March 1, 1994
Michael's POV
Tonight was the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, and Whitney was to attend as she was nominated for three awards. I can't even begin to describe how proud I am of this woman, and how far she's come as an artist and a vocalist. And to even have her as a girlfriend and the mother of my child is an absolute honor within itself.
But it was all going to change tonight... For you see, inside my pocket, I had a beautiful engagement ring that I was going to propose to Whitney with. Prior to coming to the event, I had informed both Whitney's parents of my proposal privately and they were absolutely thrilled for us. Unfortunately, John couldn't make it as he volunteered to watch Bobbi Kristina. However, Cissy was able to come and she even brought Whitney's honorary aunt, Aretha Franklin!
Aside from her being pregnant with our child, this is someone that I absolutely can't imagine my life without and I felt that I found my true match with Whitney.
Whitney's POV
While the evening continued to roll on, the winner for the Record of the Year was about to be announced. Unfortunately, I didn't win the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, but I did win the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and especially the Album of the Year. I just hope I can be fortunate enough to get this win!
As Michael and I stood backstage, the two announcers began to say,
"And the Record of the Year is... I Will Always Love You! Whitney Houston and David Foster!"
As I heard my song playing, I literally jumped for joy as my producer, David Foster began to make his way up to the stage. Taking my boyfriend in my arms, I immediately shared a sweet kiss with Michael as he said with a proud smile,
"Go get 'em, Baby!"
I nodded in return as I happily made my way over to the microphone as I ran up to David, squealing with joy as I hugged him.
I said to him, "You talk a lot!"
David replied, "Okay! Okay!"
I said to him, urging him to speak before me, "You talk a lot! Go ahead!"
David said, "I'll make this fast, because I know we've got a long night!"
I laughed in response as David went on to say,
"You know, I was thinking about this in finding this song and Dolly Parton for writing such a beautiful song. A beautiful string arrangement by Jeremy Lubbock, great engineering by Bill Schnee and de Vries' incredible promotion from Clive and Arista, and Roy Lot. A great movie from Warner Brothers and Bob Daly... It's a long list. Great music supervision Gary Lamella, Mori Crowe played beautifully by your band and sung incredibly by you."
I replied, "Thank you."
David continued on as I chortled and laughed at his statement,
"And I got to thinking, like I don't know what I did to be up here because it was all done for me! But anyway, on a personal note I'd like to thank Ralph Goldman and Brian Avenue, and my manager, my own Atlantic Records family, and most important, my wife Linda who I love. And all of our children who are here tonight, and my Mom who's up there tonight. Thank you so much! This is so exciting! And you!"
I laughed as David encouraged me to speak. Coming up to the microphone, I began to say,
"Well, he thanked everybody that I know! But thank you David, for such a great production. I mean, we did it! We did it together! Thank you Mommy and Daddy! Thank you Lord! Thank you, Michael! I love you so much, Baby! Hey, Pear! Thank you everybody that bought this record and who loved it! God bless you! Peace!"
As I was about to leave the stage with David, he suddenly stopped me and said into the microphone,
"Oh! Wait a minute, Whitney! Before we go, umm... Your boyfriend Michael has a special surprise for you."
I looked to him in confusion, as Michael made his way onto the stage and towards me with loud applause from the crowd. Giving me a kiss on the cheek and shaking hands with David Foster and the two announcers, Michael came over to the microphone as the whole crowd began chanting, 'Michael! Michael!'
Finally, Michael spoke,
"Thank you! Thank you to Gary Shandling for allowing me the opportunity to do this. Before I begin, I just want say congratulations to you Whitney, David Foster, and everybody else involved in The Bodyguard Soundtrack and film."
Turning his attention to me, Michael said,
"Whitney, I love you more than words can begin to describe. We have known each other since the mid 80s, and you are one of the greatest friends I ever had. You have been there for me in my darkest hours, and this past Christmas, you have given me the greatest gift in the world. Being a father. It was because of you that I realized that I don't have to face this world alone anymore. Nippy, I knew it then and I know now, that I can't live my life without you. And as your song says, I will always love you."
The crowd applauded as Michael said, "And with that said..."
And with that, Michael pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring!
He got down on one knee as the whole crowd of nominees and fans erupted into extremely loud cheers! Child! is he doing what I think he's doing?!?
Once the whole crowd began to quiet down, One of the announcers took a microphone and held it close to Michael as he took the chance to ask with that warm, beautiful smile of his,
"Whitney Elizabeth Houston... Will you marry me?"
With tears of joy coming to my eyes, I answered with a fast nod,
"Yes, Baby! Yes!"
And with that, Michael got up and we wrapped our arms around each other and shared what felt to me as the kiss of the century! Afterwards, Michael placed the ring around my finger, and we raised our arms up in the air as the whole crowd gave us a standing ovation.
Knowing our time on stage would be coming to an end, I immediately spoke into the microphone,
"Thank you all so much! I love you! God bless you! Peace!"
And with that, Michael and I left the stage. Hand in hand as a now engaged couple!
One hour later...
As the evening continued to roll on, I actually went back onto the stage to perform the song of the night, I Will Always Love You.
As I sang through the song, the more I thought about my love for Michael and our lives together, which only made my performance stronger.
Once the song came to an end, I said to the crowd,
"Thank you!"
And clapped to the audience, as I blew a kiss over to them and Michael. Tonight, was truly one of the best nights of my life.
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Hey guys! Here's another update for this story! I hope you all enjoy this and stay tuned for part 2 of the Grammy's because it's definitely gonna feature a familiar face! ;)