Chapter 2,
I'm so glad to be ホーム and I almost forgot that today's the first 日 of my two 月 break between legs of my tour. I slowly opened my eyes and looked over at Christian who was still fast asleep. I got ready for the 日 and went downstairs to wash the dishes that we used with the ice cream ディナー last night. I have a maid that can do my dishes for me; but I don't like when I'm not treated like a normal person. If I can do my own dishes then I'm going to do them!
I was in the middle of washing a plate when a bloodcurdling scream came from upstairs. It surprised me so much that I dropped the plate and it shattered into 1,000,000 little pieces. I whispered "dammit; I cut myself!" I ran upstairs and into my bedroom to see what was wrong. Christian was sitting in the ベッド hyperventilating and I picked him up into my arms. I 発言しました "it's alright; I didn't go anywhere! I was just downstairs." He looked at my bleeding finger and 発言しました "ouch." I 発言しました "oh that; that's nothing!"
I got him ready for the 日 and brought him downstairs. The maid had already cleaned up all the glass from the plate and I 発言しました "we're going to go shopping today Christian. Are あなた ready to go bye-bye?" James and Tim came out of the security quarters and 発言しました "you're all set to go to the toy store Michael! We have the store shut down for the 日 so あなた can go in there with Christian によって yourself." I 発言しました "thank あなた guys!" James 発言しました "don't drive too crazy Michael!" I chuckled and 発言しました "yeah right; like I would drive crazy!" I put Christian down for a 秒 and 発言しました "I almost forgot about the car シート, 座席 I ordered! We can't go anywhere without that!"
I walked over to the closet and pulled out a box containing the car seat. Tim asked "would あなた like my help installing that into your car Michael?" I grabbed the car シート, 座席 in one hand and Christian in the other as I 発言しました "no; I think I can handle it." I took Christian outside to the driveway and put him down on the ground as I 発言しました "okay; あなた stay right here while I put this in my car. I wasn't worried because I knew he wouldn't leave my side and he was being incredibly patient with me. I never thought that strapping a car シート, 座席 into my car would be so difficult.
Finally, I threw my hands up in the air and reluctantly called Tim for help. He came outside and chuckled as he was able to install the car シート, 座席 in less than five minutes. I thanked him for his help and put Christian in the car seat. I buckled him up him and got into the driver’s seat. It had been quite a while since I had driven my car because I've been on my tour for so long. It almost felt foreign for me to be behind the wheel of a car.
I drove extremely slow to the toy store and snuck through the back door with Christian; so nobody outside would know that we were there. I shut the door behind me and the manager greeted me with a "hello Michael." I 発言しました "hi; long time no see!" He responded "yeah; I know! How is your tour going?" I 発言しました "I'm on a break right now; but all I have left are the American shows and it's over!" The manager looked over at Christian and asked "who's this?" I 発言しました "this is Christian and I'm looking after him until he can be adopted によって a family. Try to keep that a secret though because I don't want the press to be all over him!" He 発言しました "don't worry Michael; your secret is 安全, 安全です with me!"
I put Christian down on the ground and I don't think he knew what to make of the toy store; probably because he's never been in one before. He clung to my leg as we walked down the aisles and I 発言しました "you can pick out anything あなた want." I don't think he believed me because he didn't even want to pick up any of the toys. I knelt down 次 to him and started playing with a "hot wheels" racetrack that I could tell he wanted. I 発言しました "you want this; so I'm going to buy it for you!" After I put it in the shopping cart, I think he started to realize that I wasn't joking because he started sprinting down the aisles of the store.
I looked at his face when he saw a whole area of the store dedicated to Mickey Mouse. He shouted "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey!" I smiled from ear to ear and asked "you like Mickey Mouse?" He pointed to the toys and 発言しました "Mike; that's Mickey!" I chuckled and 発言しました "I know that is! I 愛 Mickey マウス too! I'll get あなた some of that stuff!" He 発言しました "no" and I sympathetically 発言しました "yes; I'll buy あなた anything あなた want Christian!"
He went back to 芝居 shy and I started putting anything that had to do with Mickey マウス into the shopping cart. I picked Christian up and pushed the shopping カート to the checkout counter. After we had bought our stuff, I carried Christian and the bags to the car. I looked at my watch and asked "are あなた hungry? Do あなた want to get something to eat?" He didn't answer me and I smiled as I looked into the rearview mirror and asked "you know あなた can talk to me; right? I don't bite! Let's try this again, are あなた hungry?" He smiled and 発言しました "yeah." I 発言しました "then I'll get あなた something to eat!"
There is a ピザ place that I usually go to; so I decided to bring him there because they don't allow the paparazzi to come inside while I'm there. I carried Christian inside and we were immediately seated at a booth. I looked over to the other side and saw my good friend Elizabeth Taylor. I tapped her shoulder and she turned her head to look at me. She 発言しました "Michael; you're back! Here; let me sit with you!" She came over and sat on the other side of the table. Christian immediately gripped my arm and started to shake. I 発言しました "it's okay buddy; she's a nice lady!"
