Michael and I got up the inayofuata morning and we started packing again. Our honeymoon was definitely gonna be different. No married couple had ever even wanted to tour the neighboring states for their honeymoon. What shocked me even more...was that Michael alisema that he was gonna drive for the first time since he was 18. He alisema that he recently got his license renewed and was always thinking of driving to give Bill a break. This time, he did get a break. Once we finished packing, we put our stuff in the car and headed back inside and made ourselves something to eat. We actually had pancakes again because Michael just loved the blueberry maple syrup. When Bill had driven us nyumbani yesterday, after our wedding, I told Michael the recipe of the blueberry maple syrup. He alisema that he would need my help, just in case he messed up.
"I'll help you, no worries. It's really simple and easy." I said.
"Okay, thank you, Rebecca. I would really hope I get it right. I just need supervision, I guess." Michael said, giggling.
I giggled and kissed his cheek. "You're an adult and yet wewe need supervision...sounds logical enough. We are children at heart, right?"
He kissed my cheek back and smiled a little. "Yeah we are. Especially me."
I rolled my eyes and messed up his hair. "Oh, Michael."
"Hey! That's my hair!" He giggled.
He put his fork down and tried to fix his hair. I put my fork down and helped him with his hair, getting back to the way it was before. When it was back to normal, we finished eating and cleaned up and headed back to the car. Michael got in the driver side and I got in the passenger side.
"Man, it feels like years since I've driven a car like this."
"You still remember how, right?"
Michael looked at me and raised his eyebrow. "Of course I still know how to drive."
I giggled a little. "I just wanted to be sure, Michael."
He put the key in the ignition and started the car and started backing out of the garage, watching where he was going. Once we were out of the garage, he put the car into drive and we then headed out. There were places that Michael had been to before, but can't remember much about. One was Nevada, one was Washington and one was Utah. (Me: Utah, one of the places that's been nicknamed "Home of the Mormons." Don't be fooled kwa the language that I use, because I am one lol. Just being really rebellious.) He almost knew Utah like the back of his hand because he knew the Osmond family when he was growing up. We put in a Jackson 5 album and started imba along to it. Occasionally, we'd switch out the albums for a movie we brought with us. We brought Peter Pan, Lady And The Tramp, Snow White, The Wiz and The Wizard Of Oz. We had even brought along some of his short films from Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad. One of the short films that we always watched was "Bad" because it was always interesting to see Wesley Snipes with his first uigizaji part. Michael was always a great actor, no matter what anyone else said. Same with Wesley.
A Few Hours Later
Michael and I arrived in Oregon for a little break and stopped at KFC for some lunch. We were lucky enough to find one when we drove into the state. We ordered some fried chicken and some mashed potatoes and biscuits and then we went to sit down. I was thinking about what time we'd be arriving in other states.
'Okay, we left California at 8am...it's a little after noon now here in Oregon. We'll stay a few days in Washington, then head out to Utah and stay there for a few days. Then we'll go to Nevada and stay there for a few days and then we'll head on home. This should be fun.' I thought.
I looked at Michael and he seemed to be uandishi something down on a napkin that was on the meza, jedwali we were sitting at. I looked at it and he wrote down where we were going and how long we'd stay there. I was shocked to know that he actually agreed to what I was thinking: a few days in those three states and then heading nyumbani after our last siku in Nevada. We talked about it, when our chakula came out, and decided that since we were here in Oregon, we'd tour the area and stay here for a couple days to even out the 2 weeks we'd have together for the honeymoon trip.
"Wouldn't it be fun?" Michael asked. "I mean, I haven't really been here before and it would be fun to tour the area a bit."
I nodded. "Yeah, it would be fun. I haven't been up this way, either." I said. "Why not? We'll stay here for a couple days."
Michael was excited, I could tell. We started eating and once we finished, we headed out to find a hotel to stay in for a couple days. We couldn't find a hotel, but we found really fancy motels around the area. I looked at one of them and its sign alisema that it was the Man Behind The Mask Motel. I found it funny how it was almost like Man In The Mirror, but not entirely. Michael stopped the car and we got out, with the keys, and headed inside to see if there were any rooms available. We were lucky enough to get a room on the ground floor. The manager handed us a key and we headed to Room 7. I was wondering how he knew Michael's inayopendelewa number, but I shrugged it off and we got inside the room and put our stuff down kwa the bed. We had decided to take a tour of Oregon before it became nightfall, so we headed back to the car and went to tour Oregon, jamming out to the Bad album.
