Forced II: Whatever Happens

Chapter 22 - Homecoming

15th of September, 2008
Michael is 50, Angela is 44, and Jake is 45

Jake: The plane shook, waking me up. I rubbed my eyes as I sighed deeply.

I took a sip from my water bottle, and decided to go walk for a bit. I definitely stood out among the other passengers because some people stared at my Navy uniform.

When I got back to my seat, the woman beside me smiled. I smiled back slightly.

"Going home?" she asked.

"Yeah." I answered.

"How long have you been away?"

"Almost five years..."

She raised her eyebrows, "Wow. So is your wife waiting for you when we land? You seem like the guy to be married."

"Something like that, except we're not really married anymore... But I'll see my kids, too."

"That's amazing." she said.

I leaned back slightly. "What about you, are you going home?"

"No, I'm actually visiting my baby sister. She got engaged not long ago, so I'm finally meeting her fiancé," she made a face. "She's been living in LA for a few years. She was supposed to come home around a year ago, but met her guy and moved in with him."

She put her hand out for me, "I'm Kimberly, by the way, but you can call me Kim."

"Jacob, but you can call me Jake." I shook it.

We talked for a while until the captain said we were nearing LAX.

"Here," I took out my notebook and pen. "If you need someone to show you around. I know some good places."

I scribbled down my number, handing her the piece of paper. Kim took it gladly.

"So how old are your kids?" she buckled her seatbelt.

"Turned 10 in May. They're probably so big," I smiled again at the thought of Lily and Eric. "What's the deal with your sister and her fiancé? You made a face earlier."

"Oh, I don't know... He sounded nice over the phone, I'm pretty sure he's Italian, too...But apparently he's related to Michael Jackson somehow. His brother-in-law maybe...?"

Could it be Luciano? No way. That guy would never settle down.

"And that's bad? Michael Jackson seems like a nice guy." I chuckled. If she only knew.

"He probably is. It's just odd to think about my sister dating someone who's related to him." Kim sighed.

The plane started descending, and I held tightly onto the armrests of my chair. I'm actually almost home.

I started getting excited, but scared, too. What if Lily and Eric don't want to see me? They'll probably hate me for leaving them.

"Hey," Kim called. "You okay?"

I nodded, "Just nervous."

"Don't be, I'm sure your kids will be glad to see you." she patted my arm gently.

"Thanks."

But my nerves only kept building up.

~

Angela: Michael held my hand gently and played with my fingers as we drove through LA. He was probably just as nervous as I was.

Last night, after Jake told us he was boarding a plane back home, Michael's headache got so bad he stayed up most of the night.

To say I was worried was an understatement; I knew this would happen once he found out. So I took the liberty of calling his doctor this morning and told him we were coming for that scan.