22nd of July, 2009
Michael is 50, Angela is 45, and Jake is 46
Michael: The clock on the wall read 1:30.
I paced back and forth, waiting for someone to come tell me what was going on with Angela.
We got to The Royal London hospital about two hours ago, and they immediately rushed her to the ICU.
"Sir?" Adam knocked on the hospital room door. "Your in-laws are here, and your parents. They want to know what's going on..."
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone unless there's news about my wife?" I stopped pacing for a second.
"There's a doctor here, too."
Immediately, I yanked the door open. "You should've led with that, Adam."
"Mr. Jackson? Hello, how are you?" a doctor came in, his British accent sounding less posh than I was used to.
He shook my hand quickly, "I'm Dr. Lee from intensive care, very nice to meet you... Your wife, she's okay. She lost a lot of blood, we got that under control. We have some news, but we'll wait for her to wake up... We'll bring her here soon."
News?
"And the baby?" I asked nervously.
"Uh- A baby? I'm sorry, sir, but I don't believe I understand." he answered.
"She's pregnant..."
"There were no indications of a pregnancy, Mr. Jackson."
What? How? I saw the tests... She looked pregnant...
I blinked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. There will be a doctor from gynecology coming as soon as Mrs. Jackson wakes up, to explain." he said.
I thanked him, then he left.
"Sir, the family? What should I say?" Adam sighed.
"That when we know what's really going on, I'll tell them." I mumbled.
He nodded, "And you, Mr. Jackson? Are you okay? You were in shock before."
"I'm fine."
"Can I get you anything?"
"Just water."
The bodyguard left quickly. Finally, I broke down, still not knowing what was wrong with my wife.
~
When two nurses rolled Angela's bed in, she looked lifeless.
They made sure she was comfortable, and explained she should wake up soon. Blood was running into her arm, while her heart monitor beeped steadily.
"Gosh, Angie, what happened to you?" I sat down, taking her hand.
I brought it up to my lips to kiss it gently. My phone rang, so I pulled it out, never letting go of my wife's hand.
"Yes, Bain? Is it urgent? I'm busy-" I started, but she cut me off.
"I know. How's Angela?"
"Hanging in there. What is it?"
"Um... I-" she stopped herself.
"Talk, Bain. I don't have time for this." I groaned.
"There are pictures... Of Angela, on the gurney."
"How?! There weren't any cameras!"
"Some people took pictures of her on their phones. It got to the media pretty quickly."
"Do something about it, Bain," I ordered. "This is my wife, she's in the hospital for God's sake! Don't they have any respect for her privacy?!"
"Michael, why are you yelling?" Angela suddenly moaned.
"I'll call later, fix it," I said into the phone and hung up. "Hey, baby... Oh, you scared me so much."
"What happened?" she sat up, wincing a bit. The color was slowly making its way back to her face.
"You don't remember?"
"I only remember bleeding..."
I kissed her hand again, "You fainted and bled out."
"The baby?" she gasped.
I bit my lip, not knowing what to tell her.
Instead, I kissed her. She hummed against my lips as she wrapped her arms around my neck lazily.
"Maybe we should call someone." I whispered when we broke apart. Quickly, I stood up and told Adam that Angela woke up.
A few minutes later, he knocked. "Mr. Jackson? The doctor's here."
I was about to go open the door but Angela pulled on my hand.
"Wait, Mike... I don't want to get any bad news." her eyes were glossy.
"We have to talk to the doctor, Angie."
She shook her head. "No, please..."
"Whatever they tell us, we're in this together, okay?" I hugged her.
We sat there for a minute, her head on my shoulder, before Adam knocked again.
"Hey," I made her look at me. "I love you. No matter what happens, I'm here."
We kissed gently, and I walked to the door.
A short, red-headed doctor came in. She introduced herself to be Dr. Mia Brent, a gynecologist. Both of us shook her hand.
