Chapter 43

“No, David, DAMN IT!” Jake heard his mother say when he went into the house the next morning.

“Brie, be reasonable.  You’re in pain.  Just take the fucking medication.”

“NO”, she said calmly but adamantly.

“What are you two arguing about?” Jake asked when he sat down.

“Your mother is letting her Irish side show and being stubborn”, his father said.

“Just because I don’t want to stick myself doesn’t mean I’m being stubborn.  Yes, I’m in pain and yes, I plan on give Dr. J Mongan an earful about possible surgery to fix this shit, but just because my back is hurting doesn’t mean that I’m going to take an injection so that I can get rid of the pain.  I’ve got too much to do today.”

“There’s no talking to you sometimes”, David said, exasperation in his voice.

She looked at him and smiled.  “Maybe it’s just the stubborn Irish woman in me.”  The smile she gave him was genuine and her words held no venom.

He shook his head and laughed.  “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“One the rare occasion that we ARE arguing, you manage to just turn on the charm and I’m no longer mad at you.”

She shrugged.  “I just know when to do it, I guess.”  She sighed.  “Baby, it’s my choice.  I know you can’t stand to see me in pain, but it’s my choice whether I want to suffer through it or wimp out and take the damn shot.  Right now, I’m going to fight through the pain until I can’t take it anymore.  You know me.  I’m not going to just lie down and let the pain eat the world.  When my back tells me it can’t take anymore, then I’ll stop and let you stick the damn needle in my thigh to knock my ass out.  Until that happens, I hate to break it to you, but you’re just going to have to accept that I’m one stubborn bitch.  It’s the mix of the Irish and the Jew in me.”  She laughed a little at the end.

David reached over and laid a hand against his wife’s face.  “You know I’ll take whatever burden from you that I can.  You’re just so damn stubborn sometimes that I don’t know what to do with you.”

“Just love me and accept it.”

“I do love you, but I still, to this DAY, can’t accept it.  We’ve been together for nearly twenty five years, and I STILL have trouble with your hardheadedness.”

“And I have trouble with your hotheadedness.”  She winked at him, then sighed.  “Look, I’m going to call some of the people I know to see what can be done about this.  I’ve called all of my clients for the next week and asked them if they would mind switching to seeing Maddie from now on.  They’ve all graciously agreed.  I’m going to walk Maddie through the treatment plans that I have for them.  I’m slowly trying to pass all of my clients, save ONE, to our daughter.”

“Who’s the one you’re not passing to Maddie?” Jake asked.

“Your father.”

“I’ll see Maddie if that makes things easier on you”, David added.

“No, I want to maintain seeing at least one client.  And you’re stuck with me, mister.”

David laughed.  “I know I am.”

“Good, now, I need to eat and Jake’s looking a little pique- ish himself.”

“Yeah, I need to eat”, Jake said.  “I’m starting to get a bit of a headache.”

“Ok, then, I’ll start breakfast for everyone.  What do you want?” David asked.

“I don’t care, honey”, Brie said with a smile.  “Surprise me.”

David pushed away from the table and handed his wife something to keep her sugar levels up until he got breakfast made.  “Jake, you want a cup of coffee?”

Jake nodded.  “Please.  A little sugar, no cream.”

David started a fresh pot of coffee and got breakfast started.  It was the rarest occasion that he actually got to cook without his wife taking over, but he knew that she wasn’t going to interfere.  She wasn’t going to be doing too much of anything that day if he could help it.  Not after he had to run her to the emergency room the day before.

Jake sat at the table in stunned silence.  He’d never heard his parents argue.  He knew his mother was a stubborn woman and that his father was a stubborn man.  And they were equally so.  But, they’d never argued so publically that he could recall.  He’d heard stories, but he’d never seen it himself before.  It was interesting to see what their dynamic was then no one was looking.  It was nice to know that they were pretty much the same no matter where they were.

