Chapter 12

Day two of the photo shoots started much the same way as the previous day, minus the parents of the entire clan. The ten children were having their pictures taken together. All ten together, the different sets of multiples, and finally Malachai and Maddie had pictures done together because they were the only singles in the bunch.

Marc was on top of it all day long. He was making sure that things ran as smoothly as possible; making sure that his parents were comfortable as well as making his siblings behave themselves in between shots. He was not about to have them acting foolish.

After all the kids were photographed in their different groups, Marc gathered all of the grandkids and had them take pictures together. "But Uncle Marc, do we have to?" young Abigayle asked.

"Yes Abby. Now get over there with your cousins and don't make me repeat myself."

Abby went over and joined her cousins like her uncle told her to. The pictures were taken and Marc moved on to getting Maddie's family together for their pictures. "You're really making this move along today", Jake joked with him.

"Mom and Dad aren't getting any younger as we sit here and twiddle our thumbs. This needs to move along; go fast. We can't sit here and fuck around." He looked out at Maddie's family. "Let's get a shot of each of you with the kids, then Maddie with Ash then Dahlia, followed by Colt with Ash then Dahlia." They started moving around in the order that Marc had said. "Anyway, as I was saying. Mom and Dad may not look their ages because Mom's just awesome like that, but it doesn't change the fact that they are, in fact, in their 80's. There is no telling when they're going to check into Chez Paradise on the other side. Things need to be done in a relatively fast manner because Dad could have a heart attack at any moment, or Mom could stroke at any moment. Hell, they could just stop breathing for some reason just sitting there. Not saying it's gonna happen, but it is possible. I want to get this done as quickly as possible so that they can enjoy it."

Jake nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. Who do you think is going to take the longest?"

"Jeremiah and the Masons. I'm gonna get all of them together, then just break it down from there."

"What was the most difficult so far?"

"Jordan and her blended family. I had no idea how to do that other than to include Ronnie in the family photo. She has been with Jordan for the last eight, almost nine years and has helped to raise Levi and Jasmine. She's as much a parent to them as Reece or Jordan have been the last several years. It was a bit of a bitch. But, I figured it out because I'm bad ass like that."

"Well, I'm gonna go get a bite to eat and leave you to do what you're doing."

"Hey, before you walk off, I wanna bounce something off of you."

"What's that?"

"I had a thought to do with the lot of us like for Mom and Dad like I'm doing for us with our kids."

"Pictures of each of them with all of us?"

"Yeah. That's what I was thinking."

"I like it. If we don't get it done today we can do it tomorrow."

"How long do we have the photographer?"

"Not including yesterday and today? Three or four more days."

"Nice. Alright, go get your sugar up. And see if Mom and Dad need anything."

"That was the plan." Jake walked away.

Marc went back to directing the shoot by getting Jeremiah's family and his in laws out in the clearing where all of the pictures were being taken. It was going to be a long day and he wanted to get as much done as he could and he knew that he was losing daylight.  If he wanted to get more done after Jeremiah and Jona’s bunch, then he would have to hurry things along.  But, on the other hand, they had the photographer for a few more days.  As long as they have got everything they needed, it was all good.  But, he was still going to try to get everything done that he could so that they wouldn’t take up too much of the photographer’s time.

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

Zack and Miranda were off to the side talking about they play they were about to do.  “You’re not upset about my playing a lesbian, are you?” she asked with a laugh.

“It’s not that”, he laughed.  “I just want you to keep in mind that it’s a role.  Maureen is a character.  You’re not Maureen.”

“And if I like girls too?” she giggled.

“Rock on, but I come first.  That’s all I’m saying.”  He was still laughing.

“Don’t let my Gramma or Aunt Jordan hear you say that.”

“Your Gramma loves me.  She thinks I’m the cat’s meow.”

“You’ve been talking to Steve and Shelby again, haven’t you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Cat’s Meow?  Next thing I know, you’ll be saying that my Grampa thinks you’re the ‘Bee’s knee’.”

“He seems to be a fan.”

She laughed out, attracting the attention of everyone around her.  When she saw that she caught their glances, she apologized then looked back at Zack.  “Have you even spoken to my Grampa?”

“I said HI.”

“That does it.”  Miranda grabbed his hand and dragged him over to where her grandparents were sitting, talking and watching the commotion and loving every moment of the chaos.  “Hey, Gramma and Grampa”, she said sweetly.

“Hey Miranda”, they said in unison.

“I was hoping that he’d have the balls to come introduce himself to you and tell you that he loves me himself but apparently I have to have all the cajónes in this relationship.  This is Zack Winfield.  He’s my boyfriend and co- star in RENT.  He’ll be playing Mark.”

David and Brie looked at the young man.  “Hello.  Nice to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Draiman.”  His nerves were raw in his voice.

David studied the boy for a moment.  “Whatcha so nervous for?” he asked.

“You’re a little intimidating, sir.  I’m just showing the proper amount of fear.”

Brie laughed.  “He’s a big ole’ teddy bear.  He ain’t gonna hurt you, child.”

“I wish I could believe that, Mrs. Draiman.  I’ve heard too many horror stories.”

“Most of which I’m sure are made up or very exaggerated”, David said.

“So you didn’t let Marc beat the hell out of Remy Caldwell of Foresight?”

“No, I didn’t.  I just didn’t call the police.  He was using my daughter to try to get a deal with Intoxication Records.  That wasn’t about to happen.  Where did you hear that?”

“They finally got that record deal, but not Intoxication.  With BMG, I think it was.  My sister’s a big fan and she told me that I should read this article she found where he was talking about meeting you and how he was scared to death of you and all of your family- especially the boys.  Once I met Miranda and figured out that you were her beloved Grampa, I was nervous as hell to meet Malachai, let alone you.”

David laughed.  “It’s amazing that I’m so frightening to people and I’m 84.  I wish people would have been this afraid of me when I could have actually done something about it.”

“Weren’t people afraid of you during the Utopian Conflict?”

“They were afraid of my words, yeah.  I suppose you’re right.  But, no one would listen to me until the Utopians took over.”  He shook his head and waved away the topic.  “Neither here nor there.  Now, what are your intentions with my granddaughter?”

“I love her.  I want to be with her.  Eventually, I want to marry and have kids with her.  She’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met.”

David nodded.  “Ok.  I’m going to tell you this.  Treat her right.  If I ever hear of you mistreating the firstborn of my grandchildren, I will sic my dogs on you.  My dogs are her father, her uncles, and her male cousins.  I may be 84 years old, but I have never pulled punched and still don’t.  I have never really been that great of a bull shit artist either so I’m not lying.  Be good to my granddaughter and I’ll have no problems with you.  Understood?”

Zack nodded.  “You got it, Mr. Draiman sir.”

“Good.  I’ll leave the interrogation to her father.  That’s his job.  I did my share of it with my girls.  Now, do me a huge favor and go be young, dumb, and in love.”  He waved them away with his hand.

Miranda pulled them back toward the tree they were hanging out.  “There.  That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

He laughed.  “No.  I guess not.  It wasn’t the root canal like procedure that I was told it would be.”

“By whom?”

“Anyone who talked to Isaiah.”

“Isaiah tells guys that Grampa’s a scary guy to run guys off from me.  My grandfather, as you just saw, it actually pretty chill.”

Zack nodded.  “That makes sense.  I see how tight knit you all are, and it’s kinda intimidating.”

“Would you rather us be all distant and not speaking to each other?”

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

Matthew hated having his picture taken.  He made that very known to his parents.  “Mom, Dad, I hate this”, he said as his Uncle Marc directed them on who was supposed to be in the shot.

Jeremiah smiled at his son.  “I know, Matt.  I guarantee that your mother and I aren’t enjoying it either.  You’re mother less than I am.”

Matt looked at his mother who nodded.  “Your Dad’s right, Mattie.”

“Mom.  I hate it when you call me that”, Matt said in disdain.

“I know, but you’re always going to be my little boy just like I’m Grampa Skyler and Gramma Kaylian’s little girl and your Dad’s Grampa David and Gramma Brie’s little boy.”

“And I have nine other people I have to share with.  Consider that for a few moments.”

Matt chuckled.  “That’s actually kinda funny, Dad.”

“Good, I got you to smile.  Just think about that as you endure the rest of this.  It will all be over soon.”

Rina, who hated being left out of a conversation, chimed in.  “And just remember, this is for Gramma Brie and Grampa David.  They’re going to have pictures of everyone to put up in their house in Israel.”  She looked up at her parents.  “Can we go out to Israel sometime soon?  I wanna go see the Wall.”