"How are you feeling, Mrs. Jackson?" she smiled. "Any pain? Uncomfortableness?"
"Just a little, why? Is my baby okay?" my wife questioned, grabbing my hand tightly.
"I'll answer all your questions in a second. Like I said, I'm an OBGYN, who specializes in oncology."
"Oncology? As in-"
The doctor nodded, "The study of cancer, yes."
"C- cancer?" I stuttered. No, this can't be happening now. This can't happen at all.
"You experienced some pain recently, right? And symptoms of pregnancy, vomiting, bloating, missed period?"
"Symptoms? Yes, but I'm pregnant. I had two tests come out positive three weeks ago..." Angela was on the verge of tears again.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Jackson, but it was probably what we call a phantom pregnancy. The body acts like it's pregnant, most likely from a spike in hormones, which could lead to positive pregnancy tests. In your case, it was caused by endometrial, or uterine cancer... When we checked you, we found quite a big tumor in your uterus, closer to the cervix... It looks to be around stage 3A, which means it's most likely spreading to your, uh, sexual parts."
"Stage 3A? Is that b- bad?"
"It is, but it could have been worse. We found it just in time."
Dr. Brent wrote something in her chart, then continued. "Did you have any pain during intercourse?"
"She did, two weeks ago, but since then we did it a few more times and it didn't hurt her." I told her.
Angela looked down, "Umm, I've actually had consistent pain for about a week now... And some bleeding. I just thought it was the pregnancy."
"What? Angie, why didn't you tell me?" I scoffed.
"Later," she waved at me dismissively, looking back at the doctor. "So, cancer? What are my options?"
"The recommended treatment is having a total hysterectomy of your uterus, cervix, tubes... Then going through chemo to eradicate all remaining cancer cells. We could also do just chemotherapy, but in your case, I don't believe it would help much."
"I went through an abortion six months ago. How come my doctor didn't notice it then? He did an ultrasound, checked me thoroughly first..."
"One possibility is that it was in very early stages, so he didn't catch it. It's not difficult to miss it when it's just starting. Cancer cells have a tendency to spread fast. I do ask that you give me an answer, soon, Mrs. Jackson. So we can stop it from spreading any further."
I squeezed my wife's hand even tighter. She returned a squeeze.
"Can you give us a few minutes, Dr. Brent?" she questioned.
The doctor agreed, saying she'll be back soon. And the minute she was gone, I looked at Angela.
Her eyes showed nothing but fear as she stared straight ahead. She sniffled, the tears sliding down her cheeks as a result.
"Angie?" I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb.
She gently placed her other hand on her stomach, looking at it. "I- I was never pregnant... Oh, God..."
I hurried to get in bed with her, and cradled her as she wept.
"It's gonna be alright, Ange. I promise." I placed my chin on top of her head, my own tears falling on her hair.
"That's one thing you can't promise, Mike."
~
After Dr. Brent went over more things with us, explaining it all and answering any question we had, she left us alone.
I held Angela close again and ran my fingers through her hair.
"We can't tell anyone." she blurted out.
"What? We have to tell the kids, Ange. They have to be prepared for what's coming." I stopped what I was doing.
"We'll tell them, in a couple months," she sighed. "After the trip we promised them."
"Angela, do you hear yourself? You have cancer, we need to treat it right away. You gotta have surgery, you need to go through chemo. We can't wait two months."
"And if non of it works? Then what?"
"I don't want to think about that right now." I mumbled.
My wife scoffed, "Well, we have to. Even if I do get better, I want to spend some time as a family before I become all... Sick. Please, Mike."
"You'll get the surgery as soon as we're done. Promise me that."
"I promise," she nodded. "What do you think about what Dr. Brent offered? To freeze my eggs?"
"Do you want that, Angie?"
"I don't know... We have nine kids. Four of them are ours, together. Maybe I'll do it, just in case you'd want more kids, if I'm not here anymore."
