Michael and Me

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO MUCH TO BECOME MRS. MICHAEL JACKSON?

I play with the pink lining on my bed comforter. It's 10:41 at night, but there's still no moonlight with all the clouds.

I hear a knock on my bedroom door. I ignore it.

The entire dinner party was ruined. Alessandra and Michael eventually came back, and we continued eating as planned, but the entire conversation was tense and not fun at all. As soon as I ate my last morsel of salad, I evaded an equally boring dessert and came upstairs.

"Nicole?" I hear Michael's voice ask.

Michael and Nick are like best friends now, making the whole night look like a debacle. I sincerely thought and was scared that my brother and my fiancée would not get along. I already had to deal with Dad, and finding out Nicholas may not be too welcoming also really stressed me out.

I should be happy everything is fine, but I'm not. And neither will Alessandra be if Michael keeps caving to his sisters' demands.

I snatch a pillow to cover my face with just as Michael bursts through the door.

"I didn't invite you in."

Michael closes the door. "Why you acting like this?"

"Why am I acting like this? You just got into a fight with my sister and she's going to make your family hate me even more!"

"Nicholas is worried about you." Michael crosses his arms.

"The least you could do is come down and talk to us," he continues. "I can talk to Alessandra, if that makes you happy."

"I don't wanna talk right now." I look away.

I feel the bed sinking with Mike's weight. He tries to pry the pillow away from me.

I feel tears coming into my eyes, so I get up to hide them. "I'm fine, Mike, just go away."

"Tell me why you're crying." I feel Mike's hands rest on my arms.

"What is it?" he asks again.

I shake my head. "It's like a dark cloud, but I have to ask you... are you still going on that tour?"

Michael's initial reaction is to give an exasperated sigh, but he sees that I'm scared.

"Nicole, don't be upset. We'll get married before then..."

"Then how come you haven't set a date? You don't wanna agree to this year, you're too busy next summer—"

"Baby, I need to promote Thriller! Look, you don't understand... you said you'd give me a couple of months--"

"Michael, I don't wanna wait a couple of months. I wanna get this wedding over with—the longer you wait, the more fighting is gonna happen. Make up your damn mind!"

I start cleaning up my room. I need to get my mind off things and I need him out of here...

"Michael, just go, okay?" I pick up two plaid shirts off a seat. "I need to be alone."

"And I need you to understand!" Michael screams. I drop the shirts in shock.

"Nicole." Michael presses his fingers to his nose. "I am going to say this very calmly, for the last time, we are getting married next year. And you can tell that sister of yours to quit pestering me. I'm trying my very best to please everyone here, but it's not working." Michael goes to the door but turns back.

"I love you, Nicole, but you really are a jerk half the time."

~~~

"Alessandra, apologize to him!" I thrust the phone at my big sister.

"No, Nicole!" She's curled up on the couch in the living room, mascara runny down her face.

"Alessandra, if he decides to call off the wedding, I'll know who to blame." I throw the receiver at her.

"Nicole, stop," she sobs. "Everyone leave me alone! Stop blaming me for everything."

Nicholas covers his face. "Alessandra, just call Michael and talk it over."

"NO!" she screams, getting up. "NO, NO, NO! AND YOU WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING? YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T EVEN GET MARRIED! 'CAUSE I WISH I'D NEVER DONE IT!" Alessandra runs out of the room. Soon, the front door slams shut.

I look at Robert. "What's going on with you two?"

He flexes his hands. "Nothing. She's just being her usual old self: pissing me off."

"Now's not the time for your marital problems," Nicholas breaks in, "we need to do damage control here. Nicole, I will call Michael and apologize for Alessandra. I will take over the wedding preparations and I will negotiate with Michael on the date."

I kiss his cheek.

"Nicholas, do you think you could do all that?" Jen speaks up. "There's an awful lot to be done with the dress, the cake, the guests..."

"Sweetheart, I know people, I can get this all fixed. And I even have guys willing to be security for the hotel where we will have this wedding!" Nicholas struts to the phone and picks it up.

"Well, we need to get you down the aisle in style, huh, Mrs. Michael Jackson?"