Who Am I (A Jai Courtney Fanfic) Book 2

Chapter 112-Meg

Marco tells us after the fans have mostly cleared out that we'll shoot a bit in the morning—besides that, we're just about finished.  Jai and I meet up with my parents, my brothers, and Mikey's friends afterward.  I introduce them all to my band, the director, and the producers.  My parents invite everyone home for dinner.  Mom whispers to me that she made a vegan option as well. 
"What'd you make?" I ask curiously. 
"Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Parmesan, garlic bread, and salad," she tells me. 
"You know they don't eat cheese, right?" I ask her quietly. 
"The eggplant has vegan cheese and a starch substitute instead of eggs," she counters. 
"Oh," I reply surprised.  "Thanks Mom."
"Anytime, Nutmeg.  I used your ovens so we're eating at Jai's," she tells me. 
I smile and thank her again.  I make sure to tell Rob.  He seems enthusiastic.  I take several of my band members in my SUV.  My parents and everyone else will drive some of the others while there's a handful of private vehicles the executives have rented.  They all decide to join us while the stage hands pack up the gear.  I see my mom mentioning something to the workers and she hands one a piece of paper.  He nods and looks excited. 
We load up and drive off.  I pull into the driveway first.  Everyone is commenting about the property.  I thank them as I look it over. It does appear really nice now with the yard cleaned up and flowers planted.  I even see the pond lilies floating with our fountain added.   I unlock the front door—arriving before Jai and everyone else.  The house smells incredible. 
We step in and I tell my band that they're welcome to look around.  I step into the kitchen to see a note on the oven to stick the garlic bread in for five minutes.  I go ahead and put several trays in. I open up a large stockpot from my parents' house to see my mom's homemade marinara sauce. She's got a matching one boiling. I toss in a couple packages of pasta and start stirring it.
"Oh, good. You've got it," Mom smiles as she steps into the kitchen.
I nod and watch as she takes several trays out of the lower oven. It was off but looks like it kept everything warm. She turns the oven back on while I handle the pasta. I see a large strainer in the sink. Before I've finished with this batch of noodles, the oven is already up to temperature. My mom takes the trays of bread out and sticks several more pans of chicken and probably eggplant that were already prepped into the oven. She also puts more trays of bread in. I strain the noodles out and start another batch. I peek into the refrigerator to see she made lots of tiramisu. I see four pans—two marked as vegan, two as regular. I grin at that.
My dad sets a massive cooler on the ground at the end of the island. I thank him for whatever drinks he brought. He kisses my head as I stir the next batch of noodles. He comes back with a load of nice disposable plates and utensils. I feel arms wrap around me from behind and I know exactly who that is.
"That smells good," Jai says nuzzling his face into my neck and kissing me there. I hum a reply. "The garden looks nice, too."
"Does it? I hadn't seen much except the front yard," I tell him.
He hums a reply and I feel another kiss. I sigh in contentment at that.
"This place is enormous," Rob says coming in the kitchen. 
"Thanks," Jai chuckles.  "Property is way cheaper here than LA."
"Is it?" he questions furrowing his brows. 
They get into a long conversation about real estate.  Then my mom talks a bit with Rob about what she made.  She offers to give him some recipes.  I smile at that as I help change out the noodles, then another batch of bread.  I know my mom.  All of this was scratch made. 
"Ah.  Is this what she made with all that goat's milk we gave her?" Artie asks. 
"Must be," I grin. 
"You raise goats?" Rob asks curiously. 
Artie nods.  "And chickens.  The basil and greens are from our garden, too."
"Really?" he questions intrigued. 
"My brother has a homestead," I tell him. 
"That's awesome.  I've known a few people that want to get into that," he replies. 
"You're welcome to come check it out after," Artie shrugs. 
I'm surprised Rob actually seems interested.  "I can drive you," I tell him.  "I'll take whoever wants to go."
He agrees.  I'm sure more will come... plus Jai. 
