"What on earth are you doing?" Ramona asked as she glanced at Michael from her seat. Michael had moved to the far back of the SUV with a big case. When he had pulled it open, bright light bulbs lit up his face. He had a makeup case with a built in light and mirror. Ramona bit back a giggle.
"Well, I can't very well go into public looking like me, now can I?" he retorted. Ramona shrugged. "Do you want to get photographed and pummeled by my fans?" he asked. Ramona smiled and shook her head. "Okay then, don't judge me," he said teasingly and snorted.
Ramona made a face and Michael looked at her as he applied a fake mustache. "You are such a diva," she teased.
Michael froze and finally closed the case. "I am NOT!" he said in a slightly hurt tone, putting his hand on his chest dramatically. Ramona laughed and looked out the window.
"If you say so," she smirked, then added quietly, "diva."
"Hey!" he laughed.
Soon they pulled up to the mall and Michael got out slowly. He was dressed in a black v-neck shirt and a pair of faded jeans. He also wore a black beret hat and his aviators. Ramona stopped him before he got out and traded him sunglasses.
"Here, where these."
Michael gave her a look before hesitantly putting them on. They weren't as big as his aviators, but they concealed his eyes well. "Why can't I wear my glasses?" he whined as he crawled out of the car.
"Think about it, Mike. You are well known for your style. People will recognize you if you wear these," she said with a smile.
"Oh come on, people wore aviators before I did," he folded his arms.
"Name 3 people," she challenged. Michael paused and then hung his head. "That's what I thought. Aviators are only popular now because of you," she poked his stomach playfully and he smiled and nodded.
"Okay, you win, Ray. Let's go." She hooked her arm in his and together they walked through the mall. They went from store to store and Michael would stop to study paintings and sculptures. Ramona seemed to be interested in the book stores and scrap books.
Michael caught her eyeing a deep red laptop computer and he smirked. "Find something you like?" he asked.
Ramona jumped back and shook her head. "Just something to add to my wish list," she winked and moved on. Ramona didn't want Michael to spend so much money on her. They had already gone through several clothing stores and Michael had purchased an entire wardrobe for her. She didn't know what to think.
As they roamed the mall, Ramona glanced back at Michael. He seemed extremely tense after a group of young girls eyed him.
"Maybe we should move to another floor," he said nervously.
"Maybe you shouldn't walk like that," she pointed out. He stopped and looked at her before looking down at his own feet. How could he walk like someone else? Ramona snickered and put her hand around his waist. He blushed and tensed before putting his arm around her shoulders. "Walk with me, I'll show you."
He followed her instructions, trying to calm his pounding heart. He wasn't used to this kind of thing. Whenever he could get Lisa to go shopping with him, he had to fight to get her to hold his hand, let alone get this close.
'Calm yourself, Mike,' he scolded himself. 'She's only trying to help you.'
He loosened up after a few moments and Ramona released her hold. Her heart was pounding at the close contact as well, but she wasn't about to show her embarrassment. When they both slowed down, Michael glanced around.
"Um, are you ready to leave? These bags are getting kind of heavy," he said shyly.
Ramona looked back at him. He had a begging look on his face. They were both carrying several bags on their arms. She felt bad for him but still giggled at his desperation. "Aw, Sugar Tits, are you that tired? You need to lift more weights."
He scowled at her and his sunglasses fell off his face. He jerked upright and dropped all of the bags trying to catch the glasses before they hit the ground. He wasn't so lucky. The framed cracked on the hard tile and he cringed. This wasn't good.
They both tensed up, Michael more than Ramona, when people began to stare at them. Ramona quickly pulled the aviators from the top of her head and put them on his face. He let out a breath and smiled slightly.
"Thanks. Let's get out of here," he said. He picked up all of the bags he had dropped and they back tracked to the floor where they had entered.
"This doesn't look familiar," Ramona said while glancing around.
"Didn't we come in next to Dillard's?" he asked.
Ramona shrugged. "Um…" they both glanced around for a while before they finally found a map. Ramona looked it over and Michael rolled his eyes.
He pointed at an upside down red triangle. "You are here, well isn't that obvious?" he grumbled at the sign. Ramona bit back a grin and shook her head.
"Hey, don't take your anger out on the sign. It's only here to help us."
