Remember the Time

Chapter 112

“Janet Arvizo-Jackson. Janet Jackson. Mrs. Arvizo-Jackson--got a ring to it, don’t it?” Janet said to her daughter Davellin as she examined her outfit in Mariah’s body mirror in the Master bathroom. She and Star convinced the staff that Michael had given them the alarm code for the Master Bedroom and Janet decided to shoot her shot and try on some of Mariah’s old gowns.

“Look, Davellin. Don’t I look heavenly?” She asked her daughter.

Gavin, laying on Michael and Mariah’s bed, peeked out from behind a magazine he found on the bedroom coffee table. “No.”

Janet ignored her son.

Soon, Star came dashing in, leaping up in the air and landing squarely in the middle of the bed.

“Dude, stop it!” Gavin shouted, his body slightly bouncing up off the bed.

Star gave his little brother a noogie before turning over to the nightstand and fetching his family-sized bag of potato chips.

“Mom! Tell him to stop!” Gavin exclaimed.

Janet, somewhere over the rainbow, simply toyed with the sleeves on one of Mariah’s long-sleeved pieces. It wouldn’t quite fit over her more squared-out shoulders--at least not the way it fit on Mariah.

“You look good, Ma.” Davellin spoke up.

Janet sent a dazed smile to her little girl. “Oh honey, that’s so sweet. Thank you! Do you think I could pull this off on my wedding day?”

“Who are you marrying?” Star asked, facetiously.

“Quiero Michael, I told you that..”

“Are we gonna live here forever?” Davellin asked.

“Dios willing, sweetie.”

“Oooh, does that mean I don’t have to go to school?” Star inquired. “Be like one of his daughters?”

“No, no, no. Your abuela would throw a fit if te saco de escuela.”

“How do you know he even likes you?” Gavin questioned.

Janet slipped off Mariah’s diamond bracelet and chucked it at her son’s forehead.

“Stupid.”

“Wow, Ma! I was just kidding!” He shouted. He quickly lowered his voice to a soft mutter. “Puta.”

Janet, in the middle of pretending to be Mariah--complete with over the top ball gown, poorly matching earrings, and hand jewelry, darted over to the Master bed, yanking her son off of it. She pulled him down to the floor.

“Watch your fucking mouth, you hear me? Watch your fucking mouth, okay!”

Gavin covered his face with his arms slowly sat up off the ground.

Star, startled, started. “Dang Ma, you didn’t have to do-”

“Callate!” She shouted as she stormed her way back over to the mirror.

Rip.

“What was that?” She cried.

“Uh-oh…” Davellin started. “Ma, you ripped it on the thing.”

Janet slowly spun around to see Mariah’s thousand-dollar gown had hooked onto the bottom of one of the bed frame ornaments that Gavin had broken a few days ago.

“Shit!” She exclaimed. “Shit, shit, shit!”

She quickly removed the gown, exposing herself in only her underwear.