Managing to get the memorial put
together wasn’t a big chore. Everyone
that was going to speak was working on their speeches and those who were going
to put other talents to use were busy at work doing so. Things were coming together beautifully. The only issue was the date for the actual
memorial. Maya and Jake were in pretty
much constant communication discussing when would be good for everyone to come
out to Chicago to honor the memories and lives of the men that had changed the
face and state of the nation, using their music to shape the state of the Union
as it was at that time.
Meanwhile, the movie was finished
and all of David and Brie’s children had flown out to Hollywood for the
premiere. They were all dressed their
best and were looking forward to seeing the magic that Marc and JJ had put
together. Even their children that were
available to make it out had flown out.
Miri- who was five months pregnant- glowed and looked amazing as she
posed for pictures with her family. As
they made their trip down the red carpet, they stopped and answered
questions. “How anticipated has this
movie been for the family as a whole?” one reporter asked Jordan.
“We’ve been waiting for this on
pins and needles for this for two years.
Little brother has been talking about this project nonstop since he and
JJ first started looking at scripts.”
“Do you know if there are any
scripts that weren’t originally there and have been added?”
“I believe there may be one or
two. I can’t tell you for sure. I know that there is one that no one really
knew about but Malachai that according to Marc needed to be added once Dad told
us about it.”
“Can we get a spoiler?”
She laughed. “Sorry.
No spoiler bombs here. The only
one that knows what we’re going to be getting is Marc. The rest of us are just as oblivious.”
“What did it take to get everyone
out here?”
“Jake says, ‘Jump’, we ask, ‘How
high?’ on the way up”, Malachai interrupted with a laugh. “He said to clear schedules to be here in Mom
and Dad’s memory and here we are.”
“Really quick here, Jordan. Who are you wearing?”
“Pierre Laurent. We’re all actually wearing Laurent
tonight. He heard we were all coming to
this and begged to dress us.”
“All 40+ of you?”
“Oh yeah. He’s been working nonstop for a few months
now to get all of us fitted and ready for this.
And we have a pregnant niece that’s here as well as a couple of nephews
that are bringing girlfriends and fiancées to this little get together with a
couple hundred of our closest friends.
It’s been a lot of fun to coordinate this, but it’s totally worth it to
see Marc’s vision come to life. Knowing
how awesome my little brother is and his eye for not only talent but just life
in general and being able to capture a moment where you feel everything that is
being conveyed, we will not be disappointed.
I have very little idea as to what to expect, but I already know it’s
Oscar worthy. You hear me Academy. This is going to be a masterpiece. My brother’s Opus. Give him the recognition he deserves.”
---------------
They all sat in the center of the
theater and waited for the movie to start.
Marc was on the stage about to give an introduction to the movie
everyone was about to see. He looked
over his notes as the nerves rose high.
He peeked out of the curtain and saw that he had a packed house. There were really only two seats left in the
entire audience and they were for JJ and for himself. He looked over at his father in law. “JJ, I don’t know if I can do this”, he said,
his voice shaking mildly.
“Nervous?” JJ asked.
“Only a lot”, he chuckled. “I’ve never had to do this before.”
“Just take a few deep breaths,
Marc. You’ll get through this. Just speak from the heart. That’s all you really can do.”
Marc nodded. “Can do.”
And he and JJ stepped out of the curtain. “WOW”, he laughed. “I never expected a turnout of this
caliber. This project has been every bit
of my existence for the last two and a half years. I wanna thank my wife and children for being
so patient with me while I did this and I wanna thank my father in law for be
patient while I had my fits of OCD.” He chuckled
and the audience joined him. “On behalf
of myself and my siblings, I would like to thank all of you that helped make
this possible. I just wish it were
possible for our parents to be here to see it.
Here’s hoping that they’re on the other side watching this and that they
approve. Without further ado, ladies and
gentlemen, here it is; Believing in the Sickness.”
As the lights went down Marc and
JJ took their seats and settled in for the movie. It was going to be epic. They couldn’t wait to see the actors bring
the lives they’d lived and watched their parents live with them. The scene opened with the start of the
concert they’d all be present for- the concert where Disturbed retired from 40+
years entertaining. Time had slowed down
and they saw that back of a bald man’s head as he got himself psyched to go
onstage. A familiar passage to anyone
who had read their father’s book started playing over the noise of the roaring
crowd while the band before them finished up their set.
With a quick kiss to the woman he
loved he was poised to start the show and the screen went black. “But
aren’t there times when you wonder how it all began? And not just
Disturbed. All of it. What created the monster that’s going onstage
tonight? Well, I’ve been thinking about
that, and it’s time to finally show you.”
The scene opened to what looked
like a typical home in the 1970’s and a little boy sitting in the floor playing
with toys. Jake laughed to himself. “I can’t imagine Dad as a little boy and yet
here it is on the screen in front of me”, he whispered. “I can’t wait to see what else he managed to
pull off.”
“I don’t think any of us
can. What I’m looking most forward to is
seeing his interpretation of Dad’s story about meeting Mom’s parents.”
“It will certainly be a sight to
see. I just hope that the actor that
plays Dad as a man can get it right. I
would hate to imagine what would happen when Dad as an adult comes on and
sounds nothing like him. That will be a
very bad thing.”