“We shall see, Rina Brielle.  This is the tenth times you’ve asked since Gramma Brie and Grampa David arrived a few days ago.  Remember, don’t nag.  If you keep it up, you’re going to be told no and that will be the end of the discussion.  Understood?” Jeremiah said with a stern tone.  Rina may have been his little girl, but he wouldn’t tolerate her being pushy, though he had to admit that it stung him deep to be stern with either of his children.

The little girl- now almost 10- pouted as she gave her response.  “Yes Daddy.”  She hated being told no.  It sucked worse than not getting that pony she wanted for her birthday the year before.

“Ok.  I’m gonna get the hell out of the way here”, Marc said as he stepped back, “and let the photographer do what she does best.”

“Ok everyone, smile.”

Jeremiah slipped an arm around Jona’s waist as she did the same thing and everyone flashed a smile of some sort.  Not long after, the camera flashed several times as Kelly Demarco- the Professor’s former student- took their pictures for the family.

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

With Day two in the books, David and Brie went to their little cottage that night with smiles on their faces.  They’d managed to get through James’s bunch and were going to finish everything off in the morning.

As she made their dinner for the night, she looked over her shoulder to where he was watching the news on the couch.  He wasn’t engrossed, so she knew that she could carry on a conversation with him.  “What a day!” she said with a smile in her voice.

“That it was.  I’m glad we got as much as we did done today.”

“I know me too.  But, it’s also nice for Skyler and Kaylian to have pictures of their bunch together and all that stuff.”

“Very true.  Ok, so I’ve been dying to ask you all day, Brie; what do you think of Miranda’s boyfriend?”

“I think he’s a nice boy, but he really needs to grow a set.”  She laughed as she tossed the food in the skillet.  When she replaced the pan over the burner, she returned the question.  “What do you think of him, David?”

“I agree with you 150%.  He needs to grow a set and be a little bolder, but he seems like a nice kid.”

“If being a nearly 30 year old man can make you a kid”, she chuckled.

“He’s a kid.  I think that the only one of the kids our grandkids are dating that I like is Brandon.”

“Though he hates it when he’s called that.”

“He seems forgiving when we do it though.”

“I think he’s convinced that we have dementia setting in.”

He chuckled.  “I’m not entirely convinced that we don’t.  We have 20 some odd grandchildren.  It’s hard to remember all of the names at our ages.”

“I do good to remember the two that share my birthday some days”, she laughed as she pulled their plates out of the cabinet.

“You and me both”, he laughed as he stood up and went over to help her finish dinner.  He heard lots of cracking and popping as he rose to his feet.  “This getting old shit is for the birds.  Why can’t we age in reverse?”

“You mean like that Benjamin Button guy?”

“Yeah.  It’s bullshit that we have to crackle and pop when we move around.  I hate feeling old sometimes.”

“Baby, as long as you’re young at heart, what does it matter?”

He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.  “You’re such and angel.  What did I do to deserve you?”

“You’ve been asking that for the last 40+ years.  If you haven’t figured it out by now, you’re not going to.”

He chuckled.  “If you say so.  Now, do you need help with dinner?”

“If you want to help you can fix your own plate.”  She smile and help a plate out to him.

He took the plate and laughed.  “On it.”  And he set about fixing his plate so that he could sit down and finish watching his news.

She watched him moved through the small kitchen, stretching to get a glass for some tea.  She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him move about.  She still found him sexy, even after all the time they’d been together.  To paraphrase a comedian she loved when their children were still young, she’d found her ice cream truck.

Chapter 11

The next morning when the Mason family came in, Damien had a new an adorable strawberry blonde with him. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Draiman", he said. "I wanted to introduce my girlfriend. This is Avery."

Brie smile at the young woman. "Hello Avery."

David, who had been reading, took his glasses off and cleaned them. After returning them to his face he took a good look at Avery and gave Damien a thumbs up. "She's cute. Nice choice. You've got good taste young man."

Damien's face turned red. "Geez, Mr. David, sir. Thanks and all, but... really?"

Skyler laughed. "You'll have to forgive my son, David. In case you hadn't noticed over the years, he's good at being bold about giving other people compliments, but he can never accept one with confidence when it's being addressed to him. I would honestly like to know which parent he inherited that from."

"I don't think that's genetics, Mr. Mason", Avery said. "It's just Damien being too sweet and modest."

Damien cracked a smile. "See? She knows me."

Avery broke into a bright innocent grin. "It's not that hard, baby. It doesn't take a PhD in psychology to figure you out."

The smile on Damien's face faded and became a look of befuddlement. "Umm... thank you I think."

David looked at Skyler. "I have noticed that. He and Jona are a lot alike in that regard though she's gotten a bit better about it over the years." He looked at Damien. "Damien, I'll put it this way... and keep in mind that I'm an 84 year old man... but if I were about 50 years younger and not married to the love of my life, you might just have a fight on your hands."

Brie reached over and gently smacked his thigh with the shake of her head before turning to Damien. "You'll have to forgive my husband dear, Damien. He's being a lech. She seems like a lovely girl, though." Her eyes then turned to Avery. "Forgive my husband, dear. He can't seem to help himself these days.  84 acting like he’s 24.  Welcome to our family home, though.  I’m sure you’ve met Damien’s brother in law- our son- Jeremiah by now?”  Damien just chuckled when she smacked her man on the thigh.

Avery smiled brightly.  “I see that he is, but what guy doesn't act like a lech at one point or the other? They're guys; it’s what they do whether they admit it or not. But thank you, Mrs. Draiman. I like your home. Jeremiah and I have met briefly once or twice when I come to see Damien at the clinic and he stops by. Damien was going to introduce me to your family real soon, but when Jona mentioned this portrait thing, he considered it the perfect opportunity to bring me over. I've actually been looking forward to it. The Mason family may be his flesh and blood, but he's said that his brother-in-law's family- you guys- play just as big of an important role for him because you are all so supportive of one another. Or at least that is what he keeps saying. So I've wanted to see why he was raving so much. I see it now.”

David rubbed his thigh where Brie has smacked him playfully.  “Ouch.  Was that truly necessary?” he laughed.

Brie flashed him a sweet smile.  Yes, David Michael. It was. She's far too young for you, you lech!" She laughed then turned to Avery.  "Well, you're boyfriend's family has been just as big a support to us as we have to them. If you hear David and Skyler call each other brother, they mean it. They're very much are brothers. And I love Kaylian like my sister. It will be nice to get to know you... and you seem to have a good influence on Damien. That's always a good thing."

Avery giggled.  “Oh, you guys are so nice!  I think I’m going to like you!”

Kaylian gave Avery a warm smile.  “You will like this family a lot, sweetie. Lord knows my family and I love them.”  She then turned to Brie and spoke.  “Aww, I love you as a sister too, dearie. And it’s because of this kind of devotion to the people we love that our families get along so well together, don't you think?”

“Considering the age difference, shouldn’t I be the one calling you dearie?”  Brie laughed.  “But, I absolutely agree. It's that commitment that we have to those around us that helps us get along the way we do. For sure.”

“That and the fact that Dad and Skyler are the same brand of crazy!” Jeremiah called out from off to the side somewhere.  No one really paid him any attention.

As Brie and Kaylian were having their exchange, David spoke to Avery.  “We try, dear. I'm an old lech. I know it. I can't help it and if I tried to change it then, by God, I wouldn't be me. But, to paraphrase an old friend of mine, welcome to our fucked up, God damn family.”

“Well, I think that’s a compliment to say it like that, so thank you.  Glad to be here”, Avery responded with a smile and a laugh.

Brie laughed as well, tuning back into the conversation between her husband and Avery.  “It’s more a statement of fact, Avery dear.  We’re a pretty fun and outspoken bunch around here.  I think you’ll like it.”

Jona had heard her husband’s comment and stood next to him where he was leaning against the wall.  “I know; it’s kinda funny and frightening at the same time.  And you’d think with father’s that crazy, you and I wouldn’t be so quiet and sometimes timid, but yet we are.  Maybe our insanity is more reserved and waiting for the right moment instead of just being downright psycho like theirs.”  She chuckled softly.

Jeremiah nodded slowly, giving his own chuckle.  “I know, right?  You would think so.  I mean, my father made a name for himself acting crazy, and I’m pretty reserved.”  He sighed.  “Don’t you just love how they ignore us?”

She laughed a little harder.  “Just smile and nod, baby.  Nothing you can really do about it.”