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 Later that day, after watching Maddie deal with their mother’s clients, Jake went upstairs to talk to his mother.  When he knocked on the office door, she was on the phone.  “Come in”, she called then went back to her conversation.  “Look, Christian, I just need my ROM back.  I can’t bend over without falling on my face because my back either locks up or gives out.  Is there anything you can do?”  She was silent for a moment as she listened to what the man on the other end of the phone had to say.  “It’s L-4 and L-5.  The same thing happened to my father.  He didn’t have the opportunity to fight it.  I’m going to fight this shit tooth and nail.”  She laughed after a moment.  “Only you would say something like that, jack ass.  I’ll be sure to tell David about that.  So, can you see me about this bull shit?”  She sighed.  “You’re fabulous, Christian.  Have I told you recently that I love you?” she asked with a laugh.  “No, seriously though, you’re fabulous.  I’ll see you then, Chris.  Alright.  Bye.”  She sighed as she hung up the phone and sat back in the chair.  “Now, I have good news to give my husband”, she said to herself as she wrote something down in her calendar, then looked up to see her son.  “What did you need Jake?”

“Well, first off, I wanted to check on you to see how you were feeling.  Dad’s seriously worried about you.”

“I’m still in pain and it’s been getting worse.  I’m probably going to end up taking some pain medication to get rid of the pain and passing out for a few hours.  But, before I do that, I can tell your father that I’ve got an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon about my back.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yes, yes it is.  I don’t WANT to have my back cut on, but if that’s what I have to do, then that’s what I have to do.  So, what else brings you up here?”

“Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you and Dad about.”

She nodded.  “Ok, one question real fast.  Where are your wife and daughter?”

“Delilah is out back with Miri.  They’re both sleeping.  She got up, fed Miri, changed her, played with her a little bit, then fell asleep in the couch after laying Miri in her play pen.”

“Ok, then.  I’d like to see my granddaughter before the day is out though.”

“If you’re not asleep, then I’ll make sure that happens.”

“Ok, what did you want to talk about?”

“Like I said, it’s something I wanted to talk to you and Dad about.  Do you know where Dad is?”

“Should be next door in his office”, she said as she stood.  Her hand went to her back as she walked out of her office door and knocked on her husband’s.  “Baby, Jake needs to talk to us.”

“Ok, I’ll be right over.  You need to sit your ass down, Hannah Brielle”, he heard his father say.

“I’m going back into my office to sit down and wait on you, bossy ass”, she said with a laugh.  She came back into the room and sat down in her office chair.  “Your father can be so bossy sometimes”, she laughed as she fought off the pain.

“Well, Mom, when he’s right he’s right.”

David walked and took the other chair opposite his wife.  “Ok, what’s going on in here?”

“Well, I got some interesting news the other day and I wanted to talk to the two of you about it”, Jake started.

“What was the news?”

“The first intern I fired came and paid me a visit yesterday morning.  He told me that there are people at DOD that were paying to sabotage my work.  He would know because he was the one being paid.”

“Did he mention what DOD wanted the research for?” Brie asked.

“Yeah, they wanted to use it for weapons, but because they can’t they want to discredit me.”

“Ok”, David said.  His arms were crossed over his chest and one hand was playing with his goatee.  “What else did the young man say?”

“That there was going to be hearings of the Cabinet and possibly Congress over my work.  More than likely it will come as I’m getting ready to start clinical trials.”

“Jake, this really isn’t my field of expertise”, Brie said.  “Politics is more your father’s ball park.”

“I just wanted to ask you, Mom, if as a fellow medical professional were you in my shoes if you’d continue to do the research.”

“What you want to do will change lives, Jacob.  If I were in your position, I’d keep working to find a treatment.”

He looked to his father.  “How would you suggest I handle being called before Congress or the Cabinet?”

“Well, Jacob”, David said, “first of all, I’d recommend speaking the truth and nothing but.  They might not like what they hear, but that’s not your problem.  I’d also recommend that you leave the arguing to the bureaucrats, but speak your mind and don’t hold your tongue.  If you feel that you need to give them a tongue lashing, then do so.  All most politicians and bureaucrats understand is the bottom line.  As soon as you realize this, you’ll be able to deal with anything they throw at you.”

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He knew that his father’s words from earlier when he spoke to his parents were true.  Still, he was going to complete his work come hell or high water.  There was no way he was going to let Shawn down.  There was no way in hell that he was going to let anyone in Washington stand in his way.  He had come too far and been through too much hell in both his personal and professional life to let anyone stop him from reaching his goals.

