The following morning, Malachai and James went homestead to tell Jake what the plan was. When they walked into the kitchen, he was on the phone. “Yeah? That’s good. Ooh, I would hate to be in their shoes. So if you don’t..? OUCH! That’s gonna be a sight to see. I hope I’m there when that goes down. That’s going to be classic. Yeah. Well, I will make sure I reiterate that to him seeing as he just walked into the kitchen. OH? Yeah, he’s here too. Ok. I’ll let him know. Ok. Sleep well. Bye.”
Malachai looked at his younger brother. “What was that all about?”
“Oh, that?” Jake said, pointing at the phone that he’d just set on the table so that he could enjoy a cup of coffee. “That was a chat with Marc. There’s something that he wanted me to tell Malachai and Jeremiah- but I can’t think of what off the top. He was telling me about the movie he’s cutting his directing teeth on and shit like that. JJ found a script that they can both live with and they had Dad meeting Grandmamma and Granddad written in because Marc being Marc he recorded it so that it could be added. They’ve been doing the casting part and they screen tested the people playing Mom and Dad with the people playing Mom’s parents and there was instant chemistry. I told him that I’d love to be there when they shot the scene for real. It’s going to be epic. He thought he’s give me a call before he passed out from shooting screen tests all night.”
Jeremiah was making himself a cup of coffee as Jake spoke. “Do you remember what he wanted to tell us?”
“It was something about Miranda’s wedding. I don’t really remember. Oh, ‘Miah, before you take off toward the school, we need to talk.”
“No problemo. About?”
“I’ll tell you then.”
James cleared his throat. “So, Mom and Dad are coming back early.”
“I know. I always know Mom and Dad’s plans. I also know that Malachai has been ordered to pick them up and to play the Wrought Iron contribution to the tribute that’s been in the works for a couple of years now and that they don’t like it Ryan is to be escorted over here so that they can scream at him. I have it on good authority that you might even get a lecture. I can’t tell you for sure because I’m not in Dad’s head. I know that if it’s as bad as I keep hearing it is, there’s going to be quite the show here when Mom and Dad get back and I’ll get to just sit back and watch the fireworks.” He winked at his brothers. “Now, ‘Miah, if we could speak really fast I need to get my shit from my office and get the hell out of here. My patients pay quite a bit to see me.” He pushed away from the table and Jeremiah was right on his heels.
James and Malachai exchanged a look. “Was Jake playing coy?” James asked.
“Hell if I know, Jay”, Malachai said with a sigh. “All I know is that if that was Jake acting, he’s gotten really good over the years.”
“That’s fucked up, ‘Chai. Jake’s not the actor in the family. That’s usually Marc.”
“I know. If Jake’s playing head games, then we’re fucked. You know that, right?”
“Oh yeah. All of us are screwed.”
Malachai thought about that for a moment. “But, Jake wouldn’t play head games… would he?”
----------------
Jake walked up the stairs and chuckled as he headed toward his office with Jeremiah on his heels. “Do you hear those two down there speculating on whether or not I’m playing head games?”
Jeremiah laughed with him. “Yeah, I hear them. Messed up stuff right there. So, what did you need to talk to me about?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I wasn’t talking to Marc when Malachai and James walked in.”
“Who were you talking to?”
Jake laughed. “Dad. I have talked to Marc and he said that Connie is still ok with the wedding being on her, Matt, and Dad’s birthday if that’s what the plan still is. But Dad called and told me what he and Mom were planning on doing in a couple of weeks and he said that he didn’t want me to tell them that he was the person I was talking to but to make it known that he meant what he said when he talked to them last night. And James is probably going to get a bit of an ass chewing over being a snitching bitch.”
“Ooh, that’s going to be EPIC. But, what if they actually do like the tribute?”
“Then they like it and James still gets a lecture for being a snitch, I guess. I don’t pretend to know what our father thinks, Jeremiah. He’s supposed to be confusing. He’s Dad.”
Jeremiah shrugged. “Very true. Dad’s not supposed to make sense to us much like we’re not supposed to make sense to our kids.”
“Exactly. Now, I know you have a class to get to and I have appointments to get to.”
“Have fun with those.”
“Same to you. Any late classes?”
“Not this semester. I told them that I couldn’t do night classes. I work until 5 every day, then I bring my ass home.”
“Nice. Well, I’ll see you when I get home. I have appointments to get to.”
“Any interesting cases?”
“Everything from migraines to Parkinson’s, to Paget’s , to ALS.”
“Lou Gehrig’s Disease? Fun. Any of your old TBI patients?”
“A few.”
“Have fun.”
“You too. What classes do you have?”
“Theology and History. There’s a new Philosophy teacher on campus and they want her to take the brunt of the philosophy classes. Fine by me. I have one philosophy class every Tuesday and Thursday. I’m fine with that.”
“Well, enjoy talking about the differences between Monotheism and Polytheism with college students.”
