Real Love (Book I)

Chapter 15

Conversations In A Café

| 3:10 pm |

*Michael's P.O.V*

I repeatedly checked my watch nervously as I sat in this café waiting for Ms. Diana to arrive. After a few more moments of waiting, I see a tall caramel-skinned woman walk in and we make eye contact.

This must be her. She began to walk my way and the closer she got, the more nervous I felt.

When she made it to the booth, I stood up.

"Hello, you must be Diana", I say as I shake her hand.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jackson", she says smiling.

I could tell she was also nervous.

"It's nice to meet you also. You may call me Michael, if you'd like", I respond.

"Well, Michael, I would like to first apologize to you for all of the negative things I've said to Aaliyah regarding you. I honestly didn't mean any of it since I don't even know you. I just wanted Aaliyah to stay focused on her work and, not to be rude but, you're kind of a distraction for her", she says.

Ouch. 

"With all due respect Ms. Diana, Aaliyah is a grown woman and she is capable of making decisions on her own. I do not slow her down since I am prepping for a tour myself, so, whether she works or not is on her and has nothing to do with me. When it comes to her artistry, I her support system and I would never do anything to steer her away from her music. But, thanks for the apology I guess", I respond.

"Ok, maybe you're right about not being a distraction but it almost seems as if you are from my end. I'm just not used to her attention being elsewhere other than on her music. I also wanted to know if you could get Aaliyah to speak to me soon. I try calling but she never answers", she says with a sad expression.

I sigh and rub my forehead. "I'll see what I can do, but, I can't guarantee anything. Aaliyah is very stubborn, as I'm sure you already knew."

We continued to talk until my break was over.

"It was nice meeting you, Michael", Diana says as she stands.

I stand up too shaking her hand.

"It was nice meeting you too. I'm actually glad that we did this now and hopefully from here on, you will be around more", I say to her.

"I do hope so too, but, now it's all up to Aaliyah", she responds.

"I'll make sure to talk to her. Goodbye, Ms. Diana", I say.

"Goodbye", she says and walks off.

I learned so much more about Liyah today. This lunch with her mother-- well, foster mother, really put some perspective on Liyah's life and helped me figure out why she was so stubborn about certain things. I really hope she doesn't shut out the idea of seeing her mother again.

| 10:27 pm | 

*Aaliyah's P.O.V*

"So, because you decided to have lunch with my mother, you expect me to just forget everything she's done?", I ask Michael from the bathroom while I wrap a towel around myself.

"That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying that you should at least talk to her, Liyah. She really seems to miss you and is genuinely apologetic about everything", he responds.

I walk out the bathroom and give him a disapproving look.

"Baby, I love your kind heart and everything, but, I really can not talk to her. I don't think she even misses me. I think she misses the control she had over me", I say.