---------------
Jake and Delilah’s fears were
unfounded. The man that played David in
the movie had a very similar tone and timber to his voice and could actually
sing rather well, sounding similar to the family patriarch. As the movie played everyone laughed and
cried along with all of the insanity that was the life of David Michael
Draiman.
The final scene was the iconic
last performance of ‘Down with the Sickness’.
The lights and sounds were just like Marc had made them then. Though the movement of the scene was totally
improvised, all of them were taken back to the show that night. They watch the movie play their memory,
ending with the final bow Disturbed took.
The frame froze and faded to black and white as script appeared on the
screen detailing the things that had gone on with each of the other three
members after retirement briefly, then going into detail over the events of
David Draiman’s life after retirement up until his death the year before.
As the credits played, everyone
was on their feet and they roared with applause. Marc turned in every direction and took a
bow, then asked everyone in the principle cast to come join him on the stage
below the screen. The thanked everyone
and laughed. “And now, it’s off to the
film festivals!” The crowd laughed.
As they filed out, Maya gave Jake
a call. “I’ve got a date”, she said
after he said hello.”
“Good for you, Maya. I’m glad you found someone other than your
husband who will take you out”, he laughed.
She laughed sarcastically. “Not what I meant and you know it. I have a date for the memorial.”
“Great. Email me the information and I’ll start
making calls to the rest of the cousins to clear their schedules.”
“What about your brothers and
sisters?”
“All I have to do is call them to
my room for a meeting and tell them the date.”
“You’re all in one spot? How is that possible?”
“Premiere showing of Believing in the Sickness, the movies
based on my Dad’s autobiography.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot that you told me you were all flying
out to Hollywood.”
“Yeah, we’re all here. It was good.
Daniel Goodson did a great job of playing my Dad. It was pretty
magical.”
“I can’t wait until it hits
theaters. I want to see how it turns
out.”
“It’s Oscar worthy. I have a feeling that they’re going to clean
house at the Academy Awards.”
“Best Actor, Best Actress, Best
Supporting, Best Director; all that good shit.”
“It all depends on what they’re
nominated for”, Jake laughed. “I’ve got
to go, Maya. We’re all going to dinner
here in LA. It’s something we never do.”
“Well, all 40+ of you should go
and enjoy dinner together. Tell Marc I
can’t wait to see the magi =c he created.
I know it’s going to be great.”
“I’ll let him know. Bye Maya.”
“Bye Jake.”
They hung up and he wrapped his
arm around Delilah’s waist a little tighter than he had been. It was time to
brave the media gauntlet and
talk about the movie. He was going to
need all of the courage he could get and his wife was his biggest source. With her, he could conquer everything.
---------------
Dinner was fantastic. They all passed around babies, talked about
weddings and expectant babies, and- more importantly- discussed the job they
thought that Marc had done on the movie.
Marc was flattered by the hail of compliments he received from his
siblings. “I just wonder what Mom and
Dad thought of it”, he said as James’s new grandson was passed around the
table. “I really hope I did Dad proud.”
“Don’t worry, Marc”, Jeremiah
chuckled. “If you didn’t, I’m sure that
one of us will hear about it”, he said, pointing from himself to Jacob, Maddie,
and Jessi.
“Oh, that’s for sure”, Maddie
said. “If Dad’s unpleased, I’m sure that
he’ll make his presence known to one of us.”
Marc laughed. “And I’m sure I’ll hear about it.” He took his turn holding his newest great-
nephew and looked at the baby’s father.
“You did a great job here, nephew.
Remind me of his name?”
“Caleb Zane.”
“Caleb Zane Draiman”, Mercedes
said with a laugh. “It has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“That little boy is the light of
our world”, James said with his arm around his wife. “Marc, wait until you have grandkids. You have no idea the joy that a grandchild
brings. I see now why Mom and Dad
insisted on being at as many of the births as they could manage.”
“And if they weren’t there when
they were born, they were there within hours of the birth and saying those
infamous four words”, Maddie said.
“GIVE ME THAT BABY”, they all
laughed in unison.
“Now I know why they were like
that”, James said. “Grandkids are a
child’s gift to their parents for putting up with all of their shit for as long
as they did. Mom and Dad did it with 10
for 30+ years straight. How they did it
I will never understand, but I know why they were so excited when we all
started having kids.”
Jake grinned. “I’m hoping to learn that soon myself”, he
said, looking at Miri and Jax. “How many
more months until Mom and I are grandparents?”
“Five more months, Daddy”, she
laughed. “You have 24 more weeks,
approximately, to wait until your granddaughter is born.”
“Granddaughter?” Delilah said.
“We’re guessing based on track
records of both grandfathers”, Jax laughed.
“You had a girl first and my Dad had pretty much nothing but girls
accept me. Common sense and genetics dictate
that the likelihood of us having a girl first are nearly astronomical.”
Jake laughed. “Astronomical?” He shook his head. “Look you two, I’m sure Jax’s father agrees,
but I don’t care what it is, so long as it’s healthy. If I have an adorable little granddaughter to
spoil the hell out of, then so be it.”
“Girls have cuter clothes
anyway”, Delilah said with a laugh. “Dad
and I can buy her an entire wardrobe and not buy the same thing twice.”
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