Chapter 87

The video was finished, the publicity tour ended, and the holidays had come and gone.  Everyone was home where they belonged.  Malachai was enjoying his children and Logan was preparing for the arrival of his son.

 Jordan had found a girl that was interesting, and they talked.  They had an understanding that Jordan wasn’t looking for anything serious and the young lady understood.  Ginger, the young woman in question, was perfectly ok with being Jordan’s fuck buddy.  Jordan loved that she was cool with it because even she needed a little satisfaction every now and then.

Caleb met a girl and fell in love.  Heather was the sweetest young woman he’d ever laid eyes on and she reminded him of the woman who mothered and raised two of his band mates.  Heather was a down to brass tacks young woman who had no trouble telling him that he was being an idiot.  When he brought her over to the Draiman house to introduce her to David and Brie, Brie took one look at her and smiled.  “Honey, you’ll do.  Just keep my adopted son in line and we’ll get along just fine.”

Heather’s response was simple.  “Not a problem, Mrs. Draiman.  He steps out of line with me and I’ll land a frying pan upside his head.”  Her Texas drawl was unmistakable.

Brie went into a belly laugh, grasping at her sides.  “Oh, I like you already.”  She took a look at the young woman’s skin tone and black curls.  “Are you of a Pacific Island decent?”

“Yes, ma’am.  My father’s from a little island in the middle of the ocean known as Yap.”

“You must be mixed then.  Not that I have a problem with that.”

She smiled.  “Yes, ma’am.”

“That island temper will keep Caleb in line.  I guarantee that.”

“It had better or he’ll learn to fear me.”

David and Brie exchanged a look.  “She’ll do, won’t she baby?” she asked.

David looked back at her.  “Oh, yeah.  She’ll do just fine.  She’s a Pacific Island version of you and Jordan and Caleb knows not to cross either of you.”

“Because I’ll get me ass kicked”, Caleb interjected.

Jordan laughed.  “Damn straight.”

--------------

“So, what does everyone think of my little island flower?” Caleb asked during rehearsal.

“She’s perfect for you, man”, Malachai laughed.

“Amen to THAT”, Logan chuckled as he tuned his bass.

Jordan had remained quiet.  She had a notebook in her lap and tinkered with a melody in her head.  She’d play a little on her piano, then jotted down something in the notebook.

“Earth to Jordan Draiman.  Come in, Jordan”, Caleb said.

“Grow up, ass hole”, she said, not tearing her attention away from what she was doing.

“I’d like to know what you think of Heather.”

“She’s fan- fucking- tastic.  Now, let me write, ass munch, or I’m going to get up and go GET HER from the living room with my parents and she can come whip your ass FOR ME.  Comprende?”

Caleb looked at Malachai.  “What’s gotten into her?”

“Dunno, but she’s deep in thought and I wouldn’t suggest interrupting her again.”

--------------

“You, Heather my dear, are a breath of fresh air!” Brie said as she poured herself a cup of hot tea and David a cup of coffee.

Heather smiled brightly.  “Thanks, Mrs. Draiman.  I wasn’t raise to tolerate stupidity.”

David had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from spewing coffee everywhere as he laughed.  After swallowing the mouthful of coffee he was drinking, he looked at his wife.  “Where have I heard that one before?” he laughed.

“Me.”  She smiled brightly at her husband.  “Remember, we also raised our children the same way.”

“Jordan just seems to come by it naturally”, Heather commented.

“That’s for sure.  Jordan’s our little fire cracker.  She may be small like her mother is, but God forbid you piss her off.  Not only will she verbally take your head off, piss her off enough and she’ll physically take your head off.”

“I like her already.  Until I met Caleb, I bet she was the one keeping him in line.”

“I think during one rehearsal she bounced a six inch stiletto heel off of his head”, David told the young woman.

“No fucking way!”

“Yes, fucking way”, Brie said.

“What happened?”

“When they’re rehearsing, Jordan’s all business.  You’re down there to learn a song or get ready for a show, not to dick around.  Well, she and Malachai were discussing something, I don’t quite remember what, but Caleb starting doing shit he shouldn’t have; he was fucking with my recording equipment downstairs.  Malachai, Logan AND Jordan all asked him twice not to mess with it.  Finally, after the last time she asked, Jordan took off her shoe and flung it at him.  The spiked heel landed in his forehead as he turned around.  They came up the stairs and he was bleeding, blood oozing down his forehead.  My wife asked, ‘What happened to Caleb?’  ‘I got a shoe upside my head, Mrs. D.’  ‘Whatever for?’  ‘He was dicking around with shit he shouldn’t have’, Jordan said, ‘so I bounced my heel off his head.  Now I have to trash a pair of shoes because one of them has blood on them and it will NEVER come out of that leather.’  Needless to say, we doctored his forehead and I told him that if he fucked with my equipment again he’d never be welcome in my house again.”

Heather laughed.  “Girl after my own heart.”