And for that, Jeremiah had no answer, so he did what she suggested.  He just gave a fake smile and nodded.

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

Finally the photographer arrived and everyone headed outside.  It took a few minutes to get everyone outside and gathered and then about 15 minutes to get everyone placed so that they photos could be snapped.  David and Brie were seated in the center of the bunch and their ten children surrounded them with their families.  The older children were centered in the back with their kids and significant others.  The quads all sat in front with their families and Jessi and Marc knelt at the sides.  “Alright, if you’re gonna smile give them to me; if not just stare at me”, Kelly said before she snapped the picture.  She snapped a couple more like that and pulled the camera away from her face.  “Ok, Dr. Draiman”, she said.  “How are we doing this from here?”

“Which one are you speaking to?” Meagan asked.  “There are three of us here.  Four if you count our father.”

“And you are?” Kelly asked.

“Meagan Draiman, PhD- Microbiology.”

“I’m looking for the MD that I spoke to the other day.”

Jake came out from behind the chairs their parents were sitting in.  “Sorry about that”, he said to Kelly then spoke to Meagan.  “I’ve got this Mae.  I’m the one that had this crazy idea.  Mom and Dad just decided to humor me.”

Meagan nodded.  “I’m gone, Jake.”

Jake looked back to Kelly.  “Hi there.  Sorry for that.  I’m the MD you’re looking for.”

“It’s nice to finally figure out which of these handsome men you are”, she said with a laugh.  “Now, what are we going to do from here?”

“I think what I want to do now is clear out everyone but the two crazy people in the middle, and just have the ten kids.  After that, we’ll bring in the grandkids.  And then, we’ll talk again.”

“Ok.  You direct this insanity.  I’ll just take all the pictures.”

Jake laughed.  “Sounds good.”  He looked out at the mass of people surrounding his parents.  “Mom and Dad, stay put.  If you married into the family, clear out for me real fast and take the grandkids.  Just the ten children for the moment.”

The pictures were taken- the way that Jake suggested them.  There were several shots of the ten kids with their parents in a few different arrangements.  Then the grandkids all flooded in and they were all photographed with their grandparents.  The three youngest got to take a seat in Gramma and Grampa’s laps.

Once the photos were taken, Jake went back to the photographer.  “I’m thinking, but I’ll be honest.  This is way outside of my area of expertise.  I’m a medical doctor, not a director.”  He thought for another moment then brought his hands up to his face, cupping them around his mouth.  “MARC!”

Marc looked up.  “What up?”

“Come here.”

Marc jogged over and looked expectantly at his older brother.  “You bellowed?”

Jake laughed.  “Direct this fiasco.”

“What?”

“Direct this catastrophe.  I’m sure that you’ve picked up some tips from your father in law.”

Marc laughed unpleasantly.  “Ok.  I got this.  Go join the family while I figure this shit out.”  Jake walked off and went back to join the group.  Marc sighed and looked at the photographer.  “Hi”, he said with a laugh.  “I’m Marc Draiman.”

“Hi.  Kelly Demarco.  So, Marc, what are we doing from here?”

“Hold on and gimme a sec to organize my thoughts.”  He started moving invisible things around in the air as he muttered to himself.  “Ok”, he finally said out loud.  “Here’s what we’re gonna do.  I’m gonna lay this out to you three sets at a time.  It gives me time to think.  First, the girls with our Mom.  Then the boys.  Then we’ll flip and make it the girls with Dad, and then the boys.  Then, finally, Mom and Dad alone together then with Mr. and Mrs. Mason.  You think that can happen?”

“I think we can do that.  Get everyone on place.”

Marc cleared his throat.  “ATTENTION DRAIMAN CLAN!  IF YOU’RE UNDER THE AGE OF 30, GET OUT OF THE WAY!  IF YOU’RE OVER THE AGE OF 30 AND HAVE A Y CHROMOSOME, DITTO.  TWO X’S GATHER, PUT MOM IN THE MIDDLE!  ANY QUESTIONS?”

The family did as they were told.  Marc wasn’t going to put up with bull shit.  He’d had this little project dumped in his lap and he wasn’t happy.  He’d let Jake know just what he was thinking later.  Now, he needed to get everyone organized the way he wanted them so that the pictures would turn out right.  It was a daunting task, but he could do it.  He was, after all, his father’s son.

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

As Marc set about making sure that everyone was properly in place, Jake and Jeremiah stood off to the side and talked.  “She looks really familiar”, Jeremiah said from out of the blue.

“Who does?” Jake asked.

“The photographer.  I just can’t place from where.”

“Maybe she’s a former student?”

Jeremiah sighed.  “Maybe, but Demarco doesn’t sound right.  That can’t be her name.”

Jake chuckled.  “What about Wagner?”

“It rings a dim bell.  Do you know something I don’t?”

“I do.  She was a student of yours.  She had you for Post Modern Philosophy as she was working on her degree.”

Jeremiah nodded slowly.  “Ah.  Did she enjoy the class?”

“You’d have to ask her, ‘Miah.  It’s not like you were the big topic of conversation, you know.  We were discussing this, not your classes.”

Jeremiah chuckled.  “Thanks for nothing, big brother”, he teased.

“What are big brothers for, little brother?” Jake teased in return.  He stood back and watched as Marc reorganized their sisters with their father because the shot wasn’t the way he wanted it.  “Who’s the new skirt with Damien?”

“His girlfriend Avery.”

“What’s she like?”

“I really don’t know her well enough to be able to say.  I’ve only met her a handful of times at the clinic.  She’d be there to see him, and I’d be stopping by on my lunch hour to drop Jona off a bite of lunch or to pick her up so we could go to lunch.  I’ve spoken to her in passing, but not in depth.”

“What are the impressions you get of her?”

“She’s his polar opposite, but they seem like they’re good for each other.  They’re cute together, I suppose and she seems nice.”

“She may end up your wife’s sister in law and that’s all you know?”

“Forgive me for not having the fucking time to stop and chat, Jake.  I have a rather busy life.  I do have classes to teach on several different subjects.  Hell, in the fall I’m taking on a history class because they’re short one.”

“Just one class?”

“Yeah.  It’s a Friday class and it’s, like, two hours long.”

“Can you do it?”

“They’re college students.  If they don’t like lecture, they shouldn’t be in my class.”

“No fun ways to make history interesting for the college kids?”

“I might pull a few old tricks out of my hat, but for the most part it’s a lecture and discussion class.”

“Fun.  Good luck with that.  But, you know nothing about her other than what you said?”

“Not a thing.  I’m sure I’ll have time to get to know her.  He seems pretty sweet on her.”

“Well, enjoy.  That’s all I can tell you.”

Jeremiah rolled his eyes.  “Thanks for nothing, bro.”

“Like I said, what are big brother’s for?”

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

At the end of Day one, they’d gotten through Jake’s bunch and that was about all.  They couldn’t get amore more done without special lights, and there were still children that had early bedtimes.  As Marc prepared to take his family to Malachai’s house- where they were staying while they were in town- he pulled Jake to the side.  “Can I talk to you for a moment, Jake?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure”, Jake said and took them up to his office.  “What’s up?” he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“What was that shit earlier?” Marc asked.

“I’m sorry about that, but I was out of my depth.  I’m not in entertainment.  You work on movies.  That’s more your thing than mine.”

Marc nodded.  “Why didn’t you ask me ahead of time?”

“It honestly didn’t cross my mind.  I made the last minute decision to have you do it.”

“Try to give me warning ahead of time next time so that I’m prepared and I’m not a total ass.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.  Do you mind finishing everything up tomorrow?”

“No.  Just like to have a little advanced warning, that’s all.  Now I can plot and plan rather than try to pull it out of my ass.”

Jake laughed.  “You did well, if you ask me.”

“Thanks, but I’m not worried about it.  I know I’m good at what I do.”  He winked.

Jake did a face palm.  “Go home.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Jake.”  Marc headed out to the door and Jake just laughed.  Between him and Jordan, there’s not a drop of conceit in this family.  Jake shook his head and went down the stairs to his own family.  Miri was bouncing off the walls because she was going to get her horse soon and she couldn’t wait.  Jake was happy to see her so happy.  He just hoped that she was careful.  She was still really tiny and he was always afraid that some animal twice her size would trample her.  Did he need to relax?  Maybe, but it wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

Chapter 10

The night before the pictures were taken, Eli and B loaded up the paintings and took them to homestead to show them to the family and to deliver "Darkness" to his grandfather. "We got them all mounted and framed, right?" Eli asked, with raw nerves in his voice.

