Jake went to bed that night with a crooked smile on his face. He was looking forward to getting up at three. He didn’t usually enjoy the thought of being up that early to do anything- though it was the time that he took to get his workout and got up to get ready for the world.
He slept like a newborn baby that night. Delilah could feel his excitement as she drifted off in his arms, but didn’t bother asking what was going on. She was pretty sure she knew. It wasn’t often that she saw her husband become conniving but when he did, she had to admit that it was pretty sexy. Maybe after he called and scared the hell out of Malachai she could give him his cardio instead of him hitting the gym.
Beep, beep, beep… beep, beep, beep, the alarm screamed into the silence of the master bedroom. Jake’s eyes opened and he smiled. It was time to screw with his big brother. He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his personal phone off of the charging mat it was laying on and dialed his brother’s number. When Malachai answered, it was with a voice that was laden with sleep. “Hello?”
“Malachai, are you up yet?” Jake asked.
“No”, he said. “Dude, Jake- it’s 3 am. Are you kidding me? Why are you calling?”
“What the fuck, ‘Chai?! You’re gonna be late!”
“What? What am I going to be late for?”
“Mom and Dad get in at 4:30!”
Malachai’s tone changed. “What?”
“You heard me, man! And Dad said you had better be there early and be ready to play that track for them. Dude, you are in such hot water! I tried to remind you last night and you blew me off.”
He could her that his brother was up moving around as he spoke. “Fuck, Dad’s gonna kill me. I totally forgot about that song. I have to download it from my laptop.”
“Are one of your kids up?”
“Eli might be. He and B have been getting up and hitting the gym in the mornings here recently. B thinks he’s fat.”
“We can talk about your middle son’s insecure lover when you get Mom and Dad. You should have been up and ready to go by now, ‘Chai! You assured me that you had it all under control!”
“I’m sorry Jake. I’m nowhere near perfect.”
“You should have listened rather than assuring me that you had everything in control. You had better get out the door. Have Mandy download that song for you while you get dressed.”
“I guess I’ll have to. Shit. Why didn’t you call me sooner?!”
“Because you told me that you had it under control. I suppose I should have called thirty minutes ago rather than trusting you to actually pay attention.”
“That’s cutting deep, Jacob.”
“I’m not sorry. I think the idea of your oldest children getting married and Miranda giving you your first grandchild soon has made you slow. Start paying attention and get your ass out the door. At least fifteen early, ‘Chai, or Dad’s going to flip.” Jake ended the call and smiled brightly. He felt pretty good about himself. He had sufficiently messed with his older brother. It was low, sure. Did he care? No. Malachai needed to pull his head out of his ass.
Delilah was looking over at him as he moved to sit up and get out of the bed. As he started to stand, she stopped in with a hand on his arm. “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked provocatively.
“I’ve got to get dressed for my workout, Lilah. I go through the same routine every morning.”
She pulled him gently back into the bed. “Why don’t we deviate the morning; just this once?”
He chuckled. “What did you have in mind?”
“That act you just put on… that was pretty hot.”
He sat back down on the edge of the bed, turning so that he was facing her. “Oh? You liked that did you?”
“No. I loved it.” She moved closer to him as she spoke. “That was so sexy. I love it when you’re being sneaky and screwing with Malachai’s head. It’s such a turn on.” She closed the distance, her lips brushing against his.
“Was it? You don’t seem very excited to me.”
“I was giving you the chance to take the lead there, Doctor, but I guess I have to throw this bitch into drive.” She pressed her lips to his and ignited the spark. It wasn’t long before he had her on her back and out of her night clothes. Having none of it, Delilah flipped him into his back and slithered down his body. It was so sexy when she took her time… the thought was interrupted as soon as he felt her mouth on him.
---------------
Malachai was running late. It took him longer than he thought it would to get ready to go pick his parents up. He knew exactly where the station was, thankfully, and had a short cut in mind that would shave about 10 minutes off of his time.
He pulled up next to the curb, letting the parking attendant know that he needed the spot because he was picking up his elderly parents. “I need to be as close as I can. My mother has severe back problems and the arthritis in my father’s knees is quiet brutal in itself. It’s just better this way. Once I have them with me, I’ll be off.”
“Do you know if their train has arrived?” the attendant asked.
“My luck? It has and they’re waiting on me.”
“As long as you’re no long than about fifteen minutes, you’ll be fine. If you think you’re going to be longer, then I’m going to have to ask you to move the vehicle.”
“I shouldn’t be longer than fifteen. If I’m lucky and the train is running behind, I’ll be right out to move it. I swear on my granddaughter.” Malachai ran off, checking the arrival screen to see when his parents train arrived. Cursing under his breath, he headed for the platform they would have been waiting at. Spotting his father was easy enough so he ran over. “I’m so sorry I’m late!” he said when he approached.
“It’s about damn time, Aaron!” Brie said. “Where the hell have you been for the last twenty minutes?”