------------

Dani, Mandy and Heather were fast friends.  Heather loved playing with little Miranda and Isaiah.  She adored them.  Miranda was a talkative little munchkin even though she did know any words quite yet.  Isaiah was more reserved.  He would only share his opinion if he had one.  He was a man of few words.  He took after his mother and grandmother that way.  Unless they had something to say, they rarely spoke.  Miranda was like her father and grandfather.  She didn’t care who heard her, she had an opinion about everything and she would make it heard.  At seven months old, Malachai and Mandy’s twins were showing their stripes.

When “Civil Disobedience” was released, it achieved a Billboard top ten release in its first week.  No party was had.  The band wasn’t home to celebrate.  They were filming the video for their second single, “Deliverance”.  When David got the news, he made sure each of the kids got a text message telling them congratulations.  They were also prepping to go on tour.  They wouldn’t be touring with Disturbed.  David, John, Mike and Dan had all made it very clear that they had to prove their meddle before being asked to tour with them.  Jordan, Logan, Malachai and Caleb had no problem with that.

Caleb was FINALLY growing up.  He was starting to act like a young man and NOT a teenager.  Logan and Dani’s baby boy was delivered three days before they were supposed to head out on tour.  He was drastically early.  Little Seth Edward Moyer weighed about three and a half pounds and had to spend a couple of months in the incubator.  The band that Reckless Disregard was supposed to tour with agreed to postpone the tour so that Logan could be with his son.  Logan was eternally grateful.  Once Seth was released from the hospital from being born nearly three months early and Logan could breathe without feeling like heart was going to explode, the band finally started rehearsals for the tour they were opening.  None of them could have been happier than they were when they were preparing to get ready to finally go on the road.  It brought a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.  They’d been through their fair share of struggles, each of them, and they’d come out smelling like roses.  Jordan was struggling with her sexuality and what society thought a young woman her age should have been doing.  Logan had the problems with his son’s hospitalization.  Malachai was trying to find a way to balance between being a family man and a musician.  He’d spoken with his father only to find that he even still had trouble with it.  Caleb was learning what it meant to be a man.  Heather would tolerate no bull shit and she made it clear.  He would grow up or else.  He was doing so steadily.  He was realizing that he was far too childish and was learning the meaning of the word respect.

They’d come a long way in the time that it took them to get their start.  Now it was time to show the world that they could shine.

Chapter 86

Jordan was up at the ass crack of 4 am.  She drank a soda from the fridge in her room and washed her face.  She wasn’t used to going out without makeup on.  Thankfully she, like her mother, could pull it off and not look like death warmed over.  She dug through her suitcase to find something to wear.  FUCK! she thought.  I can’t decide!  Should I really even GET dressed?  I mean, we’re not going to really be wearing our own clothes all day.  We’re going to be wearing clothes that someone else made for us.  She looked at her clothes.  Fuck it.  Dad will probably kill me for waking him up, but I need advice.  She grabbed her phone out of the drawer of her bedside table and sent her father a text message.  “Dad, question.  Should I even get dressed?”

Much to her surprise, her father responded.  “Just wear your pj’s if you have to ask me that question, Hannah.  Text me again before 8 am and you’re one dead fifteen year old.  Understood?  Lack of a response is answer enough.”

She laughed.  I could be a smart ass, but I don’t want to die a young death.  I can see the obituary.  “Up and coming rock star Jordan Hannah Draiman died yesterday at the young age of fifteen.”  That would be kinda fucked up, she mused.  Instead, she turned on the TV in her room and watched some music videos.  She couldn’t wait to see her work on the music channels.  It was an exciting thought.  They were even going to get to introduce their video in MTV.  She couldn’t wait.

After what seemed like hours, there was a gentle knock on her door.  “Jord, you ready?” Logan asked from the other side of the door.

“Yeah, Logan, I’m on my way.”  She grabbed her purse and slipped her house shoes on before walking out the door.

When she met the rest of her band outside her hotel room door, she got funny looks.  “What that matter, Jord?  No looking hotter than sin today?” Caleb asked.

“What would be the point in getting dressed if I’m just going to be putting on other clothes when we get to the video set?  I decided not to fuck with it.”

“You texted Dad, didn’t you?” Malachai asked after yawning.

“Yeah.”

“And he told you that if you were going to bother him with something so trivial that you should just wear your pj’s, huh?”

“Not in so many words, but yeah.  He also told me that if I bothered him again before 8 am, I was going to die young”, she responded with a laugh.

“That sounds like Uncle David”, Logan said with a laugh.

--------------

Her hair was in the funky, spunky up do it had been in the night before.  The tiny knots of her own hair fell in a line of five along the crown of her head, making it look like she wore a tiara.  The stiff spikes that emerged from the knots only added to the effect.  Once the white leather pants and funky white cotton top adorned her body, she was ready to go.  Her makeup was understated, making her look as close to natural as makeup could.  There was a light dusting of shimmer powder on her face and whatever skin was exposed from her shirt.  It had this look like it had been cut and torn artfully, then retied so give it a very rock ‘n roll look.  The shimmer powder on her tanned body gave her a very ethereal look.  In essence, she looked like a rock angel.  Her shoes were clear heels that looked like there were Cinderella’s glass slippers.

