Streets of Gold - A Michael Jackson Story

Chapter 52 - Sixth Sense Certainty

Yonela

Friday January 29th, 1988 - Los Olivos, Santa Barbara

RING!!! RING!!!

"Hello?" I say into the kitchen telephone receiver.

"Hello, Yonela. It's Tatiana."

"Tatiana?" I repeat, suddenly feeling uneasy. "Wow, what a nice surprise."

"Honey, it's been quite a while since I called to check in."

"Yeah, it really has."

"How have you been doing?"

"I've been alright, thanks. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. Just hectic with the tour and all that stuff."

"Yes, I can imagine."

"Michael shared the news of your baby girl with us after rehearsals earlier this week."

"Oh, he did?"

"Yeah, so I just thought I'd call you up and congratulate you on being a new mom."

I allow half a smile. "Wow, that's so sweet of you. Thank you so much."

"The pleasure is all mine, honey," she says cheerfully. "My break will be over soon, so I'd better get going now."

"That's alright. Thanks again for the call."

"Anytime. Talk soon, okay?"

"Talk soon, dear."

"Bye!"

"Bye-bye."

The line goes dead just before I hang up the receiver.

Wait a minute... didn't Michael say he has rehearsals for the movie today?

Unable to explain the sudden surge of uneasiness in my gut after this call, something tells me to dial Michael's line.

It rings once... Twice...

"Hello?"

"Hello, Daddy."

He chuckles. "Hi there, Mommy."

"You busy?"

"Never too busy for you, baby. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing just fine," I smile. "How about you?"

"I'm doing good. Rehearsals are going pretty smoothly today, I think everybody's finally getting into the swing of things."

"That's great to hear," I say, my smile fading. "By the way, I just got off the phone with Tatiana."

"She called you?" he asks, the slight shift in his tone very noticeable.

"She did," I start. "It was a personal congratulatory call after you told the team that Reign is here."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"How sweet of her."

"I know."

"Did she say anything else?"

"Nothing other than sending me her well wishes."

"That's very kind."

"Very."

"And how is my precious little princess doing?"

"She's just fine," I tell him. "Sound asleep upstairs while I'm down here cooking."