Elizabeth reached out to shake his hand and he just hid his face in my シャツ sleeve. I 発言しました "he is a shy little guy!" Christian climbed onto my lap and started playing with my pair of sunglasses that was hanging out of my シャツ pocket." Elizabeth 発言しました "he seems to like あなた Michael!" I 発言しました "I think I'm slowly winning him over!" I took the sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on Christian's face. Elizabeth and I laughed as Christian looked at me with my aviator sunglasses almost covering his entire face. I 発言しました "you're too cute; I don't know how あなた haven't been adopted yet!"
The waitress brought our 食 to the 表, テーブル and I started to cut Christian's 食 for him. Elizabeth looked at me and smiled as she 発言しました "wow Michael; I've never seen this side of あなた before!" I passed him the fork with ピザ on it and he took a bite. I asked "is that good?" He shook his head yes and Elizabeth 発言しました "I have to leave; but あなた two have fun!" I hugged Elizabeth and she stuck out her hand for Christian to shake. To my surprise, he actually shook her hand and I 発言しました "bye Liz."
***
I went downstairs this morning with Christian in my arms and he was still sleeping. I figured it was a good idea to bring him downstairs with me because I didn't want him staring me half to death によって screaming when he realizes that I'm down here without him. I lay him down on the ソファー, ソファ and went into the キッチン to make myself some coffee. That's when I remembered all the stuff that I had bought him yesterday. I walked outside to the car quickly because I didn't want Christian to wake up and think that I had disappeared.
I quietly shut the front door as I walked back inside and into the living room with the bags. I knew that Christian would want to play with all the toys as soon as he woke up. I sat there on the floor for 45 分 taking everything out of its packaging and when I got to the Mickey マウス play cell phone I accidentally hit a button. It started talking and that woke Christian up. He opened his eyes and I 発言しました "good morning; sleepyhead!" He sat up and 発言しました "wow; Mickey!" I passed him the toy cell phone and 発言しました "I believe that's yours!"
I had bought him a set of windup Mickey マウス race cars and he absolutely loves them. He looked at me and 発言しました "I can't wind it up; will あなた help me Mike?" I smiled as I lay down on my stomach on the floor and 発言しました "I sure can!" I started to wind the toy back up for him and all of a sudden I felt something climbed onto my back. I turned my head slightly and giggled as Christian wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He 発言しました "you're really fun Mike!" I reach my hand back and tickled his foot. I stood up with him still on my back and ran up the stairs.
I gently dropped him off of my back and onto the bed. I started tickling him and 発言しました "I told あなた that I don't have a mean bone in my body kiddo!" Christian asked "am I going to stay here?" I 発言しました "probably for only about a week または so and then you're either going to go with a new family または you're going to live with your mommy again." Christian went silent after that and he didn't want to play much of anything afterwards. I wonder if I 発言しました something that I shouldn't have.
***
I was woken up によって the phone ringing and quickly answered it; so it didn't end up waking up Christian. I went downstairs and 発言しました "hello." The voice 発言しました "hello Michael; it's Rosemary. I'm just calling to check in on Christian." I 発言しました "he's doing great; he really warmed up to me! He's my little buddy now!" She 発言しました "that's great Michael; I still haven't found a ホーム for him and his mother is still dealing with her own issues right now. If あなた don't mind, it's probably going to take a few weeks to find him a ホーム または for his mother to better herself; so will あなた watch him until then?" I 発言しました "of course I will; he'll be glad to hear that!" She hung up the phone after saying goodbye and I ran upstairs to make sure Christian wasn't awake get.
He opened his eyes upon me entering the room and I smiled at him. I 発言しました "I guess you're going to be staying here a lot longer than I expected あなた to." I walked him down the stairs holding his hand and he 発言しました "I want to color あなた a picture!" I 発言しました "okay; I'd like that!" As I sat there with him at the 表, テーブル with a stack of plain white paper and a box of crayons, I asked "do あなた know what color this is?" He looked at me confused and 発言しました "red." I giggled and 発言しました "no silly; that's yellow!" I picked up another one and asked "what about this one?" He 発言しました "orange" and I 発言しました "no; that's purple! あなた don't know your Colors（色） do you? What about shapes? Can あなた draw a square?" He looked at me and asked "square?" I grabbed a crayon and demonstrated how to draw a square; but he still didn't understand the concept of shapes.
***
Christian has been with me for about a 月 and a half now and it feels like he's always been here. He's really come out of his shell over the past couple weeks and he's not as shy as he used to be; except with women. Sadly, I haven't been able to invite my mother over to the ranch because Christian spends the whole time trying to hide from her.
