The next day, Alyssa headed downstairs for breakfast. She had a very peaceful sleep the night before, and the bed was so comfortable. She especially liked the idea of her bedroom being near the bedrooms of Michael and the kids. It made her feel safe, and she would be nearby if something were to happen to either of them. She was ready for her day at work. She wondered what was for breakfast. She had told Michael the previous day to let Kai know that she was a vegan. He didn't think it would be too big a problem since during the weekdays, he often used health foods like organic foods to keep his strength up. On the other hand, it might be kind of a challenge since Lissie was going much further than he was. He admired her strong will power, and it surprised him at the same time. Even though he was a strict vegetarian some years ago, he lapsed in the diet after awhile. But she mentioned that on occasions she ate non-vegan stuff, so having the "junk" food on Saturdays along with everyone else was not a problem. That was swell with Michael. He had some concerns about her relying on supplements alone. He didn't want her to become too dependent on them, especially if she didn't have to. He had been there and done that with the dependency stuff, although it was painkillers. Had a bit of a relapse with them, but he was trying to get it under control.

Alyssa didn't hear anything in the neighboring bedrooms. ‘That's weird...don't tell me Michael and his children are still asleep.' She looked at her watch. It read nine fifteen. ‘I overslept a bit.' They had told her that they were usually up by eight thirty.  Michael must have decided to let her sleep. Quite nice of him, but she decided she would set her alarm clock. She didn't want to be late for work. She went into the dining room. Sure enough, Michael and his kids were seated at the table. Kai was in the kitchen.

"Morning everyone," said the young woman, taking the seat between Michael and Blanket.

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well?" asked the pop idol.

"That I did, thank you. How about you?"

"Barely got any. This insomnia is getting worse."

"I see." Alyssa had no idea that he suffered from insomnia. She wondered if it was brought on by the occasional aches and pains. She thought it was a huge possibility, since that type of pain could be intense. She felt sorry for him. She hoped that whatever discomfort he had to deal with subsided so he wouldn't have to resort to drastic means to get sleep. ‘Maybe I should give him an Enya CD...that should make him feel relaxed enough to fall asleep.' "Well I'm sure you'll be able to manage it all right."

"I appreciate that, Lissie." The singer really hoped so, because the sleeplessness was almost unbearable. Being an insomniac was a pain in the rear. He had been dealing with it at least since he was a young adult, and it would flare up depending on how hectic the concert preparations were. However, the insomnia deteriorated a bit since the arrest years earlier. And the pain certainly didn't help matters. He didn't want to have to go to drastic measures just to get sleep, but he couldn't take it for much longer. All he could do for now is endure it as best as he could, since his former nutritionist was well-meaning when she said he might not survive if he took the powerful sedative, Diprivan. Right now his choice of painkiller was Aleve, which his best friend Liz Taylor had brought for him the evening before. It was safe for something that was designed to stop pain all day. And it only took two. That was a good deal for him.

"Is granola and almond milk is okay for you?" the chef called from the kitchen.

"Sure it is. Thank you." Sounded exactly like her type of breakfast. She ate the stuff ever so often...it was one of her favorites. Alyssa really had to hand it to Kai, she really knew what to make. She could see why Michael hired her. She apparently knew how to accommodate all sorts of diets. She thought the chef ought to have her own cooking show or something.

The 37 year old lady brought out the bowl of granola and a glass of a beige colored liquid. She placed it on the table in front of Alyssa, saying, "Here you go."

"Thank you." The young woman said a silent prayer, and polished off the healthy breakfast. When she was done, she complimented the chef. "You should write a cookbook. Or better yet, have your own cooking show."

Kai raised an eyebrow slightly. She got the "you should write your own cookbook" compliment a lot, but no one had ever told her that she should have her own cooking show before. That was the nicest compliment she ever gotten. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it. You know, I have thoughts about writing my own cookbook."

"Great. I am looking forward to seeing what you do for it." Alyssa glanced at her watch and saw that it was about time she got going.

"Well, I'm off to work now. I will be home shortly after four," she said, standing up and pushing her chair in. "I have someone I would like you all to meet. See you guys later."

Michael was about to tell Lissie to have a good day when all of a sudden, he heard a faint sound of the doorbell ringing and one of his security guards asking who it was. He wondered who that could be. He wasn't expecting any visitors. Alyssa looked at her watch again. Nine forty. Anastasia's house was at least a fifteen minute drive from the mansion. She hoped that whatever was going on wouldn't take too long.

