Colton was invited to join the family for dinner, and graciously accepted. “Not to sound rude or anything, but I’ve never been one to turn down a free meal”, he said with a laugh.
Brie couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a typical boy”, she said. “Do you eat for an army as well?”
He chuckled. “I have the tendency to, I won’t lie, but Maddie’s been making me watch what I eat.”
David looked from Colton to his wife. “Why does THAT sound familiar?”
“Hey, that’s what you get for getting involved with me. I’m a health freak. I’ve had to be my entire life.”
“And you groomed Maddie to be one”, Colton joked.
“No, she became on all on her own. All of my kids are health nuts though the only one that really needs to be on is Jacob.”
“Maddie mentioned that you’re a diabetic.”
“I am, Type 1.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Oh, it’s not so bad. I’m not insulin dependent anymore. I was as a child because my parent’s feed me crap, but after I got out on my own, I got control of my blood sugar and I was taken off of the insulin. I haven’t been on it since.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
“Now, Jacob’s battling with the same problem but he’s got me to help him out. I’ve taught him how to eat right and so on.”
“Is he the only one of your kids that has the diabetes?”
“Yeah… it’s just him.”
“Harsh.” He took in a deep breath and sighed. “Well, I’m going to go find Maddie. She likes to disappear on me like this all the time.”
David cleared his throat. “Actually, Colton, would you mind coming with me upstairs to my office?” he asked.
“Not a problem, Mr. Draiman. Did you need to speak to me in private?”
“Yes, actually , I did.” He kissed his wife on the cheek. “I’ll be down to help with dinner shortly.”
“I don’t need you under foot, baby. I’ve got Mandy and Delilah both in there to help me out.”
“Kick them out of the kitchen. I want to help you tonight”, he said with a laugh.
She giggled. “I’ll see what I can do, handsome.” She stretched up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Don’t take too long and I’ll be able to wait until you’re done with whatever it is you’re doing to start so that I don’t have to run our daughters in law out of the kitchen.”
“I’ll be as quick as I can.” He winked at her and kissed her one more time before showing Colton up the stairs to his office.
Maddie saw her father leading her boyfriend up the stairs. “Dad, what are you doing?”
“Your man and I are going to have a man to man talk; no you , none of your brother’s. Just him, me, and the four walls of my office.”
“Please, Daddy, don’t hurt him.”
“If I wanted to hurt him, Madison, I would have done so already. Think about that for a moment”, he said and kept walking. When they reached his office, David let Colton into the room ahead of him and closed the door behind them.
“What did you need to talk to me about, Mr. Draiman?” Colton asked as he heard the door shut.
“I just wanted to talk to you a little more about where you’re from, your family… things like that.” He walked around behind his desk and seated himself in the large, black leather, high back office chair. He leaned back in the chair and looked at the young man who had won his princess’s heart. “How old are you, Colton?”
“21.”
David nodded. “What are your parents names?”
“Justin and Kathryn GreyEagle.”
“You said you have five other brothers?”
“Yes, sir.”
David nodded slowly. “Has Maddie met your parents?”
“Yes. When I graduated with my BA’s she met them at my graduation.”
“What did they say when she introduced herself as Madison Draiman?”
“They asked if she was related to you, and to Malachai and Jordan. When she said that you’re her father and Malachai and Jordan were her brother and sister, they refused to believe her.”
David couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why is it that people will believe Malachai and Jordan when they say they’re my children, but not Jake and Maddie?”
“I wish I knew, sir. I believed her. Some of the pictures she had in her apartment at the school were too real to be disputed… and I tried. I had friends in the Criminology department that tried to prove that the pictures were fake.”
“Does Maddie know about that?” David couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh, yeah. It was her idea after all. ‘You don’t want to believe me? Fine. Here’s a picture of my Dad and me on the day I graduated high school. Take it to your lab rat friends and let them scrutinize it if it will make you happy’. She handed me the picture and I took it to my friends. They ran every test they could and I’ll be damned if that picture didn’t pass each and every one.”
