"Good to see you, too, Mr. Kennedy. Nicole told me you wanted to see me right away."
Michael, Dad, and I are sitting in his office around a small coffee table.
"Yes, I did. I wanted to talk with you right away. To get to know you a little bit better."
"I know you're not happy, Mr. Kennedy, but—"
"How do you know I'm not happy?"
"Well, because you don't sound too happy."
"You're right. I am not. And do you see why?"
"Yes, sir. Because of my history with Nicole—"
"Well, yes, but not only that. You see, you're a 20-year-old businessman and international superstar. You've sold over millions of records for more than a decade. My daughter here is 18 years old and currently in college. She doesn't have the experience you've acquired over the years, Michael... What do you see in Nicole that you don't see in all the other beautiful women falling at your feet around you?"
Michael laughs. "Well, first, Nicole's not falling at my feet, so that's good—"
"Yes, of course."
"And, Nicole is someone I have grown to like over the years. She's very interesting and very beautiful. Naturally, I have deep feelings for her. Nicole's also extremely charming. Unlike all the other beautiful women around me. So, there are many reasons I like her, but those are the top ones."
"I see." Dad folds his hands. "And, may I recall, three years ago, you and Nicole were good friends. Then, something happened there and both of you stopped talking to each other. Were you and Nicole romantically involved, Michael?"
"Towards the end, yes, sir. We were."
"And tell me exactly what made you two break up?"
"It was me, sir. I was 19, and Nicole was 16. didn't think it would work out."
"Nicole was very mature by then."
"Yes, she was, sir. But I had so many things to think about, like my family and starting a whole new career out on my own. I felt that I needed to fix those aspects of my life first before I got serious with Nicole" he looks at me "and I didn't want to spoil her with my problems. So, I broke it off."
"That really hurt her," Dad recollects.
"It did. And I'm sorry, Nicole. But I've asked her to give me one, last chance and this time I don't want to ruin it."
"Well, Michael, I think I'm okay with you seeing Nicole now. I just hope it ends up better than last time."
We get up and Dad shakes Michael's hand. "You're welcome to our house anytime. Nicole's mother is coming here in a few hours for lunch. Maybe you'd like to stay and meet her again?"
"I would love to, Mr. Kennedy, thank you so much."
I put my arm in Michael's and we leave the office.
"How are you feeling?" I ask. We go out and sit by the pool.
"I'm glad we spoke to your dad. I needed to tell him that," Michael says. The sun is beaming on us. It's about 9:45 in the morning, two hours until my mother comes.
I cross my legs, pulling my white sundress over my knees. Michael's donning his sunglasses.
"Do you want to come to Las Vegas with me?" he asks.
I run my fingers through my hair. "What are you doing there?"
"I'm going to a show. Jermaine, Tito, and Randy are coming, too."
"I'm going to be the only girl in your group, Michael."
"So? You'll get your own room and we'll go out to eat and just have fun." Michael leaned back in his chair and paused.
"When do you want to meet my mother?"
I remember the way she was looking at me at the party. "What did you say to her about me?"
"Not much. Why?"
"I saw Katherine last night. She only said hi to Aless and Jen."
"I'm sorry. She probably just remembers you, that's all. You're all grown up."
I squint my eyes in the sun. "Michael, I'm still the same girl."
"I know you are. That's why I still love you."
"Michael, don't talk about me too much to your family. I feel like they don't know me that well, yet. I know they have the wrong impression of me."
My eyes follow our intertwined fingers as Michael puts my hand to his lips.
"You've always been my queen. Nobody will ever get the wrong impression of you."
Daddy