"Mr. Jackson, it is your elder sister Latoya!"

The musician wondered what Latoya wanted. It wasn't that he had a problem with her being there. He loved his big sister very much. And he was sure his kids would be glad to see their aunt. He was glad that it wasn't his dad, as he hadn't given the young woman any instructions on what to do when he came, since the elderly man could be very intimidating. He would have had to tell Lissie to hurry up and leave. He wondered if something was wrong. A horrible thought occurred to him. Did she have bad news? Were his parents sick or something? Knowing that he would go crazy worrying, he decided to just go and see what was up.

"I'll be right back. I'm sorry about this."

"It's all right," replied Alyssa. She didn't want the singer to be sorry about his sister being there. She knew that it could be something important.

Michael left the dining room and went to see what was up with Latoya. Alyssa was starting to panic. ‘Such a bad time. I hope I won't be late for work. What if Michael wants to introduce me to his sister? I don't want to be late, but I don't want to appear disrespectful, either.' She didn't know what to do. She wracked her brain for a solution. Lucky for her, she was pretty much self- employed, so she didn't have to worry too much. She got an idea, and excused herself to make a phone call. Three rings. "Hello, this is Stacey."

"Hi Stacey, this is Lissie."

"I know, silly."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Alyssa made a little face. Sometimes Anastasia could be a real smart aleck.

"So what's up?"

"I am a little tied up at the moment. I will be about five to ten minutes late."

Stacey was silent for a moment. She hoped nothing was wrong this time. She decided not to ask at that moment. "Okay, no problem. I will take phone calls until then."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. You're the greatest."

"If you say so. See you."

"See you." Alyssa hung up the cell phone and reentered the dining room. The children were clearing off the table. Not saying anything, Lissie started to help them. Blanket sneaked peeks at her with curious eyes. She didn't really pay attention. She figured that he still needed a little time to open up. When he did speak to her, though, he was as friendly as his older siblings were. She expected nothing less from him.

Soon, the table was clean. Paris did something that surprised Alyssa. She hugged her around the waist. It was rather tentative and careful, but the young lady could still feel the affection. She patted the little girl on the back a few times.

"Thank you for helping us clean up the table," Paris told Lissie.

"My pleasure." Just as Alyssa was wondering what Paris' action was for, she understood. Apparently she showed her gratitude that way at times. She was glad that there was a connection.

"I hope there will be time for us to watch Star Wars together sometime," said Prince.

"Of course." Lissie suppressed an amused look. It looked like the 12 year old would not let her forget that. Well, he didn't have to worry. She was a woman of her word most of the time. If she couldn't do something she would let the person know ahead of time if it was in her power to do so.

Lissie and the kids were about to leave the dining room area when all of a sudden, they heard voices. They belonged to Michael and his older sister. All of a sudden Alyssa felt just a tad uneasy. She didn't really know of Latoya that well, accept for what she read when she learned about the truth about the 93 allegations. The fact that she betrayed Michael wasn't cool, even though she did take it back. She didn't know why the older woman did it in the first place, but since Michael eventually forgave her, she would try to as well. Forgiving people when they didn't apologize for wrongdoing was something she struggled with for years, but she did admire the singer's forgiving nature. ‘Who knows, maybe his forgiving nature will rub off on me, sooner or later.' 

Sure enough, Michael entered the dining room area with a woman. The woman had light brown skin and light golden brown hair. She wore a white button down shirt and blue jeans, as well as sunglasses. She took them off.

"Aunt Latoya!" Prince, Blanket and Paris were so happy to see their aunt. They jogged to the older woman and hugged her. She hugged them.

"I will be here all day to spend time with my favorite niece and nephews," she told them.

The kids were so happy to hear that. "Oh, goody!" They didn't know what she had planned for them, but they were sure it would be fun. They always had a blast with her.

Alyssa was nearly paralyzed at this point. 'Just great,' she thought. 'Why did this have to happen NOW? At this rate if and when Michael introduces me, I'll make a total idiot of myself.' She pulled herself together as best as she could.

The pop star smiled at his kids' enthusiasm. His children were family oriented just like he was. Then he looked serious. He knew Alyssa had to get going soon, so the introduction would have to be quick. He walked towards a nervous but calm Lissie, and placed one of his hands on her shoulders. Though a little surprised, she liked the feeling. And she felt butterflies in her stomach.

"This is my new friend Alyssa. She has just moved here," he told his sister.

"I see. Nice to meet you, Alyssa."