There was a knock at the door while I was watching カートゥーン with Christian on the couch. I got up to answer the door and noticed it was my manager Frank. I invited him inside and he 発言しました "I need to talk to あなた for a second." He sat down 次 to me at the キッチン 表, テーブル and I asked "what do あなた want to talk about?" He 発言しました "Christian; he's been here too long Michael!" I 発言しました "I promised I would look after Christian for as long as it took to find him a stable environment to live in!" Frank 発言しました "Mike; your tour starts up again in a week and a half! あなた can't take him with あなた all over the world!" I 発言しました "I don't know why あなた get so bent out of shape over nothing Frank! We still have a week and a half; don't freak out!"
Frank got up from his シート, 座席 and walked out the door without saying a word to me. I walked back into the living room and sat back down on the ソファー, ソファ as I noticed that Christian had fallen asleep. I carried him upstairs and lay him down on the bed. I went back downstairs and sat back down on the ソファー, ソファ as I bowed my head in my hands. I'm so confused and I don't understand why Frank feels like he has to be so hard on me all the time. I'm just trying to do what I feel is right; why is that so bad? I'm giving a child the chance to have a temporary ホーム until things fall into place for him!
***
I was playing hide and seek with Christian when the phone started ringing and I 発言しました "hang on; I'll be right back!" I answered the phone and Rosemary 発言しました "I have some great news for あなた Michael! Christian's mother seems to be doing a lot better than she was and I decided that she's もっと見る than capable of taking care of him again. I smiled and 発言しました "oh; that's great!" She responded "can あなた bring him back to ロンドン at the end of the week?" I tried to hide my sadness as I 発言しました "of course; I'll bring him back on Sunday and we can do the trade-off between me and his mother." She 発言しました "that's great; see あなた then!"
I hung up the phone and found Christian hiding in the closet. I 発言しました "I finally found you!" I picked him up and brought him into the living room to sit on the couch. I 発言しました "guess what; you're going to be with your mommy on Sunday and あなた get to stay with her!" He started crying and I asked "what's wrong?" He 発言しました "I don't want to go back there Mike; mommy's mean!" I looked at him confused and asked "what do あなた mean mommy's mean?" He 発言しました "mommy yells at me and she's always sleeping because of her medicine." I asked "what does her medicine look like?" He responded "it's a drink and she drinks it all the time! It makes her cry and it makes her mad. I don't like being at her house because it's dirty and Adam is always hurting mommy!" I asked "who's Adam?" He 発言しました "her boyfriend; he's scary! Please don't make me go back there!"
I sat there silently for a few 分 because I didn't know what to say. How could Rosemary allow Christian to go back into a ホーム like that? Is she really that desperate to find him a home? I looked at Christian again and 発言しました "well; Rosemary says your mommy is all better now Christian! I don't think she would have あなた go back there if she wasn't better!" He whispered "I just want to stay here with you! I don't want to live with my mommy anymore!" I 発言しました sympathetically "I promise あなた that I bet your mommy is all better now! Rosemary wouldn't let あなた go back there she wasn't! I wish I could have あなた stay here until they could find to another family to live with; but I have to go back to work and Frank will be really mad at me if I miss any shows!"
I dried his tears with my sleeve and 発言しました excitedly "hey; あなた still have a few もっと見る days here with me until I have to bring あなた back! Let's make the best of them!" I picked him up and brought him outside to the trampoline. I placed him on it and he didn't even know what to do. I started jumping up and down as I 発言しました "jump!" He 発言しました "no; this is too scary! I want to go back inside!" I 発言しました "there's nothing to be afraid of; あなた can't get hurt on this!" I picked him up into my arms and jumped as high I possibly could. He started laughing and I 発言しました "I told you; there's nothing to worry about!"
***
Here we are in ロンドン and I can't believe our last three days together went によって so fast. I rolled over and gently nudged Christian awake. He opened his eyes and I 発言しました "good morning buddy! We have to hurry and drop あなた off with your mom!" He seemed to want to stall everything and I can't blame him because I would've done the same thing if I was in his situation!" As soon as he finished eating, I brought into the lobby of the hotel and waited for his mother to get there.
She was two hours late when she finally showed up and I couldn't believe my eyes. I 発言しました to myself "Rosemary must be blind if she thinks this woman can care for a child!" The lady walked up to me and I couldn't believe how skinny she was! She's no もっと見る than 80 pounds and the smell of alcohol was so strong that it made my eyes water! I clutched Christian in my arms and she 発言しました "hi; あなた must be Michael! I'm here for Christian now!" She didn't even greet him as she took him out of my arms and I passed him a Mickey マウス stuffed animal! I 発言しました "it's nice to meet you" and reached down to grab the bag of stuff that I had bought for Christian. I 発言しました "this is –" but the woman cut me off and 発言しました "he doesn't need any of that crap!"
I could tell that Christian really wanted to cry; but I think his fear of his mother was stopping him. I didn't even have time to say goodbye as she turned around and walked out the door with him in her arms. I knew there was nothing I could do because I had no right to decide if Christian should go with this woman. There wasn't anything left to do… Except walked away.
