Chapter 66

Callan and Miranda were up and down all night with Miranda. She had been looking forward to the sleepless nights she knew she was going to face once the baby was born. She was also thankful that she wasn't having to face them alone. After feeding Gracie and getting her settled back down to sleep, Callan and Miranda took the time to talk. They knew that getting much sleep was unlikely to happen that first night. "Is it everything you expected it to be?" she asked him.

"No. It's more", he said with a shake if his head. "I never thought it was possible to love another human being more than my own life, let alone two. Now I know it is because I have you and I have Gracie. The two of you are the lights of my life and I can't wait to have more when you're ready." He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand as a smile spread across his lips. "I love you, Miranda. Thank you for this opportunity to be a part of your life as well as Grace's."

She reached up and trapped his hand against her cheek with her own. "I love you too, Callan. Thank you for your understanding about Gracie and being willing to be a part of her life. I don't know what I would have done had you not been."

"How could I not love a piece of you? Never mind that moron that fathered her. Gracie is my little girl and will be until the day I'm dead." His thumb stroked her cheek. Is there anything I can get for you, baby? I know you've got to be hungry."

"I'm famished. I guess see if anyone is still up and would be able to give you some sort of idea as to what's in the kitchen."

He nodded. "You just get some rest, baby, and let me take care of you." He stepped out of the room and went toward the living room, happening upon a very cozy Jake and Delilah. They were curled up on the couch watching a movie of some sort. He cleared his throat to let them know he was in the room. "Excuse me", he said politely.

They both turned and mutually looked over his shoulder. "Yeah Callan?" Jake said.

"Miranda and I are both kinda hungry. I was wondering if there was anything in the fridge that I could just warm up so that we can eat."

Delilah stood as Jake paused their movie. "Come on into the kitchen Callan. Let's see what we can find for you two.”  He followed her after she stretched and walked into the kitchen.  She pulled out some Swedish Meatballs that they had eaten a couple days before.  “This needs to be gotten out of the fridge before I have to feed it to the dogs.”

He studied it.  “Swedish Meatballs.”

She nodded.  “My kids all seems to like them and Miri’s boyfriend thought they were as good as they make them in Sweden”, she chuckled a little.  “But yeah, it’s good.  I just don’t keep leftover food in the fridge for longer than two or three days.  If you two will eat it, feel free.  If not, raid the fridge.  There are plenty of leftovers in there.”

Callan nodded and Delilah walked away.  He searched through the huge box for something for Miranda.  He was going to eat the meatballs.  He needed something for her.  He was sure that she was hungry but he was only guessing as to what to get her.  He decided on the leftover egg noodle dish- whatever it was- and hoped that she would eat it.  He had no idea what it was but if Aunt Lilah made it then it had to be good, right?

Once everything was warm he grabbed forks and headed back into the room after thanking Delilah for her help.  When Miranda smelled what he had with him she laughed.  “I smell Swedish Meatballs and Kugel”, she said.  “Please tell me that the Kugel is for me.”

“So that’s what the egg noodles were.  Kugel.  I need to get familiar with all of the different Jewish dishes you all eat.”

“Don’t waste your time.  I don’t even know them all and I grew up eating and cooking them.”

All Callan could do was laugh as he handed her the bowl and took a seat on the edge of the bed so that he could eat.

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

“I’ve decided that there is NO WAY IN HELL that I’m having any babies at home unless I can get an epidural somehow”, Miri laughed as she and Jax talked about what he could expect when they started their family.

“All from watching and helping Miranda as she had your new little cousin today?” Jax laughed.

“Oh yeah.  You’re insane if you think for half a second I’m having a baby at home unless there is NO other option.”

“Ok, so what if we’re in Austraila visiting my family and we’re in the middle of the Outback.  The closest hospital is four hours away and you’re dilated to 7cm?” he asked, offering a scenario where there was no turning back.

She rolled her eyes.  “On the off chance that we traveled to Austraila at the end of my second trimester and got stuck in the Outback where the nearest hospital is 4 hours away and I’m dilated that far, then you had better be prepared to play catch, Daddy, because I’m not going to have any choice at that point, am I?” she laughed.

He shrugged.  “I guess not”, he laughed.  He kissed her hair.  “It would be killer to deliver my child rather than let someone else do it.”

“My dad, though at the time he was only boarded as a neurologist, delivered Ira.”

