Chapter 41

It took a couple of months for Amanda to heal physically.  Emotionally; that was another story.  After the bruising and broken ribs had healed Brie started working with her, giving her massages and trying to get the scar tissue to break down.  But, the memories associated with how she got them were too strong.  Brie spent more time comforting her than working on her.  Finally, after the third session, Brie was at a loss as to what to do for the girl, and referred her to a psychologist and to another mentor of hers.  The woman was a massage therapist that also did work with the body- mind connection and her name was Deb Todd.  Between the three of them, they helped Amanda move past all of the trauma of her past and Brie finally started making headway in reducing the scar tissue in Amanda’s abdomen and throughout the rest of her body.

The first night that Amanda and Malachai were together, Amanda cried because it was so beautiful.  He told her the night, for the first time, that he loved her and had since the moment he laid eyes on her.  She told him the same.  Malachai made sure that he followed his father’s orders to the letter every time he made love to her.  That’s why the news he would receive a month later would surprise him beyond belief.

He and Jordan had just gotten home from rehearsal for the New Year’s party they’d been asked to perform at.  He went upstairs to get ready for dinner that evening when he saw Amanda sitting in the bathroom in shock.  He, of course, went in to check on her.  “Baby, what’s the matter?” he asked.

“Malachai, you know how I’ve been feeling really sick all the time here recently?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I went out today and got a pregnancy test.  Malachai, it’s positive.  I’m pregnant.”

Malachai sunk to his knees in front of her.  “How is this possible?” he asked himself out loud.  “If did what Dad told me to do.  Unless it broke.  Maybe I put a micro- tear in it when I put it on that only got worse with the friction.”  He looked up at Amanda.  “What do you want to do about this?”

“What do you mean what do I want to do?  I want to keep it if I can carry it to term.”

He smiled.  “I had hoped you would say that.  I would have supported you in whatever choice you made, but I would have been upset if you had said that you didn’t want to keep the baby.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to have a little you running around?”

That made him smile.  “You know what we have to do now, right?  We have to tell my parents that we’re expecting their grandchild.”

“Or grandchildren.  It seems that multiples run in your family.”

That last part made him laugh.  “Hey now, you have to keep in mind that the quads and the last set of twins were from surrogates.”

“But, Jacob and Jordan weren’t.”

He nodded.  “That’s true.”

“Which of them is older, anyway?”

“Jake or Jordan?”  She nodded.  “Jordan’s older by maybe three minutes.”

“Oh.”

He smiled at her.  “Come on; let’s go talk to my Mom and Dad.”

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They walked into the kitchen hand and hand to see David and Brie working on dinner together.  It was their way to decompress after a long day.  They would make dinner together instead sitting in front of the TV.  “Mom, Dad, Mandy and I need to talk to you”, Malachai said as he pulled out a seat for Amanda, then took a seat beside her.

“Hold on, son”, Brie said, turning to face him then turning back to David.  “Here, baby, taste this.”  She held a small spoon up to him with some sort of sauce.  Malachai guessed that it was a homemade Alfredo sauce that she had thrown together.

“It needs a touch more cheese in it.  Maybe the Asiago instead of the Parmesan”, David said after tasting the sauce in the spoon and confirming Malachai’s suspicions.

After she added the cheese, Brie turned toward Malachai.  “What did you need to talk about, son?”

“I need you both to sit down, first”, Malachai said, trying to keep his voice steady.  He was scared of how his parents would react to the news.

After taking a seat at the Kitchen table, David cleared his throat and spoke.  “Ok, we’re sitting down.  What’s going on, Malachai?”

“Mandy and I have some news.”

“Ok.  Spill it, Aaron.  The foreplay is getting rather boring”, his mother responded.

“Hey, that’s MY line”, David laughed.

“Trust a man to double talk himself into a hole”, Amanda said.  “Mr. and Mrs. Draiman, I have to say that I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done for me over the past four months.  But, you know how I’ve been waking up sick the past few days?”

“Yeah”, David said cautiously.

“Well, I went out and bought a pregnancy test today, and it came back positive.  You’re going to be grandparents in nine months.”

David and Brie exchanged a blinking look then looked back at the young man and woman sitting at their table.  “Could you repeat that, Amanda?” Brie said.  “I thought you said that you were pregnant.”

“She did say that”, Malachai said.

David laughed in shock.  “Wow, didn’t see that one coming.”  He looked at Malachai.  “I thought I told you to use protection, son.”

“I have been.  I think the condom broke.”

“Wow, umm, congratulations to both of you.  I’m not going to lie, I am a little concerned because of Amanda’s condition that she might be high risk, but wow, that’s really good news.  And right around the holidays, too”, Brie said with a smile.  “What a great Hanukah gift!”

“I’m stunned.  I don’t even know what to say about this.  Of course, we’ll take care of everything”, David said, rubbing a hand over his scalp.  “But, I’m sure not going to be the one to tell your younger brothers and sisters, Malachai.  That’s all on you.  Have fun telling your brothers and sisters that you’re making them aunts and uncles.”

Malachai laughed.  “You know what, Dad, if that’s what you think is appropriate then I’ll tell them at dinner.”

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“Before we eat dinner”, Malachai said after the plates had been served, “I have an announcement to make.”  He looked around the table at his younger siblings.  “Mandy and I are going to have a baby.”

“WHAT?” Jacob exclaimed excitedly.

Maddie and Jordan exchanged a look, and then started singing in unison.  “WE’RE GONNA BE AUNTIES, WE’RE GONNA BE AUNTIES!”

The other six children all looked at Malachai and Amanda and laughed.  “Yeah, another baby in the house!” they all said at different times.

“Ok, everyone, settle down”, David shouted over the excitement.  “Settle down, you can all celebrate later.  It’s time to eat now.  Eat your dinner.”

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That night as he and his wife lay in bed sleeping, David came awake from the sleep of the dead.  “Holy shit, I’m going to be a grandpa”, he whispered to himself.  He gently shook the woman who lay on his chest.  “Brie, baby, wake up a moment.”

She woke up and looked up at him sleepily.  “What, sweetie?  What’s the matter?”

“I just came to the realization that we’re going to be grandparents.”

“Just now?  What happened to that realization when Malachai and Amanda broke the news to us before dinner?”

“It hadn’t sunk in until now.”

She laughed.  “Took it a minute to sink into that thick skull of yours?”

“Yeah, something like that.  But, can you believe it?  We’re gonna be grandparents in nine months.”

“Yeah, I know.  It’s kinda scary but exciting all at the same time.”

“I know.”  He was quiet for a moment.  “I think we should give them the guest house out back as a gift.  It keeps them close by should they need something and in case we want to see our grandchild, and it gives them a place to call their own.”

“That’s a really good idea, but I think we should outfit it for them.  Morbus and Karyn took all of the furniture out of there when you gave them that little bit of land at the back of the property.”

“Yeah, and we might have to have another room added on so that they have a nursery for the baby.”

“We’ll have to take a look at it tomorrow while the younger kids are in school.”  She yawned.  “Can we go back to sleep now?  I’m really tired and I have three appointments tomorrow; first one is in the morning.”

He chuckled.  “Yeah, let’s go back to sleep.  I just wanted to share with you that it had finally set in.”