The guys had a similar look.  They all wore white leather and cotton, their shirts were all sleeveless.  Malachai wore a wife beater tank top, as Caleb.  Logan’s shirt was just a sleeveless t-shirt that clung to his torso like a wet wash cloth.  Though they hated it, they wore the shimmer like Jordan did.  They all had to be careful when drinking anything because so as not to ruin their makeup.

Finally the soot got under way.  They had three injured Marine’s; one of which was battling leukemia.  Jordan’s heart sank when she spoke to him between takes.  According to the script, he was to be the first to be accompanied to the other side.  The others were feigning different problems.  After the scenes where they were checked in on by their particular angel and taken to their place of eternal rest…the band changed into different outfits.  Jordan was a nurse, Malachai was a doctor, and Caleb and Logan were orderlies.  Different scenes were shot where they were tending to the men.  There was even a scene where one of the men went into cardiac arrest.  Between the shooting of the different scenes and the costume changes, the day was spent.  They’d get up early as hell the next morning to shoot the performance scene.  They’d all be in black; Jordan wearing her signature curls with her straightened bangs.  The costume people wanted to double check the clothing for the next day to be sure they didn’t need to make any last minute adjustments.

Finally, they were in their way back to the hotel to crash for the night.  Jordan and Malachai would have dinner with their family before ending their night.  Logan and Caleb would be joining John and Dani for dinner that night.

--------------

During their lunch break, the guys all quizzed John on his feelings about becoming a grandfather.  “I’m ecstatic, to be perfectly honest.  The only thing that pissed me off was the fact that he told the nation on the radio without calling to give his mother and me a little bit of a heads up”, John said.

“I would have been pissed too if it were any of MY boys’, Mike replied.

“If Malachai had pulled that stunt, his head would be on a pike right now.  And I wouldn’t have been to one to do it, that’s the thing.  Brie would have killed him before I even thought about it”, was David’s comment.

“Same goes for Justin.  Nicole would have that boy’s head”, Dan concurred.

“Logan should count himself luck that his mother wasn’t here.  He would have felt her wrath.  By the time they come down to Austin to visit, Kristen will have calmed down enough not to kill them BOTH”, John said with a laugh.

“So, it’s to be separate holidays for us all this year?” David asked, changing the subject.

“If you want.  Kristen was going to invite everyone down to Austin for the holidays, to be frank.  Consider this the invitation.”

The guys all laughed.  “I’ll run it past Brie and see what she says” David chuckled.  “Will Kristen let Brie in her kitchen to make traditional Jewish foods for Hanukkah?”

“You’ll have to ask Kristen.”

“I intend to do just that.”

--------------

After a long day of shooting, Malachai collapsed in his bed.  He was exhausted.  Mandy couldn’t’ help but laugh.  “You poor thing”, she said.  “Does Mama need to take care of you?”

He nodded slowly.  “Yes.  My feet are killing me, my neck feels like there are steel razors running up and down the nerves, and don’t get me started on my back.”

 “Well, seeing as we have a great room here and the twins are asleep, why don’t you and I take a nice, hot, relaxing bath?”

“Please tell me that you’re NOT kidding .”

“No, honey, I’m not kidding.”

He opened his eyes slowly to look at his wife.  There was a gleam in her eyes that could not be mistaken.  He pushed his aching and tired body up off of the bed.  She took him by the hand and playfully pulled him into the bathroom of their suite.  I’m going to make him feel so much better, she thought to herself.  I’m going to make her forget how much he hurts.  And she meant it.

Chapter 85

The next day while he was at the studio, David got a bit of a surprise.  Even though Brie had warned him it would happen, he refused to believe it until he saw it with his own two eyes.  And, he did.  She’s brought the children up to the studio so that they could see what Daddy did for a living.  The younger twins had no idea what Mama meant when she said “Daddy’s at the studio making music”.  So, she showed them.  David was laying down a scat pattern for a melody he’d come up with for some of the music that Danny had come up with when they walked in.  Even fifteen year old Jacob was amazed.  He knew what his father did to support the family, but he’s never seen it.

David shut off the recorder he was using to record the scatted melody, and took off the head phones he wore before laying them on top of the machine.  “Well, surprise, surprise”, he laughed.  He went to his wife and kissed her in greeting.

“I told you this was going to happen, Mr. Stubborn Ass”, she laughed.

“I know you did, but I didn’t believe you.  I thought you’d take the kids sightseeing or something.”

“Not without you, Dad”, Maddie said.  “You know this place.  Mom would only get us all lost.”

David did a face palm as he fought not to laugh.  “Madison, behave yourself”, he said as he tried to stifle the belly laugh that kept trying to come out.  “You’re as bad as your big sister sometimes.”

