October 31st, 1998
“Alright: Mia, Jackie? Let’s go say hi to Michael.” Yolanda said. Yolanda met Michael nearly a year ago while he was out shopping for his then in-utero twins. She was one of the fans outside of the mall who happened to bring along her own twin girls to meet Michael. She ended up hitting it off with him, and he invited she and her daughters over to Neverland for Halloween.
She and the girls approached the train station where Michael and Mariah sat--Mariah dressed as a fairy and Michael as a T-Rex.
“Hey, Yolanda.” Michael called out. He extended a tiny T-Rex arm to the woman. “This is my wife Mariah.”
“Oh my god- I- I don’t know what to say. I’m such a big-”
“Oooh, don’t say that.” Michael advised. “It makes you look like a fan.”
Yolanda burst out laughing.
“It’s nice to meet you, Yolanda.” Mariah said, extending a hand in welcome.
Michael knelt down to Mia and Jackie. “And who are you two supposed to be?”
“Well we’re one big costume.” Yolanda started. “I’m ‘one’.” She glanced down at Mia. “Mia, tell Michael what you are.”
Mia clutched her mother’s leg.
Not right now, sweetie. Don’t make mommy look like a ‘fan’.
“Uh- Well Mia’s ‘O’. And Jackie?”
Jackie reached up her arms toward Michael. “I’m a clock!”
Mariah giggled. “Oh! You’re ‘One O’Clock’! That’s so cute!”
Yolanda cheesed. “It was Mia’s idea.”
Mariah stooped down to Mia’s level. “What’s wrong sweetie? You shy?”
“Oh she is not shy.” Yolanda said.
“This mean old T-Rex scaring you?” Mariah asked.
“How can I scare her when I have baby arms?” Michael asked, jokingly. “Rawrrrr! I’m a dinosaur with baby arms.”
Yolanda chuckled while Mia began to play with Michael’s tiny dino-arms.
“So where are your twins?”
“They’re with Mother.” Michael responded. “She made them homemade costumes and she wanted to reveal them to us.”
Mariah spoke up, peering behind Yolanda’s head. “Speaking of-”
“Slow down Noni!” Katherine yelled in the background. Noelle walked out in front of her while Nicole, seemingly afraid of the ground, preferred to be carried.
Michael gasped. “Mother, they’re adorable!”
Nicole and Noelle were dressed like tiny s’mores with graham cracker and chocolate tops, and marshmallow hats.
“They look delicious.” Mariah noted.
Michael raised an eyebrow as he picked up Noelle, cupping her head. “You’re not eating my baby.”
Yolanda giggled. “They’re so cute! Oh- let me get a good look at them!”
Yolanda jumped out in front of Michael and Katherine to see the twins side by side. “I can’t believe they’re already walking!”
“Barely.” Mariah commented.
Michael rolled his eyes. “Good enough.”
Katherine looked up at Yolanda. “And you are?”
Yolanda extended her hand to Katherine. “I’m Yolanda. Michael and I met last year when these two were still just theories.”
Michael and Mariah giggled.
“Oh- and these are my daughters, Mia and Jackie.”
“Well hello there Mi- Wait a second did you name them after Michael?” Katherine asked.
Mariah tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Yolanda giggled. “Well, I’ve been a fan of the Jacksons since I was a little girl. And I naturally became a Michael fan. So, kind of?”
“Oh I didn’t know you were a fan of The Jacksons too?” Michael noted.
Before Yolanda could respond Noelle began babbling quite loudly. Yolanda looked down and-
“Jackie stop!”
Jackie immediately jumped back. Yolanda’s little girl, presumably fascinated with the food-human contraption Nicole was, began nibbling the other child.
“I am so sorry.” Yolanda said. “Please don’t kick us out.”
“Kick you out? Why would we kick you out for having a hungry kid? Little Miss Jackie was hungry so she went for the S’more. Can’t say I blame her.” Mariah responded, picking up Nicole and nibbling her little cheeks.
Michael chuckled at her--Yolanda taking that as a sign that she could too.
“We’ll if they’re hungry, I’ve made snacks at the guest house.” Katherine noted.
Wow, my babies are gonna eat Katherine Jackson’s food.
Yolanda smiled.
“I’m actually pretty hungry too.” Mariah said.
“Well then let’s go back to my mom’s place.” Michael suggested.
Michael, Mariah, Nicole, Noelle, Mia, Jackie, and Katherine formed a hand-holding line as they walked back to Katherine’s guest house. On their way back, Yolanda couldn’t help but be fascinated with the sites at Neverland, and Katherine’s stories. She was living her dream and her babies were there to witness it too.
