"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...
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It was my last night in Tokyo. I just got back to my hotel room from the show. I asked my makeup artist to come to my hotel room. She thought I called her in for a job but I actually just wanted to talk to her. So while she stood in the bathroom with me, fixing up my skin, I came out with I really wanted to say.
I cleared my throat. "Karen, you're my friend right?"
"Well of course I am, Michael," she giggled.
"I need to tell you something."
She put the makeup brush down. I guess she could see the solemnness in my eyes. "What's wrong?"
"You have to promise not to tell anyone."
"I swear," she said raising her right hand. "What is it?"
"It's about a girl."
She sighed and picked up the brush. "I thought it was something else."
"Like what?" I asked smiling.
"I don't know. Something...life-altering. But what's up?" She went back to doing her work.
"How do you win over a girl?"
She laughed. "Ha! You be Michael Jackson, that's how."
I laughed with her. "No seriously. Well there's a dilemma. She's completely unavailable."
"She has a boyfriend?"
"A husband."
She gasped. "Michael, you don't want to break up a happy home. Leave her alone."
"I know," I said lowly. "...but I've developed strong feelings for her already."
"Well Michael...she's happily married. You don't want to be known as home wrecker do you?"
"No but I don't think she's happy with him. I think they're having problems."
"How would you know that?"
"Promise me again you won't tell anyone this. Ever."
"I promise, Michael," she said staring straight in my eyes.
"It's Shakira."
She put the brush down again and leaned against the sink with me. "Shakira?"
"Yes." I looked down as if I was ashamed.
Karen hit my arm. "She's a hottie."
I looked at her with a wide grin. "You're so silly." I looked back down. "What should I do?"
"Well what makes you think she's not happy with her husband?"
"He never visited her in Florida, he didn't arrive with her family here for opening night, and she never talks about him. And I've noticed, she never wore her wedding ring during rehearsals but on stage she does, like her marriage is part of an act. Plus something else but I'm not sure on it..."