“Well, love, she’s right.  I’d only get everyone lost.  You know Chicago.  I don’t.  This is my first time here in all the years we’ve been together”, Brie laughed.

“I thought we came up here during that stupid rally tour we did during the War.”

“Nope.  We never made it up here because of your ‘Never Again’ speech.”

“Oh, yeah.  I forgot about that.”

“And it’s my job to remind you.”

“What in the world would I do without you?”

“I don’t know.  You’d be one miserable mother fucker, that’s for sure.”

“You can say THAT again.  Never in my life have I been so in love with a woman as I am with you.”

“And I feel the same way about you.  I’ve never been so in love with another human being.”

“Mom, Dad, you’re getting sappy on us again”, Jacob pointed out.

Brie decided to be a tad childish and stuck her tongue out at her son.  “Get over it.  When you find the perfect woman, you’ll know just why we’re so sappy.  You’ll be just as sappy as we are, Jacob.  You are, after all, your father’s son.”

“Oh, GOD, Mom, I think I’m gonna hurl.”

“Bathrooms back the way you came, Jake.  If you make a mess, you get to clean it up, so don’t miss”, David joked.

“Dad, I do understand the concept of AIM.”

“So, you can contain your bile until you make it to the bathroom.”

Jake rolled his eyes.  Brie noted that he looked a LOT like his father when he did that.  And, much like his father, it was a rare occasion that he did it.  “See, Jake, there you go acting like your damn Daddy.”

“Hey, now”, David said, feigning being insulted.

“You know I love you.  Don’t start playing the injured party.  I wasn’t being insulting.”

“You know what, it okay if you were.  I know where you sleep.”

“Yeah, right next to you.”

--------------

Malachai spent the morning doting on his children.  He watched them do all the things he’d missed since leaving a few days before.  He watched his little Miri and Isaiah roll over in the floor as their mother readied their cereal for the morning.

Jordan came down and played with her niece and nephew for a little while before she and her brother had to go to work.  They were doing a fitting for the costumes they’d wear for the video shoot that would start first thing the next morning.  Jordan would also be sitting down with a hair dresser and makeup artist to discuss how her hair and makeup would be done for the shoot.  She had a few ideas that she wanted to bounce off of the people she’d meet with while her band mates were being fitted in the clothes they’d wear.  The guys weren’t looking forward to it.  Jordan was excited.

“Come on, ‘Chai”, she said when it was time to go.  “We’ve got to go catch the limo, bro.”

“I’m on my way, Jordan, geez.”  He kissed his wife and children good bye and told them he’d be back after a while.  “I’m gonna see if Mom and Dad will watch the kids tonight.  I want to take you somewhere”, he said as he grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulders.

“Baby, you’d have better luck with Karyn and Morbus.  You parents have plans tonight.  Your father wants to take your mother on a date night tonight”, Mandy said as she laid Miranda down to take a nap.

“Date night?  Since when did they have this planned?”

“Since Mom was planning on bringing everyone up here to see Dad.”

He laughed.  “Leave it to my parents to ruin my plans by having plans of their own.”

--------------

Jordan was talking to the hairdresser and makeup artist after having the ‘costume’ she’d wear for the video fitted and altered the way she needed it to be.  They wear trying different looks to decide what would go with Jordan’s outfit the best.  It took some time, but they finally decided that her hair would be straight and the hairdresser would make funny little “spiky buns” along the crown of her head.  The hair dresser actually did her hair to let her see what it would look like.  “Are you kidding me!” she shouted when she saw it in the mirror.  “This is awesome.  I just hope my parents don’t kill me for this.”

“Why would they kill you for looking your age, honey?” the man said.

“You haven’t met my parents, have you?”

--------------

She stopped by the penthouse suite that her family shared to see her brothers and sisters before turning in early.  She had to be up at a God awful time of the morning to go get ready to shoot her first music video.  She wasn’t looking forward to lip synching, but such was life.  She still wore her hair the way the hairdresser did it when she knocked on the door.  Her twin answered the door.  “Hey sis!  You look GREAT!”, he said.

She smiled brightly at him.  “Thanks, Jake.  Are Mom and Dad here?”

“Yeah, you’re just in time.  They’re getting ready to go out.  They conned Morbus into keeping an eye on the rest of us while their out on the town.  It’s just gonna be cheesy as shit dinner and a movie, then a night of screwing, but you know Mom and Dad.”

“I wanted to show them my hair for tomorrow.  We start shooting our first music video tomorrow.”

“Well, come on in.”  He stepped out of the way to let his sister in the suite as her father came out of the room he was sharing with her mother.

David looked at his daughter.  “Well, well, Jordan.  What happened to your hair?”

She smiled shyly at her father.  “Do you like it?  This is how we’re going to do my hair for the video shoot tomorrow.”

“It’s very you.  Rebellious yet slightly tamed.  It says, ‘I may be a cute little girl, but I’ll still kick your ass.’  I have to admit, I do honestly like it.”

“Thanks, Daddy.  I hoped you and Mom wouldn’t kill me for it.”