“And since then, how many of your cousins has he caught?”

“Two that I know of.  But every time there’s a birth in the family and they have a home delivery here at homestead, he’s on standby.”

“Nice.  Well when we have kids I want to be the one to catch.”

“Aren’t you going to be a pediatrician though?”

“I can’t double board like your Dad?”

“My Dad is triple boarded.”

“As?”

“A neurologist, an obstetrician, and an ER doctor.”

“So I can double board as an obstetrician and a pediatrician and it won’t be a big deal.”

“Why don’t you add psychiatry to that and put Ira out of business?” she joked.

“Nah.  I can’t do that to Ira.  He’s pretty cool.  After you left me out there to be with Miranda, he tried to make me feel like I was part of the family.  He’s actually pretty awesome.”

“I’m glad that he was so cool.  I’ll have to find him a girlfriend when he comes back to school next semester.  Maybe one of our friends?”

“I don’t think any of your girlfriends want to date your little brother, no matter how handsome they may think he is.  Anyway, hasn’t he said that he’s trying to focus on school before getting involved with any sheila?”

“FINE”, she said, exasperated.  “I just hate how bitchy he’s getting.  From what I understand, he hasn’t gotten any since the road trip he took with Tony and Levi before they headed out to Chicago.”

“Miri, stop meddling in Ira’s business.  I’m sure that if he gets to a point where he just has to be with a woman that he will find one.  He’s not ugly.  Anyway, maybe he needs to find his soul mate like your parents and grandparents did.  Hell, even I found you.  I never saw myself finding a girl like you.  Now look at us.  My family is flying out to meet your family so your Dad can see what kind of people I come from before I’m truly allowed to propose.”

“So Dad has given you my hand?”

“Yes, but he asked that I wait for my family to meet your family before I pop the question.  So, until my family gets here, you’re safe from the sudden outburst of hopeless romance that I will have in store for you when I finally do pop the question.  After they’re here and they’ve met your Dad all bets are off.  I will hit you when you least expect it.”

She faked a shiver and stretched up to kiss him softly.  “Oh, I’m so scared”, she whispered against his lips.

“Is that a fact?”

“Absolutely.  I’m shaking in my house shoes.”  She pressed her lips against his in what was supposed to be a chaste, teasing kiss.  His arm constricted around her and held her a little closer to the side of his body as he savored that touch of her lips to his, his tongue gently probing to find its way in between hers.  Once her lips parted he rolled her onto her back, placing himself between her legs and supporting himself in a half push up. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs wound themselves around his waist.  He broke the kiss and dipped his head down to kiss and nibble along the side of her neck as the heels of her feel pushed at the waistband of the pants he was wearing.

She sighed and whispered in his ear, “I love you, Jackson Tompkins.”

“I love you, Miriam Draiman.  Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes.  Make love to me, Jax.  Please.”

He didn’t make her ask again.

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

“Brie”, she heard from behind her. 

She turned to see who it was.  She knew the voice but need to see his face to be certain it was her older brother.  “Mattie”, she said softly.  “Mattie, what are you doing here?  It’s not time, is it?”

Matt shook his head.  “No little sister.  I just had to see you.  We can’t wait to have you and David join us over here, Brie.  The day is near.”

“How long has it been over there?” she asked.

“I’ve only really been here for a few days”, he said, shaking his head.

“No you haven’t, Matt.  You’ve been dead for 30 years.”

“I know.  Time moves differently over here.  It’s slower, more deliberate.  Like all of creation is a hot Sunday afternoon in July and we’re all sitting on the front porch watching the day crawl by.  Though, I have to say, time has taken its toll on you, hasn’t it?  You’re still so beautiful baby sister, but physically you’re starting to break down.”

She nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek.  “Yeah.  It hurts so much to move Mattie.  I can’t feel my hands; I can barely move them some days.  And don’t get me started on my back.”

“How is David taking it?”

“He’s still taking care of me.  If I can’t grip the pan I’m trying to cook our breakfast in, he takes over.  ‘You’ve cooked so much for me over the years’, he says, ‘let me make it up to you and cook for you’.  I hate it, Matt.  I really do.”

“I know you do, Brie.  And he’ll never let you see how much pain he’s in.  He’ll never let it show because he’s got to be a man and be strong for you.  But, getting around is just as painful for him.  I’ll promise you that.  I remember when I was staying with y’all while I was sick.  Jen wanted me to use my damn wheelchair.  It hurt so damn much to walk around because of all the drugs they had given me.  The lung cancer had spread.  I don’t know if you know that.”

