"Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining…" Ramona sang as she rode in the car with Michael. Michael glanced at her and smiled. She had her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. She looked like a little kid.
"Excited much?" Michael asked.
"Oh yes, aren't you?"
He nodded. "Of course I am. What kind of person doesn't get excited over Christmas?"
She giggled and shrugged. "Aliens…?"
Michael laughed and shook his head as they pulled up to their first stop. Ramona glanced out the window to see they were at a tree farm. She raised a brow at Michael and he grinned. "First things first, the man essential to Christmas is the tree. We need 2 big ones for our houses!" he grinned.
"Just 2?" Ramona scratched her chin.
"What are you thinking?" he asked after moment.
"I think you need one for the guest house, and maybe one in the theater…perhaps one in your bedroom?" she smiled and shrugged.
"And you're going to help me decorate each one?" he said as he raised a brow.
She nodded with a huge smile on her face. "Decorating is one of my best hobbies!"
"Alright," he grinned. "Let's go see what we can find." He offered his hand to her and opened the door. He pulled his hat over his eyes and slipped on his aviators and she pulled her own glasses out. "Oh look at this one!" he pulled her along to a huge tree. "It's huge!"
"Yeah it is. Nice and full…we would need a ladder to decorate this thing," she giggled and he agreed. They walked around for about an hour before they finished. They decided on the biggest tree at the farm for the living room at Neverland. It stood about 12 feet tall. Ramona pulled out a notebook and wrote down the measurements of every tree they bought so she would know how many decorations to get for each tree. The next tree they found was 9 feet tall and it was chosen for Ramona's house. Michael picked an 8 foot tall tree for the theater, and another the same size for the guest house. He picked a small 7 foot tree for his bedroom.
"I don't see why I need a tree in my bedroom. I don't see you getting one for yours," he grumbled.
"No one goes in my room but me, so why bother?" she folded her arms at him and he rolled his eyes. "How are we going to get these trees back home?"
"That's where I come in!" a voice called from behind Ramona. She and Michael turned to see Derek leaning against a rather large truck that had a large trailer hooked on the back. "You just tell me which tree goes where and I will take care of the rest."
Ramona smiled and walked over to him to explain what he asked for while Michael headed back to the farm to pay. "This is pretty simple, Derek. The 9 footer goes to my place, and the rest go to Neverland," she paused and handed him a slip of paper from her notebook explaining what goes where. Michael had made little sketches of where he wanted each tree placed to get a rough idea. "If you could try to place these where he drew them, we will make adjustments when we get home."
Derek flipped through the pages and then nodded. "Alright then."
"Oh one last thing, you and Mike are the only ones I trust to know where I keep my spare key."
"Let me guess, it's on top of the porch light or under the mat?" he asked.
Ramona chuckled. "That's too obvious. No…I have a statue in my little garden of a small group of bunnies."
"Oh, right I've seen that," he said.
"Yep. Flip it upside down and the key is velcro'd to the bottom. Just don't tell anyone about it," she said with her finger in his face.
"Or what, dare I ask?" he smirked at her.
"Or I will have to kill you," Michael retorted from behind Ramona.
Ramona smirked and pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "What he said."
Derek rolled his eyes and Michael tossed him the key to his bedroom door. "Just leave the one for my room next to the staircase. I haven't decided where to place that one yet."
"You got it boss. You two have fun!" he smiled and headed to the group of trees the 2 friends had chosen.
Michael and Ramona jumped back in the SUV and headed to the next store. A few hours and 4 stores later, they had 3 SUV's full of decorations and were on their way back home. Ramona had called the girls to help them and they met up with Michael and Ramona at Neverlands gate. Workers came out to unload the decorations and Jas, Saph and Tasha stood by with their mouths hanging open at all the decorations they had bought.
"Good lord, Ray…did you break the bank or what?" Saph asked.
Ramona smirked. "Not even close. What we spent today was merely pocket change to tomcat," she winked at Michael and he tipped his fedora at her. The girls giggled and Ramona pulled out her clipboard and looked over a few things. She glanced at one worker dragging a big box of ornaments toward the guess house. "Woa woa, hold it, those decorations belong to the living room tree," she walked over to the workers to explain again where everything went.