***
I just finished the seventh of my final eight concerts on my "bad" tour and I was sitting backstage. Frank walked up to me and 発言しました "you haven't been 芝居 like yourself lately! What's gotten into あなた Michael?" I stood up and started to walk away from him as I 発言しました "I don't know what you're talking about Frank; I'm fine!" He 発言しました "I just thought あなた would be もっと見る excited that your tour is almost over; that's all." I picked up an 林檎, アップル from the 表, テーブル of 食 and started to peel the sticker off of it as I asked "what's there to be excited about?" Frank asked "what do あなた mean Michael? Aren't あなた excited to get back to Neverland and be able to visit your mother anytime あなた want to?" I 発言しました "sure; I guess!" Frank 発言しました "that doesn't sound very excited to me!" I 発言しました "whatever" as I walked out of the room and down the hallway that leads to the exit.
My bodyguards James and Tim accompanied me back to the hotel. I disappeared off to my room and shut the door behind me. I flopped backwards onto the ベッド and kicked my shoes across the room. I looked down at my aviator sunglasses that were sitting on the nightstand and picked them up. I chuckled and thought to myself about how cute Christian looked when I had put these on his face in the ピザ parlor.
I turned the TV on and noticed there was a Mickey マウス cartoon playing. I don't know what came over me and I just started crying. Crying like never before! I think it was because I was holding so many feelings inside and I just had to let them out! I got out of ベッド and ran down the hall as fast as I could. Frank opened his door and asked "what's your problem Michael?" I walked up to him and gave him a big hug as I asked "why did I have to let him go? That was so stupid!"
Frank pulled me into the room によって my シャツ and shut the door behind him as he asked "what the hell are あなた talking about Michael?" I 発言しました "Christian! He shouldn't have to live with a mother like that!" Frank 発言しました "I'm sure he's fine Michael!" I 発言しました "yeah well; Christian told me otherwise! I have a feeling that he's living with an alcoholic, deadbeat and her abusive boyfriend!" Frank 発言しました "Christian is only 2 1/2! あなた can't believe everything he says because kids over exaggerate things Michael!" I 発言しました "I believe him and I don't want him staying there with her!"
Frank threw his hands up in the air and asked "where do あなた expect him to go? There are no other families for him to live with!" I rubbed my eyes and 発言しました "no; you're wrong! There is somebody that wants him!" Frank 発言しました "I thought あなた 発言しました that Rosemary didn't have any families looking to adopt a child that young." I 発言しました "I may not be an entire family; but one parent is better than none!" Frank's eyes widened and he 発言しました "whoa Michael! Fostering a child is extremely different from adopting one permanently! You're not ready for that Michael!" Frank sat down in a chair and sarcastically asked "what are あなた going to do; kidnap him from his mother?" I 発言しました in an irritated tone of voice "no; I'm going to レポート his mother to England's child protective services for abuse!" Frank 発言しました "there's one small problem with your plan Michael. Did あなた forget that you're the biggest pop 星, つ星 in the world? Christian's mother could make it seem like あなた filed a false レポート and try to sue you! I can guarantee あなた that if あなた get involved she's going to drag あなた through a custody battle!" I 発言しました "so what; I need Christian back and I'll do whatever it takes to get him back!"
***
My private airplane landed at a ロンドン airport and I went to the child protective services building with my bodyguards. I walked inside and 発言しました "hello; who do I talk to about filling out a report?" The lady at the 机, デスク didn't even look up from the computer as she pointed to the room across from her. I walked inside and sat down at a 机, デスク with a man in a suit. He looked up from his computer and 発言しました "whoa; you're Michael Jackson!" I wasn't in the mood for all of this and 発言しました "yeah; I’d like to レポート some abuse!"
The man took out a pad of paper and a pencil and asked "do あなた mind if I ask あなた a few questions?" I nodded for him to continue and he asked "who are あなた filing the レポート against?" I 発言しました "her name is Melissa Carthage" and he asked "what's the name of the child?" I 発言しました "Christian Carthage" he asked "what makes あなた suspicious of what's going on in Melissa's house?" I 発言しました "Christian described to me how his mother drinks all 日 long and she is physically abused によって her boyfriend Adam. The alcohol gives her mood swings and she takes everything out on Christian; which is not okay with me!!!"
The man filed the レポート and I went to the local courthouse to serve Melissa with custody papers. James and Tim just looked at me in disbelief as they asked "so あなた are really going to go through with all this Michael?" We walked out of the courthouse and I 発言しました "of course I am! I'm not going to let a child suffer like that and I'm definitely not going to let him end up back in an orphanage!" Tim's cell phone rang and he 発言しました "yeah; he's right here." Tim passed me the phone and I 発言しました "hello." Frank's voice on the other end of the phone sounded angry as he asked "where the hell are あなた Michael? Your 表示する starts in 20 minutes!" I responded "no doesn't; I canceled it!" He shouted "you canceled it! That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!” Without saying anything back to him, I hung up the phone and 発言しました "someone's in a bad mood."
