Chapter 38

Reece was enjoying the time he was getting to spend with his kids.  Levi and Jasmine were the brightest parts of his lives.  And their grandparents, he was learning, were not only nothing like they were portrayed to him by Davina, but they were nothing like they had been portrayed in the media as well.  They were, however, exactly how Jordan had portrayed them.  Davina had told him that they fought all the time and that Brie was a push over.  That couldn’t have been further from the truth.  They were actually very in love and still in that most would call the honeymoon phase even though they had been together for so long.  There wasn’t a time when they weren’t sneaking a kiss, or playfully flirting.

Jessi and her family had come over and he got to meet Jordan’s baby sister, although the meeting was short.  “Would you two be able to baby- sit today?” she asked.  “Adam got called in to work for an emergency meeting and I really need to get to the Embassy or my boss is going to kill me.”

“Set her down”, David said.  “Leave us everything we’re going to need, and we’ll keep her until you or Adam gets off work.  Oh, by the way Jessi, say hi to Reece Tyson.  He’s Levi and Jasmine’s father.”

Jessi glanced at the man in question.  “You’re the skateboarder, right?”

“Yep”, Reece said with a nod.

“Cool.  Nice to meet you.  I’d love to stay and chat with you to get to know you, but I have an incoming diplomat from Turkmenistan that I need to go translate for.  The President of Turkmenistan waits for no one.”

“Since when do you speak Turkmen?” Brie asked.

“Since I had nothing to do for four months other than take care of your granddaughter while I was on maternity leave.”

“Ah.  Decided to learn a new language.  Turkmen is better than nothing, I suppose.  Now, get out of here so that you’re not late.”

Jessi took off and left little Abigayle there for her grandparents to watch for the day.  Reece was puzzled.  “Do you mind if I ask a question?” he asked.

“Ask”, David said as he picked up Abby from her car seat.

“I thought you two moved out here to get away from all of the kids and grandkids.  Is that not the case?”

“Is this something that Davina told you?”

“Yeah.”

“We used to joke with the kids that that was the case.  The fact of the matter is that we moved out here because we just wanted to.  I brought my wife out here after she retired from massage so that she could see it and so that we could visit family grave plots that neither of us had ever seen.  When we went home from a month long stay, she asked if we could move out here once I retired and I said yes.  We didn’t come out here to get away from the kids and grandkids.  We’re here because we want to be.  No other reason.”

“God, I’m really getting sick of hearing that all of these things are lies.  She told me that your sons are all brutes.”

“No.  One of our boys is a doctor”, Brie said.  “He keeps his oath.  Our boys will all get violent if they have to and they will protect their sisters at all costs.  They will protect their families at all costs.  But, they are not brutes.  They’re all actually rather docile.  They’ll rip you a new one verbally before they will physically unless you deserve it.”

“And the girls all being catty bitches?”

“Couldn’t be further from the truth either”, David said calmly.  “They can be catty bitches, and the only reason I call them that is because I’m their father.  I know my girls.  But, they’re all a lot like their mother in that she can be very patient and calm through pretty much anything.  The only exceptions to that rule are Jordan and Jessykah- whom you just met.  They’re my daughters- hot headed and foul tempered.  I know I can be that way.  The rest of them are like their mother.  Just like most of my boys are like me with the exception of Jake and Jeremiah.  They’re their mother’s sons totally.”

Reece shook his head.  “This is ludicrous.  I can’t believe this BS.”

“Apparently, Davina has been doing a lot of lying to you.  Jordan’s supposed to call tonight to find out what we’ve learned from you.  We, of course, let her know that you were coming out.  I suggest you tell her what you’ve told us.  And, see if you go to the house and meet the rest of the kids.  Meet her brother and sister and judge for yourself whether they’re like what Davina’s told you.  I myself am not happy about the things I’m hearing that Davina’s been saying about us and our family.  Jordan should know what her wife’s been saying about us behind her back and it shouldn’t be hearsay.”

Reece nodded.  “I agree.  I just can’t believe that Davina said those things.”

“What else did Davina tell you about us?”

“That the two of you fight constantly and that, Brie, you’re a push over that can’t tell David no for shit.”

