January 2nd, 1997
Mariah had agreed to Michael's suggestion that they separate and went ahead to Hawaii. They still talked every day and it seemed like their relationship was slowly going back to the way it was before they got married. Ironically, they seemed closer when they were apart than when they were together, but she was bored most of the time because Michael was so busy.
However, instead of being alone, she decided it would be the perfect time to spend time with some friends so she invited Shawntae and Brenda to hang out with her. They had arrived last night and Mariah was eager to catch up with them, especially Brenda.
They were sitting by the pool having lunch and though Mariah was trying to enjoy herself, she couldn't. She still felt guilty over the deterioration of her friendship with Brenda after she married Tommy.
"Brenda, I'm sorry for missing your wedding." Mariah said. She felt compelled to apologize at the very least, she didn't know how she could actually make up for missing such an important day.
Brenda reached across the table. "Don't worry about it. You had things going on."
"I know, but I feel bad. After everything you've done for me and I didn't even show up to your wedding." Mariah rested her chin on her hand.
Brenda shook her head. "Girl, I'm serious it's okay. Don't worry about it."
Mariah smiled and decided to change the subject. "So, how are you and your husband?"
Brenda blushed. "Chris is amazing, he really is. Speaking of husbands, where's yours?"
"Mike should be here soon, he called me early this morning before he left." Mariah said.
Shawntae laughed. "Ya'll gonna be getting nasty tonight."
"No we're not," Mariah cackled. "He's probably going to be exhausted."
Brenda rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."
Mariah laughed again before her eyes were covered tightly by a large hand that nearly covered her entire face. She could hear the quiet rustle of a lei behind her and she knew it had to be Michael. She ran her fingers over the hand and it confirmed her suspicions.
"Is this my husband?" She asked, amused.
She felt soft lips brush against her cheek and the hand uncovered her eyes. "That would be correct."
"Your hands are huge." Mariah said.
Brenda sipped her drink. "Big hands you say?"
Mariah rolled her eyes. "How big are Chris's hands?"
"Big enough."Brenda shot back.
The three women started giggling like high schoolers. But before Mariah could make a witty comeback, she noticed that Michael appeared a bit uncomfortable. She got up from the table and pulled him a bit off to the side so that she could give him her full attention.
"When did you get back?" She asked him.
Michael shrugged. "About twenty minutes ago."
Mariah hugged him, giving him a peck on the lips. "You seem tired."
"I didn't get any sleep." He admitted. "But I wanted to see where you were."
"Well, I've got Brenda and Shawntae with me. We're probably going to go to the beach in a little bit so you can take a nap." She offered. She was happy to see Michael, but she wanted him to get some sleep if he could. She knew he had a show the next day and would need all the rest he could get.
Michael nodded. "Thanks Mimi. I'll see you when you get back."
Mariah smiled. "Okay, I'll see you then."
January 2nd, 1997
Pat had been trying to find the courage to call Michael. She knew he wasn't too fond of her, after convincing Mariah to leave him, but he seemed to have more of a heart than her daughter. He had offered to reconcile her to Mariah for the wedding and respected her as his mother-in-law. She figured it was worth a try to see if he would help her with her Tommy problem.
She dialed his number and he groggily answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Oh hello Michael," She said. "I didn't know you were sleeping."
She heard him yawn. "It's fine, Pat. How are you?"
"Oh I'm... I'm in a bit of bind Michael." She said, allowing a little fear to creep into her voice. She knew she'd have to make him feel sorry for her for him to help her.
"What happened?" He asked.
She sighed. "Tommy says I owe him now that Mariah's divorced him. I know she's not going to leave you, but I don't have the money he wants."
"Pat, I think you should talk to Mariah about this. I don't think she'd like it if I got involved." He said.
"Michael, please." Her voice quivered. "Mariah's not going to help me. I owe him ten million dollars."
"Ten million?" Michael exclaimed. "How?"
"He was paying my expenses every month, he bought me a bigger house and then I was taking care of Morgan and Alison-"
"I'm not paying Tommy ten million." Michael said flatly.
Pat knew Michael was her only option and if he didn't help her, she'd be completely at Tommy's mercy. "Michael, please. You're my only option. If you don't help me, Tommy might...I don't even want to think about it."
"Well, Pat. I'm not shelling out ten million because you thought an arranged marriage was a good idea."
She nervously twirled the phone cord around her finger."Michael, I messed up."
"Yeah, you really did. "
She bit her tongue. She had to be nice to him if she wanted his help. "Michael, if you help me-"
He cut her off. "Okay, okay, okay. I'll help you. I'm not paying him off, but I'll talk to him to see if I can get him off your back."
Pat let out a sigh of relief. "I owe you my life, Michael."
"I know. Bye."
"Bye."
Pat leaned back in the chair, relieved that at the very least Michael could buy her some time. If he could get Tommy to reduce the amount, she'd be even more grateful for him. Maybe she could get used to having him as a son-in-law.