“If you she’d let you do that with one of her baby pictures I would be kicking both of you in the ass”, David laughed and shook his head. “That’s insane.”
“You want to know what’s more insane?”
“Why the hell not?”
“Even after I told my parents this, they still don’t believe her.”
David shook his head. “Looks like I need to call your parents. It gives me the opportunity to see what kind of people they are while I prove that my daughter is who she says she is.”
“Would you like me to dial the number?”
David nodded toward the phone and pointed. “Be my guest.”
Colton reached over and dialed the number to his parents’ house and put the phone on speaker. A man answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Colt. How are you, son?”
“I’m doing pretty good, Dad. I met Maddie’s parents today.”
“Oh, and what happened?”
“Her brothers surrounded my car and told me what the rules were, then I sat and spoke with her parents.”
“Do they like you?”
“The jury’s still out on that”, David interjected. “Mr. GreyEagle, I’m Maddie’s father; David Draiman.”
There was a long silence, followed by, “Prove it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Prove it. Sing or something.”
David shook his head and laughed. “What would you like to hear?”
“‘Indestructible’.”
David cleared his throat and thought to himself, I’m probably going to regret this later, as he started singing the chorus for ‘Indestructible’.”
Once he was done, Justin GreyEagle sat in stunned silence for a few moments. “That’s pretty convincing. Now, I don’t mean to sound like I’m trying to be offensive, but it still seems a little farfetched to me that you’re David Draiman. I mean, we’ve heard Malachai of Reckless Disregard sing and he sounds a lot like you do.”
“But, Malachai and I sound nothing a like when we speak.”
“True, but would there be any way to actually come up and meet you?”
David laughed quietly. “I was actually thinking the same thing. I would like to meet the people that my daughter may be calling her in laws.”
“We can be up there in a month.”
“Whenever’s convenient for you will be fine. All I ask is that you call ahead so that we can get everyone situated and make room.”
---------------
“I wonder what’s going on up there”, Maddie said as she paced the living room floor.
“It’s probably nothing, Maddie”, Jake said as she sat and played with Miri while Delilah tried to help his mother get things set up for dinner.
“They’re taking forever up there. I’m getting nervous.”
“Maddie, settle down. It’s not that big a deal.”
“My ass, Jake. I’m the first girl to bring the man that’s going to possibly be my husband home to meet Dad. Never mind the fact that I’ve always been Daddy’s princess, I’m the oldest girl to bring home a man. Jordan being a lesbian means Dad doesn’t give her girlfriends the third degree, so he’s been saving it for MY boyfriends.”
“No, Maddie, he hasn’t. If you and Colton had said something before he was considering asking you to marry him, then this would probably gone a little bit smoother.”
“No, it wouldn’t have. It wouldn’t have gone any smoother had I NOT brought Kendal home, either. Don’t try to tell me any different.”
“Actually, Maddie, I’m sure it WOULD have gone smoother had dumb fuck not come home with you for Hanukkah the year before last.”
“Jake, you’re full of shit.”
“No, Maddie, I’m NOT. That piece of shit you brought home with you the year before last has every member of this family with a Y chromosome on edge every time you think about another one coming home with you because he slapped you. Then, you decided to spring this new one on everyone instead of give us some warning. Now, what about that ISN’T cause for overreaction on our parts?”
She flopped down on the couch next to her big brother. “Jake, what do you think of Colton?”
“So far he seems like he’s a pretty good guy. As long as he treats you with respect he and I are cool. I’ve got nothing against him. The first time he steps out of line, he’s going to have to deal with all five of us boys, and Mom and Dad.”
“I don’t think he’ll step out of line. I mean, the MOMENT I told him about the mess with Kendal he was trying to get out the door so that he could take Kendal apart piece by piece.” She sighed.
Are you going to be this protective of Miri when she starts dating?”
Are you going to be this protective of Miri when she starts dating?”
“Nope, I’m going to be worse.”
“Why?”
