Stay the Night

Chapter 23

December 9th, 2002

Latoya bit her lip in thought. Michael and Mariah had dropped the kids off with her while they attended the Billboard Music Awards, but it seemed more like her parents were doing the babysitting. She'd spent most of the time trying to get the kids away from their grandparents to give them a break, but they all seemed to have minds of their own.

"Hey kids, you guys wanna come upstairs with me?" Latoya asked, hoping to get their attention.

Nicole, seated triumphantly on Joseph's lap, shook her head. "No. We wanna stay with Papa."

Latoya, defeated, took a seat on the couch beside her mother and observed her nieces and nephew.

Carey beamed at Katherine. The woman seemed either indifferent to or confused by her grandchild. He was a beautiful little boy--reminiscent of Michael at that age. Latoya could see a clear and present curiosity in the boy's giant orbs. The trait, Carey shared with Latoya herself, his own father, Janet, and their paternal grandmother, Crystal Lee. They each had a distinct look that either mimicked a deer in headlights or a sensitive soul wandering the world.

Carey giggled for seemingly no reason, tucking his chin into his neck, "Maw-maw!"

Katherine just stared back at him. "What you laughin' for, baby?"

Carey grabbed his grandmother's cheeks as slobber dripped from his tightly-grinned mouth. Katherine could help but smile, he was just so darn cute--such a little Michael.

Meanwhile, sitting in his LA-Z Boy, Joe found himself a live participant in a potential crime scene.

While Nicole was seated comfortably on Joseph's lap, Noelle and Elizabeth tried to pull her down by her foot.

"Stop!" Nicole whined.

"No! I wanna sit with Papa!" Noelle shot back.

Elizabeth pouted. "Me too!"

"Hey, hey, hey now." Joseph interjected in a good natured tone.

Latoya watched in amusement as her father lifted up the other two girls and sat them all on his lap.

"Better?" He asked.

Both Noelle and Elizabeth nodded, while Nicole seemed annoyed.

Latoya noticed that her father seemed to enjoy these moments with his grandchildren and wondered what made a stone faced man like Joseph turn into such a doting grandfather.

Old age must've softened him up. She mused.

Still, it was strange for Latoya to see the man so readily accept the girls calling him "Papa" and playing with them. She almost envied them, wishing that she could've had the same close relationship with him. Joseph the father and Joseph the grandfather seemed like two entirely different people. She wondered how Michael felt about it, considering that he used to be so fearful of Joseph; but perhaps he, like the rest of the Jackson siblings, had accepted it too.

December 13th, 2002

Michael trudged into the house after hours of filming with Bashir. It was bad enough the man barely slept the night before going to work on the documentary, but he also had more work to attend to in his office. He decided to stop by the main house to grab a sandwich, and then it was back to work for the rest of the day.

Michael walked into the kitchen and pulled the bread, some condiments, and some roasted turkey out of the refrigerator. He was was so focused on feeding his growling stomach he didn't hear the tiny footsteps beating against the hardwood floors.