We went to different stores and saw replica landmarks and went to a few art museums. Our siku was full of fun and usually, on the first siku of the honeymoon, the newly weds would stay in the room they'd be staying in for the honeymoon and doing stuff. Michael and I are different than the other newly weds. We're adventurous and always up for anything on the first day. Kinda like our Smooth Criminal rehearsals. We had gone to the bay and the sun was setting. We 'accidentally' ran into some of his mashabiki and they got a picture with him. We even saw some of my family on my dad's side there visiting, so when they saw me, they wondered who it was. They went up to me and tapped my shoulder.
"Becky? Is that you?" One of them asked.
I turned around and saw one of my cousins and was in shock. "Aubrey??"
"Oh my gosh!! It is you!" She squealed a little.
She hugged me and I hugged her back and we pulled away. "Careful, Aubrey. You're gonna hurt the child."
She was shocked. "Child?? What? You're pregnant?!"
I nodded and pointed to my stomach and she looked down and saw that my stomach was poking out a lot. "Yes I am, Aubrey. And I'm having a girl."
"Who's baby is it??"
Michael came up behind me and put his arm around me. "It's mine." He said, smiling a little.
Aubrey was in shock to hear it and she looked at me. "Are wewe dating him?"
"No, Aubrey...I'm married to him. He had proposed before we left on his European half of the Bad Tour. We had gotten married a week after we got back. Don't wewe still have that invite I sent you?"
"Yeah, I do. I never thought you'd get married to him, though. We never knew what he looked like this time around. Anyway, when is she expected to be born?"
"In about 3 months. We're on our honeymoon right now, so she'll be waiting a bit. Guaranteed, there will probably be times she'll send me to the hospital for false labor." I giggled.
She giggled as well. It was funny seeing her here. I never thought I would run into any of my family members on dad's side anywhere. She asked if she could take our picture and I told her that I was gonna ask her that. She took my camera and hers and Michael and I sat down on the wood pole fence and she got the perfect shot of us looking out at the ocean while the sun was setting with both cameras. She handed mine back to me and she gave me a quick hug and soon left, excited that I was having a girl. Michael and I then headed back to the car and headed back to the motel.
Back At The Motel
Michael and I got back to our room and he went to kuoga real quick. I changed because I had already showered that morning before we left. I got into kitanda and turned on the TV and started watching what I never thought would be on TV for a while...The Jackson's Variety Show. I saw Michael come out of the bathroom and he had on boxers and one of his white shirts. (Me: I never thought he would wear that lol.)
"What are wewe watching?" He asked.
I giggled a little and looked at him. "The Jackson's Variety Show." I said.
He was shocked. "Are wewe serious? I thought they'd never onyesha that again. Curses, CBS..." He giggled.
He soon got into kitanda and watched it with me. He alisema that he never wanted to do another TV onyesha because of those strict schedules they put him and his brothers and sisters on, but when he would need a laugh, he'd wind up watching it for the heck of it. After about 10 minutes, we fell asleep.
Two Weeks Later
Michael and I were heading back to California from Nevada. He met the family on my dad's side and they were excited to have met him. My aunts and uncles were excited that we were having a little girl and they never thought that they would be great aunts and great uncles. When we were in Utah, he met up with Donny Osmond and his brothers. They had talked about all the fun times they had, hanging out and such when they were in their teens. Well, we just stopped in Redding, California for a driver switch. It was actually my idea to trade with Michael because I could tell he was getting a little tired. We stopped at a rest stop and traded spots and this was the funny part. Michael, when he got in the passenger side, once he was buckled up, he fell asleep. (Me: Hm...plenty of things to do to him while he's asleep, but refrained from pulling pranks on him lol. And gah, my hands are cold!! And yes, I do have a cousin named Aubrey.) Then I started driving the rest of the way to Neverland. When it came to lunch and dinner, we stopped at KFC twice. I didn't want him to spend his money, so I used my card.
"I can always pay, wewe know." He said.
"I know, but it's my treat to you. wewe spoiled me a lot when we were dating, so it's my turn to spoil you." I said, giggling a little.