“No, sweetheart.  It fits your personality.”

Brie walked out of the bedroom as she put in a pair of earrings.  She took a look at her daughter and said, “Wow, Jord, you’re looking more and more like a rock star every time I see you.”

She smile only got bigger.  “Thanks Mom.  This is how my hair’s going to look in the music video.”

“Very rock star.  I like it.  What time do you have to get up in the morning?”

“Too fucking early.  I really need to get some dinner in me and get to bed soon”, she yawned.  “I think I’m going to just order some room service, take a shower, and go the hell to bed.”

“Good idea.  Oh, have fun tomorrow.  Making the videos is probably the most fun part of this lifestyle.. second ONLY to touring.”

“Hopefully soon, we’ll find out for ourselves.”

--------------

David and Brie went out for a romantic night out.  They were alone, just the two of them.  They had one major rule for this night: no talking about the kids.  David just wanted to focus on the two of them being together.

Brie’d been having a craving fur sushi, so David took her to a nice sushi bar not far from the hotel.  It was a traditional place where they even had to take their shoes off and sit on the little raise platform on pillows.  The chef even came out and cooked for them at the table in a true tappanyaki style.  It was a show.  Brie loved it.  David was happy to see the joy in her eyes as he watched her watch the chef.  His bliss was to see her happy.  Lately, he’d been in a perpetual state of bliss because she was always happy.  Once she accepted her brother’s death, she was happy and thus, he was happy that she was happy.  Funny how that works, he thought as he sat in awe and watched the woman her loved.  If she’s happy, then I’m happy.  If she’s miserable, then I am too.  Probably because I can’t stand to see her in pain and will move heaven and Earth to make her happy again.  But, what I still can’t seem to figure out is what I’ve done to deserve such a beautiful creature as my wife.  Because, she’s more than that to me.  She’s my other half; my soul mate.  Of all the shit in my “charmed” life that I’ve done wrong, I must have done something right to deserve such a jewel.  Because, she certainly is rare.  And at 48 years old, she just like a fine wine; she just gets better with age.  She’s still amazing.  How the hell has it been sixteen years?  If feels like it was just yesterday that I thought I was saving her life when in fact she was saving me.  No more loneliness for me.

She looked over at him, catching him staring.  “What are you staring at, David?  You’re acting as though you’ve never seen me a day in your life.”

“Just admiring God’s best piece of work, my love.  He certainly broke the mold after he made you.”

She blushed for him.  “I bet you’ve said that to all the girls.”

“Nope.  Just you.”

She blushed harder.  “I’m not that special.”

“On the contrary, love.  You most certainly are that special.  You’re my personal angel.  I’ll say that until the day I die.”  And he meant every word.

Chapter 84

The next day dragged on for everyone. The band was getting ready to start greeting the Marines that would be in their music video.  Disturbed was still in the studio.  The kids were making Brie want to pull out her hair.  The day that she and the kids were to leave, she had to call their father to have a heart to heart with all of them but Jake and Maddie.  They just wouldn’t stop the infighting.  David was none too pleased.  “Just because I’m not there, children, doesn’t mean that you can act like fools while I’m gone.  You know, Mama could always call Mr. Morbus to watch you guys while she comes up for the weekend and takes a break from you all.  How does that sound?”

The kids all groaned.  “Ah… but, DADDY” they all whined.

“When are you guys going to realize that ‘but, Daddy’, doesn’t work on me anymore.  You have four older brothers and sisters.  Ask Maddie how well, ‘But, Daddy’, works on me.”

“It don’t”, Maddie said.

“Doesn’t, Jade”, her mother whispered to her under her breath.

“I mean, it doesn’t.”

“Now, if you need help packing to come up here, I’m sure your Mama, big brother Jacob or big sister Maddie will help you pack.  If you keep up the fighting, Mom will just call Mr. Morbus to come watch you guys and she’ll just come up here to Chicago without you.  Do you all understand me?”  He got no answer.  “I’ll ask one more time, do you all understand me?”   Still silence.  “Ok, Mama, call Mr. Morbus and Miss Karyn to watch the younger ones and you can just come out here with Jacob and Maddie.”

“No, Daddy.  We understand!” the younger six of the Draiman children yelled in unison.  He smiled to himself.  “Ok, seeing as they understand, you can bring them all up.  Have Morbus and Karyn come up with you.”

“To protect you?”

“No, to protect Jordan and Malachai.  They’re travelling without security and they’ve already got a pretty loyal following.  I’m afraid for them if a fan decides their going to try for one of them.  Trevor is the best there is in the protection game.”

“I know.  I’ve already talked a little with Trevor about it.  He said that as long as your guys don’t need him, he’ll go, but he doesn’t want to leave Karyn alone with their three and no help.”

“What did you tell her about that?”

“That she, Mandy, Dani and I can all help each other.”  She headed for the stairs to finish up her packing before they left out of DIA in two hours.  “So, what are Jordan and Malachai up to?”

