He Saved Me

Chp 32

"Daddy?" Mia called out. She was still snuggled into Michael's embrace.
"Yes?" Michael answered.
"A-a-are you still mad at me?" she questioned in almost a whisper. Michael took a deep breath and looked down at her little face.
"Look at me Mia," he said. She looked up with glossy eyes. He moved some stray strands behind her ear. "You know you were out of line earlier right?" he asked. Mia looked down and pouted. Michael lifted her chin so she could look him in the eye. "I love and cherish you babygirl. You have no idea how much I love you. But that doesn't mean you can say or do whatever you want. If you're going to be disrespectful, there will be consequences. You should know this by now," Michael said.
"I know but when I get mad, I can't control it... it's like I can't think anymore. And I didn't want to talk about what happened that night," Mia confessed sadly.
"And that's fine. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you. But just how you said it now, you could've said it then. But you decided to be disrespectful instead. That's not how we do things around here," Michael said gently. "You don't EVER throw things at someone. No matter how mad they make you. Do you understand Mia?"
Mia slowly nodded her head. "I'm sorry I threw ice cream at you," she said sadly. Michael stared at her, waiting for the rest of the apology. Mia soon realized he expected more from her admission. "And I'm sorry for not listening to you right away," she said with tears forming in her eyes. Mia knew Michael could never stay mad at that face. He pulled her back into his chest, and placed kisses on the top of her head.
"You know what this means right?" Michael asked while raising his eyebrows. Mia looked at him confused. "No ice cream for 2 weeks," he whispered in her ear. Mia looked at him hurt. "Don't make that face Mia," Michael said giggling. "You know what you did." Mia knew this punishment wasn't outlandish. In fact she's surprised that's all he's giving her. She didn't wanna make it worse, so she simply nodded and snuggled back into him.
     "Let's go eat. I'm starving," Michael said with a smile. Mia wasn't ready to let go of his cuddles just yet, so he proceeded to carry her down the stairs. Mia stayed quiet throughout the dinner. She didn't really eat her food either. She kept playing with it till Michael noticed. "Mia, why aren't you eating? Does it taste bad?" he questioned with a chuckle. Even he knew how good of a cook he is. There's no way Mia doesn't like it.
"I'm not hungry," she whispered.
"Speak up baby I can't hear you," Michael responded.
"I'm not hungry," she said louder with a tinge of attitude. Michael noticed she's been acting weird ever since she came downstairs. He didn't want to agitate her even more. She already had an outburst today, he couldn't handle another one so soon. He rested his head on his right hand, and just stared at Mia. He zoned out during Prince and Paris's conversation because, he was genuinely worried about Mia. What could she possibly be upset about now? She seemed fine when she was alone with him.
"You have to eat Mia. Only real meal you had today was breakfast. At least eat half of it and I'll let you go," he said authoritatively. Mia continued to play with her food. Michael noticed and internally rolled his eyes. He moved closer to Mia and took the spoon out of her hands. He scooped up some fish and rice, and held it in front of her mouth. "Eat," he simply said.
Mia wanted to avoid what happened earlier in the day. She decided to actually obey Michael for once, without putting up a fight. She took the food from the spoon and kept staring at Prince and Paris. Michael followed her gaze and was so confused. Is she mad at them about something? Did they say something to her? Michael decided to finally pay attention to what Prince and Paris were talking about. They were talking about Debbie.

