August 4th, 1996
Mariah couldn't describe how happy she was to be back at Neverland. She never thought she would be happy with being away from New York, but she felt more at home at Neverland than she did in the city she had grown up in.
On a more positive note, she was looking forward to Janet coming to visit when she met with her wedding planner. With Michael focused on the finishing touches of his tour, she had decided to throw herself into wedding planning. She had an idea of what she wanted, she just need help with the execution.
She had also come to another realization: she'd have to speak to her mother sooner or later. She couldn't imagine having her wedding without her mom by her side. Katherine, Michael's mother, would be coming over with Janet and though she was sweet enough, she couldn't replace Mariah's own mother.
The media was dragging her mother through the mud along with Tommy. She was being accused of selling Mariah to Tommy and Mariah couldn't refute the claim herself. Her mother had testified against her, saying that Tommy had been a good husband and he had bought her a house and paying her an allowance. Her mother had sold the condo that Mariah had bought her and been taking the money that Mariah had been sending every month for upkeep. Her own mother played her.
She threw her hair up into a high ponytail and went downstairs. Michael had left by the time she woke up that morning, but she noticed that he had left breakfast for her.
He's so sweet.
She unwrapped the plate and put it in the microwave. She had about an hour and a half before everyone came over and she decided to take time to reflect. She was actually about to make it down the aisle this time. It had been a long journey from being that nervous twenty year old in the Sony lobby to who she was now. She and Michael had been through a lot in the past six years and she was grateful that she was being given a second chance at love with Michael.
The microwave beeped and she pulled the plate out. Michael had fixed blueberry crepes, eggs, bacon, and potatoes. It was one of her favorite meals, but she felt like she should've been dieting so that she could fit into the wedding dress she hadn't chosen yet. She decided to eat the breakfast and skip out on lunch.
By the time she finished her breakfast, Janet, Latoya and Katherine came skipping into the kitchen.
"Good morning." Mariah chirped, getting up to hug them.
Janet looked around. "Where's Mike?"
Mariah shrugged."Oh, he's at the arena checking out some stuff with the show. He left before I got up, but he said he'd back before the wedding planner got here."
Latoya grinned. "This is exciting."
Janet scoffed. "Girl, I won't be excited until the wedding day."
"Yeah, right." Latoya rolled her eyes and turned to Mariah. "She's excited."
Mariah giggled. "I know she is. That's because she knows she's going to be my maid of honor."
"Wait what?" Janet raised an eyebrow. "I didn't agree to that."
Mariah folded her arms. "Okay, tell me no."
Janet laughed. "Just because I said I didn't agree to it doesn't mean I don't want to do it."
"That's what I thought. Let's go out on to the gazebo, I already told Wayne to bring the wedding planner out there when she gets here." Mariah explained and led them outside.
They each took a seat and Mariah smiled at Michael's mother. "How have you been Ms. Katherine?"
"I've been wonderful, baby. How are you? Are you excited?" She asked.
Janet smirked. "She better be excited. I know Mike is."
Latoya giggled. "He called me last night and I swear he couldn't shut up for five minutes."
Mariah laughed. "Well, after all these years can you blame him? This is six years in the making."
"Six long years." Janet groaned dramatically. "Ya'll were about to give me and Marlon a heart attack."
Mariah shrugged. "Well-"
"Don't you dare say love takes time." Janet put her hand up and Mariah closed her mouth. "That was some mess."
Mariah laughed again as she spotted Wayne escorting a short, brunette woman towards them that Mariah assumed to be the wedding planner. She seemed just as perky as she had sounded over the phone.
"Hello, I'm Elizabeth. Who's the bride?" The woman asked.
Mariah reached and shook her hand. "I'm the bride."
Normally, Mariah would be reluctant to be having this meeting because she wanted to keep their impending wedding out of the press with it coming so soon after Michael's divorce, but Michael had his own way of keeping people quiet. Everyone who was involved with the wedding outside of their family had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Elizabeth sat down and opened up her folder. "So who do we have here?"
"My maid of honor, one of my bridesmaids, and my future mother-in-law." Mariah said, gesturing to Janet, Latoya, and Katherine.
Elizabeth looked around. "No groom?"
Mariah frowned. "He's running late. He should be here soon."
Elizabeth nodded. "Alright, well you told me that you wanted to have the wedding at home. I wasn't expecting to be brought to Neverland Ranch."
Mariah laughed. "Well, here we are."
"It's a beautiful space. Where exactly did you plan on having the wedding?" She asked, looking around.
Mariah pointed towards the bridge that went over the water. "There's a little spot down there that I think we could use for the ceremony."
"The reception should be outside too. It's California, it might be in December but it's still going to be warm out." Janet suggested.
"Where would we have it?" Mariah inquired.
Janet gestured around. "We could have it right here, we could just put up a big tent or something and set out some tables."
Elizabeth was nodding. "Yeah, I can see that just because this is such a beautiful space. We could really utilize the ranch and make this a really big thing. Have you thought about how many guests would in attendance?"
Mariah tried to count it up in her head. "There's about two hundred Jacksons by themselves."
"She's not exaggerating for once." Janet said, nudging her.
Before she could come up with an answer, Michael came jogging out of the house and joined them at the table.
"You're late." Mariah muttered.
He sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. We were building a tank and trying to figure out how to get it on stage."
"A tank?" Mariah inquired. "Like a life sized tank?"
"Life sized and functional." He said. before turning to his family. "Mother, Toya, Dunk."
"So I assume this is the groom." Elizabeth said.
Michael nodded and shook her hand. "Hi, I'm-"
"Michael Jackson." Elizabeth nodded. "We were just discussing how many guests you think will attend the wedding."
Michael looked at Mariah. "Have you spoken to your mom yet?"
Mariah shook her head. "I haven't spoken to anyone that's why I can't think of a number."
Michael nodded. "Well, for right now we'll say two hundred guests and we'll go from there."
Elizabeth nodded and wrote it down. "Alright, so your budget is the next thing on the agenda. How much are you willing to spend?"
Mariah glanced at Michael, who shrugged. "This isn't going to be a cheap wedding. You know that don't you?"
He nodded. "Oh I know, but it'll be worth every cent."
August 20th, 1996
Michael had gotten a packet in the mail, and he knew it was the thing he had been waiting months for. He opened the package and inside were the paper that would finalize the divorce between himself and Lisa Marie. It was a surreal moment and now that it was here, he found himself numb.
He had closed his mind to the situation months ago and was completely devoted to Mariah, so he never thought he'd have such a bitter sweet feeling at the end of their marriage. He would never go back to Lisa, so he couldn't understand why he wasn't happy or relieved.
He just felt empty.
He felt the bed shift and Mariah rested her head on his shoulder. "What's that?"
"The divorce papers." He said. "Once I sign these, I'll be free."
Mariah gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back to her side of the bed. "I'll be right here when you do."
She was laying in a suggesting position, leg raised so he could see just up her nightgown.
He chuckled at her. "You must want something."
"I want some of that unmarried penis." She said. "Sign them."
Michael shook his head and picked up the pen from the nightstand, flipping to the last page where the "x" was and signed his name. He was no longer a married man, but he would be soon. He turned back to his fiancee and crawled up to her.
"You were saying?" He inquired with a mischievous grin.
Mariah looked him up and down seductively. "I was saying, I want to know how it feels to sleep with an unmarried man."
I'm sorry you guys, I just don't know how to make wedding planning sound interesting. I've never been to one so...yeah.