"Yes baby", B said calmly.

"And they're all covered so that no one can peak?"

"Yes Eli."

"Good. I want everyone to be surprised. None of them have seen any of my professional work and I want Gramma and Grampa to have a chance to see a small part of this gallery collection. This is really important to me."

B just smiled, listening patiently to Eli's fretting. "I know, Eli. Just calm down. I've got this. You know that I will take care of it all. All I want you to do is have your insane chats with your muse where you paint and draw these amazing pieces and I'll take care of it from there. Not only am I your partner, I'm your manager. I will do what you don't have time to think to do. I manage you and your creative self. All I ask is that you just create."

Eli smiled. "You take such good care of me. You make sense of my crazy mind. I can't even do that."

"I don't think you’re supposed to be able to. It's my responsibility to sort through the madness to find your method. So far, I think I'm doing a fairly good job."

"You do an amazing job. Don't ever doubt that."

"Coming from you, I don't. Now, we have a painting to deliver and more art to show off. Why don't we get in the car and go?"

Eli nodded. "Why don't we do that?" Eli got in the passenger seat so that B could drive. He knew how to drive with the paintings in the back. Eli would have scuffed the paintings or broken the frames that held the sketches. It wasn't that he was reckless.  It was just that he wasn’t always careful.  If he were a flower delivery driver, he would have wrecked more vases than he would have delivered in one piece.

Upon arrival, Eli runs to the door and walks in.  “Can I get a little bit of help out here?  I have a have a bunch of stuff that needs to come inside.”

“How many people do you need, Eli?” David asked.

“I’d say five or six.  B and I will also help, but we still need a few hands.”

“Levi, Ira, Anthony, Hunter, Matthew, and Seth- go help Eli bring in whatever he needs brought in.”

The boys all stood and headed out to do what their grandfather instructed them to do.  When they walked in with large covered frames.  Behind them were B and Eli carrying armfuls of smaller frames.  “What is all this, Elijah?” Brie asked.

“Don’t worry, Gramma.  I’ll explain in a minute.  I want to make sure that everything is in the house before I play show and tell.”  He stepped back out with B to do just that.  After a couple of moments, everyone inside heard the hatch of the trunk close and Eli and B walked back in.  “Ok.  If I could get everyone present to come to the living room please, that would be fantastic.”  Everyone flooded in and sat down.

“What is all of this, Eli?” David asked.

“Well first off, Grampa, I wanted to give you a gift.  It’s something that I saved for you and Gramma from my first gallery show.  I thought you would like it so I wouldn’t let the gallery sell it.  I kept telling potential buyers that it was spoken for.”  He reached behind him and checked beneath the drape to make sure that he had the correct painting.  After pulling the painting in front of him, he pulled the cover off with a flourish.  “I present ‘Darkness’.  It was inspired by the song that you wrote, Grampa.  I was listening to the version you did with Aunt Jordan the year before you retired and I was inspired to paint this.  I didn’t want it to go to anyone but you.”

David looked at the canvas in shock.  The detail in the painting was astounding.  “Elijah.  It’s magnificent.  Wow.  I love it, grandson.  Thank you.”

“I’ll hug you in just a minute, Grampa.  Gramma will want a hug too after I show you my other gift to you.”  He grabbed the next frame and checked under the canvas to be sure that it was the one he wanted.  “If you’ll both recall, I snapped a picture of the two of you the other night while B and I were here with my phone.  My method behind that madness was not only for my next show but, as another gift to the two of you.  I’ve given Mom and Dad several like this and I think they even have one of them up in the living room.”  He pulled the canvas off.  “This is ‘Love Eternal’, and it’s my gift to you and Gramma- after the show next month, that is.”

“Oh my God, Eli.  It’s beautiful”, Brie said with a smile.

“I’m glad you like it Gramma.  I wanted to do something special for you and Grampa.  This is that something special.  It’s not much, but it’s what I’ve got to give.”

“It’s perfect, Elijah”, David said.  “You obviously put a lot of thought into this.  It’s amazing.”

“I’m glad you two like them.  I guess we can call them a late anniversary gift.  So, happy belated anniversary.”

“Thank you, Elijah”, Brie said.

He went to his grandparents and gave them each a hug, receiving a peck on the cheek from his grandmother and turning a couple different shades of red when he pulled away.  “Anyway”, he said as he blushed, “I wanted to show off the rest of the collection so far, as well.  The focus of this collection is going to be you psycho people.”  He reached behind him and grabbed the next frame.  Pulling the cover off, he showed everyone in the room.  “This one, I call ‘Nightmare’.  The inspiration was being at the show in Chicago 15 years ago and watching Aunt Jordan and Dad onstage with Matt and Brian.  That was… magical.”

“I think your father and I are going to fight over who gets that one, Eli”, Jordan laughed.  “I think that’s one of my fondest memories as a recording artist.”

“You got that right, Jord”, Malachai laughed, “on both counts.  One of my fondest memories and we are going to fight over that damn painting.  Betcha I’ll win.”

“No fighting now”, B said with a chuckle.  “Save it for the auction to be held after the showing.  The collection will be up for a week in New York, then a week in Chicago and the auction will be the final night.”

Jordan and Malachai exchanged a look.  “We’re there”, they said in unison.

Eli just rolled his eyes.  “Any who… back to showing off the collection.”  He grabbed the next one and uncovered it.  “This one is ‘The Bonds of Brotherhood’.  Inspired by the final bow Disturbed took that same night.  I know that Uncles Danny, Mikey, and John are no longer around to see it, but I would really have loved for them to see this too.”

“They would have loved it, Elijah”, David said.  “I do.  Very well done and it’s just like I remember it being that night.  The lighting, the random lighters… everything just like I remember it when we took that bow.”

“Thanks Grampa.”  He grabbed the next frame and removed the cover.  The canvas was divided in thirds.  Each section contained a cradle, but there was a different person in each frame. One held David, one held Malachai, and one held Jordan.  David had a note pad in his hand and his laptop on the table as he sat and tried to work out lyrics to a piece he’d just been emailed.  Jordan had a keyboard sitting on the coffee table and a notepad in her lap.  Malachai had his guitar strapped to his body and a note pad sitting on the table.  “I call this one, ‘From the Cradle’ because whether we admit it or not, this is a very musical family and I can remember times of seeing Grampa singing to the cradle of whichever new grandbaby had just been born as he wrote music.  I remembered Dad doing it when the triplets came along.  I saw Aunt Jordan do it with both Levi and Jasmine on a few occasions.  I wanted to immortalize those memories.”

“They all did the same thing with you and your older siblings”, Brie said with a smile.

“Really?”

“Yep”, the three individuals in question responded in unison.  “And I did it with all of your Aunts and Uncles”, David continued.

“This is the last one before I start passing around the sketches for everyone to see.”  He grabbed the last one and pulled the cover off of it.  “This one is called ‘Hands That Heal’,” he said.  The picture was of Brie giving one of the new babies a massage as she cooed softly to it.  “I remember Gramma giving the new babies massage after they would eat and she would burp them.  It’s something that has always left a lasting impression on me and I felt that the world needed to see it too.”

“Don’t let that go to auction”, Maddie said.  “That would look amazing in the clinic.”  She looked at Jona and Delilah.  “Don’t you two agree?”

“Oh yeah” Delilah said.

“Absolutely.  I’m sure that Damien would agree”, Jona said with a nod.

B cleared his throat.  “What we can do is say that it’s being donated after the exhibit to the clinic.  Would that work?”

“We’ll buy it”, Delilah said.

“No, Aunt Delilah.  I wouldn’t feel right making you guys pay for that painting.  I’d feel much better about donating it to ‘The Draiman- Mason Wellness Connection’, in honor of its founder.”  He winked at his grandmother.

Brie laughed.  “Elijah, you don’t have to do that.”

Eli shook his head.  “On the contrary, Gramma.  I absolutely do.”

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

It wasn’t an easy night for anyone in the Draiman family as they worried about what they were going to wear for the pictures the following morning.  After trying on a few outfits for David’s vote, Brie finally decided on what she was going to wear.  Still very active and very petite at 80 years old, she could wear a pair of slacks and blouse and get away with it.  She didn’t even have a lot of wrinkles, and she’d never used anti- aging products or had any kind of laser surgery to tighten the skin.  She’d taken a lot of supplements when she was younger it was paying off.  She barely looked her age.  After finding a pair of nice sandal flats to finish off her outfit and she was ready.