I'm so glad to be ホーム and I almost forgot that today's the first 日 of my two 月 break between legs of my tour. I slowly opened my eyes and looked over at Christian who was still fast asleep. I got ready for the 日 and went downstairs to wash the dishes that we used with the ice cream ディナー last night. I have a maid that can do my dishes for me; but I don't like when I'm not treated like a normal person. If I can do my own dishes then I'm going to do them!
I was in the middle of washing a plate when a bloodcurdling scream came from upstairs. It surprised me so much that I dropped the plate and it shattered into 1,000,000 little pieces. I whispered "dammit; I cut myself!" I ran upstairs and into my bedroom to see what was wrong. Christian was sitting in the ベッド hyperventilating and I picked him up into my arms. I 発言しました "it's alright; I didn't go anywhere! I was just downstairs." He looked at my bleeding finger and 発言しました "ouch." I 発言しました "oh that; that's nothing!"
I got him ready for the 日 and brought him downstairs. The maid had already cleaned up all the glass from the plate and I 発言しました "we're going to go shopping today Christian. Are あなた ready to go bye-bye?" James and Tim came out of the security quarters and 発言しました "you're all set to go to the toy store Michael! We have the store shut down for the 日 so あなた can go in there with Christian によって yourself." I 発言しました "thank あなた guys!" James 発言しました "don't drive too crazy Michael!" I chuckled and 発言しました "yeah right; like I would drive crazy!" I put Christian down for a 秒 and 発言しました "I almost forgot about the car シート, 座席 I ordered! We can't go anywhere without that!"
I walked over to the closet and pulled out a box containing the car seat. Tim asked "would あなた like my help installing that into your car Michael?" I grabbed the car シート, 座席 in one hand and Christian in the other as I 発言しました "no; I think I can handle it." I took Christian outside to the driveway and put him down on the ground as I 発言しました "okay; あなた stay right here while I put this in my car. I wasn't worried because I knew he wouldn't leave my side and he was being incredibly patient with me. I never thought that strapping a car シート, 座席 into my car would be so difficult.
Finally, I threw my hands up in the air and reluctantly called Tim for help. He came outside and chuckled as he was able to install the car シート, 座席 in less than five minutes. I thanked him for his help and put Christian in the car seat. I buckled him up him and got into the driver’s seat. It had been quite a while since I had driven my car because I've been on my tour for so long. It almost felt foreign for me to be behind the wheel of a car.
I drove extremely slow to the toy store and snuck through the back door with Christian; so nobody outside would know that we were there. I shut the door behind me and the manager greeted me with a "hello Michael." I 発言しました "hi; long time no see!" He responded "yeah; I know! How is your tour going?" I 発言しました "I'm on a break right now; but all I have left are the American shows and it's over!" The manager looked over at Christian and asked "who's this?" I 発言しました "this is Christian and I'm looking after him until he can be adopted によって a family. Try to keep that a secret though because I don't want the press to be all over him!" He 発言しました "don't worry Michael; your secret is 安全, 安全です with me!"
I put Christian down on the ground and I don't think he knew what to make of the toy store; probably because he's never been in one before. He clung to my leg as we walked down the aisles and I 発言しました "you can pick out anything あなた want." I don't think he believed me because he didn't even want to pick up any of the toys. I knelt down 次 to him and started playing with a "hot wheels" racetrack that I could tell he wanted. I 発言しました "you want this; so I'm going to buy it for you!" After I put it in the shopping cart, I think he started to realize that I wasn't joking because he started sprinting down the aisles of the store.
I looked at his face when he saw a whole area of the store dedicated to Mickey Mouse. He shouted "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey!" I smiled from ear to ear and asked "you like Mickey Mouse?" He pointed to the toys and 発言しました "Mike; that's Mickey!" I chuckled and 発言しました "I know that is! I 愛 Mickey マウス too! I'll get あなた some of that stuff!" He 発言しました "no" and I sympathetically 発言しました "yes; I'll buy あなた anything あなた want Christian!"
He went back to 芝居 shy and I started putting anything that had to do with Mickey マウス into the shopping cart. I picked Christian up and pushed the shopping カート to the checkout counter. After we had bought our stuff, I carried Christian and the bags to the car. I looked at my watch and asked "are あなた hungry? Do あなた want to get something to eat?" He didn't answer me and I smiled as I looked into the rearview mirror and asked "you know あなた can talk to me; right? I don't bite! Let's try this again, are あなた hungry?" He smiled and 発言しました "yeah." I 発言しました "then I'll get あなた something to eat!"
There is a ピザ place that I usually go to; so I decided to bring him there because they don't allow the paparazzi to come inside while I'm there. I carried Christian inside and we were immediately seated at a booth. I looked over to the other side and saw my good friend Elizabeth Taylor. I tapped her shoulder and she turned her head to look at me. She 発言しました "Michael; you're back! Here; let me sit with you!" She came over and sat on the other side of the table. Christian immediately gripped my arm and started to shake. I 発言しました "it's okay buddy; she's a nice lady!"
