A Week Later

The emerald green coastline glittered in the warm California sun.  Feeling the heat cascade against my body I soaked up the warmth and felt the soft cotton of my light pink towel underneath my fingertips as I smoothed it out against the soft sand.

It was a beautiful day.  This was just what I needed to clear my head.

The roar of crystal blue waves roared behind me and the smell of salt water was potent in the air as I closed my eyes, the memory of the pink and red flowers littering the rolling expanse of mountains in front of me still ever present in my mind.

Taking full advantage of the anonymity my large Coach sunglasses and floppy straw hat provided me I stretched my arms above my head and reached down to readjust the light green straps of my bikini.  Breathing in a deep breath my shoulders relaxed and I closed my eyes inhaling the scent of the coastline.

“OH MY GOSH, IS THAT MICHAEL JACKSON’S GIRLFRIEND?”

So much for relaxation.

Apprehension stirred in my chest.  For three reasons.

One, my face was about to be plastered all over the internet.

Two, my security just became severely compromised.

And three.  When Michael and Frank found out I had ditched security and come alone I was dead.  So very dead.

Sand slipped through my fingers and I jerked up off my towel.  Keeping my eyes towards the ground the leather straps of my sandals tangled between my toes as I shoved them onto my feet and reached down, strands of blonde hair brushing against my back as I tossed my large silver tote over my shoulder and pulled at the end of my beach towel to hoist it over my shoulder.

“OMG IT IS!”

The voices looming closer I felt my chest tighten and my throat close up as I started for the road in a sprint, my hands desperately trying to keep my hat from flying off my head as I juggled my belongings.

“What?! She’s not Lexi.”

A disappointed groan echoed behind me and bewildered I slowed down.  The sunlight beaming brightly into my eyes made it difficult to see but sure enough about two hundred yards ahead of me a small crowed was dispersing, revealing a girl that sure enough looked almost identical to me.

Wait a minute….wasn’t that?

Long blonde hair streamed down her sun kissed shoulders and her toned arms reached up, brushing a stray hair from her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders lightly, an aggravated look plastered on her face.

I slid my sunglasses down slightly and blinked, startled.

Natalie?

Dressed very similarly to what I wore a few weeks ago when Michael and I were spotted on the beach Natalie’s tone legs peaked out from a light blue poncho and wore a pair of hoops nearly identical to the set Michael had given me for Christmas two years past.  Glancing quizzically at the blonde highlights in her hair matching my own and the sunglasses perched on her head that from a distance looked eerily familiar, I felt a ping in the put of my stomach and blinked rapidly, shaking off the feeling that something was off.

Maybe it was a coincidence…maybe I was just paranoid because of the things Chris had said to me last month.

Shrugging my shoulders lightly, I saw Natalie’s eyes flicker and her attention shift to me as I turned on my heel and headed towards the parking area I had parked earlier.


Paranoid or not, my afternoon at the beach was pretty much ruined.  Deciding to make the best of the day I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and called Janet.

“Hello?”

“Hey what's up.”

________________________________________________________________________

“Yeah…that sounds about right.”

Janet and I had talked all the way home.  Shifting my phone to my other shoulder, I jiggled my keys until I found the one for the front entryway and jiggled the lock until I heard a click.

“So are they kicking her out of the class now?”

“What do you think Lex?”  Janet replied, letting out an aggravated huff.  “I mean it’s not everyday they have one of the kids kicked in the abdomen during class intentionally.”

Rolling my eyes at Nahla’s antics I let the front door close behind me and I slipped off my sandals and tossed my purse in the floor.

“She…is definitely your daughter.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

Grinning I dropped my purse on the end table next to the coat rack and placed the book Frank had given me at lunch beside it as I grabbed at the stack of mail the house keeper had arranged on the table and tucked it under my arm.

“Nothing.”

“Uhhuh”

Sunlight cascaded in the large room and I headed towards the staircase running my hand along the cool banister.

“Just a sec Janet.   Michael?”

Reaching the top of the staircase I let out a disappointed sigh seeing the lights off on the second floor.

Must still be in meetings.  It was a long shot he had gotten back before me anyway since my morning had been cut short.

Walking straight to our bedroom I flipped on the lights and crashed into the soft downy comforter on our bed.

“Sorry Janet…go on.”

Closing my eyes I tossed my mail next to me and listened to Janet let off some steam.

“And THEN when I asked her about it she- Ugh hey Lex it’s the dead beat dad.  Can I call you back in a bit.”

Inwardly groaning at the mention of Tony I sucked back a sarcastic retort about him.

“Sure Janet I’ll call you later.”

Hearing her click over to the other line, my pink acrylic nails clicked against the cell phone buttons as I closed out the conversation and tossed it down beside me.

Well…now what.

Deciding to flip through the stack of mail I reached over beside me and grabbed the stack.

“Junk….” I tossed the first envelope on the floor.  “Junk, junk, junk, hmm…what’s this?”

Bewildered, a light blue envelope caught my eye and silently I wondered if the person sorting the mail had accidentally slipped one of Michael’s fan letters into the pile.

“Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

Shrugging my shoulders I placed the other envelopes down next to me and slipped my finger underneath the top of the envelope.

I slid out a piece of paper and it crinkled as I opened it up, exposing a hand written letter.

“Michael…enough is enough.”

Cocking an eyebrow, I bit the side of my lip and read on.

“Your son deserves to know his dad.   Either you tell someone by the 10th or I will.”

His SON?

Quickly I flashed back to the photo I had found in Michael’s desk.  My heart pounding the letter slipped from my fingers.  Everything in me felt numb.

No…no it couldn’t be.

My throat closing up, I felt my body tremble and I closed my eyes desperately trying to find a reason that Michael would have kept something like this from me.

He must have…maybe he….

Tears cascaded down my cheeks. 

 Unable to find a reason for him not telling me I struggled to cope with the gravity of what I had just read.

Was this what he had been hiding? The reason he had been gone even more than usual as of late?

“I need to see him”

The words, barely above a whisper, propelled me into motion and without conscious thought I gathered my stuff together and shot towards the door.

“It’s going to be okay…”  Breathing deeply I repeated the others to myself like a mantra. 

“Okay.”