“No.  I didn’t.”  She shook her head.

He nodded.  “Yeah.  My last doctor’s appointment before I died they told me that my entire chest cavity was riddled with cancer.  Even my ribs; my own bones were full of tumors.  Eventually that’s what took me.”

She nodded.  “I wish you had told me.  I know there’s nothing I could have done about it, but it would have been nice to know.”

“Jen didn’t even know.  I didn’t want her in there with me when the doctor told me that if I take a breath that too deep I could puncture a lung and die.  I couldn’t live with seeing that horror on her face.  Hell, I could barely live with keeping it to myself.”

“I understand, I guess.”  She sighed.  “How much longer, Matt?  I can live with this pain anymore and I can’t live with knowing that David is suffering as he watches me suffer.”

“I can’t give you an exact date little sister.  You know better than that.  But, I’ll say a few more months at the outside.  You won’t make Thanksgiving.  Neither of you will.”

“When you all came to me over Hanukkah, Ira said that neither of us will have to live without the other.”

“You won’t.  I can’t give you anything more though, Brie.  You’ll have the time to enjoy your new great- granddaughter for a little while and even get to see her off when they get ready to leave you.  By the way, I’m glad that Miranda found herself a Marine.  Much better than that dick wad that fathered that adorable little girl.”

“Oh I completely agree.”  She sighed.  “Matt, tell me something.  Is there going to be any such thing as a moment’s peace once David and I cross over?”

Matthew Cartwright had to laugh as his little sister.  “Not a fucking chance.  And that guy Skyler, Jeremiah’s father in law?  Forget the Three Amigos.  You’re going to have to deal with the Four Amigos.  I think Skyler Mason will fit in JUST FINE in this little gang.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.  “I hope like hell that they have aspirin in heaven.”

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

The surroundings were unfamiliar.  He wasn’t sure where he was, but he knew that if he wasn’t standing in the Irish countryside he wasn’t dealing with his grandfather.

Instead, he heard a woman’s voice.  “Jacob”, she said softly.  He turned around a few times, finally spotting a woman the size of his mother with the same radiant smile.  “You look so like your father, my boy”, she said as she reached up and cupped his cheek.  Her hands were softy.  Not as soft as his mother’s, but close enough.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

“Who do you think I am, Jacob?”

“If I had to put money on it, I’d say you were my mother’s mother.”

“And you would be correct.  I’m your Grandmamma Bekah.  You partially named your oldest after me.”

He smiled.  “How are you, Grandmamma?”

“I’m well.  Not like I can get sick anymore”, she said, trying to make a joke.  When he didn’t laugh, she waved it away.  “You’re such a handsome young man.  I just can’t get over it”, she laughed.  “But, I’m not here to tell you how handsome you are.  I’m here to tell you that you’re ready.”

“I’m ready?”

“To lead your family.  To let your little Miri get married.  You’ve ready.  Now Jacob, you’re going to need to prepare yourself to possibly discover them.”

“Mom and Dad?”

His grandmother gave him a stern look.  “Do I need to get sarcastic with you, grandson?”

He chuckled.  “No ma’am.”

“Good.  Now, I’m not saying that it will be you because I know it’s random as to who travels to that nifty little house they call the cottage, but you need to be prepared.  You also need to prepared your sons and your nephews, as well your brother Jeremiah.  There is a possibility that any of you could happen upon them.”

“How much longer do they have?”

“Not much longer, I’m afraid.  I can’t give you specifics.  You know that.”

“Ballpark?”

“Before Thanksgiving.”

“That’s not a lot of help, Grandmamma.”

“Nothing I can do about that.  I’m giving you what I can.  You’re lucky that you’re even getting a warning.”

“Yes ma’am.  I’m sorry.”

“I love that your parents taught you to be so respectful.”

“Is it true that you told Mom that if you had been younger and hadn’t been with Granddad, you would have given her a run for her money over Dad?”

“Sure did.  And I’m still going to when they get over here.  Once you join us in eternity, you’ll get to watch me flirt endlessly with your father and embarrass the hell out of him.”

“Sounds like you’re anticipating that greatly.”

“Oh I am, my grandson.  I very much am.”