Elizabeth reached out to shake his hand and he just hid his face in my シャツ sleeve. I 発言しました "he is a shy little guy!" Christian climbed onto my lap and started playing with my pair of sunglasses that was hanging out of my シャツ pocket." Elizabeth 発言しました "he seems to like あなた Michael!" I 発言しました "I think I'm slowly winning him over!" I took the sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on Christian's face. Elizabeth and I laughed as Christian looked at me with my aviator sunglasses almost covering his entire face. I 発言しました "you're too cute; I don't know how あなた haven't been adopted yet!"
The waitress brought our 食 to the 表, テーブル and I started to cut Christian's 食 for him. Elizabeth looked at me and smiled as she 発言しました "wow Michael; I've never seen this side of あなた before!" I passed him the fork with ピザ on it and he took a bite. I asked "is that good?" He shook his head yes and Elizabeth 発言しました "I have to leave; but あなた two have fun!" I hugged Elizabeth and she stuck out her hand for Christian to shake. To my surprise, he actually shook her hand and I 発言しました "bye Liz."
***
I went downstairs this morning with Christian in my arms and he was still sleeping. I figured it was a good idea to bring him downstairs with me because I didn't want him staring me half to death によって screaming when he realizes that I'm down here without him. I lay him down on the ソファー, ソファ and went into the キッチン to make myself some coffee. That's when I remembered all the stuff that I had bought him yesterday. I walked outside to the car quickly because I didn't want Christian to wake up and think that I had disappeared.
I quietly shut the front door as I walked back inside and into the living room with the bags. I knew that Christian would want to play with all the toys as soon as he woke up. I sat there on the floor for 45 分 taking everything out of its packaging and when I got to the Mickey マウス play cell phone I accidentally hit a button. It started talking and that woke Christian up. He opened his eyes and I 発言しました "good morning; sleepyhead!" He sat up and 発言しました "wow; Mickey!" I passed him the toy cell phone and 発言しました "I believe that's yours!"
I had bought him a set of windup Mickey マウス race cars and he absolutely loves them. He looked at me and 発言しました "I can't wind it up; will あなた help me Mike?" I smiled as I lay down on my stomach on the floor and 発言しました "I sure can!" I started to wind the toy back up for him and all of a sudden I felt something climbed onto my back. I turned my head slightly and giggled as Christian wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He 発言しました "you're really fun Mike!" I reach my hand back and tickled his foot. I stood up with him still on my back and ran up the stairs.
I gently dropped him off of my back and onto the bed. I started tickling him and 発言しました "I told あなた that I don't have a mean bone in my body kiddo!" Christian asked "am I going to stay here?" I 発言しました "probably for only about a week または so and then you're either going to go with a new family または you're going to live with your mommy again." Christian went silent after that and he didn't want to play much of anything afterwards. I wonder if I 発言しました something that I shouldn't have.
***
I was woken up によって the phone ringing and quickly answered it; so it didn't end up waking up Christian. I went downstairs and 発言しました "hello." The voice 発言しました "hello Michael; it's Rosemary. I'm just calling to check in on Christian." I 発言しました "he's doing great; he really warmed up to me! He's my little buddy now!" She 発言しました "that's great Michael; I still haven't found a ホーム for him and his mother is still dealing with her own issues right now. If あなた don't mind, it's probably going to take a few weeks to find him a ホーム または for his mother to better herself; so will あなた watch him until then?" I 発言しました "of course I will; he'll be glad to hear that!" She hung up the phone after saying goodbye and I ran upstairs to make sure Christian wasn't awake get.
He opened his eyes upon me entering the room and I smiled at him. I 発言しました "I guess you're going to be staying here a lot longer than I expected あなた to." I walked him down the stairs holding his hand and he 発言しました "I want to color あなた a picture!" I 発言しました "okay; I'd like that!" As I sat there with him at the 表, テーブル with a stack of plain white paper and a box of crayons, I asked "do あなた know what color this is?" He looked at me confused and 発言しました "red." I giggled and 発言しました "no silly; that's yellow!" I picked up another one and asked "what about this one?" He 発言しました "orange" and I 発言しました "no; that's purple! あなた don't know your Colors（色） do you? What about shapes? Can あなた draw a square?" He looked at me and asked "square?" I grabbed a crayon and demonstrated how to draw a square; but he still didn't understand the concept of shapes.
***
Christian has been with me for about a 月 and a half now and it feels like he's always been here. He's really come out of his shell over the past couple weeks and he's not as shy as he used to be; except with women. Sadly, I haven't been able to invite my mother over to the ranch because Christian spends the whole time trying to hide from her.