“Mrs. Katherine-”
“Oh please, call her: Mother.” Michael suggested.
Katherine, Michael, and Yolanda giggled.
“Okay maybe not Mother.” Yolanda said, joking with Michael.
“Well you can call me Katie.” Katherine said.
“Okay, Mrs. Katie, I don’t know if this is appropriate to ask but aren’t you still Witness?”
Michael looked up from staring at the ground, in shock.
Katherine gave a tight-lipped smile. “Well, I am. But um, I still participate in things like this. I don’t celebrate it, you know. I just do things for the kids. It’s part of being a grandmother.”
Yolanda nodded. “So Michael, I take it you guys aren’t-”
Honk.
“Woah!” Michael shouted.
A woman swiftly hopped out of an SUV, running around to the side of it. She was gorgeous, with a big curly afro. “Oh my god, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay, that’s okay.” Another woman, blonde, who’d walked out in front of the car said.
“Nina?” Michael shouted.
The woman with the afro turned toward Michael, shooting him a smile. She was dressed like Dorothy from The Wiz.
“Hey Michael!” Nina shouted back.
Michael chuckled when he looked behind her and saw Debbie Rowe picking herself up from the ground. “Debbie what are you doing? You’re supposed to be helping out at the movie theater!”
“Well, my car broke down literally five minutes away from here. So I decided to just walk.”
Your car broke down so instead of dialing 911, you walk to a Halloween event for children? White people.
Michael chuckled. “You should’ve called somebody.”
“I don’t have my new cellular phone yet.”
“Ah I see.” Michael replied. He made small talk with Debbie for a moment, trying to figure out her car situation while Nina unpacked her car.
Nina soon exited her car with a baby in a car seat dressed like the Tin Man from The Wiz, and another woman exited dressed like the Scarecrow from the same film.
“Dawn? Noah?” Michael said, breaking his conversation with Debbie.
“Wait a second- are you guys from The Wiz?” Michael asked.
“In the flesh.” Nina said, doing a twirl for Michael.
“Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy.” Michael said, a mischievous grin on his face.
Mariah smacked Michael’s T-Rex arm.
“Ow!”
“Oh that so did not hurt, crybaby.” Mariah joked.
Yolanda looked on at the two women and the baby, trying to figure out what to say.
Michael introduced Dawn and Nina to Mia, Jackie, and Debbie, before he made it to Yolanda.
“Dawn, Nina, this is Yolanda. She’s a good friend of mine.”
Nina reached out a hand. “Hi Yolanda.”
“Call me Yandy.” Yolanda said, with a smile. “And who’s this little guy?” Yolanda asked, looking at Noah.
“This, is Noah.” Nina looked down at Noah. “Say hi, Noah!”
“Aww, he’s so adorable. Is he your brother?” Yolanda asked.
“Well- I’m flattered.” Nina said, blushing. “But actually, he’s our son.”
What?
“Michael you have a son?”
Michael’s eyebrow shot up. “What?”
Mariah shook her head, hastily. “No, Yandy, Noah is Nina and Dawn’s son.”
Yolanda nodded her head slowly. “Oh.”
Debbie, who’d been looking back and forth between the three women the entire time, spoke up. “Wait, so you’re dykes?”
Nina’s eyes widened, Dawn’s narrowed.
“We prefer the term ‘sexually free’.” Dawn responded, clearly irritated.
The tension was so thick you could slice it with a knife.
“How do two women have babies?” Debbie asked.
Nina shook her head. Yolanda could tell the woman was getting frustrated with Debbie’s mere presence.
When no one would answer, Debbie spoke up again. “You’re okay with having that around your kids-”
Mariah interrupted. “Okay, why don’t we go get these little munchkins some snacks?”
“Actually baby, why don’t you go with Mother and the girls, so I can show Nina and Yandy around.”
Mariah looked her husband up and down. Yolanda could tell she was slightly uncomfortable with the suggestion.
“Okay.”
“This whole place is gorgeous.” Nina said in awe.
Michael shot a smile at her. “So can we just talk about the obvious, here?”
Yolanda, walking alongside them like a third wheel, raised an eyebrow.
“What’s up?” Nina asked.
“Well, you and Dawn came as Dorothy and the Scarecrow?”
Hey, I’m one-third of a ‘One O’clock’ costume! Yolanda thought to herself.
“Yeah, and...” Nina said, sounding a bit unsure of the implication.
“And...that’s an iconic pairing in black cinema.” Michael responded.
“Iconic pairing?”
“Yes.” He said.