They both laughed.  “I’ll have you know, Reece, that it’s quite the opposite, as you’ve seen.  And, if anyone can’t tell the other no, it’s me”, David laughed.  “I’ve never been able to tell her no and make it stick.  Her happiness means my happiness, so if she wants something that will make her happy, then why would I tell her no?”

Reece nodded.  “That makes perfect sense.  But there’s more.”

Brie rolled her eyes.  “Oh Lord, what else did she lie about?”

“She said that you were totally about the rock star lifestyle”, he said, looking at her.  “Said that you wanted to go everywhere he went.  That’s why she did what she did.  Jordan would call her a lying whore right about that time because it would usually come up in a fight about Davina wanting to drag the kids out on the road.”

Brie laughed.  “Are you fucking serious?  That’s low, even for Davina.”  She shook her head.  “I hated the idea of being in the limelight.  Going to award ceremonies was like making me get a root canal.  Painful as hell.  The thought of a camera being in my face made me cringe, but I grinned and bore it because that’s what my husband asked of me.  I let my kids participate in their different activities once they all started getting active no matter how much I wanted to go on the road with David.  And that desire wasn’t because I enjoy the limelight, but because I wanted to share that experience with my husband.  But, we both agreed that homeschooling the kids would be a major pain in my ass and it would be unfair to them to pull them from the activities they were all involved in.”

“I’m not even going to share some of the things she said about David then”, he said with wide eyes.

“What did she say about me?” David asked.

“That you didn’t mind missing the different recitals and things like that because making music was more important.  You didn’t even regret missing birthdays.”

“I sure as hell did.  Yes, making music and making money was more important, but I hated missing the things I did and did everything humanly possible to make up for it.  Hell, Reckless Disregard’s first award I personally presented them.  Jessi’s an Olympic Gold medalist.  We were there for the medal ceremony.  I made it to everything I could when my career permitted it.  But, I had to make a life for my family so I had to leave often.  Did I enjoy it?  Fuck no.  If I had to do it again, would I make the same decisions?  In a heartbeat because I knew my wife was at home holding shit down until I got home and she supported me doing what I did.”  Before he was finished with what he had to say, he had to set Abby down so that he didn’t upset her.  He took a deep breath and regained his composure.  “I hope Jordan calls soon because I’m about to get seriously pissed with Davina.”

“I’m not happy about it either, David, but we need to calm down because of Levi and Jazz being here.  Let alone the fact that we’re watching one of our newborn granddaughters”, Brie said.  She walked out of the kitchen where she’s been preparing dinner and went to him where he was sitting on the couch.  She draped her arms over his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his cheek against her stomach.  “Just relax, baby.  I know how much it sucks to learn that a young woman we’ve been treating like family for the last decade and change has been lying about us.”

“I’m tempted to break out the pipe to calm my nerves”, he mumbled against the plane of her stomach.

“What good is that going to do when we’re just going to have to listen to it all over again when Jordan calls later?”

David sighed.  “Why do you have to be right all the time?”

“I just am, baby.  You know it and I know it.”

“I know, I know.  I’m smoking after all is said and done, though.”

“Have I told you that you couldn’t since we’ve lived here?”

“No.”

“Then do it.  I’ll probably sit in your lap and get a contact and pass out.”

“Do you mind if I smoke with you, David?” Reece asked.

David shook his head.  “Not at all, Reece.  More than happy to share what I’ve got with someone who needs it.”

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

Jordan sat in her room and called her parents.  She didn’t want there to be anyone but her and the four walls of her bedroom for this call.  She wasn’t sure what she was going to learn about what Reece Tyson had been told behind her back, but she was sure that she probably wasn’t going to like it.  She sat patiently as she waited for one of her parents to answer her father’s phone.  “Hello?” her mother said.

“Hi Mama.  How are you doing?”

“Not so great, baby girl.  How about you?  How’s your leg?”

“It hurts from time to time, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.  So, what did you learn from Reece?”

“I think we’ll let you hear it from the horse’s mouth, Jordan”, her mother said with a sigh.  “I’m going to give your father the phone and put your children to bed for the night.  They asked Gramma to sing them a song.”

“What are you going to sing them?”

