Stay the Night

Chapter 20

October 4th, 2002

Mariah was leaning on the kitchen island while Michael started to prepare dinner. He'd filmed a segment for his documentary with Martin Bashir before she got up this morning, leaving her to awkwardly shuffle around the hotel suite with Karrin all day. Only a week in and she still couldn’t get used to it. Ironically, it wasn’t that Karrin bothered her personally as much as it was the kids’ attachment to her, particularly Carey’s, that did Mariah in. And it made it worse that she wasn’t quite over her paranoia from the events of the past year and a half.  

Mariah eyed her husband as he cracked a couple eggs into the bowl, and took a slow sip from her wine glass.

“Sweetheart?”

“Yes, baby?” Michael paused what he was doing and came around to the other side of the island, stopping directly in front of her. Their faces were only separated by her glass.

She giggled.

“Why are you so close?” She said, pushing him away.

He just leaned into her, a large smile plastered on his face. But he just as quickly pulled away.

Mariah raised an eyebrow. “You're a trip.”

“We'll see what you'll be saying later.” He smirked. “That is, if you can fix your mouth to form sentences.”

She blushed. “You need to chill out.”

“Why? I'm just getting started.”

He suddenly stepped back and walked toward the refrigerator. At the same time, Mariah picked up a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix to read the instructions. She glanced at what Michael had already done, but quickly realized that her husband was trying to kill everyone.

“Baby?”

Michael walked back over from the refrigerator and put a finger over her lips. “Shhh…”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Mike-”

He closed his eyes. “Shhhh.”

“What are you-”

“Shhhh!”

She glared at him. What the hell...

“Hear that?” He asked.

Her eyes darted from side to side.

“That is the sound of you not ruining my mood with whatever you were about to say.”

She slapped his hand away. “You're so mean.”

Michael cackled in response and ran to the other side of the kitchen.

She rolled her eyes in amusement and refocused her attention on the cornbread in an attempt to rectify the mess her husband made.

“I was gonna do that!” He exclaimed, playfully holding his hips.

She pursed her lips. “Yeah right. I got this.”

As she picked up the mixing spoon, she kept a critical eye on her husband. He seemed to lose interest in making dinner as soon as she took over, instead opting to eat M&M’s from a pack on the counter.

Mariah shook her head. “You do not need no more sugar.”

Michael frowned, but sat the pack down on the counter. “Fine, mom.”

She chuckled but her arms didn’t, stirring in the cornbread mix until it was smooth.

“Sit down.” She instructed. “I gotta talk to you about something.”