Michael's POV
     Now it's no secret that Debbie Rowe is Prince and Paris's mother. I never hid who their mother is. And I mean, they're not stupid. They can google my name and find out everything on their own. But as far as I knew, the only time Debbie had any contact with them was when Paris reached out to her a few years ago. Prince refused to have any relationship with her, which is his own right. But the more I listened to their conversation, the more I realized why Mia was acting weird.
     "I think I'm going to buy something for Debbie this Mother's Day," Paris said. Prince gave her a dirty look.
     "Why?" he questioned. "She's never been a mom to us," he blurted out.
     "Ok but she still gave birth to us, so that's something," she snapped back.
     "Whatever," Prince rolled his eyes and left the table. As much as I wanted to say something, I had to stop myself. I didn't want to hurt Paris's feelings. She's already been going through a lot recently. If she finds peace in getting Debbie a gift, I don't care. But I knew why Prince reacted like that. I decided to go talk to him after dinner. Meanwhile, I looked down at Mia giving Paris a dirty look. Oh God.
     "Mia?" I called out.
     "What?" she asked annoyed.
     "Is there something on your mind?" I asked gently. I usually try to speak as soft and gentle as I can, hoping my children will emulate that kindness... doesn't seem to be working at this moment. Mia thought about it for a second and then glared at me.
     "Do you have a wife?" she blurted out. Paris and Blanket, both looked our way in shock. I guess no one was expecting that question. I knew Mia was going to start asking questions about our unconventional family some day. As much as I wanted to go deal with Prince, I felt like I should clear Mia's doubts first. I cleared my throat before speaking up.
     "Um no I do not," I answered.
     "How do you have kids then?" she asked.
     "What?" I asked in shock. What is this girl asking me?
     "Don't you have to have a wife to have babies?" she asked innocently. I couldn't help but chuckle, before answering her question.
     "Well, no not all the time," I said.
     "How come Prince and Paris have a mom but I don't?" she asked. And then I hear Blanket speak up.
     "Well I don't either if that makes you feel better," he said to Mia. Jesus. What did I just get myself into. I rubbed my temples, trying to come up with the a good answer.
     "Well Mia, families come in many different forms. Some people have a mom and a dad. Some people have only one parent, like you and your siblings. And then some people don't have either," I answered.
     "That's not true. Prince and Paris have both. Mia and I only have you," Blanket hissed. Great. So now these 2 were ganging up on me. Paris just looked around the room awkwardly.
     "Well am I not enough Blanket?" I asked.
     "Dad! You know that's not what I meant!" Blanket said defensively.
     "I know I'm just messing with you. So it looks like we're all done with dinner," I said desperately trying to change the topic. I looked at Mia. "Last chance young lady, don't be asking me for food later," I warned. She crossed her arms and nodded no to the spoon I held in front of her mouth.
     "Ok everyone, go wash your plates please," I announced. "Prince!!!" I yelled out. I heard footsteps running down the stairs.
     "What?" he answered. He looked like he was in a bad mood. I knew it was all this talk about Debbie, so I let it be. I'm hoping he'll calm down in a bit.
     "Wash your dishes please. You know the rules," I reminded him. He rolled his eyes, and came over to the table to grab his plate. Wow the attitude in this house was through the roof today. Once the dishes were all washed, everyone dispersed into their own rooms. Except Mia of course. That one follows me around like a shadow. All these toys and activities I have provided for her, yet her only interest is to spend time with me. I won't lie, I love it.
     My older 3 sometimes feel like they're too cool for their dad. Not Mia. She always has stories to tell me. Her imagination is so impressive. Talking to her is like looking at the world through new eyes. I was trying to tidy up my room, but couldn't get much done. Mia kept touching everything she could lay her eyes on in my room. After a few minutes, I gave up.
     "Sweetheart, go pick out a book you want to read. We can read it together," I suggested. She went into the library and brought back the thickest philosophy book I owned. "This is what you wanna read?" I asked unsurely.
     "Yeah," she replied.
     "Baby I think this might be too hard for you to understand," I said.
     "I'm not stupid," she replied while rolling her eyes.
     "I never said you were Mia. This is just higher than your reading level," I answered. "Might even be too high for my reading level," I said as I looked through it.
     "I want to read it," she insisted. I let out a sigh.
     "Ok, if that's what you want...." I said. I sat her down on my lap as I opened up this encyclopedia sized book on the philosophy of modern society. I couldn't even get through the first 3 pages, before I heard Mia's light snores. I knew this book was beyond her comprehension. It bored her to sleep. I put the book aside and carried her into bed. I tucked her in gently and kissed her cheek.
     I went to check on Prince, to talk about what happened earlier. I knocked on his door before entering. He was sitting on his bed sulking, while texting on his phone. "Hey Applehead," I said. He looked up and squeaked out an unenthusiastic "hello". I sat down next to him pulled him into a bear hug. No matter how big he gets, he can never refuse Daddy's hugs.
     "You wanna tell me what happened earlier?" I asked nicely.
     "Nothing happened," he said monotonously.
     "Why'd you leave the table so angrily then?" I questioned.
     "Nothing happened Dad. I was just tired," he answered while staring into space. I pressed my lips against his forehead, while holding him tight. I know how much the topic of his mother bothers him. And sometimes I blame myself for bringing him and his sister into this world, under such a predicament. I wish love was enough to heal all wounds, but I know it isn't.
     "Sweetheart, it's okay if you don't want to have a relationship with Debbie. You don't need to feel bad about it," I said as he cringed at my words of endearment. I chuckled and said, "Well it's either sweetheart or baby, your choice." He finally broke out into a smile. His gloominess was apparent on his face once the smile disappeared.
     "But you also shouldn't make your sister feel bad for wanting to know her mother," I said gently.
     "Dad please stop calling her that," he barked.
     "What?" I asked confused.
     "Mother," he simply replied. "I know what kind of arrangement you and Debbie had. And I accepted that a long time ago. But Paris has this delusional idea that you and Debbie were in love. She has this picture of a happy family, and it's just not true. She lives her life in a lie and tries to shove it down my throat," he complained. I know Debbie went into details with Paris about our relationship. And she might have exaggerated a little too much. Maybe under her own fantasy, or maybe just to save Paris's heart. I don't know. And I never bothered to break that illusion for Paris either.
     "Prince I did love Debbie and..." I began.
     "Not in the way a husband loves his wife Dad! You and I both know that," he cut me off. "I still remember all those times Lisa Marie was around. I know you didn't love Debbie."
     "Prince, let me finish please. I loved Debbie as a friend. She gave me the biggest gift in the world. I will never be able to repay her for that," I said.
     "Except you did. In an $8 million divorce settlement," he scoffed. How did he even know that? Ugh nothing stays off the internet these days.
     "Ok yes you're right. She did get money. But son, that's the arrangement we had. She didn't trick me into getting that money. We were both on the same page since day 1. Love can be found in many different structures. I loved Debbie dearly for making me a father. We're both content with that," I explained.
     "Don't you feel betrayed when Paris talks to Debbie?" he questioned.
     "What do you mean?" I asked curiously.
     "You have been our mom and dad since the day we were born. You've done everything for us. You're our whole world. But then Paris goes and talks to this woman, who has never done anything for us besides give birth. Do you not get upset?" he said with tears brimming his eyes.
     "Aw Applehead," I said as I kissed his cheek. "You don't need to feel like you're betraying me. Was I hurt when Paris first decided to talk to her? Of course. I felt like my world was going to end. But I also understand what it must feel like not knowing your mother. I see it in Blanket's eyes everyday. And if God has given Paris a chance to reconnect with that aspect of her life, who am I to stop it?" I said.
     "Well I still don't need a mother. I have you and that's more than enough," he claimed. A smile crept up on my lips. I squeezed him in a bear hug one last time.
     "And that's fine too," I said with a kiss on his forehead. "Try to get some sleep. You have class in the morning." I turned off his lights, as I was about to leave his room.
     "I love you Dad," he called out.
     "I love you more sweet boy," I said.