"The girls will love that," Arthur grins. 
"Will Yvette be feeling up for visitors?" I question. 
"If I bring dinner she doesn't have to make, yes," my brother nods.  I smile in reply. 
Arthur steps away showing some of Mikey's friends around.  I have a feeling he's been here already—likely helping my parents paint.  I've got to thank him as well. 
"Why would his wife not want visitors?" Rob asks me quietly. 
"She just had a baby... maybe three weeks ago," I reply. 
"Oh," he nods.  "Another girl?"
"No, it's his first son.  He has two daughters," I mention. 
He smiles at that. 
"I'll handle this, Nutmeg.  Why don't you round everyone up and we'll pray and get them started," my mom requests. 
"Alright," I reply. 
Rob helps me to call everyone in.  He goes out back and I step out front.  I see Simon with Marco, Noah, and Micah seated on our patio furniture.  I let them know that the meal is ready.  They all smile and thank me. 
"So, this is your home?" Simon asks. 
"Jai lives here," I respond.  "I'm still with my parents closer to town."
"Waiting until the wedding?" he asks quietly. 
I nod. 
He grins at that and pats my shoulder gently. 
We all step inside and pray over the meal.  Everyone helps themselves to the lovely feast my mother has made.  I thank Artie for providing the salad and everyone is commenting on how good it is.  The vegans present look pleased as well. 
"I haven't had a meal as good as this in a long time," Rob whispers to me. 
I smile at that. 
"My mom went to culinary school," I mention.  "Plus, most of the ingredients came from my brother's farm."
"Oh, Meg.  The chicks have hatched," Artie tells me. 
"Aww... really?" I ask excitedly. 
He nods.  "Ice Cream is a good mama. She's protecting the little ones from the flock so we haven't had to separate them. She's even protecting them from themselves," he tells me.
"That's a relief," I sigh.
"What does that mean?" Rob asks me softly. 
"One of the chicks got pecked to death last year by its siblings," I whisper.
"Once they see red, they think it's food," Artie replies clearly having heard our conversation. "It's common for people to separate the chicks and put them under red lights. I'd rather it be a more natural experience but I will separate them if there's a problem. I'd rather not, though. I'm grateful for having a good mother in my flock. She's a godsend watching out for the chicks when I'm not there."
Rob nods. "It sounds like you take good care of your animals."
"I do," he grins.
I finish my meal and get a scoop of the tiramisu.  Simon and Noah are trying it as well. 
"Your mother is a chef?" Noah asks intrigued. 
"She went to the Chicago Culinary Academy," I tell him as I notice the crew arrive and enter the kitchen. 
"Welcome," my mom greets them.  "Chicken is over here, the vegan options are over there," she says motioning to the meals she separated. 
While Mom continues to direct those newly arrived, I overhear Simon and Noah speaking about my art.  "It is impressive," Simon nods.  "Megan, Noah likes your photographs," he directs toward me. 
"Oh?" I question intrigued.  "The three of Jai and me?"
"Those are the ones," Noah nods smiling. 
"Those were Jai's birthday present.  I've actually got a similar series printed for my next art show," I tell him.  "I'm just not including those three since he likes them so much."
"I'd love to see that someday," Noah responds grinning. 
"They're already matted and down the hall.  Would you like to go see them?" I offer. 
He accepts but appears surprised.  I take him, along with Simon down to my studio.  I turn the lights on and open the curtains since this is a sunroom.  I show Noah the series and he looks impressed. 
"Very amorous," he comments intrigued. 
"Thank you," I smile. 
I show them both around through my work.  Everything that's going in the show is in here since I took some slides of each for my submission to Eliza.  Micah and Marco join us and seem intrigued as well—especially Marco. 
"I'd heard you were an artist and the whole music video was your idea but I see now that you have a serious eye for art," Marco grins. 
"Thank you," I beam. 
"What location are these paintings taken from?" Micah asks curiously. 