"Wow, this is a side of Ramona I haven't seen in a long time," Jaz said.
"This is a side of her?" Michael asked, staring at Ramona.
"Yeah, she knows what she wants and once she gets determined enough, she makes her vision happen no matter what," Saph said. "She was elected class president in high school many times but she kept turning the job down."
"Really? Why?" he asked.
"She didn't like the attention on her all the time," Jaz said.
"And yet she is the best dancer I have seen in a long while," Tasha added. Michael cleared his throat and she frowned at him and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Besides you, I mean, egghead."
"Don't call me that!" Michael groaned and the girls giggled.
"Okay, everything is where it needs to be here. Shall we get started?" Ramona said when she rejoined the group.
They all nodded and got started on the living room. They worked together on the tree, starting with the lights. Michael got himself wrapped up in the cords and almost fell and the girls laughed and took a picture. They used several ornaments and Michael pulled out his own box from storage of hand made ornaments.
"What are those?" Ramona asked.
Michael pulled up a snowflake made of paper and glitter and smiled. He had a new light in his eyes. "These are ornaments made for me by children and my fans."
The girls paused as they looked over the ornaments in the box. "That is so sweet," Saph cooed.
"Yeah, I've tried to keep every gift my fans gave me. In fact, there's a building a few yards away from here where I keep most of them, along with my awards."
"How come you don't keep your awards here where you can see them? You should be proud of yourself," Jaz said.
"If I see my awards I will feel like I have done it all. I don't want that. I want to keep doing better than I've ever done," he shrugged and continued to add ornaments to the tree.
They all continued decorating the trees in the house and also hung stockings on the fireplace. They decorated the staircase with garland and lights and then moved on to Ramona's house. They did the same to her house and decorated every inch of her living room. Then they moved outside and hung lights on the house. She had glittering snowflakes hanging from her roof and little moving deer in her yard. Michael threw a snowball at Ramona as she fixed the cord so it wouldn't be seen from the road and she glared at him. He giggled and she nailed him in the back of the head with a snowball.
"Ramona!" he shrieked.
She giggled. "Michael!" she shrieked in the same tone and he narrowed his eyes at her. She giggled again and took of running.
He stood up with a smirk. "Gone girl!" he yelled and she laughed as he ran after her.
Jaz, Saph, and Tasha stepped outside and then paused when they saw what looked like a recreation of the video The Way You Make Me Feel. Michael was chasing her around the yard the same way he chased Tatiana back then. He was shouting the same words to her and she laughed. Tasha grinned and pulled retrieved Ramona's stereo and popped in that song. She blasted it and both Ramona and Michael stopped and paused for a moment before grinning at each other. They continued running around the yard and Saph pulled out a video camera as they acted out the music video in the snow.
A few hours later, the gang had settled themselves down in Ramona's living room. She had the lights down low and the fire going in the fireplace. The Christmas tree flashed in the corner and the group sat in the floor wrapped in blankets around the fire.
"So, I have to know, how did you keep Lisa and Luke away?" Ramona asked the girls.
"Oh that was easy," Jaz smirked. "They didn't know who we were so we disguised ourselves."
"Lisa was easy actually. We had her thinking we were doing a special interview about her father's estate," Saph added.
"Luke was a little harder to deal with. I lied to him and told him I was sent by his boss to help him with a new story," Tasha smiled.
Michael and Ramona laughed and then Michael's phone went off. "Pardon me a moment," he excused himself and walked into the kitchen to answer. "Hello?"
"Michael, where are you?" Lisa's voice answered.
"I'm helping Ramona and her friends decorate her house, or was. I was about to head home. Is everything alright?" he asked.
Lisa bit back the jealous comment she had on the tip of her tongue. "Have you seen the weather lately? There is a huge blizzard moving in."
"Really?" he asked. He walked to Ramona's front door and looked out the window. Just then, Ramona's phone went off. She sighed and grabbed it and went to her room to answer.
"Hello?"
"Ray, there's a blizzard moving in, please tell me you're home," Luke begged.