He giggled and gave in. He knew he couldn't win. Although, there was one thing he would always win at. "I upendo you."
"I upendo you, too."
"I upendo wewe more."
"No, I upendo wewe more."
"I upendo wewe most, then."
"Oh? Well I upendo wewe zaidi than most."
"Oh yeah? Then I upendo wewe zaidi than that."
"Dang it! wewe beat me."
"Heehee, I win."
I pouted and he giggled, putting his arms around me, putting his head on my shoulder. He kissed my cheek and it made me giggle. When we got our food, we sat down at a meza, jedwali and started eating. (Me: It was around maybe 6pm, so basically dinnertime lol.) We talked about Moonwalker and it seemed like it was just yesterday that we had gotten into rehearsing Smooth Criminal and talking about it. We couldn't believe that it was almost in the movie theater. Michael alisema that when it comes out, he's gonna be expecting a copy of it from Frank, that way we could watch it whenever we wanted to. I giggled, because that was what I expected him to say. He's always wanting a copy of anything that he did so he could watch it. He already now has a copy of his Bad Tour from Yokohama and a copy of the Victory Tour. It was fun watching them, so we expected Moonwalker to be the same: fun to watch and never growing old. When we finished eating, we headed off back to Neverland. I was officially 7 months in and I couldn't wait until our daughter was born. She was getting real close because of her kicking and movement. She still made me giggle, though, because her movements would tickle, especially her little feet.
Returning To Neverland
Once Michael and I got back to Neverland, I parked the car and we got out. Michael was excited to be back nyumbani after 2 weeks of being on the road. But he planned our anniversary trip already, which wasn't like him at all, but it made me giggle how he alisema we'd be going to another country instead. It made me wonder where to, though. We got our things out of the car and headed inside and up to the bedroom. Michael looked at the clock and saw that it was 10pm already.
"Damn, it's late. We should be getting some sleep." He said.
I nodded and yawned a little bit. "Yeah, we should. I am rather sleepy." I said.
"I am, too." He yawned and stretched a little.
We put our stuff down and decided that we'd unpack and do everything else tomorrow. We went to the kitanda and almost instantly fell asleep.
2 Months Later
It was late March and spring was extremely close. Mine and Michael's daughter was gonna be born any siku now and we were excited. I looked at the calendar in the room and saw that it was the 29th. I had just turned 19 last mwezi and I was feeling much zaidi like an adult-child, like Michael. Michael came into the room and saw me and sat down inayofuata to me and put his hand on my now 9 mwezi stomach.
"She's almost here." He said, smiling.
I smiled a little and put my hand on his. "Yeah. I can't believe it's already been 9 months. It seems like yesterday that I just got pregnant with her." I said.
We felt the kicks she's been giving us and we giggled. She was gonna be the silliest little girl we'd ever have. She was moving a lot the past mwezi and that baby kuoga my mom and Katherine gave me was tremendous and fun. I never expected anything zaidi than that. Suddenly, I felt a kick and it seemed to have been hard, but not hard enough.
"Wow, that was pretty hard."
"I know, Michael. She's getting closer and closer to-" Then I felt another kick and it was the hardest one she's aliyopewa me. I started breathing heavily.
Michael looked at me, a little worried. "Rebecca, are wewe okay?"
(Me: Unintentional use of Smooth Criminal lol.) "Michael...I-I think it's time!"
Michael told Bill to call the hospital and he did so. Michael held me close to him and looked at me in the eyes. "Just keep breathing, Rebecca."
I nodded and kept breathing and Bill soon came into the room.
"The ambulance, magari ya wagonjwa is on its way, Michael." He said.
"Thanks, Bill."
After 5 minutes, we heard the sirens from outside and saw that it was the ambulance. We got out of the room and headed outside and saw the doors open.
"Come in." The doctor said.
Michael and I got into the ambulance, magari ya wagonjwa and closed the door and they drove us to the hospital. I was in pain and it was almost like she couldn't stay in there any longer, but she did. Once we got to the hospital, the doctor rolled me inside with a couple doctors and nurses following. Michael followed them into the room and they got him dressed up with a mask and a kanzu, gown and had him help me out of the clothes I was wearing and into a gown. They got me on the kitanda and I was really breathing fast. Michael held my hand and rubbed it to help me try to calm down a little.