“Look, Maddie, I know that story of why Dad’s always spoiled you. I also know that I have my own reasons that Miri is going to be my spoiled little princess. And because she’s my little girl and she’s so small, the first man to put his hands in her will die a rather horrific death. I’m not playing around. You don’t hurt my baby and live to tell the tale. I’m surprised that Dad’s gone so long and not hunted Kendal down for slapping you. Then again, he probably thought that you beating the hell out of him with a shovel was embarrassing enough that he didn’t worry with it.”
“That and Colton handled it.”
“That was a shock. How badly was Kendal hurt?”
“Bad enough that he’s still in the hospital and it’s been a month. It took that long for Colt to find him.”
“How badly did Colton beat his ass?” Jake looked at his sister as he laid his sleepy daughter on his shoulder. She’d been trying to nod off but fought it until sleep won.
“Superficially he had a broken nose, compound fractures of his radius and ulna, tibia and fibula, and to go deeper several broken ribs, several muscles torn from attachment sites, and damage to his spine. They’re not sure if Colton injured the spinal cord or not. And, Jake, that’s just the tip of the ice berg.”
Jake shook his head and laughed quietly. “I like this guy Colton more and more every time I hear something about him. But, Maddie, I have question and I want you to be perfectly honest with me.”
“What’s up, Jake?”
“Does he make you happy, little sister?”
“Yes, Jake, every much so. He’s a lot like Dad.”
“How so?”
“You see how Mom and Dad are together, right?”
“Kinda hard not to, Madison, when they flaunt it right in front of our faces.”
“Well, when I was a little girl I made a promise to myself that I would try to find a man that treated me like Dad treats Mom. He’s so tender with her, so attentive. Not something you expect out of a big tough rock star like our father, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Dad is the epitome of what I want in a man. He’s got to be attentive, tender, he’s got to treat me like a lady and not a piece of ass. He’s got to know how to make and take a joke, put me in my place when I need it and be put in his when he needs it. I want to be the center of his world. When we have kids, that world has to expand to include our children.”
“Yeah, you do want a guy like Dad… and like me.”
“Well, the fact that you’re a lot like Dad in those ways does count as a bonus, Jake.”
“I’ve actually noticed a trend in our family.”
“What’s that?”
“All of us are looking for our own version of what Mom and Dad have. They’re so perfect for each other and we want to immolate that. We want to find that spouse or significant other that’s our perfect compliment.”
“Do you think you’ve found that with Delilah?”
“Yeah, actually, I do. She’s perfect for me. She teaches me so much, Maddie. Haven’t you noticed that I’m not as uptight as I was when we were kids?”
“I have. And that picture of you on top of one of the structures at Stonehenge was great. I was wondering if there was a goofball in there that was dying to come out.”
“Oh, there was and he did, in full force.”
---------------
At dinner, Colton was officially welcomed into the family. He and Maddie had yet to obtain David’s permission to get married. That was pending a meeting with Colton’s parents. David wanted to see just what kind of people his future son in law came from , and to show his son in law’s parents what kind of people his daughter came from.
Colton told everyone about his family. The longer he sat with the family the more comfortable he became. He relaxed and started cracking stupid jokes to make everyone laugh. He noticed that the family relaxed the more he talked. The Draiman family table was full of conversation and laughter that night.
After dinner, Maddie packed a bag to stay with Colton that night. “You know how we always picked on Mom about the amount of noise she makes?” she asked Jake, Jay, and ‘Miah.
“Yeah”, they all said with a nod.
“Well, I have not room to talk and until I can convince Dad to sound proof my room, I’m not fooling around in this house”, she laughed.
“Really, Maddie? You’re THAT noisy?” ‘Miah chuckled.
“Unless things are a little rough and I’m calling him ‘Master’ or ‘Sir’. I’m not allowed to make noise then.”
David and Brie couldn’t help but overhear the conversation and laugh. “That’s fucked up”, Brie said with a belly laugh.
“What?” Maddie asked.