"I'm home. My friends are with me. Are you home?" she asked.
"Yes, and what friends? Michael?" he asked with a tinge of jealousy.
"Yea he is here with 3 of my girl friends as well, so don't get your big boy pants in a bunch," she retorted. Michael walked in the hallway calling her name and she stopped him at the door so he wouldn't enter her room.
"Ramona…the blizzard is here. Looks like I'm going to be staying with…" Ramona put her hand over his mouth and shushed him.
"Was that Michael?" Luke asked.
"Yea, he was just telling me he is leaving, okay? Just stay inside where it's safe and I will call you in the morning."
Luke hesitated. "Okay, you better. I love you," he said suddenly.
Ramona's hand dropped from Michael's mouth in shock and she gulped. "Um…okay, bye!" she hung up and leaned against the wall.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"He…just said…" she couldn't even say it.
"He dropped the L bomb already?" he asked and then shook his head. "I knew something was weird about that guy. Be careful around him, babygirl. I don't trust him."
"Because of what he said?" she asked.
"Because he said it this soon in your relationship. Something isn't right," he said, biting his lip.
Ramona hugged him suddenly and buried her face into his chest. He hugged her back tightly. She didn't know why she felt so vulnerable at that moment, but being in Michael's arms always seemed to make her feel like nothing could harm her. Why was Michael the only one that made her feel that way?
"You two have got to see this!" Tasha yelled from the living room.
Michael and Ramona released each other and then headed into the living room where the girls were huddled together looking out the living room window. Michael and Ramona joined them and gasped when they saw the amount of snow that was falling outside.
"This is so incredible, to happen in California of all places!" Michael gasped.
"It's beautiful," Ramona smiled brightly.
The other girls agreed. "Looks like none of us will be going anywhere tonight," Saph said.
Ramona grinned. "It's alright. I have a guest room and extra sleeping bags and plenty of firewood."
About an hour later, the gang sat around listening to Michael tell a ghost story. The girls huddled together when the power suddenly shut off. Michael merely grinned since it worked well with his story.
"And then as the group huddled together, all alone in a powerless house, the man that had been murdered in their town creeped up on their house…" he said with a grungy voice. "He dragged his bloody legs forward and approached the door where the girls had no idea what was about to happen. He slowly raised his bloody arm and…"
Just then, the front door slammed open and the girls shrieked. Ramona yelped and Michael screamed with them. The girls curled themselves around Michael. Ramona was in his lap, Saph and Jaz were clinging to each arm, and Tasha was hiding behind him with her arms around his shoulders. A man argued with the door with the wind blowing so hard but finally slammed it closed.
"Woo man, that's some wind!" the man sighed.
Michael relaxed and frowned. "Derek! You scared us all senseless man!"
Ramona growled and walked up to Derek and smacked his arm. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"
"Ow! Sorry! I just figured you all needed more firewood!" he yelled in defense. Ramona looked down at his feet and saw he had hauled a pretty big pile of firewood through her door onto her rug.
"Oh, thank you. We were just about to run out," she said lightly. "Sorry."
The blizzard continued to pound into the house all night long and pretty soon, Michael and Ramona were laying side by side on the floor by the fire. Everyone else was asleep. "Ramona?" Mike asked, looking at her. She had her eyes closed and she was on her stomach.
"Hm?" she mumbled.
"Are you awake?" he asked.
She cracked one eye open. "No I just responded in my sleep," she replied and he rolled his eyes.
"Real funny, Ray," he stuck his tongue at her and she giggled and sat up.
"What's up?" she asked.
Michael glanced at the group, making sure they were asleep and then he scooted closer to the fire and held his arm out to her. She smiled and slid against him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Tell me something, why did you talk to Lisa when you did?"
Ramona thought for a moment. "I…I don't know. I heard what she had said to you and I saw your reaction and something inside of me just snapped. She already knew I was there so I decided to take advantage of my momentary courage."
"You got her to apologize. She has never once apologized so sincerely to me since I met her," he said quietly.
"She shouldn't have to," Ramona sat up, looking him in the eyes. "If she loves you like she says she does, she shouldn't treat you the way she does. I don't understand why you would stay with someone like that."