"We're gonna need wewe to spread your legs." One of the other doctors said.
I nodded and spreaded my legs, wincing in pain. "Ouch..."
"Do wewe want some painkillers?" The nurse asked.
I nodded and she gave me two pills and I took them and swallowed.
"We're gonna need wewe to start pushing now." The other doctor said.
I took a deep breath and started pushing, gripping on Michael's hand because of the pain. He kept rubbing my hand, keeping me calm.
"That's good. Push again."
Then I pushed again. I wasn't one to scream out in pain, but childbirth was the only time I would...and I did. I was in so much pain.
"She's almost out! Come on! Again!"
I pushed again and again and screamed a little.
"One zaidi time!"
I pushed one zaidi time...and then I heard a baby crying. My breathing went back to normal and I smiled a little. I felt a tear fall down the side of my face and then felt Michael's hand wipe it away. I looked at him and saw him smiling.
"You did great, Rebecca."
"I couldn't have done it without you, Michael."
He kissed and rubbed my hand and I looked at the nurses and saw them cleaning our daughter. Once she was cleaned off, one of the nurses came up to me.
"Would wewe like to see your daughter?" She asked.
I nodded and she handed her to me. I cradled her in my arms and she was still crying a little. I stroked her head gently and she stopped for a little bit. One of the other nurses came in with a certificate printer and computer.
"What's her name gonna be?"
"Kiara Jade Jackson."
She typed it up and it printed out. She put it in her little kitanda and turned to me. "We'll have to get her foot and hand prints for the certificate. So can we see her for a few minutes?"
I nodded and gently handed Kiara to the nurse and she got her foot print and her hand print and even weighed her at 6 lbs and 14 oz and she was about 11-12 inches long. Not too big, but not too small, either. She gave her back to me and I held her close. When she opened her eyes and saw me and Michael, she smiled a little. The nurses were shocked and so were the doctors.
"Newborns aren't supposed to smile yet..." The doctor said.
Michael leaned over and saw her and smiled himself. "Hey, Kiara...I'm your daddy." He moved his hand and caressed her head gently and she grabbed his finger, making him giggle. "Your little finger tickles, Kiara."
I giggled and she looked at me. "Hi, Kiara. I'm your mommy. Welcome to the world."
She giggled a little and it made me smile. I looked closely at her and she had a little tuff of hair that was a dark, dark brown, almost black and her eyes were a deep brown, just like Michael's. Soon the nurses and doctors left and let me and Michael have some time with Kiara. She was almost like a little lion cub. She was adorable and soft, just like one. I was gonna be getting visitors tomorrow from what the doctor told me and Michael, at that minute, called my family and his family to tell them that she had arrived. When he got off the phone, he noticed that I was tired.
"You should get some rest, Rebecca. wewe seem tired."
I looked at Kiara and she looked at me and back at Michael. I kissed her head and handed her to him to let him have a chance to hold his daughter. I then laid back on the kitanda and closed my eyes, hearing Michael humming I'll Be There to get Kiara to sleep. It got her to sleep...and it got me to sleep as well. Kiara cuddled up to Michael and fell asleep and Michael smiled at her and kissed her head.
"You're just like your mother, Kiara."
He put her in her little bed, after moving the birth certificate, and covered her up with a little blanket. The nurse came in and soon took her to the nursery and alisema that if she starts crying, she'll need the mother to feed her...which will be depending on how long it would be until she gets hungry. Michael nodded and took my hand in his, while I slept, and he soon fell asleep himself.
A Couple Hours Later
I woke up and saw that Michael was asleep and saw the nurse bring Kiara into the room. She was crying, so I assumed, out of new mother instinct, that she was hungry. She handed her to me and left the room and I lifted the juu of the kanzu, gown and let her feed. It hurt, considering that I was new to the whole thing, so I occasionally winced. When she finished, I draped it back over my chest and rocked her to sleep, humming bila mpangilio songs like I'll Be There, Man In The Mirror, Human Nature and other slow songs. Once she fell asleep, I put her in her kitanda carefully, without waking Michael up, covered her slightly and pulled her kitanda close to mine so just in case she woke up again, I'll be there to get her. Soon, I fell back asleep.