Chapter 44

Right before Hanukkah, Malachai and Amanda had their first doctor’s visit.  They’d decided to use the same OB that delivered Jessykah and Marc.  Dr. Jefferies ran all of the usual tests and told them to come back in a month.  Brie wasn’t satisfied.  She called the doctor herself and asked that he give Amanda a release for prenatal massage.  Once he realized who it was he was treating, he decided to be on his p’s and q’s from that moment on.

Maddie got her report done a week before it was due thanks to talking to her Uncle Ben in Israel.  David and Brie decided to call the children out of school for the holiday, so it was a good thing.  She was the first to give her report on what her family, being Jewish, did for the holidays.  She wrote a comparison paper on what her Uncle did as opposed to what her family did.  There really wasn’t too much of a difference, though her Uncle danced a traditional Hanukkah dance called the Hora and her family didn’t.  She told the class that her Dad looked a fool when he tried to dance.  “I’ve never seen my Uncle dance, but I KNOW my Dad can’t.  He tried to teach us the Hora ONCE, and fell on his butt”, she told the class.   “But much like our Israeli cousins, we DO play with the dreidel.”   She even took the one that she and her siblings usually played with during the holiday.  And, with permission, she took the family Menorah to show her class how to set it up and what it meant.  “We light the big one in the middle first.  Every night of Hanukkah we light a new candle and Dad says a special blessing over each one every night.  Each of the eight candles in the outside represents the light in the temple on Mount Moriah that burned for eight days and nights when it was expected to burn for one.” 

Her teacher was impressed and sent a note home with Maddie telling her parents as much.  “Mr. and Mrs. Draiman, I am very impressed with the presentation on Hanukkah that your daughter Madison gave in class today.  It was informative and insightful.  I enjoyed learning the history of the holiday and what each tradition means to your faith.  I also liked that she compared your personal family traditions to that of your brother Ben.  I would love to meet with you both to see find out if you would be interested in skipping her to the sixth grade after this school year.  Madison is far too advanced to be stuck in classes that seem to bore her.  She sits in my class and draws rather than listening to lecture and still passes all of her assignments.  I’ve spoken with her other teachers and found that she does the same in their classes.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.  Sincerely, Mrs. Douglas”.

David read the note out loud to Brie that afternoon when the kids all got home from school.  “How the hell are we supposed to respond to something like this, babe?” he asked as his wife made dinner that evening.

“We take it as a testament that we’re doing a good job with our children in teaching them the traditions we grew up with, and continue with what we’re doing.  But, if Maddie is getting bored in class and STILL passing, maybe we SHOULD skip her a grade.  We’ll take the summer to prepare her for what sixth grade will be like and that will be that.”

David looked at Maddie.  “Maddie, are you really that bored in school?”

“Yes.  I know everything my teachers are trying to teach.  I hate feeling like I’m the smartest person in the room and that NO ONE understands that.”

He sighed.  “Well, Miss Maddie, the decision is officially out of your hands, then.  If you’re feeling that bored in class, then you need to skip up to a grade where you’ll be challenged and have a desire to learn.  You’re skipping the fifth grade.  Forget all this bull shit.  I don’t want to get another letter from a teacher telling me that you’re doodling in class and still passing.”

“But…”

“Madison, don’t argue with your father or you’re grounded for all of the holiday break, including next week while you’re out of school for Hanukkah.”

“But, Mama!”

“Do I hear being grounded for a month, Madison Jade?” David asked his daughter.

“No, sir”, she said, her spirit instantly crushed.

“Good, now go get washed up for dinner.”

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Just as David predicted, the other members of the band decided to pop up on them for the holidays.  “Happy Hanukkah, Draiman family!” Dan shouted as he walked in the door.

David rolled his eyes.  “What the fuck are you assholes doing here?”

“We wanted to spend the holidays with our nieces and nephews”, Mike said as he and his family piled into the house.

“And what makes you jerks think that we have the room for all of you?” Brie asked.

“You love us”, John said.

“And Malachai just told us that Caleb doesn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with so we invited him over too”, David said with a sigh.  “Looks like we’re going to have a fucking houseful for Hanukkah.  I was NOT looking forward to that.”

“Good thing we’re prepared, though, huh?” Brie added.

“Yeah, thankfully we have Christmas presents for everyone.”

“Isn’t Christmas Day the last day of Hanukkah this year?” Dan asked.

“No, Christmas Eve is”, David said.

“Well, damn”, John said.

“Brie, if you love your Disturbed brothers, you’ll make a Christmas ham”, Mike said.

“Well, I guess I don’t love you guys because I’m not bringing something into my house that my family doesn’t eat.  I’ll make a Christmas goose though.”

“Have you ever roasted a goose?” Nicole asked.

“No, Nikki, I just thought I’d say that so Mikey would shut up about the ham”, Brie said sarcastically.

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As the Festival of Lights began, the Draiman family started opening their Hanukkah gifts.  The first gift that David and Brie gave Malachai and Amanda was the stroller/ car seat combo.  Amanda was on the verge of tears when she saw it.  She didn’t know what to say.  Malachai was all smiles.  Dan and Nicole got the happy young couple a bunch of baby clothes; boys’ and girls’ stuff.  “Seeing as we have no idea yet what you’re having, we thought you should be prepared”, Nicole said.  All Amanda did was cry.

When all it was time for all for all of the children to go to bed, the children under the age of eighteen complained.  “I don’t want to hear it”, David shouted over the commotion.  “If your last name is Draiman and you’re NOT at least eighteen, get yourself in bed NOW.  You don’t want to know what the ‘or else’ is on the end of that, trust me.”  They all went to bed without another word.

“How do you two do it?” Tina asked.  “I mean, I remember how it was when you only had eight, but TEN?  You two have got to have to hunt for alone time together.”

“Nope”, Malachai answered for his parents.  “I hear them every night.  Sometimes Mom keeps Mandy up all night.”

“She does not, Malachai.  Stop lying”, Amanda said then looked at the other adults in the room.  “I’m usually drugged into damn near a coma just so that I can sleep.  These days I’m not because the medication is contraindicated to pregnancy.”

“Why are you usually drugged into a near coma?” Dan asked.

“Well, Mr. Donegan, I don’t know if you know a lot about how I came to be here with your lead singer and his family, but I’ll say this about my past is that I was badly abused and abuse like that has its side effects.  I was on sedatives for just such side effects.  I couldn’t sleep very well at first because of pain, then because of nightmares.”

Dan nodded.  “Whoa.  That’s pretty deep, there, Amanda.”

“What is it with everyone calling me Amanda?  Is it so hard to call me Mandy?”

“No, but we don’t want to get Mandy confused with Maddie”, John said.  “That might just end disasterously.”