"Why do you stay with Luke?" he asked suddenly.
Ramona looked away and sighed. "Because I see some good in him."
"You see good in everyone. Maybe you shouldn't trust so easily," he smirked.
"You should follow your own advice every now and then," she grinned.
"Maybe," he sighed.
Before long, they were both asleep. The group had to stay at Ramona's for about a week before the snow finally began to clear. They were snowed in. Thankfully, Ramona had enough food to keep them fed for a while. By the end of the week, it was Christmas Eve and Derek was fed up. He bundled up and ventured out into the deep snow and shoveled out the porch for Ramona. The group decided to follow his lead and they went outside. They had intentions of digging out their cars until Shawn arrived in his big truck full of groceries.
Michael and Ramona thanked him repeatedly. They were almost out of food and they had no idea when they would be able to dig out Ramona's car. Not like Michael would allow her to drive on icy roads anyway. He wouldn't even drive on it.
They all played in the snow most of the day. They had snowball fights and built a snowman. Tasha made a sculpture of Michael in one of his famous dance poses and it made Michael laugh. Michael and Ramona ended up wrestling in the snow and the girls went inside to make dinner. When Michael and Ramona stepped in through her back door, Jaz and Saph grinned brightly.
Ramona closed the door behind them and stood on the towel she had laid out for them to stand on while they took off their outside clothes. "What's with the look?" she asked them as she pulled her coat off.
Tasha joined the girls and then pointed above them. Michael and Ramona looked up. The girls had placed a mistletoe above the door. They both blushed and looked at each other.
"Come on you two, it's tradition!" Tasha squealed. Jaz pulled out the camera and Saph grinned brightly.
Michael and Ramona smiled and blushed brighter. They gave each other a quick peck on the lips and then looked back at the girls.
"Oh heck no! It's got to be a real kiss. Give it some passion!" Jaz said.
"Uh…" Michael said and looked at Ramona and then shrugged. "Traditions tradition," he winked and wrapped his arms around her and dipped her. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He moved in slowly and his lips burned into hers. Jaz snapped a picture and the girls cooed together. The kiss lasted a few seconds and Michael was nearly tempted to lick her lips, just to know what she tasted like. Before he got the chance, the doorbell rang.
They separated with rosy cheeks and answered the door and in walked a few of Michael's workers with hands full of presents. They placed them under the tree and then left as quickly as they came. The girls decided to go back to their homes for Christmas Eve with their families and Michael had one final thing up his sleeve.
"Derek, are we ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah, the car is loaded. They are expecting you soon," he smiled.
"Where are you going?" Ramona asked him as he pulled his coat on.
"We," he said and threw her a coat. "Get bundled up. I need your help."
"With what?" she asked as she bundled herself up and locked the door behind them.
He helped her inside the SUV and pointed to the back. The entire back of the car was filled with gifts. "We are going to the orphanage and the children's hospital to deliver these gifts. I wanted you to be a part of this."
Ramona's eyes glazed over with tears. "I'm speechless, Mike. How come you didn't ask Lisa to go with you?"
"She can't handle it. I took her with me in Bucharest once and she did okay at first, but she ended up leaving in tears. She told me never to ask her to do that again," he said sadly.
"I can understand why," Ramona replied.
"Yeah, it isn't exactly the easiest thing to see, but this is what I do. This is part of my job and it makes me feel good when I can bring a smile to a child's face," he smiled at her and she nodded.
Together they walked into the orphanage and the hospital handing out gifts to each child and giving them encouraging words and hugs and kisses. They watched with smiles on their faces as each child ripped open their presents and cheered loudly. Ramona was overcome with a new emotion in that orphanage. As they left, she looked down at her feet. Michael put his arm around her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. Michael…those kids don't have homes, no parents, right?" she asked and he nodded sadly. "What happens to them if they don't find homes?"
"Well, most of these children go out to foster homes until the center finds them a permanent home. If no one adopts them, or fosters them, they are stuck here until they grow up and move on their own."
"That's so sad," she said.