"Leave it to you to defend an inanimate object," he grumbled and then giggled at the look on her face.
After about 15 minutes, they finally found their way outside and began to load the back of the SUV.
Ramona winced as she rubbed her wrists. "Ow, I didn't realize how heavy those bags were."
Michael took his glasses off and nudged her. "I guess I'm not the only one who needs to hit the gym, huh?"
Ramona stuck her tongue out at him and then stopped when she noticed a frightened look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Get in, quickly," he mumbled as he pushed her toward the door.
"Look! It's Michael Jackson!" a girl screamed. A crowd quickly formed and ran toward the SUV. Michael shook his head and dove into the back seat. Ramona reached over him and slammed the door just as the crowd hit the vehicle and began hitting the sides.
"Ugh," he growled. "I need to work on my disguises."
Ramona giggled as she sat back in her seat. 'Poor Michael,' she thought to herself. 'He can't even go shopping without being followed. I need to do something for him. Something special. But what…?'
"So…I just realized something," Michael said as he sat in his seat and began to remove his makeup. "I realized I have a pretty girl living in my guest room, and I don't even really know her that well."
Ramona blushed a little at being complimented by him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"You should be," he said. Ramona looked at him and he smiled. "Make it up to me. Tell me more about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
Michael bit his lip in thought. He read her journal, but he didn't want to tell her that. He wanted her to tell him about her life. "Where do you come from? Your family, your past, what you want for your future? Tell me everything."
Ramona smiled weakly at his enthusiasm. Never in her life had she met someone who was so determined to know her. She was nothing special, she knew that. She shrugged. "Well, my family is no longer living. My parents were killed in a fire; my brother lost his battle to cancer."
Michael's eyes grew sad and he looked down for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be," she said without hesitation. "Everything happens for a reason. Besides, I'm still here," she smiled and looked away.
"You don't seem that hurt by it. How is that possible?" he asked.
"I was hurt when it happened, but I am never bitter about things like that. God chose to keep me alive. Everyone has a mission in life, you know. I guess I have yet to fulfill mine," she thought out loud.
"I like to believe the same thing," he smiled. "What about your future? Ever think about a career in writing?"
"Of course I always think about it. It's always been my dream job," she admitted quietly.
Michael paused in thought and then nodded. "You would do great as a professional writer."
"How do you know?" she challenged him.
"Call it intuition. Besides, I like what I heard when you read my part of your story. You still owe me, by the way," he smirked and she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I suppose I do. However, I forgot to buy a few notebooks to continue my writing. So if you don't mind me borrowing some paper from you, I will be glad to continue my story and read it to you as it progresses."
Michael grinned to himself as he nodded. 'You won't need a notebook for long.'
Two days later, Michael had gone out early one morning and Ramona met with one of the maids to help around the house. She was asked to dust a few things and clean a few floors. Marie promised Michael she wouldn't overdo things with the girl, and she didn't intend to.
"Alright, Miss Marie, the floors are done. What's next?" Ramona pranced out of the dining room. She wore her favorite pair of jean shorts and a grey muscle shirt with her hair pulled back and a bandana on her head.
Marie rose up from the living room window and threw the cleaning rag over her shoulder. "Already done? You're fast! Slow down!" she chuckled and Ramona smiled back.
"I can't help it. I like a good challenge," she paced the room trying to find something else to do. Suddenly she stopped by the back door and looked out across the field toward the zoo. "Do the zookeepers need any help?"
Marie thought for a moment before smiling. "They might need a hand grooming some of them. Watch out for Enrique, though. He doesn't speak much English and he happens to be very flirtatious," she winked.
Ramona smiled and nodded before prancing out to the zoo. Every worker at the ranch had already met Ramona and they knew who she was. None of them liked Lisa much, and most of the women secretly wished Michael would get with Ramona instead of staying with Lisa.
Ramona opened the gate to the lion's pen when two of the female zookeepers motioned her to enter. "Do you need any help around here?" she asked.
"Well, sure. Actually we were getting ready to take the tigers out swimming and we could use the help. Michael's favorite tiger, Sabu, is quite a handful."
She grinned as she stepped forward into the den and listened closely to the directions. A few hours later, Michael finally arrived and he knocked on Ramona's door. When she didn't answer he looked around the house until he bumped into Marie.