“Probably gonna sing them that old Celtic lullaby your Grandfather Cartwright used to sing to me, and I used to sing to you.  Here’s your Dad, Jordan.” 

The line went quiet for a moment; then she heard a beep in her ear.  “Jordan, its Dad.  I’ve got Reece here with me.  Do you want to  me to recount it or do you want to hear all if this from him?”

“Let him tell me.  If it’s bad enough, I’m going to call my attorney.”

“Well, I’m going to help your mother with the kids then.  We know everything he’s about to tell you.”

“Jordan?”

“Hi Reece.  So, what has my bitch been saying behind my back?”

Reece took a deep breath and started recounting all of the lies that Davina had been saying about the Draiman family behind Jordan’s back.  The lines about her brothers and sisters, her parents, Jordan herself.  As she listened it was all Jordan could do to say on the bed.  When he started recounting the shit that Davina had spewed about her parents’ reaction to her being a lesbian, Jordan was off her bed and on her way out the door.  As she neared the bottom of the stairs, she was cursing.  “That lying fucking whore.  My parents have been nothing but supportive, not only of me, but of us since I brought her home and now she’s going to go behind my back and lie to possibly the only man I might actually consider having sex with about how my parents reacted about my sexuality and how they treated her?  Oh fuck this bitch.”

Two of her brothers were in her way at the front door.  “What’s the matter Jordan?” Jake asked.

“I’m gonna go kill my bitch, that’s what’s wrong.”

“And what good would killing Davina do?  None.  It would put you in prison and give custody of the kids to Davina.  Is that what you want?”

“No, and that’s part of the purpose behind Reece being able to keep his parental rights.”

“Handle it legally”, Reece and Jake said in unison from different ends of the phone.  “Take her to court and take the kids from her”, Reece continued.  “I’ll testify on your behalf, Jordan.  I’m the not going to let that woman take my kids from me.  Not a chance in hell.  You allow me access to Levi and Jasmine.  If Davina had them, I would never see them.”

“I’m still gonna kill the bitch!” Jordan shouted.

“Boys, Maddie”, Jake called, “drastic measures.  Marc, you know what to do.”

Marc pulled something long and brown out of his pocket.  “It’s already done”, he said with a sly smile.

“Maddie help me with our sister.”  They moved together to restrain Jordan long enough to drag her out to the porch.  Once Jordan was being taken outside, Jake managed to get her phone.  “Hi Reece.  I’m Jacob, Jordan’s brother.  We have yet to meet, but I want you to know that we’re going to do whatever we need to in order to get Jordan to calm down and think rationally.  When you come back from Israel, it would be spectacular is you tried to stop by for a visit to meets the rest of us.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get my twin high.”  And the line went dead.

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

By the time the conversation was over, David and Brie had made their way outside to the patio.  David had a small silver pipe sitting on the table next to him and Brie in his lap with her lips pressed it his.  When Reece stepped outside, he cleared his throat.  “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

They looked at him with guilty looks on their faces.  “No, not at all.  Just a little creative persuasion on my part”, Brie said with a laugh.

“Do I want to know?” Reece asked.

“No.  Trust me.  Unless you have a really strong stomach, then your really don’t”, David laughed.

“I’ll take your word for it”, he said and sat down on the spare lounger with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Brie asked as she readjusted to lie against David’s chest.

“It didn’t go so well”, he said with a sigh.  “I told her about what Davina said about your reactions to her being a lesbian and she flipped her lid.  Jake and the boys had to resort to drastic measures to get her to calm down and see reason.”

“What did she want to do when you told her that?”

“She was heading out the door to, quote, ‘kill her bitch’.”  He glanced at the little silver pipe.  “May I?”

“Be my guest”, David said.  “I’m done for the night.  I just wanted to calm down after that bull shit this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry to have upset you both”, Reece said as he brought the pipe to his lips.  “I thought that you needed to know what was being said about you behind your backs.  That Davina would say things like that about the two of you and your family is wrong”, he said after taking a nice slow drive off of the pipe.

“Look Reece.  You seem like a very intelligent man.  In the time you’ve been staying with us here, have we done or said anything that would make you think that we were that closed minded?”

“Not at all.”