“I think what your mother is saying is that there are FAR too many similarities between she and I, and you and Colton”, David laughed.
“Indeed”, Brie laughed. “I thought it was Jordan that was my Mini- me. No, it’s you Madison.”
“I didn’t know that I had other Mini- me’s besides my sons, but apparently I do”, was David’s addition.
“Yeah, laugh it up. Does this mean you’re going to be nice and sound proof my room, Daddy?” Maddie asked.
“Yeah, Madison, as soon as you can pay for half.”
“Colton, baby, if you love me you’ll help me pay for sound proofing our room.”
“I do love you, Maddie, but it’s not OUR room unless and until your father allows me to move in”, Colton replied. Maddie turned on the puppy dog face and David watched his future son in law struggle to stand his ground. “I said, no, Maddie, and I meant it”, though his face didn’t show it.
Everyone of the Draiman men that was married laughed. “Oh, Colton, I feel your pain”, David laughed. “I’ve been married for twenty six years and I still have trouble telling my wife ‘no’.”
“Are you kidding me, David Michael?” Brie laughed. “You have NEVER told me ‘no’. You CAN’T tell me ‘no’.”
“That’s precisely my point, love.”
Colton laughed. “I see where Maddie gets it from.”
“Gets what?” Brie asked with a quaint smile.
“Her attitude, for lack of a better term”, Colton said.
“Are you saying that my daughter is demanding?”
Colton paused. “Is there a right answer here?”
“Honesty is always the best policy around here.”
“Then, yes, I’m saying that your daughter is demanding, Mrs. Draiman. But, it’s a good thing because she keeps me on my toes.”
David was laughing so hard he was grasping at his ribs. “NICE SAVE”, he gasped. “OY VEY!”
“So glad you approve, Mr. Draiman”, Colt laughed in return.
---------------
After everyone had settled in for the night, Jake and Delilah laid in bed and reflected on the day. “The past twenty- four hours have been interesting”, Delilah said with a sigh. She settled into the bed next to her husband and laid her head on his chest. Her fingers played lightly with the tiny hairs that covered his skin.
“Yeah, that they have been”, he said in return. He was tired, but not too tired to converse with the love of his life. “First we go picture hunting for Uncle Ira, then Maddie springs on everyone that she’s dating someone. At least I got to scare the hell out of the poor guy”, he chuckled. “Baby, I’m telling you, you should have seen the look in Colton’s face when we surrounded that car.”
“Did that perfectly tanned skin pale a little bit?” she laughed.
“More than a little bit. I wonder if Maddie told him not to show us that he was afraid.”
“I’m sure she did. Didn’t you see her lean in to whisper to him when Dad told him that if he impressed him that he’d call you boys off?”
“I did. And all five of us sat there and made it known that if Dad gave the order he was GONE.”
“But, everything ended in a bright note.”
“That it did. He’s actually a decent guy.”
She pressed her lips to his chest. “As long as he makes her happy.”
“She says he does.”
“Do I make you happy?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Sheer curiosity.”
“You make me the happiest.” His hand slipped down and he lightly tickled her side.
She jumped. “Damn it, Jacob, what the hell are you doing?” she laughed.
“Picking on you”, he said simply as he tickled her side again.
She jumped again. “Stop it, Jake.”
“And if I don’t?” He tickled both side now.
She kicked and bucked wildly as he tickled her. “Damn it, Jacob Micah, stop it”, she giggled and rolled onto her back.
He moved to kneel in front of her legs as she bucked and kicked, then stopped tickling her. As she relaxed, he let himself move to rest between them, supporting himself in a push up position with an arm. The other hand brushed her hair from her face and rested against her cheek as he looked lovingly into her face. “I love you, Delilah”, he said softly.
She smiled at him and sighed contently. “I love you too, Jacob.” She stretched up and pressed her lips to his. “Make love to me, Jakey”, she whispered against his lips.
He smiled. “Your wish, my command”, he said softly, then kissed her again with passion. It wasn’t long before they were both ready and he took her with a thrust of his hips.
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