He also knew that his mother was ill and in pain, but his father could handle that.  It took some convincing and some carefully planned words on his father’s part to get his mother to finally agree to taking the pain shot and lying down.  He made sure that she ate something before she passed out.  He wondered what it was about taking the pain shots that made his mother lose her appetite.  She picked at the food, but she didn’t really eat it.  He actually laughed out when she pushed the plate aside and laid her head on the table.  “That’s too funny”, he said had breathlessly.

Delilah had come in with Miri right after his mother had given herself that shot.  As the medication took effect, she played a little with Miri but didn’t try to pick her up.  “It’s a good thing that Gramma only took half of that shot or I wouldn’t be able to play with you”, his mother said to the little girl.  She giggled and cooed.  “Is that funny to you?” she asked the little girl with a smile.

“Why did you only take half of the shot?” David asked.

“Because he raised the dosage and my tiny little frame isn’t used to it just yet.  I’ll be asleep all day if I take the whole thing.”

“And the last thing I want is you lapsing into a diabetic coma from your sugar falling too low.”

“Mom, I was meaning to talk to you about that, but I’ll wait until after you’ve slept off that pain shot”, Delilah said.

“That might be wise”, she said as her husband set a light lunch on the table with a fork.  She took the fork and took a small bite.  Everyone kept talking and she tried to continue to stay involved in the conversation but it was to no avail.  She had to shove the plate aside and folded her arms on the table, laying her head on her arms after she pushed the chair she was sitting in so that her back didn’t have any pressure on it.  And that’s when Jake had his laugh at his mother’s expense.

David smiled.  “And she’s out for about five hours.  She’ll wake up about the time your brothers and sisters get back from school.”  He carefully sat her back in the chair and lifted her in his arms.  Even though she was unconscious, she still wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into the strength of his chest.  She knew where she was and that she was safe with him.  “I’m going to lie down with your mother, Jake.  I’ll be back down after a while.”

“No problem, Dad.  I’ve got the fort”, Jake said with a nod.

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After his parents disappeared upstairs, Jake and his wife exchanged a look.  “Your mother is a stubborn woman”, she said with a laugh.

“You should have heard them this morning when I came in for coffee.  They were actually arguing”, he laughed in return.

“WHAT?  Perfect David and Brie Draiman were ARGUING?  STOP THE PRESSES!!”  She laughed melodically.

Jake chuckled.  “I know.  Mom was adamant about NOT taking a shot because she had too much shit to do and Dad was adamant about her taking the shot so that she wasn’t in pain anymore.”

“And he’s not still mad at her?”

“Mom has a way of turning on the charm when she wants a fight to stop and when she cranks up the charm, Dad’s a sucker and gets licked every time.  It’s like cutting down a tree in the middle of the forest.  There’s an audible thud but not everyone hears it.  One minute they’re mad at each other, then she gives a smart assed remark and smiles and winks at him and there goes the fight.  Dad won’t keep fighting because she’s gone from being mad to being cute and flirtatious.”

“I’m going to have to keep that trick in mind”, she said with a giggle.

“Doesn’t work on me.  I’ve had ex- girlfriends try it.  I just can’t get mad at you for some reason.  Apparently, in my eyes, you can do NO wrong”, he laughed.

“I’m far from perfect, Jakey.”

“I know, but you’re as close to perfection as I’ve come and I’ll be damned if I’m going to ruin that with fighting.  Anyway, what kind of doctor would I be if I wasn’t patient?”

“Very true.  You’d be a horrible doctor.  Doctors need to have patience and to be kind.  It’s a good thing you’re both.”

“I’ve also noticed that father’s need the same traits.  My father, from what I understand, has become MORE patient since becoming a parent, but he’s nowhere NEAR as patient as my mother.”

“I’ve noticed that.  Your Dad likes things done pronto and your Mom will give you a couple of chances before she gets upset.”

“Usually, Mom doesn’t have the chance to get upset.  She’ll say something and if there’s a not prompt action Dad will step in and get action.  Mom’s the nurturer and Dad’s the disciplinarian.”

“I’ve noticed that.  I wonder if that’s how we’re going to be with little one here.”

Jake shrugged.  “We’ll have to wait until she starts getting into more trouble to find out.”