Before leaving the hospital to help David cart the other kids up there, Brie held her grandchildren for the first time. As she sat in the rocking chair in Mandy’s room in the Mother’s Ward, she beamed from ear to ear. “Malachai, you’re father is going to be so jealous”, she said with a laugh while rocking little Isaiah to sleep after burping him for his Mama.
“Why is that?” he asked while holding his little Miri as he was calling Miranda.
“Because I got to hold them first”, she laughed. She stood carefully and handed Isaiah to his mother. “I’ll be back shortly. Your Dad’s gonna need help wrangling your brothers and sisters to get them up here and from what he texted me earlier, Maddie’s acting a damn fool.”
“Are you gonna have to knock Maddie down a few pegs, Mom?” Mandy asked.
“Nope. I’m leaving that to her father. She was Daddy’s little princess for the longest time, then out of nowhere he changed. She never got the memo that Daddy’s not playing anymore. Dad’s going to have to deliver it to her personally.” She leaned down and gave each of her grandchildren a gentle kiss in the forehead. “Grandma loves you”, she said to each of them and then gave their parents each a hug. “And I love you both too. I’ll see you guys in about an hour; maybe an hour and a half. It depends on how long it takes to get the younger kids to act right.” She headed for the door
Malachai laughed. “So, I get to look forward to my kids acting like my younger siblings?” he called after his mother.
She paused. “More than likely. If your children are anything like you, Aaron, then yes.” And she took her leave. As she walked down the hall, she sent a text to David. “On my way home. BTW, I got the hold the babies first, ha ha ha.” The response she got was out to the car was, “No fair, you evil little minx you.” All she could do was laugh.
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“Wow, we get an hour of peace and quiet before your brothers and sisters get here”, Mandy said with a laugh.
“I know. Peace and quiet and little time to bond with our newborns before my Dad gets here and says, ‘Where is my granddaughter? Hand her here NOW’”, Malachai laughed. He leaned in and gave the mother of his children a soft kiss on the cheek. “You’ve just made me happier than I ever thought I could be, Mandy. I love you.”
“And I love you, Malachai. You already make me happy. Having your children was just icing on the cake. But, now, we get to try to find ways to keep the fire alive while caring for twins.”
“And for pointers, we should probably talk to my parents. They managed with not just one set of twins, but two as well as a set of quadruplets.”
“How has your Mom kept her figure? I mean, Mom’s fucking gorgeous!”
“Well, she only carried Maddie, Jordan and Jacob. The quads as well as Jessi and Marc are from surrogates. But, after she was given clearance from her doctor, she hit the gym again. My mother’s a health nut and she got Dad started on it and now you can’t eat chocolate in our house without an act of Congress.” He couldn’t help but laugh.
“So I’ve noticed. It takes a family vote and Mom and Dad have joint veto power.”
“That’s the way it works at our house, sad to say.”
“When we get a house of our own, that’s going to be the way it works too. We’re the adults.”
“I’m going to love having the veto power that Mom and Dad have.”
“Me too.”
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When she walked into the house, Brie wasn’t greeted by a kiss from her husband or the smiling faces of her children. No. She was greeted by her daughter Madison arguing with her younger brother Jeremiah. “I’m going to hold the babies first because I’m OLDER!”, Maddie screamed in his face.
“If you don’t stop yelling at me, I’m going to knock you out, Maddie. I’m not playing”, Jeremiah said.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Brie said in a stern voice after closing the door behind herself. “Why are you arguing over who gets to hold the babies first?”
“Because Jeremiah said that he was going to run in and ask to hold the babies and that Mandy loves him more than me and that she’d let him hold them.”
“Ok, let me make myself perfectly clear here. If I should hear one more peep about who’s holding Isaiah and Miranda first, NEITHER of you will hold them. Understood?”
“I’ll just ask Daddy”, Maddie said.
“And you’ll get grounded until you’re eighteen”, David said as he walked into the room. “Pitting me against your Mama isn’t the wisest of decisions, Madison Jade. Now, get your shoes on, both of you, and get ready to go if you want to see your niece and nephew.” When the two arguing children left the room, he looked at his wife. “I’ve been dealing with that since they all got home from that summer camp we sent all of them but Jake and Jordan to. Maddie seems to think that she runs shit around here.”
“Then YOU need to knock her down a peg. She thinks she still has you wrapped around her finger, baby. Let her know that she’s not going to get by with acting like the little diva she’s acting like. There’s no room for any diva like behavior in this house”, Brie said.
“Except for MINE”, Jordan laughed. “I’m the ONLY diva allowed in the house and that’s ONLY when you two allow it.” She hugged her parents. “Is there anything I can do to help you guys out in getting the other kids ready to go see the new babies?”
David sighed. “Yeah, Jordan, sweetie. Find me the Aspirin then go make sure that Maddie and ‘Miah aren’t arguing anymore.”
She smiled. “Yes, sir”, and walked away.
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When they got to the hospital, Maddie just couldn’t stay still. She was bouncing off the walls and acting like a fool. It didn’t matter what either of her parents said to her, she just kept it up. Finally, David had enough. He grabbed Maddie by the arm and pulled her to a stop. Brie paused as he said, “Freeze, Jade”.
“What’s going on, baby?” Brie asked.
“No need to worry. Just take the other kids to Amanda’s room. Maddie and I will be there shortly. We need to have a little talk.” He turned her around and headed back out to the SUV.
As they walked, Maddie pulled away and complained. “Ow, Daddy, you’re hurting me.”
“No nearly as bad as you think I am. And if you’d stop trying to get away, it wouldn’t hurt as bad and you’re making it sound.” When they reached the SUV, David reached in his pocket and grabbed the keys, unlocking the vehicle as they approached. “Get in the car, Madison. We’re going home.”
“But you just told Mama…”
“That we’d be right there? Well, guess what, we’re not going back in. I’m going to call the babysitter and have her meet us at the house and I’m going to come back alone.”
“No, Daddy!”
“Then, listen up and listen well, Madison Jade. If I see you acting the way you were in that hospital one more time, I promise you that you won’t get to see your niece and nephew until they come home from the hospital. Stop embarrassing yourself and the rest of us. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
She pouted and teared up. “But, Daddy…” she cried.
David made it perfectly clear in his expression and his voice that he was nothing but serious. “You can stop that, ‘But Daddy’, bullshit, Madison Jade Draiman. I’m not falling for it anymore. Straighten up and act like you’ve been taught to act in public or you go home. That’s the end of that.”
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