Chapter 4

I tried calling back only to receive our voice mail. She's really pissed off at me. "Here, man." I handed the phone back to Marlon.

"What'd she say?" He asked.

"Boy..., she's pissed." I shook my head.

Marlon laughed, "For what?"

"She thinks I have a new phone, and she's mad that I didn't call her."

"Well, it has been a while since you've last spoken to her. How long ago was that?"

"Just a couple of weeks..." I looked up at him.

"Now you know even a couple of days without communication messes with a females mind. I don't even know why you did that. I call Carol damn near every day."

"Shayla and I are different though. We've gone months and even a couple years without speaking to each other. I didn't think that just a couple of weeks would get to her."

"Well, she just misses you, man. Maybe she doesn't want it to be that long without communication like it used to be, ya know?"

"I guess..."

"She said she wrote a letter." Marlon offered.

"Yeah, I know. She told me to throw it away."

"Well, how about when you get it you write back and send it off immediately, alright?"

"Yeah..." I sighed.

"Alright. Let's go get some grub!" Marlon smacked me on the back twice and ran off.

VII

November 12, 1984

Just before we took off to go to Vancouver, Jermaine brought in a big bag of fanmail.

"Alright, y'all, if you see any letters addressed to me, I better get them all! Don't try to sneak diss and open them." Jermaine announced as he poured the letters out in the middle of the bus. I looked down at the pile of letters and watched as everyone searched for envelopes with their names on it. I turned away and looked out the window. It all started with a letter. It was her letter that stood out from the rest, and it's her letter that's going to stand out from the rest now. I'm not interested in the rest of them.

"Michael, here's a couple for you." Randy nudged me.

"Are they from Shayla?"

"Um..." He checked the names. "Nope."

"You can pitch them."

"Alright..." He said and went away with them. I would search for Shayla's letter, but that pile is too big. I can wait until later. I went to go get my notepad and flipped to the page titled, "We Are the World" and read over the lyrics. Honestly, I cannot wait to see Shayla. Once we get back to L.A. for our final shows, I'll let her come to each show and I'm staying home with her. There's no way I could go back home and not be with my baby.

VII

"Mike, did you ever find Shayla's letter?" Tito asked me as I continued to look through the pile.

"No. It's as if the letter wasn't here in the first place." I sighed.

"Nah, here it is right here. I held it for you." He handed the letter to me.

"Ahh! Thanks, man." I hugged him and hurried to my bunk on the bus and locked myself in it. I opened Shayla's letter immediately and read it's contents...

Is it really the women that Shayla worries about? That explains why she's so upset with me right now. Because honestly we rarely ever fight, so I know she thinks that I'm messing around behind her back when that is most certainly not the case. I got out of my bunk and hurried to find my notepad.

"Mike! Mike!" Jermaine ran up to me.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"Man, look at the titties on her!" He tried showing me the picture.

"Ahh, no, man. It's cool." I pushed his hand away.

"Ahh, come on. You and Marlon have been the only ones not getting any action since we've been on tour. It wouldn't hurt to just look at this picture."

"Maybe because Marlon and I are actually loyal to our wives at home. Did you think about that Jermaine?" I shot back at him.

"Well, shit." He stepped back. "You better chill with all that. You can tell you need some pussy in your life." He said as he walked away.

"Whatever." I continued to search for my notepad until I finally found it. I took a pen and sat on the couch toward the front. This is like old times... "Dear Shayla..." I wrote out. "Nah..." I erased it. "Dear Shayla-Elizabeth..." I smiled...