Moments with Michael

I Missed You

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It's the year 1994, and Michael is working hard on his next album. The two of you have been together for a few years, and you both love each other very much.

Bang! It's the sound of the door slamming. I immediately rush to the hall, impatient to finally see Michael again. He left for work before I even woke up, and now it's 6 PM.

I get out to the door, and there he is. He has a tired expression on his face, but his eyes still light up with happiness when he sees me.

"Gry! It's good to see you again" He exclaims, as I run over to give him a hug.

"It's good to see you too!" I mumble against his shirt. Then I step away and waits while he hangs up his jacket. I go to the living room, and he follows me. We sit down on the couch, and he must have noticed the unusual seriousness in my face, cause he suddenly looks a bit concerned.

"What's wrong?" He asks, and I take a deep breath.

"You work too much, Michael."

"That's not true! Look, I know it have been some long days this week, but there's a lot to do!"

"I know there is, sweetie, but I also know that you need time to relax once in a while! You have been working from early morning to well into the evening for the past month!"

He looks down and mumbles something.

"What?" I ask, and he looks up at my eyes and repeat his words:

"I know. It's just... I have to do this! Everyone expects me to deliver something genius, and..." He stops, breathing in deeply to control the tears forming in his eyes. He bows his head to avoid looking me in the eyes while his is full of pain.

"Michael! Baby, look at me!" I say, shocked, but trying my best to keep my voice down. I take his hand and hold it tightly. When he finally raises his head again, I look him straight in the eyes:

"Listen to me, okay! You don't have to care about what "everyone" wants from you. You have to care about what you want! You do not have to work 10-12 hours a day, just because some people expect you to come up with something genius. You make your music because you love it, because it's your passion! It's a wonderful gift to the world and they can wait for it until you say it's ready. You don't owe them anything!"

"You think so?" He asks, his voice not much more than a whisper. He looks at me with big, sad, brown eyes.

"Yes! Yes, of course I do!" I answer him, my voice almost a bit desperate. I continue in a more business-like voice:

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna call your team, and tell them they have the day off tomorrow. Meanwhile, I will go in the kitchen and make us a good dinner, and then we're just gonna relax tonight. Okay?"

"Okay" he answers quietly, but with a little smile on his face.

"Good" I say, smiling widely to him, before lightly kissing his cheek, causing his smile to widen a little.

He finds his phone, and I goes to the kitchen and starts getting different ingredients from the cupboards. I stand still for a moment, thinking about what I should make. It have to be good, something to cheer him up a little. But not too hard. It's already late to start, and I don't want to stand here for hours. After a minute of thinking, I decide to make some lasagna. I have done that with my dad since I was 10 years old, so I know the recipe by heart! And other than that, it's one of Michaels favorite.

I begin making it, and five minutes after I feel someone hugging me from behind. I lay my head back on Michaels shoulder, and he gives me a soft kiss on the forehead. I smile at him, laughter sparkling in my eyes. He smiles back before letting go of me.

I turn my focus back to the stove before me, and I can hear Michael finding the ovenproof dish. I continue with the meat, while he fixes the dish, finds the lasagna sheets, and then comes to help me. I don't really need help, and it's not easy to be two to do this, so he just stands with his arms around me and looks at what I'm doing. Occasionally he twirls my hair or kisses my cheek, and I can't help but think how much I've missed this. The last weeks there haven't been much time for us to just be together. Michael haven't been home before 6 PM the last month, and then he would sit in his office and make phone calls or read through one of his songs, to see if he could do any of it better. He wouldn't come out before it was time to go to bed, and then he would be too tired to even talk to me.

I smile a little smile. I definitely missed him, but he will always be worth waiting for.

When it's ready, we put the lasagna together with meat, lasagna sheets and cheese on the top. We put it in the oven, and then all that's left to do is wait. We find plates and glasses and knives and forks and everything and put it on the table. When the lasagna is done, we put that on the table too. And then we're ready.

We both sit down to eat, and it's truly amazing how much better the atmosphere is. Better than it have been for a long time. We small talk while we eat, and I can just feel how much more relaxed Michael is.

"What are you smiling at?" He asks curiously.

"I was just thinking about you. How much more relaxed you seem now. More than you have for a long time!" I answer him.

"Yeah." He says with a little smile. He reach over the table to grab both of my hands. "Thank you. It was too much work, and I... I never took time to be with you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I know you will always come back to me" I say with a little smile, trying to show him how much I love him.

"Yes. I will always come back to you." He repeats, but then continues with a glimpse of guilt in his eyes: "But I shouldn't have to come back, and you surely shouldn't be the one to tell me. I should just stay with you in the first place. I shouldn't ever let my work come in the way of us!"

"Shhh, Michael. It's okay. I don't want anything to come in between us either, but it's okay now. Everyone makes mistakes, okay? It's not a problem anymore, and I know you won't let it happen again."

He nods slowly, still holding both of my hands. Then he all of sudden lets go and stands up from the table, going over to me. I quickly stand up, confused about what he's going to do. For a moment he just stands there in front of me, before putting his arms around me and kissing me passionately on the lips.

A long moment after we finally let go, and Michael just looks at me, his eyes filled with happiness and peace.

"I missed you"