“So you can see why Davina saying these things to you is offensive to us.  We took her in and treated her like family.  She was another daughter to us.  We feel like all of our children’s spouses are family.  That Davina would trash us like that behind our backs is asinine; and even that’s being kind.  We feel very betrayed.”

“I can only imagine.  I can’t fathom how Jordan feels right now.  There’s no processing that kind of emotion.”

“No quick processing of it, anyway”, David said.  “I’ve been there before.”

“Me too”, Brie said.  “It’s a long hard road to get back from being betrayed like this, especially when you’re becoming a single parent from the betrayal.”

“Well, Jordan’s not going to be a single parent.  She’ll have me.”

“Are you willing to move into her house, or let her and the kids move into yours so that there’s always someone there?” David asked.

“It’s something we’d have to discuss, but I’m open to the possibility.”

David and Brie both nodded.  “That gives us both a whole new perspective on you, Reece”, David said, then whispered in Brie’s ear.  “I think we need to call and talk to Jordan before we go to bed for the night.”

She nodded.  “I agree.  I know that convincing Jordan to marry the boy isn’t going to happen because of her persuasion, but at least seeing if she’d be willing to let him move in will benefit her and the kids.”

David looked at Reece.  “When you’re done with that, the storage container is under the table here.  Knock out anything you don’t burn and wrap it in the cloth.  Put the container on top of the cabinets in the kitchen.  We’re going to head inside.  If you’ll excuse us”, he said as he and Brie stood to head into the house.

Reece nodded.  “Have a good night, Mr. and Mrs. Draiman.”

“You too, Reece”, Brie called over her shoulder.

Reece relaxed against the back of the chair he was sitting as he sitting in and looked out over the Israeli countryside.  What would it be like to live with Jordan?, he asked himself.  She seems like she’s pretty easy to live with.  It was Davina what was the nightmare to get along with.  Jordan’s never been anything but kind and patient with me and my schedule.  She knows what it’s like to have a hectic schedule that’s insanely busy.  Davina was only there for the security that Jordan’s career provides.  Rude awakening for Davina when Jordan gets ahold of that ass, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, in their bedroom, David and Brie were trying to get Jordan to calm down and think rationally.  “Jordan, stop thinking about what Davina did for a moment”, Brie said to her daughter.  “I know it’s hard, but you have to take Davina out of the equation.  This is about the kids and the support you need for them.  Reece is willing to back you 100%.”

“Now you need to be the one that’s willing to work with him”, David said.

Jordan was still livid, but she was trying to be the adult in the situation between herself and Davina.  “I guess we’ll talk about it when he comes back to the states, but this doesn’t change the custody stipulation in the pre- nup”, she said as calmly as she could manage.

“We know this, Jordan, but it will give you the chance to work things out with Reece and for you to do what you gotta do.”  David left the fact that the task was to kill a “prominent member” of the US textile business who also happened to be a former member of the Utopian War Council.  “How is your training coming anyway?”

“It’s good.  My shooting is coming along rather well and Morbus is going to give me a strength test tomorrow.  Today was spent taking care of a little spy problem.  Jake and Maddie do a wonderful job of impersonating the two of you.”

“Oh, how so?” Brie laughed.

“You’ll have to ask Morbus, but apparently hearing Jake sound like Dad and Maddie actually dressing like Mom acting crazy impresses the hell out of Morbus.  He was telling stories that none of us really remember happening.”

“Like what?” Brie asked.

“You beating the hell out of the General the day Uncle Matt was arrested.  Or, my favorite, you shooting you own cousin in the head.”

Brie and David laughed.  “Oh, yeah.  Memories.”

“Is there anything else about the two of you that we don’t know?”

“Oh, there are plenty of things about us that you children don’t know.”

“Many of which you may not learn until we’re cold and in the ground”, David said.

“And others you may never learn.”

“I have a question”, James said in the background.  “Have either of you, in the years that you’ve been married, ever been with another person?  I mean, Mom, we all know you like girls too.”

“I have never cheated on your father and your father has never cheated on me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, I’m asking if you’ve ever been with another person in the time you two have been married.”

“Well, James, that’s a really good question”, David said.  “Isn’t it baby?”