Michael nodded and they continued on their way. After all gifts were handed out, Michael and Ramona headed back home. They headed to Neverland and Michael led Ramona to the living room and she sat down by the fire.
"Would you like to stay here tonight? I have a generator so my power won't go out, and my family will be here in the morning for Christmas," Michael said as he took his shoes off.
"Yeah, thank you tomcat," she said quietly.
"You're welcome, babygirl. I have something for you, by the way," he said. Ramona looked at him curiously as he walked over to the tree and sifted through the gifts and picked up a small gift. "I know it's a bit early, but I didn't want to wait."
"You didn't have to," she said. "But thank you," she smiled as she unwrapped it. She held it up in her hands and studied it. It was a small black book with Michael's signature engraved into the cover.
"This is my poetry book. It isn't everything I have ever written, but I filled this with some things that reminded me of you. The first one is something I wrote when I first became popular and realized what the media was really like."
"It's beautiful, Mike. Thank you so much. I feel like you're letting me into your life more by doing this," she said and wiped a tear away.
"I don't think you can be into my life anymore than you already are," he said and she glanced at him. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."
She smiled and opened the book to the first page and then looked up at him. He nodded and she smiled. "I forgot my reading glasses at home," she blushed. Michael grinned and walked out for a moment and returned with his reading glasses. "I didn't know you wore glasses."
"Well, now you do," he smiled. "Only to read though," he winked.
"Thank you," she smiled and put them on and began to read:
"Magical Child
Once there was a child and he was free
Deep inside, he felt the laughter
The mirth and play of nature's glee
Beauty, love was all he'd see
He knew his power was the power of God
He was so sure, they considered him odd
This power of innocence, of compassion, of light
Threatened the priests and created a fight
In endless ways they sought to dismantle
This mysterious force which they could not handle
In endless ways they tried to destroy
His simple trust, his boundless joy
His invincible armor was a shield of bliss
Nothing could touch it, no venom, no hiss
The child remained in a state of grace
He wasn't confined in time or place
In Technicolor dreams, he frolicked and played
While acting his part, in Eternity he stayed
Soothsayers came and fortunes were told
Some were vehement, others were bold
In denouncing this child, this perplexing creature
With the rest of the world he shared no feature
IS he real? He is so strange
His unpredictable nature knows no range
He puzzles us so, is he straight?
What's his destiny? What's his fate?
And while they whispered and conspired
Through endless rumors to get him tired
To kill his wonder, trample him near
Burn his courage, fuel his fear
The child remained just simple, sincere
All he wanted was the mountain high
Color the clouds, paint the sky
Beyond these boundaries, he wanted to fly
In nature's scheme, never to die
Don't stop this child; he's the father of man
Don't cross his way, he's part of the plan
I am that child, but so are you
You've just forgotten, just lost the clue
Inside your heart sits a Seer
Between his thoughts, he can hear
A melody simple but wondrously clear
The music of life, so precious, so dear
If you could for one moment know
This spark of creation, this exquisite glow
You would come and dance with me
Kindle this fire so we could see
All the children of the Earth
Wave their magic and give new birth
To a world of freedom with no pain
A world of joy, much more sane
Deep inside, you know it's true
Just find that child, it's hiding in you."
Ramona took her glasses off and wiped her eyes. "Michael that is the most beautiful thing I have ever read."
"Really?" he asked.
"Yes, really. I love it. Thank you for sharing this with me," she hugged him tightly and he hugged her back.
"You're most welcome, babygirl. Merry Christmas," he smiled.
She paused and then sat up. "Oh, I have a little something for you as well," she said as she pulled a small gift wrapped box from her coat pocket. She handed it to him and smiled. "It isn't much, and this is only part of your gift. You will get the other part tomorrow," she smiled.
"2 parts? Why?" he asked.
"Because part 2 is hidden at my house and I don't feel like going to get it right now," she grumbled. "Now open it!"
Michael chuckled and opened his gift. He pulled out a bracelet made of black rope with several colorful beads embedded into it. A small charm sat in the middle that read "best friends". Michael smiled and put it on. "A friendship bracelet…I love it!" he grinned and hugged her. "Thank you," he smiled.
"Merry Christmas," she said.