January 3rd, 1997
Michael was exhausted. After giving a three hour show, he wanted nothing more than to go back to his hotel and spend the night with Mariah. Brenda and Shawntae would be flying out that night, so he would have his wife all to himself.
As he walked backstage, he could hear Mariah yelling so he picked up his pace to see what the problem was. He turned the corner and Mariah was arguing with Lisa Marie, while Brenda and Shawntae were holding her back. He almost wanted to go back onstage and perform an encore to avoid getting involved. He could've sworn he had left his Lisa problem back in Japan.
Michael entered his dressing room and was shocked when he saw Lisa sitting there waiting for him. She was wearing a trench coat and Michael was praying that she had on something underneath.
"Lisa, how'd you get in here?"
She shrugged. "Kenny let me in. Can we talk, I'm serious."
He groaned. "Lisa, I don't want anything to do with you."
"You don't mean that." Lisa said. "I know you're mad, but I'm sorry for lying to you. I want to fix us."
"Fix us? There is no us!" Michael snapped. "I'm with Mariah. She is my wife."
Lisa's eyes filled with tears and she pushed past him. He felt bad for making her cry, but he had to if she was going to understand that he was through with her.
Mariah's voice broke into his memories.
"Bitch, he doesn't want you. Why are you even here?" Mariah shouted.
Lisa was just as loud. "No, you're just confused. He's only with you for a baby."
"He doesn't need me for a baby. He chose to be with me. I gave him to you bitch, don't fucking forget it either." Mariah tried to swing at Lisa but Brenda managed to grab her hand and started whispering something in Mariah's ear.
"There's the man of the hour." Shawntae said, noticing Michael for the first time.
Michael sighed. "Lisa why are you here? I've already told you, I'm with Mariah."
Mariah nodded. "Hear that? He's with me."
"Michael stop playing." Lisa said. "You know you don't want this tramp."
"I know you're not calling anybody a tramp when you were cheating on your husband with Mike." Mariah snapped.
"Bitch, you did the same thing." Lisa replied, hotly.
Mariah shook her head. "No, I didn't. I didn't sleep with Mike until after my divorce."
"But you fucked Tommy Mottola for a record deal while he was still married and Michael was married when you were sleeping with him." Lisa retorted.
"Bitch, I got a record deal because unlike your thieving ass daddy I could actually write and sing my own music."
After that remark, Michael put his hand over Mariah's mouth. "Lisa, you need to leave. Now."
Lisa folded her arms. "Fine, but don't come running back to me when she leaves your ass again."
Michael watched her leave and then turned back to Mariah.
Mariah glared at him. "Why is she here?"
"I don't know, she's been following me." He explained.
Brenda shook her head. "That's a damn shame. Mariah, you ain't have to come for her daddy like that, though."
Mariah shrugged. "I don't care. You couldn't pay me to care about her, and if I see her again I'm going to knock her skinny ass out."
"Mariah, don't let her get you locked up." Shawntae said.
Brenda rubbed Mariah's back. "She's just bitter."
Michael sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going to tell security to stop her from coming back here. I'm getting sick of this."
Mariah grabbed his hands. "No, don't. If she comes back. I'll handle it."
January 3rd, 1997
"So did Brenda and Shawntae make their flight?" Michael asked.
It was late in the evening and Michael and Mariah were back at the hotel. Michael had just gotten out of the shower, while Mariah was wearing nothing but a short night gown.
Mariah, laying in bed watching TV, nodded absently. "Yeah, they called me right before they got on the plane."
He pulled on his shirt then laid down next to her. "You know I missed you right?"
Mariah smirked. "You saw me yesterday."
"Yeah, but I was so tired yesterday." He pointed out, kissing her shoulder. "I didn't get to do everything I wanted to."
Mariah giggled. "I bet. I got to write yesterday while you were asleep though."
"What did you write?" He asked.
Mariah shrugged, turning over. "Just a song."
"Well, duh. What kind?" Michael pressed.
Mariah blushed. "It was about you. It's called My All."
She already had an idea of how she wanted the song to sound. She wanted something sexy with a Spanish guitar. She had been reflecting on how she felt the two years she was married to Tommy, how she had longed for Michael and that's what had inspired the song.
"Will you sing it to me?" He asked.
She shook her head. "I want to record it first. I'm starting on my album when we get back to California."
"Why so soon?" He asked.
"Well, the sooner I finish these albums I owe Tommy, the sooner I can go to a different label." She explained. "I need to leave Sony."
"We both do." He agreed. "But I don't think Tommy would be dumb enough to sabotage your albums. You're his biggest asset, he wouldn't mess that up."
Mariah frowned. "Are you sure about that?"
Michael was making a lot of sense, Tommy was a good business man and they were his two biggest stars on the Sony roster. However, Mariah also knew that Tommy was extremely vindictive, that's why he was threatening her mother. She didn't know which side of him would win out when it came down to releasing her album.
Michael shrugged. "I don't think he would, he might try to trash me, but he wouldn't do anything to you."
Mariah sighed. "I hope you're right."