“Publicity stuff here in Chicago.  They’ll start shooting their video soon.”

“I hope they’re staying close by you up there.”

“Believe me; they’re closer than you think.”

----------------

After picking Dani up from the apartment she shared with Logan, Brie, the kids, Morbus and his family, Mandy and the twins, and Dani were all on their way to Denver to catch a flight to Chicago’s O’Hare airport.  Brie was alight with energy.  She couldn’t wait to see her man.  The last three nights had been sheer torture.  Yeah, she’d heard his voice before she laid her head on her pillow to go to sleep.  But, that was nothing like having him lying next to her.  It was nothing compared to having him solid under her hands; warm and real and in the same room.

She tried to relax and focus on the article in the massage magazine she was reading on her Kindle.  But, she was too excited.  She couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around her husband and give him a kiss.  She yearned to feel the press of his lips to hers.

As the plane touched down, she could barely contain her joy.  She silently wondered if he was going to ignore her request and meet them at the airport.  That was something he would do.  When the pilot gave the deboarding call, she stood and pulled her carry on out of the over head compartment.  She looked at her daughter in law and her nephew’s girlfriend as they wrestled to get things organized so that they could get off the plane.  Morbus and his wife were fighting to get their kids together; and Jacob did his best to organize his younger siblings to take the burden off of his mother.  “Ok, are we all organized and ready to go see Daddy?” she asked her children.  She was answered with a resounding YES.

When they got off the plane, who did she see but the man she loved.  The children swarmed him, nearly knocking him over.  “Holy shit!” he said as he tried to catch his balance on a chair behind him.  “You guys can’t be THAT happy to see me!”

“Yeah, we missed you”, they said intermittently.

“Nah, you guys didn’t miss me.”

To prove their point, they knocked him into the chair so that they could take turns climbing on him.  “Hey now, that’s enough.  I’d like to say hi to Daddy, too, you guys”, she said to her children.

Slowly they climbed off of their father and let him stand to greet their mother.  He wrapped his arms around her and held her as close as he could.  “Hello, my angel”, he whispered in her hear.

“Hello, my rock star”, she giggled in return.  She took in his scent with a deep breath.  She hadn’t forgotten, but it was always nice to have the reminder.  “God, I’ve missed you.”  She squeezed him a little tighter.

“I know, I’ve missed you too.”  He was intoxicated again; as intoxicated as he was their first night together.  Her shampoo, her lotion, her body mist- it invaded his senses.  He was head drunk.  He wanted to take her right where they were, but they were in the middle of O’Hare International.  That wasn’t about to happen.  He dragged himself up out of the fog enough to speak.  “Let’s get the hell out of here.  I want to get you all settled into the hotel room.  I’ll call Malachai on the way to the hotel to let him know his wife and kids are in town.”

“What about Logan?”

“I’ll give Dani his room number and let her surprise him.  She and Logan have a LOT of explaining to do.”

--------------

They finally got everyone settled in for the night.  They’d eaten dinner as a family at one of David’s favorite places in town.  Malachai and Jordan even joined them.  He was happy that the restaurant had a very family friendly atmosphere.  After dinner, he took them back to the hotel and got everyone settled in, David and Brie took a much needed and deserved shower.  They made love for hours both in and out of the shower.

As they lay in bed recovering, Brie recalled the conversation they’d have with their children over dinner.  “After some long thought, I’ve come to a decision.  After all of you are finally out of the house, I’m retiring.  Your father and I are going to sell the house and buy another one in a different state, and I’m going to travel with your father when Disturbed goes on tour”, she told her children.  A few of them were happy. 

The younger ones didn’t understand.  “What do you mean?  Don’t you still love us?” Jessykah had asked. 

“Yes, Jessi, baby, we still love you.  This isn’t going to take place until you graduate from high school and move out of the house to go to college.  We know that’s not going to be for a long time, Jessykah Danyelle”, her father had admonished.  “This is something you’re Mama and I talked about for after you’re all grown up.”  The little girl finally understood.

Malachai and Mandy, as well as Jordan and Jacob were happy for them.  “You guys deserve that.  You both work entirely too hard.  You should both take some time together and just travel and see the world”, Mandy said.  Her in laws couldn’t help but smile at her and thank her for her sincerity.

---------------

After saying hello and getting reacquainted, Dani and Logan made their way to John’s hotel room.  John had given Logan very specific instructions to bring her to his room should she come up to visit with David’s family.  When Logan knocked on the door, John called, “Hold on a minute.”  There was mumbling on the other side of the door as they saw the peep hole darken and heard locks being undone.  “I’ll talk to you in a little bit, baby.  I’ve got company right now.  I love you too.  Bye.”  The door swung open.  “Hello, Danielle.”

“Hi, John.”

“Won’t you both come in?  I have a bone to pick with you.”

She was instantly frightened.  Logan ushered her into the room and walked her over to sit on the couch in his father’s suite.  “Yes, sir?”

“You might have to do that at David’s place, but I’m just John.”

