Chapter 10: Who is it? Part II
“And they all lived safe and sound, happily ever after,” Michael read aloud to his now sleeping children. Paris and Prince soundly slept on either side of him, their angelic faces dreaming of hopefully beautiful things. It was the third night they had fallen asleep in his bed; he knew he had to get them to sleep back in their own beds before this because they could grow accustomed to being there. He sat up and ran his hands over his son and daughter’s ivory cheeks. They were the best things to happen to him; he loved being there for them, watching them magically grow up before his eyes. He loved being a dad and they gave him reason to do what he did, everyday. It was unfortunate how things ended up with their mother Debbie. She told him that she didn’t want to be a media spectacle any longer; she wanted to live the normal life she once had. And although the divorce was hard for him, he realized deep down that he didn’t love her in a way a man should be in love with his wife. He knew he loved her, but he also knew that he wasn’t IN love with her. It was the fact and he dealt with it. Thank God she had given him a gift that no other person could; two beautiful children. There had only been a few women Michael had ever been with and dated; he actually could count them on one hand. That was an unusual record for any kind of superstar. Only his first ex-wife Lisa Marie had made the biggest impact on his love life.
He got up slowly from the bed and quietly pulled the covers over Paris and Prince. He wasn’t much of a sleeper. Long hours from touring and concerts in his lifetime threw any sleep cycle he had out of whack, so he slept when he could or felt it. Unsure of what to do with himself, he wandered downstairs and snuck into the kitchen contemplating on getting a bowl of ice cream. He had trouble with the addicting cold treat, and tried to stay away from it especially around him when he worked to keep in shape. He did have the 30th anniversary concert to do; as always, it was a big event. It was a nerve-wracking time for him; he was set to do a concert with his 5 brothers, whom he loved dearly but hadn’t performed with in well over a decade. Besides that, he had an anticipated album due out and he was just about sure that Mottola would not be making strides to promote it after finding out his future departure with Sony. “The Devil” made sure that “You Rock My World” would be his single, although he expressed he wanted “Unbreakable” to be it. He got on his knees and folded his hands together, doing only what he knew best. “God, grant me the ability to what I can, and the strength to get through what I can’t,” he prayed.
After praying for family and friends, he got up and went into the entertainment room, wearing his red pajamas with a muscle shirt underneath. He decided he would go against his rule and eat ice cream anyway; he had worked hard for it. He turned on his huge flat screen television, flipping through channels. He purposely avoided tabloid shows and yellow journalism networks because he could run into some un-nice things said about him. He never understood how people could lie and slander a human being and feel good about it in their lives. He finally found some Looney Tune cartoons on to keep him entertained. It was true that he was a big kid indeed; he did child-like things to compensate for the childhood that he couldn’t truly enjoy. It was one of many sacrifices that were made in his life. As he laughed at the roadrunner falling over a cliff, he heard his phone ring, startling him. Few people had this number. His mother would sometimes call him late at night, but he had talked to her earlier. He picked up the phone without looking at the ID.
“Hello, who is this?” he asked. “Hi….” Said a meek female voice. “This is Ja-Jaden. You gave me your number to give you a call and well….I’m giving you a call. If you don’t want me calling again, truly understand.” Michael laughed recognizing his new friend. “Jaden. How are you? And no it’s fine, I’m still awake.” It was her turn to laugh, sounding relieved. “Oh good. I’m doing well…great actually. And you?” “Everything is going good. I’m just getting ready to promote Invincible and do the 30th anniversary concert!” “Invincible is amazing! People are going to be blown away when they hear it.” Jaden declared, sounding more normal which is what he wanted. Michael sighed. “Oh boy, I sure hope so! I just hope everything that is happening with me and Sony doesn’t affect its release.” “Your true fans will buy your album, and trust me, you have billions of them,” Jaden assured him. “Yeah, I hope so,” Michael agreed, starting to feel better. “So what about you? Have you found a deal yet?”
“Yes, I have!” she exclaimed. “I’m signed with Universal Music Group. They told me that a little birdie told them to listen to my demo and they did. They liked what they heard and gave Devin a call to bring me to the studio for a meeting.” Michael secretly smiled to himself; he was glad that the conversation with through well with Charlie and he actually listened. He knew that Devin was taking a demo to the label. “Take one listen at her, and you know she can be a star,” he told him. When he asked him why he was promoting her, he simply said that he was a fan of good music and that was that. He didn’t want to add on that he liked her- that would be tacky and embarrassing.
“Anyway, I hope you don’t mind, I sung a snippet of your song “Speechless” and after that, they signed me. I think you were my good luck charm.” Michael laughed “I don’t know about that. I think you just were yourself at that’s what got you the deal. Congratulations. How do you feel about everything?” “I feel…. I feel like I can do anything now.” She explained. “I mean, working on your album, getting this deal. Everything is falling into place for once in my life.”
“It’s a wonderful thing. You should feel proud of yourself and always stay true to your music,” said Michael. “I made that promise to myself and I plan keeping it,” Jaden assured. The two talked about the music more, agreeing on things of the present music genre. They talked like they had known each other for a long time. Suddenly, Jaden laughed. “What’s so funny?” Michael asked. “Forgive me- I’m watching Tiny Toon Adventures.” Michael snickered.
“What are YOU laughing at?” Jaden asked. “I’m watching Tiny Toon Adventures also.” “I love this show! It’s brilliant” Jaden exclaimed. “Especially when I’m eating a big bowl of Rocky Road ice cream. I’m pretty un-sophisticated for a near 24- year –old, I must say.” Michael continued to snicker, amazed at the fact that he basically was doing the exact same thing as she was. “I’m eating Rocky Road ice cream too. You try doing all of this at nearly 43 years old then see what some people think about you.” Jaden couldn’t help but giggle. It feed into Michael’s snickers and the two laughed for a few moments about their love for juvenile things. “How many Disney movies do you have? I’ve lost count” Michael asked. “Too many,” Jaden confessed. “And, yes I still sleep with a stuffed animal. His name is Christian.”
I can be your stuffed animal beautiful, he found himself thinking. He quickly pushed that thought away, surprised at his semi-dirty thoughts. “I bet you have so much fun with your kids, just playing and stuff. How are they?”
“They’re good. They had a busy day today so it didn’t take much for them to fall asleep. They usually beg to stay up with me.” “Aww how cute. I love kids.” Jaden went on. “I used to volunteer at the recreation center working with them back in Oklahoma.” “Yes children are so inspiring,” Michael agreed. “They don’t want anything from you, just love and attention. Plus they are so honest and fun loving.” “I definitely agree,” Jaden said. “I love how they are so innocent about everything. I sometimes wish they would stay that way.” “Me too. I wish the whole world would,” said Michael. “Maybe soon you could come and meet the children. I think they would like that.” “Sure I would love to! Just let me know when a good time is.” Jaden said.
The two talked some more before finally hanging up around three a.m. It felt refreshing to talk to someone as easy going and who had similar interests as he did. He undeniably had a crush on Jaden, and it was a feeling that he didn’t want to go away.