There was a knock at the door while I was watching カートゥーン with Christian on the couch. I got up to answer the door and noticed it was my manager Frank. I invited him inside and he 発言しました "I need to talk to あなた for a second." He sat down 次 to me at the キッチン 表, テーブル and I asked "what do あなた want to talk about?" He 発言しました "Christian; he's been here too long Michael!" I 発言しました "I promised I would look after Christian for as long as it took to find him a stable environment to live in!" Frank 発言しました "Mike; your tour starts up again in a week and a half! あなた can't take him with あなた all over the world!" I 発言しました "I don't know why あなた get so bent out of shape over nothing Frank! We still have a week and a half; don't freak out!"
Frank got up from his シート, 座席 and walked out the door without saying a word to me. I walked back into the living room and sat back down on the ソファー, ソファ as I noticed that Christian had fallen asleep. I carried him upstairs and lay him down on the bed. I went back downstairs and sat back down on the ソファー, ソファ as I bowed my head in my hands. I'm so confused and I don't understand why Frank feels like he has to be so hard on me all the time. I'm just trying to do what I feel is right; why is that so bad? I'm giving a child the chance to have a temporary ホーム until things fall into place for him!
***
I was playing hide and seek with Christian when the phone started ringing and I 発言しました "hang on; I'll be right back!" I answered the phone and Rosemary 発言しました "I have some great news for あなた Michael! Christian's mother seems to be doing a lot better than she was and I decided that she's もっと見る than capable of taking care of him again. I smiled and 発言しました "oh; that's great!" She responded "can あなた bring him back to ロンドン at the end of the week?" I tried to hide my sadness as I 発言しました "of course; I'll bring him back on Sunday and we can do the trade-off between me and his mother." She 発言しました "that's great; see あなた then!"
I hung up the phone and found Christian hiding in the closet. I 発言しました "I finally found you!" I picked him up and brought him into the living room to sit on the couch. I 発言しました "guess what; you're going to be with your mommy on Sunday and あなた get to stay with her!" He started crying and I asked "what's wrong?" He 発言しました "I don't want to go back there Mike; mommy's mean!" I looked at him confused and asked "what do あなた mean mommy's mean?" He 発言しました "mommy yells at me and she's always sleeping because of her medicine." I asked "what does her medicine look like?" He responded "it's a drink and she drinks it all the time! It makes her cry and it makes her mad. I don't like being at her house because it's dirty and Adam is always hurting mommy!" I asked "who's Adam?" He 発言しました "her boyfriend; he's scary! Please don't make me go back there!"
I sat there silently for a few 分 because I didn't know what to say. How could Rosemary allow Christian to go back into a ホーム like that? Is she really that desperate to find him a home? I looked at Christian again and 発言しました "well; Rosemary says your mommy is all better now Christian! I don't think she would have あなた go back there if she wasn't better!" He whispered "I just want to stay here with you! I don't want to live with my mommy anymore!" I 発言しました sympathetically "I promise あなた that I bet your mommy is all better now! Rosemary wouldn't let あなた go back there she wasn't! I wish I could have あなた stay here until they could find to another family to live with; but I have to go back to work and Frank will be really mad at me if I miss any shows!"
I dried his tears with my sleeve and 発言しました excitedly "hey; あなた still have a few もっと見る days here with me until I have to bring あなた back! Let's make the best of them!" I picked him up and brought him outside to the trampoline. I placed him on it and he didn't even know what to do. I started jumping up and down as I 発言しました "jump!" He 発言しました "no; this is too scary! I want to go back inside!" I 発言しました "there's nothing to be afraid of; あなた can't get hurt on this!" I picked him up into my arms and jumped as high I possibly could. He started laughing and I 発言しました "I told you; there's nothing to worry about!"
***
Here we are in ロンドン and I can't believe our last three days together went によって so fast. I rolled over and gently nudged Christian awake. He opened his eyes and I 発言しました "good morning buddy! We have to hurry and drop あなた off with your mom!" He seemed to want to stall everything and I can't blame him because I would've done the same thing if I was in his situation!" As soon as he finished eating, I brought into the lobby of the hotel and waited for his mother to get there.
She was two hours late when she finally showed up and I couldn't believe my eyes. I 発言しました to myself "Rosemary must be blind if she thinks this woman can care for a child!" The lady walked up to me and I couldn't believe how skinny she was! She's no もっと見る than 80 pounds and the smell of alcohol was so strong that it made my eyes water! I clutched Christian in my arms and she 発言しました "hi; あなた must be Michael! I'm here for Christian now!" She didn't even greet him as she took him out of my arms and I passed him a Mickey マウス stuffed animal! I 発言しました "it's nice to meet you" and reached down to grab the bag of stuff that I had bought for Christian. I 発言しました "this is –" but the woman cut me off and 発言しました "he doesn't need any of that crap!"
I could tell that Christian really wanted to cry; but I think his fear of his mother was stopping him. I didn't even have time to say goodbye as she turned around and walked out the door with him in her arms. I knew there was nothing I could do because I had no right to decide if Christian should go with this woman. There wasn't anything left to do… Except walked away.
