After everything was cleaned up and put away, Brie come down and made Maddie start a load of laundry and flopped down on the couch next to her husband. “I’m tired, baby. Can I lay my head in your lap and get a nap?” she said, laying her head on his shoulder.
He chuckled. “I guess.” He looked at Logan. “Should I be pinned down by your Aunt’s head, could you be sure that Jenn sits on her ass the rest of the day and that Matt is taken care of, please?”
“No problem, Uncle David. I’ll take care of Matt should you be pinned to the couch by Aunt Brie’s head.”
Brie looked up at Logan and winked at him. “Thank you, Logan. I really need a break right now.”
“No problem, Aunt Brie. You’ve been going nonstop since you got up this morning. Hell, why don’t you and Uncle David take the rest of the day off and Malachai, Mandy, Dani, and I will take care of everything else. Hell, Dani can even cook dinner tonight.”
“Just make sure that she doesn’t cook any pork and we’ll be good”, David said with a yawn. He looked at his wife. “Wanna go upstairs and lie down for a while?”
She smiled at him. “I thought you’d never ask.” She looked at Matt. “If you need anything, let Logan know. If it’s urgent, have him or one of the older kids come get David or me.”
“Of course sis. Go lie down before I tell David to carry you up the stairs.”
David stood and scooped her up in his arms. “I’d already planned on it. We’ll see you all in a few hours. My wife and I need to get some sleep.” With that, David went up the stairs with his wife in his arms.
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The rest of the day passed without incident. Logan, Malachai, Dani, and Mandy managed to take care of Matt, Jenn, and all of Malachai’s younger siblings. No one saw David or Brie for the rest of the night except once. David came downstairs to tell his children it was time for them to crawl their butts in bed. After they all trudged past him, he drug his own self up the stairs to down the hall to his bedroom and fell back into bed next to his woman.
It was a week later that Reckless Disregard had their performance. They managed to get Matt out of the house so that he could go watch the show. They left as a family for the venue. When they arrived, they were directed to an auditorium instead of a gymnasium. They went in and took a look around. “Whoa… the people who booked this lied to me, but I’m glad they did”, Malachai said.
“No kidding, this place is swank”, Logan said.
“Well, I know that I’m glad that we’re not in some stuffy gym playing for a bunch of retards”, Jordan said.
“It’s going to be a hell of a show on this stage rather than the make shift piece of shit in the gym”, Caleb said.
“Why don’t you guys stop talking about hose nice the stage is and get it set up for your show”, David suggested. “I mean, you do need to sound check and all that shit. Get the move on”, he said. They snapped to and got what they needed to do done. They got the stage set up and did their sound check.
Matt was all smiles as he watched his niece and nephew warm up for their show. They were going to cover his two favorite Disturbed songs- “The Night” and “Pain Redefined”. He was looking forward to that part of the show. Those songs were picked for him. He couldn’t wait for that part of the show. He knew that it was going to be awesome.
He sat with his wife, his sister, and his brother in law as they watched the sound check. After watching this performance, he could die in peace having seen his niece and nephew perform live. He wasn’t PLANNING on dying that night or anything that night, but he could die happy having seen his niece and nephew onstage.
The Draiman family and Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright sat in the back of the auditorium and watched as the people who’d bought tickets filed in and took their seats. David knew just how dynamic a performer his daughter was. He knew they wouldn’t be in their seats for long. Jordan, with her long legs, brown and blonde curls, and clothes that looked like they were painted on would grab their attention and hold it. When she opened her mouth, her angelic voice would get them out of their seats and on their feet. He’d seen it a couple hundred times.
When the curtain opened, Jordan was seated at her piano and the music came up. The announcer had already told the audience what was about to happen. “To kick things off this evening, we have a local favorite on stage for you tonight. Jordan, Malachai, Caleb and Logan, but you know them as Reckless Disregard! Get on your feet and give them the love they deserve” he said. And they did exactly what the announcer said. They got on their feet and went crazy. David just sat back and watched as his kids went into performance mode. Jordan started singing as she and the boys started playing. David automatically recognized the song as “Unholy”. He draped an arm across his wife’s shoulders and smiled. He knew that this would be the performance that SHOULD get them signed to a label.
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“Give into the NIGHT, In a world beyond controlling, are you gonna deny the savior in front of your eyes? Stare into the night, Power beyond containing, Are you gonna remain a slave for the rest of your life? Give into the night! Niiight, Niiight, NIIIGHT, Give into the night, Niiight, Niiight, NIIIIGHT! Give into the NIIIGHT! Give into the NIIIGHT!!!!” Jordan belted her father’s song like she’d been singing it her entire life. No one in the audience knew that she actually had. No one knew that she was, in fact, the oldest daughter of David Draiman. That’s just how she liked it. She, like Malachai, wanted to get their record deal on their own accolades and not those of their rock star father. Maybe, after they were signed, they’d use their birth names. She’d have to discuss that with her brother. But that was for another time. She introduced the last song of the set. “Now, we’re going to close this fun fest with a little something we wrote for a very important person in all of our lives. It’s a little slow something that should give you the avenue to tell that special inspiration in your life that they’re important to you. This is ‘Matt’s Song’.” Malachai and Logan had strapped their guitars and plugged them into the sound system; Caleb had taken his cello out and plugged it into the sound system as well. They were doing this while Jordan made the introduction. They’d all taken stools and moved to the front of the stage. Once Jordan was seated with her microphone, the boys started playing. At the right time, Jordan brought up the microphone and started singing. Her heart was in this song because it was something special to her. It was about the man who’d rescued her family time and time again from eradication. She let the audience know what she was really feeling. There were times when she looked out over the masses in the crowd and saw lighters in the air. She couldn’t help but smile. When the song was over, they took their bow and Jordan closed their portion of the show. Her eyes were full of tears that she was fighting not to shed until she was off stage. When they left the stage and the curtain closed, Malachai hugged her and let her sob.
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The show was over and everyone was home. Matt was all smiles. “You guys were amazing up there. Jordan, you’re just as dynamic a performer as your father. I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Uncle Matt. That means a lot to me.”
“I think that there were a few record executives in the audience tonight that might just be calling soon”, David said as he set a card on the table and slid it toward Malachai. “You might want to give this man a call. If he can’t help you, he’ll know someone who can.”
Malachai picked up the card and studied it. It read, Jeff Bataglia, Talent Manager. “Dad, isn’t this YOUR manager?” he asked. David ignored him. He was engrossed in a conversation with Brie and Jenn. This is Dad’s way of helping us without actually helping us, he thought. He smiled and took the card and put it in his pocket. He’d give Mr. Bataglia a call in the morning.
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When he went to bed that night, Matt was happy. He’d watched Malachai and Jordan do their thing. He was at piece, finally. He’d heard his song and got to watch the reactions of hundreds of people in the audience. The people loved and none of them knew that it was him that the song was about.
Jenn crawled into bed next to him. “Did you have a good day today, honey?” she asked as she settled in next to him.
“I did. I watched my niece and nephew perform. They were amazing. Not that I’m planning on leaving this Earth tonight but if I did, I could do so without a care. My life is complete now.”
“That’s good, honey.”
“You know, I’m looking forward to a great day tomorrow.”
“Me too.”
They got comfortable and fell asleep. Neither of them knew it, but one of them would not be waking in the morning.
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