I frowned. "You think I can ever have anymore kids without you, baby? Never. Can you even imagine me taking care of nine children, and then some, all alone?"
That made her laugh. She lay her head against my chest, taking in a deep breath.
"I want to go home." Angela played with my shirt.
"We can, I can tell Adam to take us. He's just outside-"
But she only shook her head, "No, I want to go home, back to California, to Neverland. For the surgery, the treatment..."
"Yeah, Angie, I figured. We were always planning to go back anyways, right?" I kissed her forehead.
She looked up at me, placing a soft kiss on my lips.
"Thank you. I love you, Michael."
"Me too, Angela."
A loud yawn left her mouth so she quickly covered it. "Sorry."
"Go to sleep. I got you." I kissed her once more before she lay back and closed her eyes.
Watching her as she drifted off, I allowed myself to shed some more tears while praying.
"Don't let her leave me, please..."
~
Angela: It was quiet when we came home in the afternoon.
"The kids are out with our parents. I figured you'd need some quiet when we come home," Michael explained. "There is someone here for you, though."
He took me to the living room, where Lisa Marie Presley was sitting on the couch.
"Angela! Oh, I was so worried... How are you feeling? Michael said you lost a lot of blood." she hugged me tightly.
"I'm okay." I lied.
We broke our hug, and Michael cleared his throat. "How about you two go out, have some fun? I gotta meet Bain. I'll see you tonight, babe?"
"Yeah. Thank you, Mike."
"Of course, Angie. Oh! And tomorrow, we're going on a double date, right, Lisa Marie?"
My friend nodded, saying she can't wait.
"I'll see you later, okay?" my husband pulled me to him. "Enjoy, get your mind off it all. I love you."
He placed a soft kiss on my lips. I savored his taste, telling him how much I love him back.
"Have fun, girls!" he called as he left with a bodyguard following him.
Lisa Marie took out her car keys, "So, where are we going?"
~
Drinking wine at 4 in the afternoon in the middle of London, with my husband's ex-wife, was never something I thought I'd do.
Yet, there I was, laughing all my worries away.
"I missed this, Angela," Lisa Marie beamed. "I really did. I missed talking to you, and getting tipsy off of two glasses of wine..."
"Me too, Lisa Marie." I took another sip.
"So, what's next for you and Mike?" she asked.
Nothing major, except I might die from cancer.
"Uh, we're taking the kids to Ireland in a week... Then we'll continue on to Switzerland and we have to see from there. We'll probably go to Italy, to visit my family." I answered while swirling my wine around.
Outside, paparazzi and some fans were crowding in front of the restaurant. Great, just what I needed.
I could feel her eyes on me as I downed the rest of my glass' contents.
"You okay?" she chuckled.
"Yeah." I sighed.
"How about we go back to my hotel room, order greasy fast food, and drink a ridiculous amount of wine?"
"That actually sounds like a plan. I need to get out of here."
Lisa Marie smiled, "Let's go."
~
"But if you're thinking about being my baby it don't matter if you're black or white!" Lisa Marie and I sang at the top of our lungs along with Michael's vocals.
I drank some more wine from my glass, then sat down on the couch, snacking on our leftover french fries.
We were already into our second wine bottle, and I was drunk for sure.
Lisa Marie turned down the radio and plopped down next to me as she laughed.
"I really needed this." I told her.
"Well, I'm glad you had fun," she sighed. "You had me so worried. Especially when I saw those pictures... You really looked- Dead."
"Pictures? What pictures?"
"Michael didn't tell you? I'm sure he knows about this."
"No..."
Sighing, she looked for her laptop and pulled up a tabloid article. The pictures were grainy, but I could see myself on a gurney being taken to the ambulance, all bloody.
'ANGELA JACKSON RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER FINAL SHOW' was written in big bold letters at the top.
"Oh, my God." I gasped.
"I think they were taken with a cell phone, they don't look like paparazzi pictures." my friend tried to help.