David went with his usual black on black, picking a pair of black slacks to wear with a black button down dress shirt and black boots.  He’d stopped wearing his piercings a long time before so there was no point in wearing them now.  They’d all grown in.  He didn’t like wearing them for family pictures anyway.

David had taken the same supplements that Brie had started taken as they hit their 40’s and 50’s.  It had been her idea so that they could keep their energy up as their family grew to the monumental proportions that they were at the present time.  The years had been kind to both David and Brie because they wouldn’t tolerate anything less.

They went out to their little cottage on the property after spending the first few nights they were in town in the main house to set Jacob’s mind at ease.  He was still reluctant to let them go out to the cottage, but the assured him that they would be fine.  Neither had started saying their prayers or chatting with ancestors asking to come home.  “I would know”, David said with a laugh.  “Your mother still to this day gets more sleep than I do.  If you ever come out there in the morning to get us and we’re both still sleeping, we’re probably both dead.”  Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

As they sat on their couch and watched TV, they looked at each other and smiled.  “Are we seriously going to have a picture taken of our entire family all together tomorrow?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yeah.  We really are.  And we’re going to have our first professional photo together since our wedding taken tomorrow too.  Knowing Jake, he’ll insist that we do all the big family stuff, then me and you.  It’s Jake.”

David chuckled.  “I know.  Amazing how he freaks over nothing, though.  Cracks me up.”

“At least he comes by it honestly.”

He laughed.  “I know.  You’re as just as bad.”

“I know.  I remember the night Malachai got arrested for the pervert who wanted to kidnap Maddie and Jordan.  I was so scared that Malachai wouldn’t come home that night because you had to wait for him to be arraigned to post his bond.  Logan told me to lie down and go back to sleep.”

He chuckled.  “So I’d heard.  You still fret over every little thing.  But, it’s one of your many endearing qualities.”

“Is that why you’ve stayed with me for over 40 years?”

“I’ve stayed for over 40 years because I love you and I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.”

She giggled.  “Good answer.”

He laughed.  “I thought so.  So, are we ready for this tomorrow?”

“I think so.  I’m actually kinda dreading it.”

“Really?  Why?”

“Because I’m afraid someone’s going to turn it into a spectacle.  And when that happens, I’m going to lose my mind.”

“I’ll beat you to it.  I will not let anyone ruin this.  Jake is doing something nice for everyone and the first person that acts a fool will hear it from me.”

She smiled.  “That’s why I said that everyone had better dress their best.  If anyone looks like a slob, I will flip.  I know we didn’t raise a bunch of slouches and I refuse to have my picture taken with a bunch of slouches.”

“I know.  But, what I’m trying to figure out is what we’re going to do with Jacob and Jeremiah and their line of thinking that we’re getting ready to cross over.  I mean, yes we’ve excepted that it’s going to happen, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting ready for it.”

“I’d be talking to Matt or my parents if that were the case.  I’d be dreaming about them.  You’d probably be saying your prayers or talking to Ben.”

“More than likely talking to Ben or your asshole brother.”

She laughed.  “Bright side… I’ll finally get to meet my brother I never knew,  But, I’m not ready yet.  He’ll call us home when we’re ready and he’s ready.”

“You think we’ll have great- grandchildren by the time that happens?” he mused.

“It’s possible.  You never know with our family.  I mean, I wasn’t even in my 50’s yet before I was a grandmother.  Now look… those same grandkids are almost 30.”

He laughed.  “I know.  Ain’t life grand?”

“I know.  And it just keeps getting better.”

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

Malachai escorted Miranda to the airport to pick up her boyfriend who was flying in from New York. He'd heard of Zachary before, but this was their first time meeting. From what he'd heard the boy seemed nice. He wasn't going to hold his breath. He'd met too many jerks with his sisters to give anyone the benefit of the doubt when it came to his daughter.

He sat and watched as his oldest child bounce in her seat and pace. "Miranda Jayde. Sit down."

"Daddy, I can't wait for you to meet him. He's a really nice guy."

"Of that I have no doubt. But, you need to relax. He's still gotta go through me and your brothers to meet your grandfather. You know this and I know this. If he has any sort of problem with that, then he can take himself back to the Big Apple."

"He's actually really excited to meet everyone, but a little nervous. He really wants to make a good impression."

"Well, we'll see. Won't we?"

She laughed. "Oh Daddy. Did you hear what Uncle Jake and Grampa did to Miri's boyfriend the other night?"

"No. What happened?"

"Apparently he was acting a fool over web chat when he figured out that Grampa is THAT David Draiman and Miri told him that if he couldn't impress Uncle Jake then they were done. Uncle Jake had her call him and tore him a new ass over the phone. Not long after he called back and Grampa laid into him pretending to be some guy named Ian Moone."

Malachai chuckled. "Ian Moone? I love it. Your Grampa is a genius."

"What does that mean?"

"If you switch the M and the N it spells I AM NO ONE. It's classic. I'm gonna talk to Aunt Jordan and the guys about calling out next record that. It would be priceless."

Miranda laughed at her father. "Daddy, you’re funny."

"Glad I amuse you."

She smiled and looked back toward the gate where Zack was supposed to be coming from. The plane had just landed and she couldn't wait to see him. She'd only been away from him a couple of days, but she hated being away from him for even a few minutes. At some point, she wanted to become his wife.

When she spotted his, she started jumping up and down to get his attention. Malachai laughed. "Just go to him goofball."

She jumped down from her where she was standing on the seat and ran to Zack, jumping into his arms and throwing her arms around his neck. "Hey you!" she squealed.

He laughed. "Hey you back. Did you miss me?"

"Absolutely not. My enthusiasm is a figment of your imagination."

"I thought so. Wanted to be sure though." He set her on the floor. "So where's your dad?"

"Over here. Come on." She led him back to where her father was standing. "Daddy, this is Zack Winfield, my boyfriend. Zack; my father, Malachai Draiman."

Malachai extended his right hand. "Nice to meet you Zack."

Zack took the hand and shook. "It's a pleasure to finally be able to meet you, Mr. Draiman."

"Please, just call me Malachai. Mr. Draiman is my father."

"Ok then. Malachai. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And you. You seem like a really nice guy. Proud for my daughter to be dating you. Shall we head on back to the house so everyone can get some rest for tomorrow?"

"Sleep sounds really good right about now", Zack laughed. "I can't sleep when I fly."

"It's a learned skill", Malachai said with a laugh. "Been doing it for far too long."

"I know. I'm a big fan."

"Well, I hope you're a Disturbed fan too because you now have to go through my father to be able to continue seeing Miranda."

"I am and I look forward to the challenge."

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

Jeremiah and Jona were relaxing after Jeremiah spent half an hour freaking out over what he was going to wear for the photos the next day. "What are you so worried about, 'Miah?" Jona asked as they watched their show and unwound.

"You know how big a perfectionist my mother is. I don't want her freaking out on me because I don't meet her expectations."

"She won't freak on me will she?"

"No baby. You always look amazing."

She smiled. "And so do you. What are you so worried about?"

He sighed. "I just want this to be special for my parents."

"And it will be. Just relax. Do you want some chamomile tea to settle your nerves?"

He smiled softly. "That sounds good. Thank you, baby."

Jona uncurled herself from the way she was lying against her husband and went to pour him a glass of the chilled chamomile she kept in the fridge. When she returned and handed him the glass, he captured her hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. "How is it that you know exactly how to take care of me?"

She laughed. "Sheer dumb luck."

He laughed as well. "Well, you must be really lucky."

"Of course I am. I have you."

"Are you saying that it's a give and take?"

"How else would we work so well?"

Chapter 9

Eli and B missed dinner at his parents’ house.  His muse had too much for him to do.  Not only did he finish the painting of his grandparents together, but he finished two more- both were inspired by the dynamic family he came from.  One was of his grandfather with his band on the last night they ever performed.  That cool spring night in Chicago that Disturbed retired.  Their hotel room overlooked Millennium Park where the show was held.  He opened the blinds to get a view of the lighting as the sunset and painted the stage from the up close angle he had- his grandfather linked arm in arm with the men that he called ‘brother’ for over 40 years as they took their final bow- from memory.

B was astounded.  It was like Eli was tapped into something that he’d never know or understand.  His muse was strong with him that day.