"If you're looking for your partner in crime, she's out helping the staff with Sabu," she smiled. Michael's eyes grew wide.
"Why would they ask her to handle Sabu? He plays too rough with everyone except me and you," he said as he hurried toward the back door.
Marie simply chuckled as he ran toward the zoo. He had expected to find her having a hard time handling his favorite tiger like the rest of the zookeepers he had hired, but he had to fight the temptation to grab a camera when he caught sight of Ramona.
Not only was Ramona soaked from head to toe and being laughed at by the fellow zookeepers, but she was in the pool with Sabu and Thriller, his two beautiful tigers. He laughed when he saw Thriller chase her and she laughed and splashed him. Sabu pounced on her back and she fell over. Michael was worried she was being transformed into Sabu's personal chew toy, until she got up and Sabu began to rub on her like a kitten.
Ramona smiled and hugged his huge neck and then she saw Michael and waved. He grinned and entered the pen, only to be spotted by his tigers and tackled instantly. "I missed you guys too," he laughed as he rough housed with them and growled like a tiger.
"I see where they get their rough behavior," Ramona teased as she walked up to him, helping him up. "Welcome home."
"Thank you. Did you have fun?" he asked.
"Of course. Sabu and Thriller are amazing animals. They are just like..."
"A couple of kids," Michael finished the sentence at the same time she did. They both blushed and giggled. "I'm surprised Sabu didn't hurt you. Most of the workers were turned into his personal chew toy by now."
"Nah, he's just a kid. Aren't you, Sabu?" she spoke to him like a baby and scratched his ears playfully. He jerked his head around playfully and put his paws on her shoulders, raising up on his hind legs and hugged her.
"He never hugs anyone but me. I think I'm jealous," Michael laughed.
Ramona smiled when she pushed Sabu away. "Don't be jealous. Do you need a hug, Sugar Tits?" she asked as she slowly moved toward him.
"Don't even think about it, Snookie," he moved back, holding his hands up. He backed up until his back hit the fence and Ramona tackled him with a bear hug, soaking him through his clothes. "You are so going to pay for this!" he yelled as he threw her over his shoulder and ran back into the tiger's pool. Both tigers chased him and ran into the pool as well.
A few hours playing in the pool with the tigers went by and Michael took Ramona back into the house. "I have a surprise for you," he smirked as he led her toward his library.
"For what? Don't you think you've done enough?" she asked. She was embarrassed and honestly felt a little selfish. He bought her an entire wardrobe and now he had something else for her? She really needed to find a way to repay him, and soon.
"Do you dare question Michael Jackson?" he puffed his chest out proudly and Ramona raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," she said simply.
His chest deflated and he scowled before walking behind her and covering her eyes. "Smartass. Walk forward and keep your eyes shut until I tell you."
She grumbled as he led her through the hallway into his library. He carefully maneuvered her around to sit her down in his office chair that was pulled up to a huge chestnut desk. He smiled as he finally let go of her eyes and stepped around to watch her face.
She gasped when she opened her eyes. Right in front of her sat the deep red laptop she had been eyeballing at the mall a few days ago. He had set it open and put a bright red ribbon on the corner of it. "Michael, I don't know what to say," she breathed. "Th…thank you!"
She placed her hands on it and studied it carefully. Michael grinned. "You're welcome. Now you don't need any more notebooks. All you need is your fingers to type the stories away."
Ramona's eyes glazed over at his words. He actually cared that she wanted to be a writer. So much that he spent quite a deal of money on a gorgeous piece of machinery that she never imagined she would own in her lifetime. She jumped up and hugged him tightly.
"You are such an amazing person. How could anyone think otherwise?" she sniffed. "I swear to you right now, I will use my writing skills to prove to the public how sweet and amazing you truly are!"
Michael was taken aback by her words. He expected a thank you but never thought she would make such a promise. "You don't have to do anything for me," he said softly before stepping away. "Just write me a good story," he winked before walking out.
'Just a good story? I will do more than that, I promise,' she thought to herself. She sat back down and suddenly felt sad when she felt the stinging sensation in her shoulder again. She placed her hand over the scar and sighed.
'You would be doing so much more for him if only you would tell him who you really are…' her mind taunted her.
"When the time is right…" she whispered as she powered up her new laptop and began writing her next story.