***
I just finished the seventh of my final eight concerts on my "bad" tour and I was sitting backstage. Frank walked up to me and 発言しました "you haven't been 芝居 like yourself lately! What's gotten into あなた Michael?" I stood up and started to walk away from him as I 発言しました "I don't know what you're talking about Frank; I'm fine!" He 発言しました "I just thought あなた would be もっと見る excited that your tour is almost over; that's all." I picked up an 林檎, アップル from the 表, テーブル of 食 and started to peel the sticker off of it as I asked "what's there to be excited about?" Frank asked "what do あなた mean Michael? Aren't あなた excited to get back to Neverland and be able to visit your mother anytime あなた want to?" I 発言しました "sure; I guess!" Frank 発言しました "that doesn't sound very excited to me!" I 発言しました "whatever" as I walked out of the room and down the hallway that leads to the exit.
My bodyguards James and Tim accompanied me back to the hotel. I disappeared off to my room and shut the door behind me. I flopped backwards onto the ベッド and kicked my shoes across the room. I looked down at my aviator sunglasses that were sitting on the nightstand and picked them up. I chuckled and thought to myself about how cute Christian looked when I had put these on his face in the ピザ parlor.
I turned the TV on and noticed there was a Mickey マウス cartoon playing. I don't know what came over me and I just started crying. Crying like never before! I think it was because I was holding so many feelings inside and I just had to let them out! I got out of ベッド and ran down the hall as fast as I could. Frank opened his door and asked "what's your problem Michael?" I walked up to him and gave him a big hug as I asked "why did I have to let him go? That was so stupid!"
Frank pulled me into the room によって my シャツ and shut the door behind him as he asked "what the hell are あなた talking about Michael?" I 発言しました "Christian! He shouldn't have to live with a mother like that!" Frank 発言しました "I'm sure he's fine Michael!" I 発言しました "yeah well; Christian told me otherwise! I have a feeling that he's living with an alcoholic, deadbeat and her abusive boyfriend!" Frank 発言しました "Christian is only 2 1/2! あなた can't believe everything he says because kids over exaggerate things Michael!" I 発言しました "I believe him and I don't want him staying there with her!"
Frank threw his hands up in the air and asked "where do あなた expect him to go? There are no other families for him to live with!" I rubbed my eyes and 発言しました "no; you're wrong! There is somebody that wants him!" Frank 発言しました "I thought あなた 発言しました that Rosemary didn't have any families looking to adopt a child that young." I 発言しました "I may not be an entire family; but one parent is better than none!" Frank's eyes widened and he 発言しました "whoa Michael! Fostering a child is extremely different from adopting one permanently! You're not ready for that Michael!" Frank sat down in a chair and sarcastically asked "what are あなた going to do; kidnap him from his mother?" I 発言しました in an irritated tone of voice "no; I'm going to レポート his mother to England's child protective services for abuse!" Frank 発言しました "there's one small problem with your plan Michael. Did あなた forget that you're the biggest pop 星, つ星 in the world? Christian's mother could make it seem like あなた filed a false レポート and try to sue you! I can guarantee あなた that if あなた get involved she's going to drag あなた through a custody battle!" I 発言しました "so what; I need Christian back and I'll do whatever it takes to get him back!"
***
My private airplane landed at a ロンドン airport and I went to the child protective services building with my bodyguards. I walked inside and 発言しました "hello; who do I talk to about filling out a report?" The lady at the 机, デスク didn't even look up from the computer as she pointed to the room across from her. I walked inside and sat down at a 机, デスク with a man in a suit. He looked up from his computer and 発言しました "whoa; you're Michael Jackson!" I wasn't in the mood for all of this and 発言しました "yeah; I’d like to レポート some abuse!"
The man took out a pad of paper and a pencil and asked "do あなた mind if I ask あなた a few questions?" I nodded for him to continue and he asked "who are あなた filing the レポート against?" I 発言しました "her name is Melissa Carthage" and he asked "what's the name of the child?" I 発言しました "Christian Carthage" he asked "what makes あなた suspicious of what's going on in Melissa's house?" I 発言しました "Christian described to me how his mother drinks all 日 long and she is physically abused によって her boyfriend Adam. The alcohol gives her mood swings and she takes everything out on Christian; which is not okay with me!!!"
The man filed the レポート and I went to the local courthouse to serve Melissa with custody papers. James and Tim just looked at me in disbelief as they asked "so あなた are really going to go through with all this Michael?" We walked out of the courthouse and I 発言しました "of course I am! I'm not going to let a child suffer like that and I'm definitely not going to let him end up back in an orphanage!" Tim's cell phone rang and he 発言しました "yeah; he's right here." Tim passed me the phone and I 発言しました "hello." Frank's voice on the other end of the phone sounded angry as he asked "where the hell are あなた Michael? Your 表示する starts in 20 minutes!" I responded "no doesn't; I canceled it!" He shouted "you canceled it! That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!” Without saying anything back to him, I hung up the phone and 発言しました "someone's in a bad mood."
