Remember the Time

Chapter 16

January 2nd, 1997

Mariah had agreed to Michael's suggestion that they separate and went ahead to Hawaii. They still talked every day and it seemed like their relationship was slowly going back to the way it was before they got married. Ironically, they seemed closer when they were apart than when they were together, but she was bored most of the time because Michael was so busy.

However, instead of being alone, she decided it would be the perfect time to spend time with some friends so she invited Shawntae and Brenda to hang out with her. They had arrived last night and Mariah was eager to catch up with them, especially Brenda.

They were sitting by the pool having lunch and though Mariah was trying to enjoy herself, she couldn't. She still felt guilty over the deterioration of her friendship with Brenda after she married Tommy.

"Brenda, I'm sorry for missing your wedding." Mariah said. She felt compelled to apologize at the very least, she didn't know how she could actually make up for missing such an important day.

Brenda reached across the table. "Don't worry about it. You had things going on."

"I know, but I feel bad. After everything you've done for me and I didn't even show up to your wedding." Mariah rested her chin on her hand. 

Brenda shook her head. "Girl, I'm serious it's okay. Don't worry about it."

Mariah smiled and decided to change the subject. "So, how are you and your husband?"

Brenda blushed. "Chris is amazing, he really is. Speaking of husbands, where's yours?"

"Mike should be here soon, he called me early this morning before he left." Mariah said.

Shawntae laughed. "Ya'll gonna be getting nasty tonight."

"No we're not," Mariah cackled. "He's probably going to be exhausted."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."

Mariah laughed again before her eyes were covered tightly by a large hand that nearly covered her entire face. She could hear the quiet rustle of a lei behind her and she knew it had to be Michael. She ran her fingers over the hand and it confirmed her suspicions. 

"Is this my husband?" She asked, amused.

She felt soft lips brush against her cheek and the hand uncovered her eyes. "That would be correct."

"Your hands are huge." Mariah said.

Brenda sipped her drink. "Big hands you say?"

Mariah rolled her eyes. "How big are Chris's hands?"

"Big enough."Brenda shot back.

The three women started giggling like high schoolers. But before Mariah could make a witty comeback,  she noticed that Michael appeared a bit uncomfortable.  She got up from the table and pulled him a bit off to the side so that she could give him her full attention.

"When did you get back?" She asked him.

Michael shrugged. "About twenty minutes ago."

Mariah hugged him, giving him a peck on the lips. "You seem tired."

"I didn't get any sleep." He admitted. "But I wanted to see where you were."

"Well, I've got Brenda and Shawntae with me. We're probably going to go to the beach in a little bit so you can take a nap." She offered. She was happy to see Michael, but she wanted him to get some sleep if he could. She knew he had a show the next day and would need all the rest he could get.