It clicked with Yolanda. “Ohhh, I get it, because Dorothy and the Scarecrow had all this romantic tension. It was actually quite interesting in the movie, you could almost see the chemistry.”
Michael nodded his head hastily.
Nina was still a bit confused. “Okay, and? Dawn and I are partners. Of course we’d have romantic- Oh my god, you were the Scarecrow.”
Yolanda nodded. “All this time I thought that was just a conspiracy.”
“A conspiracy?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, you know, like a fan theory.”
“Fan theory? What do you mean?” Michael pressed.
“Well, it would seem to many fans that there was something going on between Dorothy and the Scarecrow--you know, behind the scenes.”
Nina raised an eyebrow. “You were screwing Diana Ross?”
Michael’s eyes widened.
“Oh my god, that’s why Mariah was glaring at me back at the gate!” Nina said in realization. “She knows?”
Michael pursed his lips and nodded.
“If she didn’t, lord help her.” Yolanda added.
“Damn, was it that obvious back in the day?” Michael asked.
Yolanda nodded vigorously. “It’s obvious right now, Michael. The way you reacted to this obvious replica of Diana Ross’ obviously Diana Ross-inspired costume-”
Nina side-eyed Yolanda. “‘Obvious replica of Diana Ross’? I do not look like her.”
Michael spoke up. “First of all, yes the hell you do. Secondly, you say that as if it’s a bad thing?”
“Well it’s not a bad thing, but she has a reputation, you know.”
“A reputation?” Michael asked.
“Michael, I know you live inside of your own little world but outside of that, people talk.” Yolanda explained. “People say she’s a diva and a penis-slayer.”
Michael and Nina burst out laughing.
“What?” Yolanda asked, innocently.
“A penis-slayer, Yandy?” Michael asked, still cracking up from the insinuation.
“Okay, don’t believe-”
“Michael!” A male voice called out.
Welp, there goes conspiracy theory time.
“Hey, Frank! What’s up man?”
“How ya doing?” Frank asked.
“I’m good, I’m good. Oh- Frank, this is Yandy, Yandy this is my good friend Frank Cascio.” Michael said.
A hoard of similar looking people followed up behind Frank.
“Dominic! How have you been?” Michael asked, shaking his hand.
The oldest looking man, Dominic, smiled back at Michael. “I'm great, Michael. How's-”
“Michael!” Mariah called out. “Come inside, Noni wants her daddy.”
“You walked all the way out here to tell me that?” Michael asked.
Yolanda chuckled.
“Shut it.”
Michael smiled. “Not in front of our guests, dear.”
Mariah rolled her eyes.
“You two are something else.” Yolanda noted.
Mariah smiled at Yolanda, then quickly turned to Nina and frowned.
“Yandy, you can come in when you’re ready to eat.” Mariah said before swiftly pulling Michael away.
Yolanda waited a few minutes until Michael and Mariah were out of earshot and leaned over to whisper to Nina. “Something tells me she’s been following us.”
“Why do you think that?” Nina asked.
“It’s close to midnight, and something insecure is lurking in the dark.”
November 3rd, 1998
“There can be miracles
When you believe
Even though hope is-”
Whitney shook her head. “Stop! Stop, what are you doing?”
Mariah dropped her mic and sighed. “Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind.”
Whitney put a hand on Mariah's shoulder. “What's wrong, girl?”
“My brother. It's-” Mariah stopped and looked over at the band. “We're gonna take five, okay guys?”
The men looked surprised but got up and walked out of the room.
Mariah started again. “So I found out that my brother burned down our mom's house.”
Whitney raised an eyebrow. “What the hell? Why?”
“He told me that he was high and that he started shooting up some heroin-”
“See that's exactly why I don't mess with hair-on. Whitney don't take nothing that was made in a lab.” Whitney said, shaking her head.
But Whitney…sis...what plant do crack rocks come from...
Mariah cracked a smile, but continued on about Morgan: how he burned down their mother's home, and his trip to Mexico to avoid going to prison. Whitney took it all in, making a comment here and there. Before long, the conversation shifted to Michael and Mariah's Halloween party.
“So, the other day we did a little thing on Halloween with the kids, you know?”
Whitney leaned in.
“And Michael’s friends show up dressed like Dorothy and the Scarecrow.”
Whitney, poking out her lips, furrowed her eyebrows. “What- What do you? I don’t follow you baby. You gotta help me out, I’m on that stuff babygirl.”
Mariah didn’t know whether to laugh or seek help for her friend. “Listen, Whitney, they were Dorothy and the Scarecrow from The Wiz.”