“Actually, the only people that have to call David ‘sir’ are his children.  He says it’s a show of respect.”

“And he’s right, but I don’t really like it.  NOW, I heard over the radio the other day that you’re pregnant?”

“Yes.  I’m about a month along now.”

He nodded slowly.  “I’ll ask you the same thing I asked my son.  Just WHEN did you two plan on tell me and his mother?  Or YOUR parents for that matter?”

“We were going to tell you all when we went down to visit for the holidays.”

He nodded slowly.  “So, I ask you this, why did I have to find out over the radio?”

“That I can’t answer.  I had no idea that he was going to do that.”

“THAT I believe.  Now, seeing as Logan’s already had to take his lumps for this little indiscretion, it’s your turn.”

“I hardly think I’m responsible…”

“Oh, but you are.  You’re not exempt from calling my wife and explaining things, Miss Thing.  It takes two to tango, Dani.  Logan didn’t make this baby alone.”

She hung her head.  “You’re right.  I’ll talk to Kristen.”

--------------

David lay wide awake in the bed of the hotel room he was sharing with his wife.  Though he was tired, he wanted to cherish every moment he had with her for the short time she would be in town.  Then, it would be back to the loneliness of separate beds for the both of them until the holidays.  He thought about the idea of pulling the kids out of school and having them tutored again; or in his youngest children’s cases, for the first time.  Though he liked the idea, it wouldn’t be fair to the children.  They were all involved in something at school.  Choir, basketball, band, football, science clubs.  He just couldn’t do that to his children.  He loved them all far too much to take the opportunity to have a somewhat normal childhood away from them.

He considered the angel in his arms.  His saving grace; his sanity; his balance.  She was his reason for doing what he did.  She was his reason fifteen years before for doing what he did for the cause they represented.  Homeschooling the kids would put too much strain on her, he thought.  That’s the last thing I want to do.  I don’t want her under any more stress than she has to be under.  She’s the only reason I have for not going completely mad.  I couldn’t put her through that.  It may have been her idea, but I just can’t do that to her.  I love her and our children too much to allow that.

He brushed a piece of hair from her face the covered her eyes as she lay on his chest.  God, she’s so beautiful.  I still can’t believe she’s mine, even after almost sixteen years.  Is it NORMAL for me to be this amazed after so long?  Unfortunately,  no one could answer that question for him; no matter how much he wished there was.

Chapter 83

When they left the station it was back to the hotel long enough to check out, then straight to JFK to catch a flight to O’Hare.  They’d check into the Hilton and go straight to a production meeting for the video for “Unholy”.  Jordan hoped that the director was able to either land the necessary permits to shoot at the hospital, or that he’d come up with a better idea.  She also hoped that they could get some actual Marines in the video.  THAT would have made her LIFETIME.

After boarding the plane, Jordan put in her head phones and listened to her music on her mp3 player.  She didn’t like keeping music on her phone.  If someone called her, it interrupted the music.  She like continuous music with no interruptions.  She closed her eyes for a few brief moments, or so she thought.  When she came to, they were landing at O’Hare in Chicago.  She pulled one of her ear buds from her ear and looked at Malachai.  “When did we take off?”

“Over an hour ago.  You slept the entire trip.”

“I didn’t mean to.  I was just resting my eyes.”

“It happens, little sister.  Now it’s time to get the hell off the plane and to the hotel.”  He stood and offered his little sister a hand up.

She took the offered hand and stood.  “God, Malachai, can you believe that it’s taking off like this?”

“No, I can’t, but it’s none too soon.  I kinda need the money.  I’ve got a family to think about.”

“Yeah, and Logan does too, now.  I wonder if Uncle John knows about what Logan said in the radio interview yet.”

“I don’t know.  I don’t think that they were listening to the radio while they were in the studio.”  Little did they know, but not only had their uncle heard the radio show, but their father had too.  One was thrilled… the other, however, wasn’t.  They’d all soon find out which one was which in the place they least expected.

---------------

The director wasn’t able to get the permits that they needed, but they were able to reproduce the Oncology ward of Loyola Medical Center.  They’d also been able to get permission from the Marine Corps to put some injured Marines in the video.  The concept was that the band would be the “guardian angels” for these sick and injured Marines, some of which were on their death beds.  When they would pass, they’d see the angel of death, Jordan, smiling at them and inviting them to follow her to their eternal rest.  It wasn’t a very rock style video, but it was Jordan’s vision for the song.  The guys all agreed with her.  “Unholy”, needed to be a softer presentation than many of the other songs on the album.

After leaving the meeting, Jordan was on cloud nine.  She couldn’t think of anything that would ruin her mood.  That was, until she accidentally walked into someone in the lobby of the hotel.  “Oh, God, I’m so sorry, sir”, she said when she realized what she’d done.

“Jordan, pay attention to where you’re walking”, a familiar voice said.  When the bald man turned around, she saw the man she’d just almost ran over.

“DAD!” she said in shock.  “Oh, my God, I’m REALLY sorry.  I didn’t mean to walk into you like that.”

