You'll Never Stand Alone

Chapter 5

(1991)

Whitney sat alone in her audition trailer, fidgeting with any object she could get her hand on. The 27-year-old could not believe that she agreed to do such a thing. She was a singer, a performer. What did she think she was doing, auditioning for such a big role for such a big movie?

Better yet, how did she ever get Kevin Costner to convince her that this would be a good idea?

Ever since the day Kevin gave her back her bracelet, the two had formed an amicable friendship. For the next six years, out of respect for each other's lives, the calls were kept to a minimum. However, they kept in touch enough to know what was going on in each other's lives. Because of their professions, their circles rarely crossed one another. But when they did, whether if it was at a charity event or an awards ceremony, the two always made an effort to set aside time to talk and catch up. At times, they would do some subtle flirting, as they tried to keep it as innocent as possible. However, there seemed to be an undeniable crush with one another. But Whitney and Kevin knew that it had to stay exactly that- a secret crush.

Throughout the following years, Kevin and Whitney's careers blew up before their eyes. Kevin had begun taking precedence in the industry and getting starring billing in a number of box office successes, including "The Untouchables", "Field of Dreams", "Dances With Wolves", "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" and "JFK". He had also taken a successful leap into acting and directing in a number of these films. He was generally pleased with the direction that his career was taking and was humbly grateful for the ride to the top. He did wish however that his personal life was a little better. He and Katie welcomed a son to the family, baby Joseph. But Katie was becoming more and more impassionate with supporting Kevin's career (especially regarding him going into music) and finding some sort of happiness of her own. The two seemed to argue more and more over any and everything. It was as if she was not the same woman that he had fell in love with well over ten years ago. She had grown cold and it seemed that nothing Kevin would do to please her made her happy.

Meanwhile, Whitney's career was red hot, as she had managed to break records for her first two albums Whitney Houston and Whitney. The two albums had spun out seven consecutive number one hits, which was the first in history for a female singer/performer. Between making epic music videos, recording albums, doing photo shoots and giving the audience what they wanted on her acclaimed world tours, Whitney barely had time to take in her ultra-success. As grateful to God for everything she had, she still had to learn how to keep her anxieties in check because it seemed to only get worse as her fame rose more and more. Taking time off between albums to hang with her friends and family was about one of the few things that kept her sane. But even then, she always had to be on top of her brand and company, Nippy, Inc. and talking with her mentor Clive Davis and record label Arista to make sure that her next move was her best move. As of late, her latest album I'm Your Baby Tonight was another chart-topper. However, it wasn't as strong as her previous albums had been. Although confident in the musical direction that she took on this album, she couldn't help but wonder if she had done the right thing in pleasing her "Black Peers". As much as she would care to admit, Whitney was quite bothered by the rude reaction she received at the Soul Train Awards a couple of years prior. It took everything in her not to burst out crying in front of everyone as she heard boos and jeers from her peers, once her nomination for her song Where Do Broken Hearts Go? was announced. She had never experienced something as low and embarrassing as hearing the jeers and "WHITE-NEY Houston" remarks. The pop-soul music that she did was never a reflection of race. For Whitney, there was no such thing as "Black Music" or "White Music". It was all pretty much just good music that she wanted to do and was passionate about. Unfortunately, some of her African American peers felt like she was "selling out" in doing her MTV- friendly music. It took her mother Cissy to remind her that she knew who she was and that she didn't owe anyone an explanation for her God-given talent and success. Although she knew her mother was right, she still wanted to experiment with more of an "Urban, R&B, New-Jack style" album that was becoming quite popular. The sound became the product of her latest studio album.

The only good thing that came out of that night at the Soul Train awards for Whitney was meeting her now fiancé Bobby Brown. He didn't seem to have a preconceived judgment about who she was and that seemed to intrigue her the most. After inviting him to her 26th birthday party, they became good friends and quickly lovers and now secretly set to tied the knot. It was all both scary and exciting for Whitney. Never mind that Bobby was younger than her, and that he had two children out of wedlock. It was something that attracted her to him. His bad boy persona was such a turn on and she liked how he brought out a raunchy "I don't give a shit" attitude side out of her. She was looking for freedom, some kind of escape from her big/little golden pop world. And she had found it with Bobby. For better or worse. She knew that her family didn't care for the successful R&B/Hip-Hop crooner because of the skeletons in her closet, but she didn't have intentions of breaking up their engagement. At least she didn't think she did. She did have to admit that there were some big secrets that she carried just with being with him. But no one was perfect. Nobody.

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