Best of Joy

Chapter 10: Lisa

Despite the nightmare, sleep came quite easily. That is, after Michael had joined me and eased my tension.

I had no idea why I woke up so early every morning. I was always awake before Michael, who was a regular early-bird himself.

It was a rainy morning at Neverland; I could hear the light drizzle peacefully falling on the roof and windows. It instantly relaxed me.

I looked at the bedside clock which read 7:15am, then turned over to face my beautiful husband who was still out like a light.

As I watched his chest steadily rise and fall I noticed he was shivering.

He had fallen asleep with the covers underneath him and he must’ve gotten chilled during the night.

As slowly as I could, I got up and went over to the closet to look for a snuggly, warm blanket I could place over him. I fumbled through some which were stacked on the first shelf, and I finally came to the one I was looking for. It was a quilt his mother had made for him and his brothers when they were just boys. They would tour everywhere without her, and Katherine wanted her children to have a special piece of her wherever their superstardom took them.

I grabbed it and lay back down, carefully placing it over his shivering body. A sleepy moan of gratitude escaped his lips, and I carefully snuggled closer to him under the blanket, trying to warm him up faster.

“Thank you,” he groggily muttered. I didn’t even know he was awake.

“Go back to sleep, baby,” I encouraged, wanting him to rest up. It wasn’t every night that he got to sleep the way he did.

“Nah, Eve,” he yawned, beginning to stretch, “I should get up. I have a big day today. Lots of things to do.” He smiled sleepily at me and placed his hand lovingly on my hip. I quivered slightly at his touch and instantly wanted to lay there with him for the rest of the day. “What’s planned?” I asked, disappointed at his use of words. “More studio work. And then I have a friend I’m meeting with—she’s interested in a recording contract and wants me to hear some of her demos,” he said, sitting up and holding me close to him. “Who is it?”

She? I thought. As much as I hated to admit it, I was instantly jealous.

“Lisa Presley,” he sighed.

“You mean Lisa Marie?”

“Yes. She wants me to hear some of her ideas; nothing special,” Michael stretched.

“When?”

“Tonight at 8.”

“Can I come…?” I felt like a little kid asking him so sweetly and longingly. I didn’t know why I was suddenly so jealous. I guess because she was so beautiful. I had seen pictures of her before; she wasn’t exactly the most hideous thing…

“Evonne…” Michael said in a scolding tone. He tilted his head downward but still held my gaze. He obviously sensed my jealousy. I looked away, avoiding his eyes. I sometimes hated that he could read me so well. I felt his hand on my chin as he turned it back and planted a soft, tender kiss on my lips.

“You don’t need to get tense,” he said, stroking my arm. “It’s business, and she would never try anything on a married man.”

I almost couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying; he instantly put memories of the night in my mind.

“She’d better not.”

He giggled at my anger, shrugging it off and reassuring me Lisa would never do such a thing.