The other piece was of his aunt and father when they were on stage that same night with the two remaining members of Avenged Sevenfold.  His father and Aunt had walked out on the catwalk with the two men as the two guitarists- Synyster Gates and his father, Malachai- played and the two vocalists- M. Shadows and his Aunt, Jordan- amped and interacted with the crowd.  The sun was setting as they were playing the song “Nightmare”.  Once he was finished, he looked over his shoulder at B and said, “I think my new collection is going to end up being focused on my family.  I think my muse is trying to tell me something.”

“What do you think it is?” B asked.

“My grandparents aren’t much longer for the world.  This is going to be my way to honor them as well as my father and my aunts and uncles.  These painting and my sketches that I did the other day.”

“You never showed me your sketches.”

Elijah dug out his sketch book and showed B the sketches that he’d done the day before.  “This is Aunt Jordan and her girlfriend Ronnie”, he said as he flipped through the book to the first one.  He flipped the page.  “I call this one, ‘Los Tres Amigos’ because it’s Ira, Levi and Anthony.  They’re the Three Amigos.  They always have been.”  He flipped the next page.  “This is Aunt Jona with Rina and Matthew.  Uncle Jeremiah is in the corner laughing.”  The next one was of a tall, slender man sleeping with the sheets of the bed pooled at his waist and one arm slung carelessly over his eyes.  “And this one is of you.”

B studied the picture carefully, his fingers gently caressing the page as he looked on in shocked.  “Wow.  Baby.  When did you do this?”

“This morning while you were still sleeping.  I was sitting in that chair over there by the window drinking some coffee and I couldn’t help myself.  I grabbed my sketch pad and sketched you sleeping.  You’re so sexy and you don’t even know it.”

“Can I keep this one?”

Eli grabbed a pencil and scribbled something on the page quickly before ripping the page out of the book.  “Here you go, babe.”

“What did you write on there?  Your handwriting is atrocious.”

Eli laughed.  “It says, ‘To the perfect guy, you’ll never know how much you mean to me.  Love Elijah’.  And I wrote it in French.”

“I can’t read French.  But, I do love you too.”

Elijah smiled softly and brushed his fingertips down B’s cheek.  “You have no idea how special you are, Brandon.  You’re my world.”

B chuckled as his hand cupped Eli’s cheek and his thumb caressed his lover’s cheekbone.  “Ditto, Elijah.”

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

Jake checked his email one more time before calling it a night and chilling with his parents and the family that lived in the immediate vicinity of homestead.  The email he was waiting for wasn’t there.  He sighed.  I hope to God that girl keeps her word and calls me before the night is out, he thought.

He shut down his computers for the night and leaned back in his chair for a moment, thinking that he was going to set to panicking if he didn’t hear from the photographer soon.  His wife knocked on his closed office door.  “Come in”, he called.

She entered the room and looked at him like he was crazy for being so stressed.  “What seems to be your malfunction?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

“I’m freaking out because the photographer hasn’t gotten ahold of me yet and she told me by the end of the day.”

“Would you get a grip, Jacob, please?  She’ll call, I’m sure.  If she doesn’t, ask ‘Miah or, Mom or Dad to make the phone call to check on her in the morning.  Something may have come up.  Freaking out is going to do what?”

He shook his head.  “Nothing, I know.  But, the fact of the matter is that I want to do this for Mom and Dad before everyone goes back home to live their lives.  I’m not worried about Mom and Dad slipping away on us before this happens.  I’m worried about getting it done before everyone goes back to where they came here from.”

Delilah nodded.  “I get that, Jacob.  And I’m sure she’ll get with you so we can do this in a reasonable amount of time.  You stress too much.”

He chuckled.  “It’s a good thing I have you to keep me grounded, huh?”

“We’ve been married for 22 years, Jakey.  If I don’t know you better than you know yourself by now, then it will likely never happen.”

He held a hand out to her and she went to him, taking it in hers.  “You’re my angel, Lilah baby.  You keep me grounded; you keep me sane.  Thank you for 22 years of keeping me sane.”  He pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

She leaned over the back of the chair and kissed his head with a laugh.  “It’s my job, Jakey.  If not me, then who?  I don’t think there’s another woman in this world who can handle your OCD, anal retentive ass like I do.”

“I kinda have to be OCD and anal retentive”, he laughed.  “It comes with the job I do.”

“I know, and I understand it.  I’m as OCD, but not nearly as anal.”  She sighed.  “Jacob.  Relax.  I’m sure she’ll call soon.”

As she finished speaking his work cell started ringing.  He picked it up off the desk with a question on his face.  He didn’t recognize the number.  “This is Dr. Draiman.  How can I help you?”

There was a sigh.  “Hi, Dr. Draiman.  This is Kelly Demarco, the photographer.  I’m sorry to call you so late and on your personal line, but things got pretty crazy after I talked to you this morning.  I barely had time after we talked to see when my calendar was open for a week.  Now, I have it in front of me and I wanted to know what will work for you and your family.”

He chuckled.  “I understand busy.  I used to work as the Chief of Medicine in two different hospitals at the same time.  It nearly killed me, literally.  And, this is actually my business cell.  This is the number that other doctors call when they need a consult or something like that.  You’re fine.”

She laughed.  “Good thing I kept this number then.  So, what is the time frame we’re looking at here?  How long do we have to do this in?”

“This needs to be done within the next week and a half.  I have a niece who’s about to be featured on Broadway, a nephew trying to prepare for a gallery showing.  A sister and her husband that need to get back to Israel for work.  A sister that needs to get back to NASA in Houston.  So on and so forth.”

There was silence.  “I can block your week out starting in two days.  Will that work for you?”

“That should be perfect.  You’re awesome.”

“Wait until you see my work, Dr. Draiman, before you go praising me too much.  I’m good.  I’m sure you took a moment to look at my site, as did your brother who contacted me earlier.  Speaking of, he sounds familiar.  He doesn’t teach philosophy at UCCS, does he?”

“He does.”

“J. Alexander Draiman, PhD.”

“That would be him.”

“I had him for Post- Modern Philosophy to fulfill my humanities requirement for my Bachelors’.  He's the head of the Theology department too.”

“He must not recognize your name.”

“That’s because Demarco is my married name.  When I had him it was Warren.”

“So, I should be calling you Mrs. Demarco.  My apologies.”

“No worries, Dr. Draiman.  I’m not worried about it.  It happens.  I will see you in a couple of days.  Make sure that your family is aware and they know how to dress for the event.”

“Oh, they know.  My mother won’t tolerate anything less than our best.  If someone is dressed unsatisfactorily, you’ll hear it.  My 80 year old mother does not care.”

“And your father will say?”

“That we heard our mother, and to go change before he beats our ass.  He’s 84, and doesn’t care either.  ‘I’ve seen and done far too much in my life to allow you to act a fucking fool’, he’ll say. ‘Now, go change your clothes like your mother said before I kick you in your ass’.”

“Nice.  I can’t help but laugh.  Something tells me that your folks are going to keep me rolling the entire week I’m there.”

“Oh, they will.  Don’t think for a second that they won’t.  You’ll lose weight from laughing so hard you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming.”

“If that’s true, then I seriously can’t wait.  I’ll see you in two days, Doctor.”

“I’ll see you in two days, then, Mrs. Demarco.”

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

"Zack, is there any way you can fly out for a couple days?" Miranda asked her boyfriend over web chat that night.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked. "It's not your grandparents is it?"

"No. We're doing huge family portrait in a couple of days and Grampa said that those of use that have a special someone could have them in the picture if we wanted."

"Grampa David sounds like a pretty cool. I'm setting up the flight as we speak. What do I need to bring with me?"

"Gramma wants everyone to dress nicely. She says, 'I refuse to have my picture taken with a bunch of slobs'. That means dress to impress."

Zack Winfield laughed. "She sounds like my grandmother before she passed."

"My grandmother is a very opinionated woman. She's almost 81."

"You think we'll be able to get some kind of alone time?"

"Maybe, but after the week of having our pictures taken we'll need to head back for rehearsals. And I need to put tickets for my grandparents aside to."

"You mean at will call?"

"No. I'm going to make sure he gets them. The last time my Dad used will call, he had issues. I'm not putting my 80 year old grandparents through that."

Zack smiled. "I'm kinda excited to meet your grandparents. They seem like they have a huge influence on you."

"They do. They've been there through everything, man. Hell, Grampa paid for Julliard. Between my college trust and scholarships, I had a free ride."

"Cool. I have to have Grampa's approval to keep dating you, don't I?"

"Yeah. But don't worry. You'll do just fine. My Grampa's a really nice guy."

"I hope so. I'm kinda nervous as well as excited. Any words of advice?"