"Manhattan Beach," I reply.  "I stepped into my hotel room and just saw this.  I needed paint right away to get it down."
"I thought these looked familiar," Simon smiles. 
I grin in response. 
"I heard Pauline mention that she saw you drawing in the Studio A control room," he comments. 
"Oh!" I say in surprise and get the drawings out from behind the series with Jai and me.  "I haven't taken a slide of those yet," I remember. 
I set the triptych up for them to view.  Simon is grinning. 
"That's incredible," Marco whispers. 
"Thank you," I smile. 
A few more people come back and look at my art.  Rob, Zane, and Sean join them.  I'm glad Rob got to see them since he was interested before.  I'm sure the flight to Chicago and stay there might be pricey just to visit a gallery.  I show them my paintings and then pull my color infrared prints out.
"Wow," Rob comments bending down as they're leaned up against the wall to get a closer look.
"Those were actually just a test roll I took. I liked them so much that I printed them. I'm thinking for our next album, we should do the cover art like this," I mention.
The guys all share a look. Simon is grinning, though. "I like this idea," he replies.
"Were you thinking a landscape or something?" Rob asks curiously.
"I was thinking on location somewhere with the band," I say.
"Heck, yeah," Zane responds enthusiastically. I know he was a Jimi Hendrix fan in his youth. I smile at that.
"Hopeful thinking?" Simon questions. 
"I've already written a few songs," I admit softly. 
"You have?" he asks surprised. 
I nod. 
"Can I see them?" Simon inquires completely intrigued. 
"They're at home," I remember.  "My parents' house."
He looks confused. 
"I wrote another last night before bed.  This is Jai's residence.  I still live with my parents until the wedding," I explain again. 
He nods in understanding. It is unusual in our society to stick to God's laws so I understand the confusion. We are out of the ordinary anymore. 
"I could bring it tomorrow," I offer. 
"Alright," he grins.  "I look forward to seeing that."
I smile in reply.  I take a few more people around the house before we congregate in the living room.  Many people thank us for our hospitality.  I offer anyone who's interested to take them for a quick visit to my brother's homestead.  It's seems to just be my band who's curious.  I volunteer to take them back to the hotel afterward.  The two buses and separate vehicles leave with everyone thanking us again.  My mom insists on staying to cleanup and I surprisingly can fit everyone including Jai into my SUV. 
We drive off to Artie's.  It's an incredibly quick trip since our house is halfway between Artie's and my parents'.  I pull up and notice Ophelia and Kendria come out to greet us along their fence.  I pull in a little further and of course they follow Artie's truck. 
"He has goats?" Sean asks. 
"Yeah," I nod.  "They rescued Kendria—the brown one.  She was malnourished and sickly.  Yvette took her in.  Then they got Ophelia—the white one—to keep her company.  She had a healthy set of kids her farm was going to use for breeding.  The farm was going to send her to the butcher after her kids were weaned since she was getting older.  Artie wanted her.  They both still produce milk and help maintain the lawn."
I step out and see Kendria trying to eat some dandelion just out of her reach behind the fence. 
"Here you go, sweetheart," I say pulling the dandelion and giving it to her.  I yank up the greens while she chews.  She happily takes the rest.  I pat her gently as she eats.  Everyone surrounds me and feeds Ophelia and Kendria petting them.
"I'm getting a pair of hounds," Artie tells me. Ophelia comes right up to him ignoring Zane's offer of food.
"Oh? Are you naming them Old Dan and Little Ann?" I grin.
"No," he chuckles. "I could, though."
"Why the dogs? Don't you have enough to deal with," I inquire.
"We've got some raccoons causing problems. They're getting into everything. I'm afraid they'll take the chicks in the night. Kendria, here butted heads with one protecting them... but when they're all asleep, I'd like to have a couple dogs to scare them off. Maybe they'll move on," he replies.
"You've got some hawks, too," I mention pointing up.
"Too many predators," he mumbles.
"I can imagine," I nod.
"Those I can handle," he whispers to only me.