“And you have fun reading MRI and CT results all day as you try to figure out what’s going in with the idiots that thing a simple migraine means terminal brain cancer.” They toasted with their travel mugs and went their separate ways. Jake grabbed briefcase, his coat, and his white lab coat and headed out the door. Jeremiah headed down the stairs and went back into the kitchen. “Are you two sticking around for a little while? If so, I’m sure that there are things that need to be done as far as yard work goes. Jake and I would sure appreciate it if you guys could help out with that.”
“What all needs to be done?” Malachai asked.
“Just basic yard maintenance stuff. Mom’s rose bush needs to be trimmed back, I think there’s a hay shipment at the feed store that needs to be picked up for Ranger, if you could do that for me I would sincerely appreciate it.”
“Does he need oats and stuff?” James asked.
“No. He has plenty of oats and stuff like that. We just need hay for him.”
“No problem”, Malachai said. “We’ll take my truck and head over that way.”
“This house is becoming a regular ranch, I swear”, Jeremiah said as he put his satchel over his shoulder, “Well, I’m gone. I’ll see you later.”
---------------
On the other side of town, Miranda was talking with Callan about the wedding. “It’s coming so close. I can’t believe in two months, we’re going to be husband and wife.”
Callan chuckled. “Me neither.” A look crossed his face like he’d suddenly remembered something. “OH! I wanted to show you.” He turned so that his shoulder was toward the camera on the iPad. “Look what just happened.”
She looked at his sleeve and counted the stripes. “Did you get your promotion?”
“Yep. I’m officially a Gunny. I’m now Gunnery Sergeant Callan Maguire. You’re marrying an NCO.”
She giggled happily. “I’m so proud of you. You’re just so awesome.”
He smiled that same breathtaking smile that won her heart. “Thank you, baby.”
“So, do the guys in your unit know about the baby?”
“They do. And they’ve started a baby pool based on all of the information I’ve given them. The know it’s a girl, and the estimated weight as of the last checkup, and that’s about it.”
“What’s the total so far?”
“A couple thousand. They’re all putting a couple hundred on the pool.”
“What are some of the guesses?”
“Oh Lord, there’s 7lbs. 5oz, 20 inches. One of the girls in the unit thinks that little Grace is going to be a whopping 8lbs and some change.”
“Goodness. I’m not that big and I have gained that much weight.”
“Mind you, the woman is an only child of an only child. She has not kids, siblings, or cousins. She’s taking a shot in the dark.”
“So, it’s a huge gamble for all of them?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re 6 ½ months pregnant, Miranda and they’ve already started doing the pool. They’re going to have to wait on my call, because the base CO is giving me leave until after the baby is born so that I can get used to being a Dad and I can help you pack and tend to our little angel. From there, a moving company will ship all of our stuff to Japan and you’ll stay close by with Gracie until they ship us off. Probably in one horrible extended stay hotels until they finally ship me off. It will only be a couple of days and I’ll be there with you, so that’s a plus.”
“So we’ll get married and we’ll kinda sorta have a honeymoon. Once Grace is born we’ll take care of her until she’s cleared by a pediatrician to travel. We’ll go to San Diego so that you can check in and Grace and I can have Military ID’s made and they tell you to ship the hell out.”
He nodded. “Pretty much. From there it’s Goodbye USA, Hello Japan. Little Miss Grace is going to spend the first year of her life in Japan eating sushi when they’ll let us feed her solid food.”
She laughed. “I can’t wait to have real sushi. There are a lot of things I would love to try but it only feels right if I can eat the real thing.”
“Are we going to have a rehearsal dinner?”
“Of course. My father insists on it. ‘I’m paying for it and I say we’re having a rehearsal’, he said when I talked to him about it.”
“Not a surprise. I can live with that, though.” He looked over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. “I had better go. I’ve got to get out to the range here in a little bit.”
“The bomb range?”
“Yeah. I’ve got some training to do.”
“Are you teaching or learning?”
“Teaching my successor. Once the Staff Sergeant was promoted a Sergeant has to be promoted to fill the gap.”
“Oh. I see. The promotion board has been busy then, huh?”
“Yeah, they have. Well, I’ve gotta go to chow and get ready to go out to the range. I love you, Miranda.”
“I love you too, Callan. Be careful.”
“I will. Goodbye, beautiful. I call you later.”
“Ok. Bye.” She sighed and smiled. She had things she had to do that day too. She and her mother were going to deal with the menu for the reception dinner as well as go into Denver so that she could do another fitting for her dress. She loved the dress she was wearing for her wedding. It wasn’t exactly her dream dress, but she had never imagined getting married while she was pregnant- let alone when she was getting ready to deliver at any time. She knew that getting married just a few weeks before she was supposed to deliver her baby was risky. She wouldn’t be able to consummate her marriage to her husband until after the baby was born unless she was really careful. She was not looking forward to that but she knew that Callan would be careful with her for the sake of the baby and they would be making the trip back from San Diego with her grandparents on the train rather than in a car. And Miranda knew that flying was out of the question.
She slipped into her house shoes- because they were the only ones that fit her other than her flip flops and it was too cold out for those- and carefully went down the stairs to see what he mother was doing. “Hey Mama.”
“Hey Miranda, baby. How are you feeling today?”
“Good. Talked to Callan. I’ll update you on the way to Denver.” She picked up a piece of turkey sausage and took a bite.