"Show no fear and be yourself. Be respectful, but be yourself."

He nodded. "That sounds reasonable. I think I can pull that off. I am an actor after all. I can act confident."

"Hopefully you can do it so well that they don't know you're acting."

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

Miri was sure to be in contact with the shelter as she prepared for the portrait that they were getting ready to do. She wanted to know when to expect the horse so that her summer project didn't interrupt the week of family photos.

She was also sure to prepare as much as she could for the animal that she was about to take on. She prepared to take detailed notes, taking to her father about how to take medical notes properly and how in depth to go.

She'd taken a trip out to the clinic to see the horse she was taking in for the summer. His name is Ranger and he was a thoroughbred Arabian. He'd been a race horse for a couple of seasons, until the owners fell on hard times. He'd been severely beaten and was what the vet called "gun shy". It didn't mean necessarily that he was afraid of guns, but that he was afraid in general. Every little movement had to be carefully measured or he would spook. The people at the shelter knew that Miri had the patience to work with him.

When she got home, Miri plopped down on the couch next to her grandparents and sighed. "It's not right", she said.

"What's not right?" Brie asked her granddaughter.

"You know that horse I'm rehabbing over the summer?"

"Yeah", David said. "What about him?"

"I went with to the clinic to see what I was getting myself into. I'm not backing out, I just wanted to see the horse so that I could get an idea of what I needed to do. Gramma, Grampa... this poor horse is so easily spooked that all we have to do is move an arm too fast and he's freaking out."

"I know it's disheartening, Miri baby", Brie said, wrapping an arm around the young woman's shoulders. "But, if anyone can do this it's you. You have the patience to do this. They wouldn't have asked you to do it and Grampa and I wouldn't have said that you could do this if we didn't believe that you can do this. It's going test your resolve in becoming a veterinarian. There will be good days and bad days. Rehabilitating any animal is a heart breaking experience, but a rewarding one at the same time. Grampa and I will be here for a good portion of the summer. If you need to talk, you know you can come to us, right?"

Miri nodded. "I know Gramma. What has me so upset is that the horse's former owners took the fact that they were having a rough go of things out on a helpless animal. That horse didn't do anything to deserve the way they beat him."

"No animal deserves to be treated badly", David said, brushing a lock of Miri's brown curls behind her ear. "Miriam, honey, you can do this. Gramma and I know you can. You have more compassion in your pinky than most people have in their entire bodies. Just stay strong and when you feel like you don't have anything left to give; we'll be here for you. Ok baby?"

Miri smiled. "Ok Grampa." She sighed. "Thanks you two. Have any of us told you recently that you're the best grandparents in the world?"

They both laughed. "No sweetie, but it never hurts to hear it."

Chapter 8

Jeremiah was more than willing to help during the little time he had off of work.  When he wasn’t putting together he lesson plan for the Dean for the different topics he taught at UCCS he was making phone calls for Jake.  He’d stepped into the role of the second lieutenant with relative ease.   He hadn’t even realized that’s what had happened for several years, until right around Matt’s tenth birthday and he realized that Jake was turning to him rather than Malachai- who lived in the area as well.  He mentioned it to Jake and to their father and everyone pretty much shrugged it off, including Jeremiah himself.

He found a photographer named Kelly Demarco who had an open enough calendar that she could do the come out to homestead and do the shoot.  He instructed her to call to talk to Jake about the details that she would need to know.  The only thing he was sure to tell her was that there would be around 50 people in the large group shot and that most of them would want family shots as well.  She thanked him and made sure to call Jake.

Jacob was impressed that the young photographer wasn’t intimidated by the size of the group or the last name attached to the order.  “SO?” she said.  “Your last name is Draiman.  That’s supposed to scare me?  I know the prowess and power the name has.  But, you’re all people just like me.  Yes, there are Grammy winners, Oscar winners, you yourself are a Nobel Prize winner.  I know.  You’re all human beings.”

“So, you’re not taking this job because it could skyrocket your career?” Jake asked her.

“No.  I’m doing it just to do it.  I know how infamous the family is but it’s still a job and I’ve got the time to do it.  Now, how many people am I looking at?  How many groups will there be aside from the large family?  This is so that I know how long to charge you for.”

“You’re looking at around 50 people.  I’m gonna say that’s on the low side.  Max I think would be 55 or 56.  I honestly can’t tell you how it’s going to break down into smaller groups.  You’ll just have to come out and see what groups are going to want to have photos taken.  I know my parents are going to want a portrait together; my wife and I will want a portrait together and a family portrait of the six of us.  My brother that you spoke to earlier will want a family portrait of his four and probably one of himself and his wife.  You have to keep in mind, Ms. Demarco; it’s a huge family that sprouts from my parents having ten kids.”

“I understand.  I could give you a ball park estimate, but I don’t want to insult your intelligence with the number.  You know it will be higher than what I give you.  Much higher.”

Jake chuckled.  “I understand.  I’m sure it’s going to be a couple thousand dollars.”

“At least.  Who’s going to be ‘writing the check’?”

“I will be.  It was my idea and it’s my gift not only to my parents, who are in their 80’s, but to the rest of my family.”

“Will you be ok with me giving you the price after everyone is photographed?”

“That’s fine.  I would suggest booking a couple of days just in case we need you that long.”

“I’ll block out a week.  That way if you need me, you have me.  If not, I have time to process and print the photos.  And, I’ll take multiple shots in each one.”

“Hey, you’re the expert.  I’m just a doctor who needs to finish his lunch to get back to seeing patients.  Thank you, Ms. Demarco.  Email me with the dates, please?”

“Not a problem, Doctor.  I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.”

“The sooner we can do this, the better it’s going to be.”

“Alright.  That’s not a problem.  I will let you know by the end of the day, even if I have to call you after business hours because I’m away from my computer.”

“Thank you.  You’re great.  Have a wonderful day and I look forward to hearing from you again.”

“You have a wonderful day, too, Dr. Draiman.”

Once they hung up, Jake quickly finished his lunch and checked to see what patience he had now that his hour was up.  He had about 30 minutes until his next appointment so he opted to call Jeremiah real quick.  “Brother!” he said when ‘Miah answered the phone.

“Well, what’s up, brada?” Jeremiah said with a laugh.

“Just got off the phone with the photographer.  She’s awesome.  She’s looking forward to the challenge of photographing our family.”

“Well, you told her the sooner the better right?”

“Yes, I did.  I know Miranda’s got to get back to New York for rehearsals.  I know Eli’s working on a collection for a gallery showing in New York and in Chicago.  Jessi and Dave only have a week left off.  Marc brought work with him because that’s the awesome thing about doing most of your work for your father in law.  Meagan, I’m sure, needs to get back to NASA.  The rest of us can juggle things around to be here for the shoot.  Hell, James works for himself technically.  Himself and Justin.  He’s got the time to stay.”

“Yeah.  That’s the great thing about it all.  And we all know that Mom and Dad are going to want to go home soon.”

“Maybe.  They don’t seem to have a problem staying here.  The only thing is that they’re going to want to travel to New York to see Miranda on Broadway.  How long they’ll be content staying here in the states, however, is up in the air.”

“Because it’s our parents.  Mom likes Israel.”

“And Dad likes to see Mom happy.  It’s always been that way and will be until we bury one of them.”

“What are we going to do if they both go at the same time and they’re both in Israel?”

“I dunno.  I know Jessi and Dave check on them daily now that they’re in their 80’s and all.  They hate it.”

“They hate that I call them once a month to make sure they’re on and still breathing.”

“I call them twice a day and make sure they’re still breathing.”

“No wonder Dad says I’m not nearly as bad as you but I’m still bad.”  Jeremiah laughed.

“Well, we’ve got to make sure that we know when they go.  We know they’re going to leave us eventually, but when is the question.”  Jake sighed.  “Well, go check on them and text me to let me know what they’re up to.  I’ve got to go see a patient.  Not that I’m looking forward to it.  Some local new money media monkey who’s having headaches.  He thinks it’s a tumor.”

“Go let the local yokel know that he’s not dying brain cancer and I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, ‘Miah.”

“Later Jake.”

Jake hung up and grabbed everything he would need, stopping to talk to his nurse about the notes she’d taken on the patient he was about to go see.  Knocking on the door, he opened it and walked in.  “Good afternoon, Mr. Wilkins.  What seems to be the issue?”

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

Jeremiah headed into town to the clinic to let his sisters and wife know what was going on with the family photo. Jona seemed to be excited by the idea of having family photo done not only with the Draiman family but with her own and the four of them together. They needed a new family.

