"Imagine yourself a store manager for a St. Louis clothing store by day and a singer in a local band by night. That was me for a while. But then in 1987, I moved with my husband/bandmate to Los Angeles to gain more notoriety.
Fast forward, I end u...
We were finally in Japan! We all arrived on a jumbo jet, all 132 of us. Michael was still wherever when we arrived.
We were up on the 10th floor of this lovely hotel. They called it the Michael Jackson Suites.
My mother Nidia, father Will, sister Lexi and older brother Jared, were all there to see me. They stayed at a nearby hotel but we all met at a restaurant to have dinner.
I was so happy to be with them again. I felt at home joking and laughing with them at the table.
"Are you nervous about the show?" my sister, who was only two years younger than me, asked.
I shook my head no. "I'm excited!"
"Aren't you going to be in front of like 30,000 people?" My mother always liked to tease me.
"I'll be fine."
My sister looked at my mom. "Yeah she's just a backup singer."
"Yeah but she's singing a duet with Michael too."
"I'll be fine, guys. You know I've been waiting forever to be on a stage like this."
"Anyways," my sister said. "How's Michael?"
I looked over to my father and brother who were having their own side conversation.
Lexi banged on the table. "Hello?"
"What?"
"How's Michael? What's he like? What do you guys do together?"
"I don't know how many times you've asked me this question."
My sister sucked her teeth. "I asked you once when you first met him."
She actually asked me way more than once. "What do you want to know?"
"What's he like?"
"Professional? I don't know. I don't see him outside of rehearsals."
"You don't party with him?"
I tried to picture Michael partying with me and the rest of the band. I laughed to myself. "No, Lexi, he doesn't party with us. He's very separated from the rest of us. When rehearsals are over, he disappears."
"Well that sucks."
I then thought about the short phone call I had with him. "Well he's fun in rehearsals."
"He's just going through a lot," my mother said.
Me and my sister both looked at her and laughed. "What do you know, Mama?" Lexi asked.
"I read the magazines."
"I wonder if his parents will be here," I thought out loud.
"Of course they will."
I smiled at my mother. She was so adorable sometimes. I leaned to my side and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Mommy."
She rolled her eyes and giggled. "I love you too, short stuff."
When Michael arrived it was exciting. It was like the city came to life. The band and our family were invited out to dinner and a trip to Tokyo's Disneyland.
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