“Well, we’ll get a bite to eat and we’ll head out. Dad and Uncle Jay are doing some yard work for Uncle Jake while he’s at work.”
“Nice.”
“You look like you’re so excited. I’ve never seen you so happy, baby girl.”
“I am excited and happy. I’m in love, Mama. How else am I supposed to look?”
---------------
Ira Draiman was sitting in his room doing his class work for his different psychology classes. The material in the book was boring as hell but the other reading usually fascinated him. He would lie awake for hours at night as he read over the different ‘true crime’ novels for his Criminal Psychology class. The mental states of the Serial killers was mesmerizing to say the very least.
Finally, there came a point where he needed to walk away. He felt like his eyes were trying to cross as he read over what amounted to the biography of one of the country’s first female serial killers post- Occupation. The State of Texas had no problem whatsoever putting Tracy Gail Stevens to death after she decided to go on a soldier killing spree. She may have been traumatized from watching her parents die at the hands of the Utopian Army, but that was no excuse. He’d heard the stories of the things that his Dad experienced after his Grampa’s famous ‘Never Again’ Speech. Stevens going on a rampage and killing every soldier she found in a uniform in Beaumont, Texas was nonsense. The Utopian Army had fallen. There was nothing left of them after the Resistance Army had gotten finished with them.
He trotted down the stairs to and headed into the kitchen to see two of his uncles in the back yard. He poked his head out of the door. “Hey Uncle James, Uncle Malachai, what are you two up to?”
“Just doing your Dad and Uncle ‘Miah a favor by doing a little bit of yard work”, Malachai called back.
“Ah. I see. Anything I can do to help?”
“Yeah, get us some water out of the fridge because we’re taking a break”, James called back as they headed for the stairs to the patio.
Ira got his uncles each a bottle of water from the fridge and set them on the table as they walked in. They picked up the bottles and took good long drinks from them. “AH!” Malachai said. “Perfect. Liquid perfection.” He looked at Ira. “So, what are you up to today, nephew?”
“Doing some reading for class.”
“What are you reading?” James asked.
“Do either of you remember a case about a female serial killer from Texas just after the Occupation ended?”
“I do”, Malachai said. “Tracy Stevens, I think it was. Texas had no problem putting a needle in that arm for killing all of those soldiers.”
“I’m reading her biography for my Criminal Psychology class.”
“Fun”, James said. “So you finally settled in a major?”
“Yeah. I’m going to be a psychologist. I got my Associates’ in Computer Programming before Hanukkah last year. Now, I’m going to start working toward my own PhD.”
“Are you going to specialize?”
“Behavioral Psychology is my focus. I’m really looking forward toward working on this. It may take me a couple of years to get through it all, but I’m determined to have my Doctorate. I estimate a year for my Masters’ thesis and a year to a year and a half for my Doctoral dissertation.”
“You have it all planned out, don’t you?” James chuckled.
“Oh, far from it, Uncle James. I wish I had my life outlined like Hunter does. He knows he wants to be a JAG attorney so he’s busting his hump in laws school and he’s doing ROTC in college on the guarantee of being a Captain in the Marine Corps or the Army and a lieutenant in the Navy when he graduates. Of course, he’ll need trial experience but that’s what life is for. After retiring from the military, he’s going to take his turn at the reins of Intoxication Records. Hunter knows what he wants to do. I don’t. I’m just trying to do me.”
His uncles nodded. “You’re a very insightful young man, Ira”, Malachai said. “I’m glad that you’re so blunt about what’s going through your head.”
“It’s a gift”, he shrugged with a chuckle. “I have my moments where I’m all profound and shit and I think I scare the hell out of my Dad when I get like that. Then I have my moments where I just don’t want to care so I don’t. I know it seems like I don’t pay attention, but I’m really taking mental notes.”
“You must have a photographic memory”, James said.
“It’s a near photographic memory. It’s a good thing I’m a visual learner.”
“Yeah. So, when did they test your learning style?”
“High school so that the teacher could make a seating chart in my tech class.”
“Nice. So, you’re a visual learner?”
“Visual- tactile. Predominantly visual though, yes.”
Malachai shook his head. “Wow. I don’t even remember what my learning style is.”
“Me neither and I’ve graduated more recently than you have”, James chuckled.
“Don’t remind me.”
“As fascinating as I’m sure this is going to get, unless there’s something I can do to help you guys with the favor you’re doing my Dad and Uncle ‘Miah, I really need to get back upstairs to my room to do some more reading so that I can start my paper on the book.”
“Well, don’t let us keep you, nephew. Go read.”
Ira nodded quaintly to both of his uncles before grabbing a bottle of water and a snack and heading back to his book. He wanted to learn more about the depraved woman that killed 7 soldiers before she was caught. What was her method? How much of what she did started as pre- meditation? Were there any loop holes in defense’s case that he needed to bring to light and is that evidence enough to possibly warrant a second trial if the evil woman hadn’t already been put to death. There was so much to learn. He just wondered if anything he found would change anyone’s mind. It was doubtful, but he was more than willing to try.
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