I closed the laptop, feeling somewhat violated that the entire world saw me like that. "I need more wine."
Immediately, Lisa Marie grabbed another bottle, opened it, and poured us another glassful.
"Okay, slow down," she said once I drank half of it with two big gulps. "What's going on, Angela?"
Eating the rest of the french fries, I shrugged.
Maybe I should tell her. She's the only real friend I've got.
She came closer, putting her hand on my knee. "Tell me."
"I have cancer." I tried saying it as quietly as I could.
"You- What?"
"Yeah. Uterine cancer, stage 3A. And the worst part is that I thought I was pregnant," the tears burned my eyes. "We were going to keep it, too. But it was only me being hormonal, apparently. I have to get a hysterectomy, and go through chemo."
I drank the rest of the wine, that last sip making me a bit dizzy. "I convinced Michael to let us go on the trip first, for some normality before the kids don't recognize me."
"I'm sorry, Angela."
"Don't be. I don't want to talk about it anymore, I just needed to get it out."
"What if you have the surgery before your trip? So it doesn't spread." she suggested.
"We promised the kids..." I frowned.
"But if the cancer spreads, what good would that do?"
She's right. Of course she's right, because she's thinking rationally.
With that, Lisa Marie put down her wine glass and hugged my shoulders from the side. I leaned my head on her arm, and allowed myself to shed some tears.
~
AJ's loud giggles echoed through the house when I walked through the door, around dinner time.
Luckily for me, Adam stopped on the way to get me some well-needed coffee, so I was somewhat sober.
"No, daddy!" she screeched, running right past me and hid behind one of the curtains in the reception room.
Michael was right behind her, "Where did my little Princess go?"
He started pretending to look around while AJ tried to control her giggles, but failed.
"Oh, Angie! Have you seen AJ?" he asked me with a smirk.
"No, I have no idea what you're talking about." I played along.
He tiptoed to the curtain our daughter hid behind, her giggles getting even louder as he exposed her.
"Gotcha!" he hoisted her up and tickled her. She wiggled in his arms, begging him to stop.
I smiled at them. The thought that I might leave them, my family, my babies, all alone was unbearable.
How is this fair? After everything we've been through, it's just not fair.
AJ's tight coils fell on her cute face as her dad put her down. "She didn't want to sit down for dinner."
"Hi, mommy." she came to hug me.
"Hi, baby," I picked her up. "You want mommy to give you a bath?"
"Yes, pwease."
With her head on my shoulder, I made my way upstairs. After filling her a bubble bath, I helped my baby girl in.
I washed her beautiful hair, which caused her to make a face, then conditioned each one of her coils.
Big hands were suddenly placed on my shoulders.
Michael smiled widely at the two of us, "Want me to take over? Everyone else is sitting down for dinner. You should join them."
Shaking my head, I let go of AJ so I could take his hand. He crouched down to my level, placing a soft kiss on the back of my neck.
"I'll have the surgery now. At least we'll have that out of the way, and we can enjoy our trip without worrying too much." I whispered.
"Yeah?" he sounded so happy.
"Yeah. Then we're taking the kids on the trip we promised."
He made me face him before planting a big kiss my lips. "What made you change your mind?"
"Lisa Marie. After about three bottles of wine." I bit my lip.
My husband laughed, "Remind me to thank her tomorrow."
A splash of water hit our faces. AJ was standing up in the bath, her arms crossed against her little chest.
"Mommy, out." she demanded.
"We're not done with your hair, baby." I told her. She shook her head, making water and conditioner spray everywhere.
"Come on, Princess, daddy will help you finish. Remember? You like when daddy does your hair." Michael said.
He helped me stand, then took my seat. I thanked him before joining the rest of our children.
~
Oh, my God, don't kill me! 😅 Like I said, it's all planned.
I did write the final chapters for this story and I was an emotional wreck for a week. Don't worry though, there's a lot more to come for Mike and Angie ❤️
Love,
ShoamEmily