faces to their father. "PLEASE DADDY?" they pleaded in unison.

"If it will make it easier on you, I could tell the story", Brie asked him softly.

He shook his head. "As much as I'd love to take the easy way out, no baby. I'll tell it." He looked at his children. "Fine. Everyone sit down. I'm not telling the story more than once." Once they were all sitting down and had either hot chocolate, hot tea, or coffee in hand to keep warm, he took a deep breath and started. "Now, all of you should keep in mind that this happened over forty years ago. I'm a little foggy on some of the details though I remember most of it like it was yesterday. Mom and I went through the motions of getting a private adoption of Malachai because Mom was supposed to be dead and was living under an alias. So, after the adoption went through we flew out of Denver to Nashville to pick him up at your grandparents' house. I got a talking to from Granddad and Grandmamma's automatic vote of confidence because I'm Jewish. I met Malachai and he asked me if he could call me Dad. Of course I said yes. We sat and talked for a little while and I sang for them so that your grandmother would warm up to the thought that I was a vocalist in a rock band. Then, your Grandmamma had the brilliant idea for us to go into Nashville again. Yay, I thought. We all piled up into the Escalade your mother and I rented and we went into Nashville. First stop was a restaurant for dinner. And that's where things got interesting. I wasn't wearing my piercings intentionally so that I didn't get recognized. Trying to protect myself as well as your Mom and Malachai, I’d opted out of them. Well, that did me little to no good. Your grandmother decided to announce to God and everybody present that I, David Draiman, was he son in law and that I was awesome."

His children all burst into laughed. "You're kidding", Marc said.

David shook his head with a chuckle. "I kid you not. That was her word. She called me awesome. Of course, I turned about fifteen shades of red when that happened and I pleaded with her to stop. 'Please Mrs. Cartwright, don't make this any harder on me than it already is.' Of course, I got ignored. She went off on this tangent about how at first she'd been frightened when your mother told her that I was a musician and that I was in an established rock band. The more that woman talked, the redder my face got. I started praying that God would cause the Earth to open up and just swallow me. Mom, on the other hand, was trying to relearn to breathe while trying not to draw a lot of attention to our table."

Jake finally chimed in, giving their mother a look of complete shock. "Really Mom?"

"God's honest truth. When my mother finally stopped embarrassing your father I stopped laughing and ate my dinner as I watched your Dad jump into the role and start cutting up Malachai's food that needed it."

"How old was Malachai?" Meagan asked.

"I was five, Mae", Malachai answered. "I wasn't old enough to us a steak knife just yet."

"Ah."

David took over again. "Well, there are things that your mother doesn't know about that meal."

Brie looked at him with surprise and curiosity written on her face. "What don't I know?"

"I'm getting there, dear. Let me tell the story," he said as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Looking back at their ten children he started telling the story again. "One of the times your mother stepped away, Grandmamma looked at me and told me- though she thought it was an abhorrent practice- had our families known each other when your mother and I were children, she would have had no problem promising your mother to me in an arranged marriage."

Brie's jaw dropped, her mouth gaping wide open. "My mother said that to you?"

"Oh yeah. I swore I'd take that one to my grave. I wanted someone to shoot me at that point."

Jeremiah was even laughing at that point. "Wow! Grandmamma was brazen."

"She didn't have that filter between her brain and her mouth that told her when something was inappropriate", David explained. "Finally the food arrived and your grandmother had to stop talking long enough for me to retort, 'The only way that would have happened would have been if I had become a rabbi, a lawyer, or not pursued music like I had and stayed in health care.' Granddad started laughing so hard he nearly choked on his mashed potatoes."

"I've always wondered what that comment was about", Brie said.

"Now you know. It's nearly 47 years after the fact, but now you know."

"That can't be the worst that happened", Maddie laughed.

"Oh, of course not. This story gets much worse. After dinner we went to the mall in Nashville. Mom needed to pick something up at the massage outlet there that she needed for when we went on Uproar. Now, to be fair to your Grandmamma, people were bumping into her and being rude when this happened. She'd had enough of people knocking into her and she jumped up on one of the benches and shouted above everyone, 'ATTENTION PEOPLE OF NASHVILLE: DON'T FUCK WITH ME! YOU MESS WITH ME AND I WILL SICC MY SON IN LAW ON YOU. HIS NAME IS DAVID DRAIMAN AND HE'S THE LEAD SINGER FOR A ROCK BAND CALLED DISTURBED. HE'S A BAD ASS. MESS WITH HIS MOTHER IN LAW AND HE WILL MESS YOU UP.' This is when your mother stepped in and started getting on Graddad about putting a cork in Grandmamma. I could not have been more grateful that we left them at their home when we did. The entire time she's shouting at the people of Nashville, I'm covering my face and praying that no one recognizes me, as well as thinking that I don't know her." He was laughing. He hadn't thought it was going to be all that funny when he started telling the story.