“I’m sorry Mom. My alarm didn’t go off. Jake called and woke me up. And I had to download the song. I completely forgot that I had to play that for you two.”
“We’ll continue this in the car after we hear the song Malachai”, David said. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.” He stood carefully from the bench where he was sitting and offered his wife a hand. She took it and stood. “Get our bags Malachai”, he said and started walking off toward the exit of the building. Malachai wasn’t too far behind them. When they came to the SUV, they got into the back seat and got settled in after putting on their seatbelts as Malachai put the bags in the back of the vehicle.
Once Malachai was loaded into the driver’s seat and was pulling away from the station, he looked over his shoulder at the first stop light. “Ok, so you wanted to hear the song before we get to homestead. Now or about half way there?”
“Now Malachai”, David said. “Better now than in half an hour when we’re chewing your ass for not being prepared.”
“Right.” He hit play on the remote that operated his stereo and the song started playing. He glanced in the rear view mirror as the song played and watched as they nodded and lip synched along with the song. They both knew it by heart. One of them had written it and the other had been the inspiration behind it. Before it had even been recorded, she knew the lyrics by heart because he would walk around the house singing it as her prepared to go back to the studio to record it. It was the first one he’d finished for the album. When the song was over, he looked back at them in the mirror. “You hate it, don’t you? I knew this was going to happen.”
“No, we don’t hate it”, his mother said.
“You like it?”
“Not really”, his father answered.
“What?”
“We don’t love it or hate it. It would have been nice if he hadn’t changed it as much as he did, but it wasn’t as bad as you and Jordan led us to believe.”
“So do we allow it on the tribute?”
“No. It wouldn’t have mattered how we felt about it, we weren’t going to allow it on the tribute”, Brie said
with a shake of her head.
“Now”, David said, getting straight to business, “what the fuck took you so long this morning, Malachai?”
“My alarm wasn’t set right. I thought you weren’t coming until five or six. I spaced it. I’ve been pretty preoccupied with Miranda’s wedding and the baby coming. Isaiah’s trying to start planning his wedding for next year. There’s a lot going on.”
“You need to learn to prioritize better”, his mother said.
“Your mother and I are too FUCKING OLD to be sitting in a train station WAITING ON YOU!!” David said sternly. “Pull your head out of your ass, Malachai Aaron. Yes, Miranda is getting married in a month and having a baby in two. That’s a big deal, I get that. Remember, you and your siblings have made your mother and I grandparents 27 times. We get that you’re excited, but you made a commitment to pick us up and that means that you are supposed to be waiting on us at the station, not the other way around. Now pull your head out of your ass and keep in mind what’s immediately important isn’t what’s going on with Miranda’s pregnancy with Grace. What was immediately important was being here on time to keep me from being cross.”
“It’s way too early in the morning, Malachai, for your Dad and I to be sitting in a crowded train station waiting on you. The train itself was uncomfortable, my back is killing me, your father’s knees are bothering him… and you decided to just assure Jake that you had it all under control and you showed up late. Do you realize that twenty minutes in that disgusting train station was ridiculously long?”
“I know, Mom and Dad, and I really am sorry. Things have just gotten away from me.”
“You’re only 51, Malachai”, David said. “You’re not old enough to be having bouts of memory lapse.”
“Haven’t you ever been distracted to the point where things get away from you?”
“Not that I recall. Not since your mother and I have been together. She keeps me focused and I don’t usually get distracted to that point. I have my priorities in line.”
“I can only apologize again, Dad. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I let the other stuff make me complacent.”
“Because your little girl- and for twelve years, your only girl- is getting married and starting her own family. It’s exciting stuff and it can get overwhelming. You just need to keep your priorities. Miranda’s big days aren’t until March and April respectively. You only had to be at the train station 15 minutes early to pick us up. Which one was immediately more important?”
---------------
When they got to homestead, Jake was waiting at the door. “How was that crow, ‘Chai?” he asked.
“Don’t start Jake”, Malachai said.
“Feeling a little sensitive?”
“Quit while you’re ahead.”
“That goes for you too”, David said. “Jacob, call your twin and have her bring young Mr. Winters over. Malachai, calls James and tell him to get his tall, scrawny ass over here as well.”
“Are there more ass chewings on the horizon?” Jake asked.
“Possibly”, David said as he waved his sons out of the way so that he and his wife could get into the house. “Do you gentlemen mind stepping aside so that your mother and I can sit on the couch you two seem so fond of blocking us from?”
Jake stepped back into the house to allow everyone in as he called Jordan to let her know to get herself over to homestead as quickly as she could manage it. David and Brie finally got into the house and made their way to the couch as Jeremiah had Seth and Matt head outside to get their grandparents’ things out of Malachai’s SUV. As they waited, David did what he usually did and took over the television.