When he walked in her greeted the receptionist at the desk by name as he walked by to go to Jona's office. "Hi Bethy", he said to the young woman as he walked past.

"Hi Professor Draiman. How are you today?"

"Busy, busy, busy; much like every other day."

"You're to see Jona?"

"For starters. I also need to see Maddie and Delilah. Maybe Damien if he's not too busy. Who's available at the moment?"

"Your wife. She just finished with a client and is preparing for her next one, which won't be for about 30 minutes because they're in with Maddie right now."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll go talk to my wife and tell her hi reap fast then. I'll be seeing you in class this fall?"

"Yes sir, for Ancient Religions."

"Can't wait to have your opinion added to the lecture discussions. Now, dear, if you'll excuse me." He headed back his wife's office and knocked on the door. "Knock knock, beautiful."

Jona looked up from her notes. "Well hey handsome. What brings you by?"

"News on the big picture day event coming up. Jake will know by the end of the day. I decided to come into town and let you all here at the clinic know and Jake will tell Jordan and Malachai."

"Have you told my parents? I'm sure that they'll want to be involved as well."

"They know. Jake had the idea to involve your family because they're just like family too."

"My Dad must be excited about that."

"He seemed like it. Your mom was her usual calm self and thanked me for the news, then went to calming your father. They've got Matt and Rina for the moment. Matt's keeping Grampa Skyler busy with one of his little models he likes to build. Rina, when I left, was helping Gramma Kaylian with dinner."

"Who are we eating with tonight?"

"I don't know yet. I think your Mom wants us and Damien over tonight. I'll ask later."

"Ok." She looked at the clock. "Maddie should be done with my client about now. I take it you're here to let Delilah and Maddie know too."

"Yep."

"Then you had better go, huh?"

He smiled. "Maybe so. I'll get out of here so that you can deal with your client, love. I love you." He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

She smiled and kissed him back. "I love you too, baby. I'll see you at home."

He gave her another kiss and headed to Delilah's office to give her the same information that he'd just given his wife; then did the same for Maddie before heading back to the house. He still had to finish putting together lecture presentations and getting ready for his summer classes. He missed the days when he got to take the summer off and get paid. But, there wasn't a high school in the country that would let him teach theology. It was strictly a collegiate subject. If he wanted to teach it, then it had to be at a college. Such was life.

As he drove home, he thought about the family portrait. He was looking forward to seeing what it was going to be like to have a picture of the full family together. All of the kids and grandkids in one photo. They could even do a picture of the ten kids together and one of the kids and their parents alone. It was going to be quite a day.

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

Eli and B were back at their hotel room. Eli was working on a gift for his grandparents. He had already decided that "Darkness" was going to be a gift to them. It was an ode to his grandfather's band. It was a picture of his grandfather as a younger man, his head bowed; a microphone in hand and his arms at his side as the lights went down on the stage. He felt that the piece captured the symbolism behind the song rather well. The piece he was working on was actually a portrait of his grandparents together. He'd snapped a picture of them with his phone when he went over to tell everyone about his preference the day before. He loved how in love his grandparents were and wanted to capture it in a painting. It wasn't often that people painted portraits anymore, but he was good at them. He loved painting people. That's what his last collection was of, random people he'd painted.

His phone rang on the bedside table where it was sitting. B answered it so that he Eli could continue his work uninterrupted. "Hello?" he said

"Is Eli available?" the voice of his father asked.

"I'm sorry to say, Mr. Draiman, but Eli is kinda busy at the moment. He's painting."

"Ah. Do you know what he's working on?"

"Something for his grandparents. He won't say what, though I've asked him a million times. I don't think he wants anyone to ruin his surprise for them."

"Well, would you tell him that there's a family portrait day coming up and you're both needed there?"

"I will let him know. Do we need to wear anything specific?"

"Just dress nice", Malachai said. "I'll see you both for dinner?"

"I'll have to talk to him about that after his muse stops speaking to him. There's no talking to him right now."

"Oh, I know. If you're here, then you're here. If not, we'll see you when we see you."

"Alright. That sounds good to me, Mr. Draiman."

"Please call me Malachai. Mr. Draiman is what people call my father."

B grinned. "If you insist, Malachai. We should see you soon."

"Ok B. Talk to you later."

"Bye." B hung up the phone and watched as Elijah worked. He knew his way around his canvas. It was a memorizing dance for B to watch. Eli wasn't a brooding artist, which is what attracted B to him. Eli wasn't dark and brooding. He was passionate. When Eli was in communication with his muse, there was no interrupting him. He worked until his muse had nothing left to say. Sometimes he would finish several pieces in a day. Sometimes he would spend days staring at a piece for days until he finally knew what he needed to do. B thought it was adorable the way he would obsess over a painting or a sketch. It was cute.

So, B sat and alternated between watching his man and watching the TV. What else was there to do?

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

Ira, Levi, and Anthony had everything they needed for their trip. Jordan had given them all a couple thousand dollars to spend on their trip. They had one of Jake's credit cards to pay for charging the car, eating, and hotel rooms. Meagan gave the boys some money to help with food and rooms, and their grandparents gave them money to blow at the tables. "Do you boys even know how to play any of the card games?"

"Dad taught me how to play black jack", Ira chuckled.

"Mom never had the time to teach me to gamble. She was too busy trying to help put a man on Mars", Anthony laughed.

"Both Mom and Dad frequent Vegas. They were sure to teach me a few things about the tables in Vegas", was Levi's laughing response.

"Ira, you have a deck of cards?" David asked.

"Yeah. I'll go get it." Ira ran up the stairs to his room.

"Boys, have a seat around the table and I'll school you all in cards", David said. He had Jeremiah bring him the poker chips and proceeded to teach his grandsons- and anyone else that was interested- how to play different Vegas style card games. Brie would chime in every now and then, but for the most part she just sat and watched the boys all play cards.

Soon, all of the boys- including Skyler and Damien- were involved with the game in some way. If they weren't playing they were teaching. It was quite the sight to see.

Finally, it was dinner time and the game was put on hold so everyone could eat.

While at dinner, the boys took their opportunity to ask their grandparents questions about their parents. "Hey Gramma and Grampa, did our parents do anything crazy when they were younger?" Ira asked.

"Are you just asking about your dad, or Aunt Jordan and Aunt Meagan as well?" David asked.

"All of 'em", Ira laughed.

"All of your aunts and uncles?"

"Yeah. We just want stories", Anthony laughed.

"Well, there have been all kinds of fun memories", Brie told her grandchildren. "One in particular would be the big snowball fight we had on one of Grampa's birthdays during the Utopian Conflict."

Everyone laughed. "Oh, the memories", Jake laughed.

"What happened?" Miri asked.

"Before Jessi and Marc were really even thought of, during the war, we're had just bounced to yet another safe house", David began. "The day this all happened just happened to be the day before my birthday. Your grandmother and I awoke in the morning to the sounds of our children in the kitchen making us breakfast. There was arguing. Jordan was just a much a smart ass then as she is now. They finally figured everything out and served us breakfast. It was a huge surprise to both your Gramma and me. Well, after we finished I had the wild idea to take everyone outside to play in the snow. I'm not wild about the cold, but it was what I wanted to do for my birthday. We got up and got dressed, then told everyone to get dressed and get their coats and gloves on. After we got outside and I was grinning from ear to ear when out of nowhere I feel something cold peg me in the back. I turned around to Jake and Malachai both holding snowballs. They taunted me. Called me old and a chicken. Finally, I stooped over and rolled a snowball and threw it. From there, a snowball fight ensued; me against the boys. Then Jordan had the bright idea to have the girls join me. The boys felt like it was unfair and tapped their mother. We played in the snow until the sun started to set. After that we came in and warmed up with tea, hot chocolate and coffee as we watch a Disney classic called Finding Nemo. I honestly don't think that it could have been a better day."

"Did you repeat it after Aunt Jessi and Uncle Marc were born?" Ira asked.

"Not that Gramma and I were involved in."

"Why not?" Levi asked.

"We were helping take care of my brother who was dying of cancer", Brie said.

"What kind of cancer?" Anthony asked.

"End stage lung cancer".

"That's so sad", Miri said.

Brie shrugged. "He died happy. He died near his family and he went in his sleep. It was peaceful. That's all that matters. He was at peace when he slipped into the next life."

"Still would have been cool to meet him", Ira said.

"He would have adored each and every one of you."