I don't reply. I'm unsure what's legal with them. I honestly don't know the laws regarding predatory birds.
We step inside the house. I hug Yvette and take Ethan out of her arms. She reaches out for the offered meal from Artie as she greets everyone.
"Did the kids eat yet?" he asks.
"They're just finishing up dinner. They're all yours. I'm eating this and taking a nap," she replies.
"I've got it," he chuckles.
I take everyone out back. I pass by the girls at the table and tell them that if they finish their dinner they can visit. They start eating quickly—even Jojo who puts the bite she was playing with in her mouth.
We step out back and I hold little Ethan to my chest. He sighs looking content. I think he just ate, too. I show the guys around to the chicken coop. The girls come out a moment later with Artie. They take them all in.
"Didn't you want to see them?" Jai asks me. 
"Nah, I can wait.  I've seen the chicks from the last couple years.  I'd rather hold my nephew," I tell him. 
He grins and kisses my forehead before he goes inside the coop.  I walk to the back porch and sit down playing with Ethan.  I see that he's holding his head up a bit on his own.  I talk to him and play with him making silly faces.  He smiles at me and laughs a few times. It's a sweet light chuckle. I get a belly laugh out of him when I tickle under his chin along his neck.
"I haven't heard that one yet," Artie tells me drying his hands on a dish towel.
I hadn't even seen him pass us.
"He's ticklish," I tell him doing it again.
My brother laughs at his sons giggles. It is sweet. He takes him from me and encourages me to visit the chicks. I step into the gated area. There are hens everywhere foraging. This is a large space he's given them. He does have it covered so they're safe from aerial predators. I walk further to see that they moved Ice Cream into her own nesting facility. It's separate from the henhouse—like her own little room. I approach the mama first who's out and about foraging with the little ones.  I pet her letting her know I'm not a threat. Once she seems comfortable with me, I pet a chick. I pick it up. They're bigger than I expected. I see just about everyone is holding one.  Jojo is picking up an ant off the ground and giving it to a chick.  I smile at her and focus on the little one in my hands.  It chirps softly and I snuggle with it.  Tabby gives me a treat for it. 
"Why thank you, sweetheart," I tell her. 
She giggles and tells me You're welcome.  I feed the little chick and it happily gobbles up the dried mealworm.  Afterward, we return the chicks to their mother and leave the coop area.  My whole band, the girls, my brother, and Jai all explore what's growing in the garden.  I notice Ethan is sound asleep in his arms.  Rob seems to really enjoy this as we walk the already planted fields.  Everything is coming in and the perennials have so much growth already. 
"Is that asparagus?" Rob asks me. 
I smile and nod. 
"I didn't know they grew like that," he mentions. 
"Yeah, it's weird, right?" Jai agrees. 
He reaches out for my hand and I take his.  I smile up at him.  He kisses me gently.  I spend the rest of my visit on cloud nine.  We wash up and thank my brother for letting us all over.  I kiss and hug Ethan once more, along with the girls before we head out.  I drive everyone to their hotel across town and drop them off just in front of the building.  They thank me and tell me they'll see us in the morning.  I wave as I drive off. 
"Home?" I ask Jai. 
He hums a reply softly. 
I drive us back to his house.  I pull in the drive well past sunset and park near the garage. 
"Are you coming in?" he asks me gently. He unbuckles reaching for me. He kisses me gently.
"I should probably get to bed," I admit. "Plus I want to look over my songs before I show Simon."
"How many have you written already?" he asks me softly kissing my temple and my cheek.
"I don't know," I whisper. I honestly haven't counted.
"Alright," he responds but he sounds kind of sad that I'm not staying for a while.
"I'll meet you at the shoot tomorrow?" I ask him.
He hums another reply before his lips meet mine. I respond to the passion in his kiss. He deepens it and I whimper. When we break for air he sighs.
"Only nine days," he whispers pecking me again.
I smile at that and hold him. It still feels like forever.