"Nice to meet you, too, Latoya." Lissie gave her a firm handshake. Latoya couldn't help but notice that the young lady was baby faced. She gave her younger brother a funny look. He wondered why she was looking at him like that. ‘Is there something stuck in my teeth?' But that moment was not the time to question her.

Alyssa had to admit, Michael's sister seemed like a nice enough person, considering what she did in the past. She had to get to know her better before thinking much of her, though. But now she really had to get going. ‘How do I say this without seeming disrespectful?' Then she knew.

"Well, I really must get going now. I'm running late. It was nice meeting you, Latoya. See you later."

"All right. Have a good day," said Latoya. She was a little relieved, as she didn't want to say what she wanted to say in front of the young lady.

Lissie said goodbye to Michael and his kids as well. "Remember, I'll be back shortly after four. And I'll have someone with me."

"All right. You take care."

"Bye bye!"

With that, Lissie left.

"She's lovely, isn't she?" Michael asked his sister.

Latoya thought this was the perfect time to kid around with her younger brother. "I suppose she is, but..."

Michael didn't like the sound of that. "But what?"

"Don't take offense, but isn't she a little too young to be your girlfriend?"

'Oh, great,' thought the singer. 'She thinks I'm in love .She can be such a tease.' "That's not how I meant it," he protested.

"I know, I know. I was only teasing you," said Latoya, giving Michael an amused look. "No need to be defensive."

Paris, Blanket and Prince went to their rooms to read until it was time to get ready to go watch their dad rehearse. They didn't want to eavesdrop on such a conversation.

"On a more serious note, though...where did you two first meet?" Latoya asked Michael. "Tell me everything."

Michael thought she was being just a little bit nosy but also knew she was just being a concerned older sister and looking out for his best interest. "Well," he began, "we first met when she was a patient in the hospital." He told her about how he had visited her there and how he talked to her on the telephone a few times as well as invited her to the banquet where he told his lupus story.

"Oh? Is that so?" Latoya lowered her eyes a bit. She was there, but she didn't recall seeing Lissie. Probably because there were so many people there. No wonder she didn't look familiar. "I see. So you really care about her, don't you?"

"That I do. She's such a wonderful person, and a supportive fan."

Latoya had to admit that during the brief moment she interacted with Alyssa, she did seem friendly and pleasant...though she would have to get to know her better to fully decide. But she wanted to.

"In that case, I am happy for you, and I hope I get to know her even better."

"You will."

Latoya was glad to hear that. In the meantime, she was going to spend time with Michael and his three children. She even planned to surprise him by watching his rehearsals. She had a bad feeling about the fact that the number of shows he planned to do increased to fifty, since he originally only wanted to do ten. But she would be there to support him all the way, just in case the people who worked for AEG tried to do anything shady. She didn't really trust them for some reason. But then again, she didn't trust most of the people who worked for her brother. There were times he confided to her that he feared someone wanted to kill him for his earnings and his catalogues. After all, people had taken advantage of Michael's meek and loving nature in the past. She would not allow that anymore.

As usual, it was a very busy day at work for Stacey and Alyssa. They got more calls than usual. When Lissie had told Anastasia what had happened that morning, she was relieved. She was worried that something horrible had happened. She thought Lissie was very fortunate to be living with the King of Pop and the invitation was so kind of him. It made her respect for him increase. And she stood a better chance of meeting him. She was so looking forward to meeting him.

"So does he know about this?" asked Stacey. "I don't want to trespass on his property."

"Sure he does. I let him know this morning. He was really cool about it," answered Lissie cheerfully.

"Oh ok. Just making sure."

"Well, let's get out of here," said Lissie.

Stacey and Lissie exited the office and the house. Lissie went to warm her car while the blonde locked her doors. Lissie proceeded to start the engine, and after a few seconds it cut off. She wasn't expecting that.

'Um...what the heck is going on here?' she thought, exasperated, 'don't tell me this car isn't going to start.'

She tried again, and she got the same result. Same thing the third and fourth time she tried. This was beginning to annoy her. ‘I can't believe this! It was working just fine this morning. Looks like this car will have to go in the shop.' That was bad, because it meant she would have trouble getting to work. She would have to worry about that later. She considered using a chauffeur, but she didn't want to take advantage of Michael's staff. And Stacey didn't exactly live nearby, so it was almost out of her way.

Stacey came over to the car. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes...except there's a small problem..." she said, looking a little bit frazzled. "The car wouldn't start."

