Remember the Time

Chapter 49

"Don't do that Mi-" Mariah paused, noticing Katherine right behind him. She huffed.

Katherine eyed her for a moment, as if to call a silent truce. Mariah didn't budge.

Soon, a tall, brown-haired nurse walked into the room.
"Mrs. Jackson?"

Mariah and Katherine looked up.

"Dr. Powell wants to try to get the babies in here so you can start getting a feel for having them around. How does that sound?"

Mariah fixed her mouth to speak. "I-"

"Sounds great!" Michael interrupted.

Mariah gave a tight-lipped smile, nervously nodding her head in agreement.

Noelle cried as her mother attempted to feed her. Every time Mariah would pull her in, she'd pull away.

"Noelle, it's okay." Mariah said. "Come on, just work with me please."

Noelle cried louder, seemingly frustrated with her mother.

"Maybe you could try a different way?" Michael asked politely.

Mariah nodded and tried it another way. Noelle resisted her attempt.

"Okay, well do you want to eat? You can get fed if you just stay still." Mariah said, growing impatient with her daughter.

Mariah tried to reposition Noelle but she began bending her back and stretching out her legs, fussing louder.

"You know what, take her! She clearly ain't hungry right now." Mariah snapped.

"But babe, it's time for her to be fed." Michael explained, pulling Noelle out of Mariah's hands.

"Then why won't she stop hollering and screaming? She's pissing me the hell off." Mariah replied in a chilling tone.

What the hell did she just say? Katherine thought.

Katherine spoke up. "Mariah I think you should-"

"I think you should stop talking to me." Mariah spat, not even bothering to look in Katherine's direction.

Katherine cocked her head to the side, nearly forgetting where she was. Michael shot a look at Katherine and shook his head. Katherine nodded at him and reached her arms out to hold Noelle.

Mariah watched as Michael gave Katherine the baby, who seemed to immediately stop crying. Mariah scowled at her.

"You know what, just get out!" Mariah paused for a second--Michael, Katherine, Pat, and Alison staring at her. "Everybody get the hell out!"

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. "Mariah calm-"

"I said get the hell out!"

December 31st, 1997

Michael sat in a rocking chair next to Mariah's bed in the dark hospital room. It was 11:50pm MT on New Years' Eve and Michael decided to tune in to Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special.

"Alright mama, this is your first New Year's." Michael whispered, looking down at Noelle. "Are you excited?"

She shifted her head as if she was trying to look up at the TV. Michael giggled, trying to adjust her bottle with her moving head.

He looked over at Mariah, who was sound asleep, and then over to Nicole who was all the same.

"Your mother and sister sleep like bears." Michael joked, looking back down at Noelle.

Noelle turned her head back toward him.

"Grumpy bears at that."

He put Noelle's empty bottle down and rotated her in his arms so that her head was on his right shoulder.