Whitney stared at her with a blank face. “Sweetheart, I don’t understand. Am I missing something here? I’m very confused.”
Jesus Whitney, stop doing that stuff and maybe you would get it.
“Whitney, they’re married and they dressed as Michael and Diana.”
Whitney snapped her head to the side and pulled back. “Oh. Oh. Ohhhh… Sweetie that’s not a good look.”
Mariah nodded hastily. “I don’t know what they were doing when they did that but Michael looked at the one girl, Dorothy, like a piece of meat.”
“The one girl?”
“Yeah, they’re both women.” Mariah responded.
Whitney sucked in her cheeks. “Okay, okay. Nippy loves the gays, now. She herself has dipped her toes in the water, honey!”
“Wait you’ve been with a woman?” Mariah asked.
“Only a blind man can’t see, what he can’t see! And my eyes, have been opened!” Whitney replied, dramatically.
Mariah looked on at Whitney in confusion. “So is that a yes or n-”
“He who has written the test shall not also take it. For he who takes the test that himself has written, will surely pass!” Whitney shouted.
“I don’t- But what does that have to do with-”
Whitney swiftly placed her hand over Mariah’s forehead and pushed it back, as if she were saying a prayer over the younger woman.
“There’s always a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow!”
Mariah’s eyes widened. “Ohhhh, I get it. This is your way of telling me you’d be down for it-”
“I have not told you a thing babygirl. But Nippy is a drifter who can not, shall not, be tamed!”
Mariah scratched the inside of her ear--unsure of whether to be frightened or psyched at Whitney’s antics.
“Okay, the point is, they’re two married women who came dressed as my husband and another woman.”
“Yes baby, are you mad?” Whitney asked, facetiously.
“I’m a little concerned, yes.”
Whitney stared at the woman for a moment before quickly breaking eye contact. “Okay so you’re mad. Now tell us why.”
Whitney leaned back in her chair with her index finger pointed up the side of her face.
“Well, you know, all that stuff you told me about Michael.”
Whitney sucked in her cheeks and nodded--her eyes blinking at 20 miles a minute.
“Well?”
“Well what, baby?” Whitney asked, sitting straight up in her chair. “Michael is a grown man. He was young a dumb when he was with Diana.”
“Yeah but- Is there anything I need to know about them?” Mariah asked.
Whitney tilted her head back and put her hand on her chin in a thinking pose. “Oh! Well there was that one time he went nuts.”
Huh?
“What happened?”
“He was at some award show with that little old racist white lady he started following around-”
“Liz? She’s not racist.” Mariah noted.
“Every word that isn’t about Michael that comes out of that lady’s mouth is kinda racist. I mean, have you not heard that lady talk about anything other than your husband?” Whitney asked.
“Well...no?”
“Exactly. Anyway, he was there with her and, you know, the joke was Diana left him so he found hisself another cougar, or in this case a mountain lion, to eat him alive.” Whitney said, laughing.
Mariah didn’t even blink.
“Tough crowd today, you are. Anyway, so he was at this show and it’s going on and on and he’s obviously not okay. Then, Diane gets on stage with her husband. Now see, thing is, she married this man while she was still with Michael. And I heard through the grapevine that poor thang had to hear it from Quincy Jones’ people. It was sad. Anyway, she’s on that stage with the man she left your man for and Michael is livid. And you know he don’t hide his anger well--poor thing was cursed with an expressive face. He shoulda learned from the good sis Nippy-”
“Whitney! Back on track.” Mariah demanded.
“Right, right. So, he’s upset and all this stuff and he goes up there to receive his award and it was awkward! I heard that he avoided her and wouldn’t even properly thank her for presenting the award. And you know, Michael ain’t no ungrateful man. So that right there told me that there was something more to this situation. So you know me, I start doing my rounds, collecting the research for the girls and I find out that Diane had done stuff like that to him before! Matter-of-fact, she was cheating on other men with him too!”
Mariah nodded, worriedly. “What else?”
“And so, well, you know Michael is a proud man. He ain’t no side bitch for nobody. So I said ‘why would a man knowingly let a woman cheat all over the place?’ And see that--that let me know he either had low self esteem or he didn’t know at the time it was all happening, you know, too deep in to actually leave her. So then, I have a talk with Jermaine and I find out this has been going on much longer than anybody thought.”
What?
“Whitney, what are you saying to me right now?” Mariah asked, afraid. She prayed Whitney didn’t mean what she thought she meant.
“How the song go? Ms. Diana likes ‘em ‘Young, Gifted, and Black’, sweetie.”