"Oh Daddy", Jordan laughed. "That's too precious. Did people ask if she was talking about you?"

"I was asked a couple of times and flat denied it. There was no way in hell that I was going to own that."

"Did Granddad finally get Grandmamma to stick a sock in it?" Makayla asked.

"Yes, thank God", Malachai laughed.

"But Grandmamma had something to say as he pulled her off of those benches", David continued."

"'These people need to learn some manners, Mitchell', my mother said. 'Maybe if David beats them into the rude bastards they'll learn to be more careful with an old lady.' I was too embarrassed at that point to laugh anymore. I'd let it slide at the restaurant but I had business to handle in the Mall. Enough was enough. I grabbed your father and your brother and started dragging them toward the store I needed and texted my Dad told him and Mom to meet us at the car. As we walked, I apologized all over myself for my laughter as well as the behavior of my parents. Dad, of course, forgave me for laughing and said that we would be dropping my parents off at their house, getting Malachai's things, and going to our hotel because there was no way in God's green earth that he was going to be able to stay in the same house with his in laws and not commit homicide", their mother continued.

"I couldn't do it. I tried to be good natured about it all, but I couldn't have done that all night. As good natured as I am, even I would have reached my limit and made 'Run' literal that night", David laughed. "Maybe not speaking to them as I packed Malachai's things into the car lost me points, but that was fine with me. I'm sure I've earned them back and then some over the years your Mom and I have been together."

"Knowing my father, he saw that you didn't say anything as you packed as the sign that you were being the bigger person and he respects the hell out of anyone that can put up with my mother's antics and not get pissed", Brie said.

"You know this for a fact?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"He's told me so."

---------------

"So, Mom", James asked after they'd all recovered from their father's story, "do you have an equally funny stories from meeting Dad's parents?"

Brie shook her head. "I can't say that I've the displeasure of meeting Grandma and Grandpa Draiman."

The kids were all shocked. "WHAT?!" they all shouted.

David and Brie both shook their heads. "Nope. I never got to meet your Dad's parents."

"Why ever not?" Jessi asked.

"By the time Mom and I got together I wasn't speaking to my parents anymore. There's a very long story behind that but the Cliff's Notes version of it is this: they were never very supportive of what I chose as a career and they stole from me. I couldn't forgive that", David explained to his children.

"So they never met Mom and we'd never have me them?"

David shrugged. "I'm sorry to say, no. They would have known about you somehow, I'm sure, but I wouldn't have told them and you never would have met them."

"Mom, you never asked to meet them?" Jake asked.

"No", she said as she shook her head. "I figured if he wanted me to meet them then he would have taken me to do just that. I was aware of the condition of their relationship before I ever met your father. I was a huge fan of Disturbed back in the day. I screamed along with the records every chance I got. I even had clients that listened to Disturbed and had asked me to given their massages with a given record or a mix playing softly in the background because that's how they relaxed."

"So you knew that Dad was on the outs with his parents before you got with him, how?" Jordan asked.

"I read a lot of articles, watched a lot of interviews, and that kind of thing."

They were all a little disappointed. "Well that sucks!" Marc said aloud. "We were kind of hoping that our paternal grandparents were just as crazy as our maternal grandparents."

David shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint, children. We weren't speaking when Mom and I got together so she never had the chance to meet them."

"Well, since I don't have a funny moment where Mom met your folks, Dad, I'm almost afraid to ask this next question."

“Ask it anyway, Marc.”

“Would it be ok if I had that little story of when you met Grandmamma and Granddad added to the script for the movie?  JJ thinks he might have found a decent script, but he thinks something is missing.”

“Have you read the script?”

“Yeah.  I think this story will help bring it together.”

David laughed.  “Ok.  If you think the story of your grandparents embarrassing the hell out of me will help your movie have a more human element to it, then be my guest.  It will be interesting to see how you interpret it.”