“What has you so distracted, Jordan?”

“We just left the production meeting for the ‘Unholy’ video.”

“Did you get what you wanted?”

“Not exactly, but I’m happy with the alternative.”

“Good.  Glad to hear it.  How long will you guys be here in the windy city?”

“A week or two, maybe.  They’ve got to build the set.”

“Then will you and your brother be so kind as to join your old man for dinner?”

“Sure.  I will, anyway.  I need a shower first, but I’ll go to dinner with you, Dad.”

“That’s fine.  I wanted to hear John’s talk with Logan.”

“You guys heard that interview earlier?”

“We did.  I’m proud of you Jordan.  You saw the error of your ways and you did what you could to set it right.  And, I also noticed that you didn’t say one curse word.  Again, I’m very proud of you.”

She smiled.  “Thanks, Daddy.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a shower.  What room are you staying in so that I can meet you there?”

He gave her his room number, then went up to John’s room to hear his conversation with his oldest son.

--------------

“SO, Logan, you’re an expectant father?” John said to the child in question.

Oops, he thought.  “Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since two days ago.  Dani says she’s four weeks pregnant.”

“She’s a month pregnant?”

“That’s what she said.”

“And just when were you going to inform your mother and me about this little development, Logan?”

“When we saw you for the holidays.  They’re not going to make us do this tour over Christmas and Hanukkah.”

David, who was leaning against the wall in the hotel room, tried to stifle a laugh.  “I wonder if your manager knows that Hanukkah is coming up.”

“I don’t think she does, Uncle David.”

“Back to the topic at hand, Logan.  Why did I have to find out over the radio that I’m going to be a grandfather?”

“It slipped, Dad.  It honestly did.”

“So, you’re saying you just HAD to open your big mouth about the fact that you’re expecting a child to tell the COUNTRY that you’re expecting a child before you told your mother and me?”

“Again, Dad, it was a total accident.  I’m really sorry.”

“About time I heard an apology from you for this.  Now, you’re going to call you mother and apologize to her over this.  After she heard it on the radio, she called me in TEARS.  She was IN TEARS, Logan.”

“God, I didn’t mean to make Mom cry either.  I’ll call her.”  He moved to stand.

“Now, Logan.  Right here in front of me.”

Logan sighed and hung his head.  “Yes, Dad.”

All David could do was laugh and shake his head as he left Logan to make his phone call.

--------------

After taking his two oldest children to dinner, David got settled into his room for the night.  Though his day had started out with him having to rip his oldest children new ass holes, the day had ended on a good note.

After finding a movie to ignore, he called his wife whom he knew had just put the kids down for bed and was settling in for the night herself.  When she answered, a smile came to his face.  “Hey gorgeous.”

“Hey, handsome”, she said.

“How was your day?”

“Had to break up a fight between James and Jeremiah this afternoon after getting them home from school.  I forget what about.”

“Do I need to talk to my sons before you put them to bed tomorrow?”

“Probably.”

“Ok, put them on the phone with me tomorrow before bed and I’ll talk to them.  What else happened today?”

“Nothing really.  I chewed Jordan’s ass over that press conference.”

“So did I.”

“I know, she told me.”

“So, what are we going to do about Hanukkah?  It starts week after next?”

“What do we do every year, baby?  We pull them from school for the eight days that the festival lasts.”

“Were you going to bring them up here for Hanukkah?”

“If you’re still there, baby.  I’m not going to spend Hanukkah away from you.  Not on your life, mister.”

He had to laugh at that.  “I can’t wait to see you this weekend.  I’ve only been away for two days and I miss you like crazy already.”

She smiled.  “I know, baby.  I miss you too.  I can’t wait to be in your arms again.  This big ole’ bed is awfully lonely without you to keep your half warm.”

“I know.   I wish I were there to keep it warm for you.  The nights in this hotel room drag on without a warm body laying next to me.”

She laughed.  “You know something?”

“What?”

“We’re really co- dependent.”

“No, we’re not.  We love each other.  It’s not a crime, you know.”

She laughed again.  He loved to hear her laugh.  Her joy was music to his ears.  “I know.  But, we’re sitting here, in two different cities- in two different states- talking about how much we miss each other and all that good shit.”

“I know.  We’re pretty sappy, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.” 

She was quiet for a moment, as if in thought.  He had to know what was on her mind.  “What are you thinking?”

“I was thinking about what I’m going to do after all the kids have graduated and left the house.”

“Oh?  What is your plan?”

“I think I’m going to retire.”

“Why?  Not slowing down are you?”

“Oh, dear Lord no.  I’m going to retire so that I can see the world with you.”

He smiled.  “I actually like that plan.  We can sell the house, buy a new one in a different state, and when I go on tour I don’t have to leave you at home.”

“Or when you go into the studio, for that matter.”

“Exactly.  I really, really, like that plan, baby.  So, when are we going to break it to the kids?”

“We can do it while we’re up there for this mini vacation.”