Brie laughed.  “Yeah, a really good one.  One that I’ll explain at a later time.  I’m actually rather tired.  If you haven’t forgotten we have two kids living with us and we babysat for Jessi and Adam earlier today.  I’d like to get some sleep before Jessi drops Abby off in the morning.  The President of Turkmenistan is visiting the Embassy and Jessi’s the translator for the trip.  That means Mom and Dad get to babysit again.”

“Aww, come on Mom.  Give us a little something.”

“Ok, you want a little something to chew on.  Chew on this.  In the time I’ve been with your father, I have, in fact, slept with another woman.  Just one.  And, we shared her.”  And with that, Brie ended the call.

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

The kids all sat and stared at each other.  This was a new revelation from their mother.  She and their father had been with another woman at the same time?  “WOW!” Jake laughed in shock.  “I’m not sure I needed to know that.”

“No kidding”, Maddie said.  “Wow, Mom and Dad both screwed another woman together.  That is… insane.  Now that we know, I kinda want to know the story behind it.”

“I don’t”, Marc and Jordan said together.  “That’s on them.”

“Why just one?” James mused.

“Probably because she never had the urge”, Jeremiah commented.

As the Draiman children and their spouses sat out on the back porch and enjoyed the afternoon while their children were all in lessons, Jordan’s phone rang.  She knew the number immediately and held up a hand for quiet, which her siblings were kind enough to give her.  “Hello?” she said.

“Hey Jordan, it’s Davina.”

“What can I do for you, Davina?”

“I was calling to let you know that I want to work things out, for the kids.”

“You’re so full of shit, Davina.  What do you want?”

“I want to reconcile so that once you’ve gotten through this delusion that you’re going to off someone, we can have the kids back and be a family again.  I’ll even make more of an effort to be nicer to Reece.”

“You know what I think, Davina?  I think you’re a lying whore.  I know that you’ve been trashing my family behind all of our backs.  My brothers are brutes?  My sisters are catty bitches?  My parents don’t treat you or Jasmine like family?  Well, Davina, if that’s the case I want you out of my house.  I’ll have Morbus or someone meet you over there to make sure that I get my key back, but I want you out if that’s the case.  You aren’t going to trash my family behind my back and not suffer the consequences.”

“Jordan, I’ve been telling you for the longest time that you can’t trust Reece.”

“Oh?  I can’t trust him?  Can I trust my parents?  Or, better yet, can I trust the kids?  It’s pretty shitty that you’ll bash my family in front of the kids and tell them that if they tell me or correct you or you’ll punish them.  My decision stands, you cock sucking whore.  I want you out of my house.  I’ll call Morbus and have him send someone out to get my key.  I’m going to call my attorney next to draw up papers and file for divorce.  I’m officially done with you and your gold digging ass.  Go back to that shit hole hut in Hawaii that your parents live in.”

“Now, that’s going too far Jordan.”

“How so?”

“You’re talking about my family.”

“But you’ve been trashing mine behind my back all this time.  You told Reece that my parents weren’t supportive of my coming out; that I was afraid of my father and didn’t come out until I was 18.  I’ve been out of the closet since I was 13 or 14 and my parents blinked at me and asked if I was telling them something they didn’t already know.  They’ve been nothing but supportive of me and they took you in and treated you like family from day one.  The first time I brought you over for a family dinner they treated you like you were a part of the family and I wasn’t even seriously dating you then.”

“You can’t do this, Jordan.”

“Bitch, watch me.  Get your shit out of my house.  Lose my number because I’m blocking yours and anyone in your family’s.  End of discussion.  Good bye, Davina.  Rot in hell, you fucking cunt.” Jordan hung up and put her phone away, looking around the circle of her siblings as she did so.  “Marc, pass that this way.  I need a hit.  Lighter too while you’re at it.”  When it came her way, she lit it up and filled her lungs with the sweet, sweet smoke and went about her the rest of her afternoon, calling her attorney like she said she was going to after calling Morbus to meet Davina over at the house.  It was time for Jordan to close that chapter of her life and find a new woman… or, perhaps, she would actually give things with Reece a shot.  He was the first man she’d ever felt any sort of attraction to.  Maybe she’d see if anything became of that. It might just be worth it.