It took about 30 minutes for everyone to arrive, but they finally showed. “Children, excuse us for a few minutes”, David said as he paused the TV. Once the grandchildren were all out of the room- regardless of age- he began. “First and foremost, Ryan, I would like to know why you changed what you did in that song?” There was no hint of anger in his voice. He was simply curious.
“The things that we changed were things we all felt needed to be slightly tweaked so that it didn’t sound like it was just another Disturbed song”, Ryan said respectfully.
“But it is a Disturbed song, son. I should know. I wrote it.”
“If you didn’t like it, we can always re-record it to your liking.”
He shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. It not going on the tribute regardless. Luckily for you, we didn’t hate it. We didn’t love it either. We’re indifferent about it. Pick another song from my vast catalogue to do to replace it. You’re never to touch that song again as long as I’m breathing. Do I make myself clear?”
Ryan nodded. “Yes sir. I completely understand you. Are there any other songs that are off limits?”
“No. Just that one.”
“Ok.”
“You may now leave the room. I have to scold my children now.”
“If it’s ok, I’ll just step outside. I’d like to smoke and know how all of you feel about that.”
Jake nodded. “Thank you for respecting my home, Ryan.”
Once Ryan Winters was gone, David looked at Malachai and Jordan. “My question for the two of you is this, if you were so sure that he was going to cover that song and so sure that we were going to hate it, then why didn’t you two keep tighter reigns on Wrought Iron?”
“We were trying to get our own stuff tracked and they’re one of our more experienced bands. We have other acts on our label that don’t know what we expect in the studio and this project is helping to break them. We stuck around and produced them ourselves rather than sticking them with someone else”, Jordan explained. “It never occurred to us that he would change it.”
“Well he did. Again, Jordan Hannah, you’re very lucky we didn’t hate it”, Brie said. “We’re indifferent about the sound. We’re not in love, but we don’t hate it.”
“And James Matthew”, David said, “since when are you a tattle- tale?”
“Excuse me?” James said.
“I know I taught you to be your brothers’ keeper and to help them out when they needed it, but since when do I need you to tell me that your brothers or sisters have made bone head mistakes?”
“You don’t.”
“Then, why are you snitching?” Brie asked.
“I didn’t realize I was doing that at any point. What are you referring to?”
“The night you and Malachai called and asked us to come back here to watch this damn football game with you. You seemed like you were enjoying the idea of Malachai and Jordan being in deep with us.”
“It was a little funny, I’ll admit.”
“I’ll reiterate what your mother just asked then”, David said. “Why are you snitching?”
“I didn’t think I was.”
“The only one of you allowed to do anything close to snitching is Jacob because he reports to me on all of the things happening in the family. Why do you think he calls you all regularly and has been for the last sixteen years? He’s getting information on the good and bad to give me. Now, this telling on each other because you think it’s funny is going to come to an end. You’re siblings. Understood?”
---------------
Once everyone was off to where they needed to go, Ira came down the stairs to greet his grandparents. “I’m surprised you two are back so soon”, he laughed. “Not that you’re not welcome.”
“Nice save, grandson”, Brie said.
“Yes, very nice”, David echoed. “We’re here to watch the Super Bowl with everyone.”
“Sweet! I’ve actually got something to look forward to this weekend.”
“You’re not dating anyone?” Brie asked.
“No, though I’m sure my mother wishes I were. I would much rather focus on my studies. I’m actually a little over half finished with my Associates’.”
“So you decided to go into psychology?” David asked.
“Yes. I had to do a little soul searching, and that’s what I decided. Dealing with that computer degree wasn’t horrible, but I’m not passionate about computers and I’m not curious about them. I’m fascinated by the human psyche and I would love nothing more than to try to figure out how it works.”
David nodded. “Wise choice. If that’s what you want to do with yourself, Ira Benjamin, then do that.”
“I am. I actually just finished the most fascinating paper.”
“Oh? On what?”
“That female serial that was executed in Texas around the time Disturbed retired. Tracy Gail Stevens.”
“The one that killed all those soldiers after the Occupation?” David asked.
“Yeah. She killed- what was it, like seven?- before she was caught”, was Ira’s response. “I just sent the paper into my professor.”
“Good luck”, David said.
“Thanks Grampa, but I don’t need luck. I’m just good. It’s hard not to be good like me when I’m like every other Draiman- an over achiever.” He chuckled.
His grandparents joined him. “We’re not all over achievers”, Brie said.
“Gramma, please. You knew everything there was to know about massage when you were grandfathered into the national massage registration and yet you to nursing school in your 40’s and 50’s so that you could be a midwife. That’s not being an over achiever?”
David let out a belly laugh- laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. “THAT SHIT WAS PRICELESS!!!” he laughed. “He got you there, baby. You have to admit.”
Brie looked at her husband, giving him a cross look and laughed. “Sure you two, laugh it up. I’m gonna make sure that Delilah puts something in your food tonight.”
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