"Oh, that stinks. I hate when that happens. Well, no problem. I'll give you a lift since I'll be there briefly anyway."

"Thank you! You're a lifesaver!"

"I wouldn't say that," replied Anastasia, looking a bit modest. "Anyway, let's hit the road."

"Of course." Clutching the envelope with the letter she'd written to Shannon in her hand, the young woman climbed into Stacey's car and fastened her seatbelt. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to mail the letter yet. She would mail it if she left early enough the next day. Stacey felt like such a fool for offering to take her friend home and not knowing the directions. ‘What an idiot I am.'

"So, um..." the blonde said a bit sheepishly. "Where is this mansion exactly?"

Lissie gave her the address.

"Oh, I think I can find that. I do not go in that area often, you see." She turned on the AC in the car and put the radio to an 80's hits music station.

Michael's kids were in the den, cleaning up the Monopoly pieces they were playing with. They had just finished off the game with Latoya and Michael. Michael had won the game, though they tried their hardest. He was so good at the game. They wanted to play as good as him someday. Latoya had just left to do some grocery shopping, but said she would be back the next day. They were happy to hear that. They had so much fun with her. They also felt bad that Lissie missed it, Blanket especially. He was ready to open up to her now.

"When will Lissie come home?" he asked, playing with his long brown hair.

"She'll be home any minute now," answered Paris. "She said she'd be home four o'clock, remember?"

"Oh right." The little boy continued helping his siblings put up the game. They were almost finished when a few minutes later, they heard the sound of the door bell ringing and the front door opening. They wondered if it was Alyssa. They went to see. Sure enough, it was her. With her was a slim blonde young woman wearing glasses and a business suit. They didn't know who she was, but she sure was pretty.

Alyssa spotted the three children. "Hey there, Paris, Blanket, Prince. I hope you had a good day."

"We did," said Prince. "You missed it."

Alyssa knew she had a lot of catching up to do on Thursday, her day off, when she heard that. She really wanted to spend more time with Michael's kids.

"I suppose I did. I want to hear all about it later." She turned to the blonde. "Anyway, I'd like you to meet my business partner and friend, Stacey. Stacey, these are Michael's children, Paris, Blanket and Prince."

‘Aww Michael has such adorable children.' She shook hands with each of them. Lissie was impressed that Blanket didn't act very shy with Anastasia. He was the first one to extend his hand for a handshake. His father really taught him well.

When Stacey heard someone say, "Blanket, that's the wrong hand you're shaking with" she nearly jumped out of her skin. She wasn't expecting that. The voice was familiar...that same gentle, tenor voice. It meant Lissie was not kidding. She looked up, and saw the King of Pop standing three feet away from her. The same pale skin, the same longish ebony colored hair...just about everything she saw of him on television. Only he was dressed in casual clothing. She wondered if this was some kind of dream. She realized that there was more to him than she believed.

All of a sudden, Anastasia was a little nervous, and she was also starstruck. She couldn't believe she was in the home of the King of Pop. She thought his home was very beautiful, with all the paintings that hung on the wall. She hoped she wouldn't die of heart failure while speaking to him. ‘Who knew his actual presence would have this sort of effect on me?'

Blanket looked sort of sheepish. "Oops, I forgot."

"It's okay."

"Hey there Michael, I'm back from work. Meet my friend and business partner, Anastasia," Lissie told the pop superstar.

"Hi, how are you?"

Stacey regained her composure. "I am good, thank you very much," she replied, giving the veteran musician a handshake. She thought he was as nice as he appeared to be on TV. She could see why Lissie had such a love for him. Though she wasn't a particular big fan of the music, she thought he was a good person. She wouldn't mind having him as a friend. But for now she had to get going. She had to try and clean up her bedroom, which was a sty.

"Sorry to leave so quickly, but I got to go. My bedroom won't clean up itself, unfortunately."

Michael couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. He knew the feeling all too well, when he was her age. Then he looked serious. "Well, all right. Take care of yourself."

"That I will. See you later, maybe." She let herself out the front door.

"So how was your day?" Michael asked Alyssa.

"Busy, but good. Except that my car broke down before I came home, so Stacey had to bring me home."

"Oh no. Well, it's good that you got home safely." It looked like she would have to use one of his chauffeurs, but that was not a problem. After all, it was his job to see to it that she had everything she needed.

"You're still interested in watching my rehearsals?" asked the pop icon. "I'd understand if you wanna rest."

"You bet."