Chapter Twenty

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK......




Michael opened one eye and squinted at the door from his bed.

What time was it?? He knew he didn't have to meet with anyone for hours.


KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.....



"Hey Mike! Wakey wakey!" laughed Ian from the other side of the door.

With an enormous sigh, Michael stumbled to the door in his pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt.


He opened the door a crack and peered out at Ian.



"Oh boy. Someone looks tired. It's past noon, man. Get out of bed." Ian smiled.



"I don't have to be anywhere 'til our dinner meeting with Mr. Elofsson." Michael said as he undid the chain on the door and opened it so Ian could come in.


"Geez, Mike. It's so dark in here. And how come you get those fancy windows with those blinds that block out all the sun?" Ian said as he walked over to the windows and drew back the curtains.



"Ow... that's bright...." Michael winced as the sun hit his eyes.


"Yeah. It's called 'sunshine' and I was hoping you and I could do lunch and some driving around today. Maybe discover some different areas of France. What do you say? Up for it?" Ian turned to face Michael with a huge grin on his face.


"I guess so. But lunch will be breakfast for me. Did you have any place in mind that you wanted to drive to?" Michael asked as he went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face.


"Actually, yes. I was chatting with this fellow at the front desk earlier. He's a guest at this hotel, but says he's been to France many times. Anyway, he said we should check out the country side." Ian said.


"...'We'... You told him I was staying here?" Michael said as he popped his head out from the bathroom.



"Of course. Then I kindly asked him if he would knock on each and every door in this hotel and let each guest know that the one and only MJ is staying here." Ian's voice dripped with sarcasm.


"Funny guy." Michael laughed as he came out of the bathroom and went over to his closet.

"I'll meet you outside at the back in ten minutes." he said to Ian.


"Sounds good. We can eat and then call Andrew to come pick us up." said Ian, referring to Michael's new driver, since Brad had gone back to the US to see his son.


Ian left and Michael got dressed. He considered calling Jaiden to let her know he'd be gone for the afternoon and into the evening due to his business dinner, but didn't want to wake her in case she was still sleeping like he had been.

So instead, he took some paper and a pen from the desk in his room and wrote her a note telling where he'd be. He found an envelope and sealed the note inside, then left his room to meet up with Ian.



As he passed the front desk, he gave them the note and asked them to give it to the guest in room 712.


He walked out the back entrance of the hotel and he and Ian left for lunch.



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Jaiden was sure she had spent the entire time she had been sleeping wearing the smile she had fallen asleep with.
Now she found herself humming as she lay in the her honey scented bath shaving her legs and thinking about Michael.

She couldn't wait to see him, but forgot to ask if he was really busy that day.
Either way, she had made up her mind that she was going to see him.

In fact, her mind was swirling around a wonderful idea.

She had been awake for an hour and had already ordered in a huge breakfast. She had been extra hungry after only eating two tarts the day before.



As she stepped out of the bath, she took her towel and wrapped it around herself. She took another towel and wrapped her wet hair.

Still humming, she walked into the living room and noticed one of the two ice buckets on her desk.


"I should really get more ice for that. I'd like to buy some wine later on." she said to herself.




She walked over to it as she began to take the towel off her hair and untangle her ringlets with her fingers. Then she stopped suddenly and stared into one of the ice buckets.

"What the....." she said as she reached in and pulled out a small bag of cherries.



"Where the heck did these come from?" she said out loud.

They were still edible, but she could tell they weren't from that day or the day before.


Then it hit her. The night she woke to find Michael in her room on her bed as she had been asleep in the chair.

"Oh my God. He must have brought these then."


An awesome feeling of warmth filled her chest. She felt like crying happy tears, but instead she smiled a beautiful, bright smile.



"He is amazing. And I am going to show him just how much I think so." She popped a cherry into her mouth and went back into the bathroom to get ready for her day.





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"Hello, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Hamil. It's a pleasure to meet you. This is my wife, Sandra." said Philip Cordeaux, an old farmer who lived a couple of hours outside of Paris in the lovely countryside.
Michael and Ian had spotted the farm while driving and decided to ask for a tour.
Both Ian and Michael weren't sure if the couple who owned the farm knew who Michael was, but if they did, they certainly didn't show it.



"Thank you so much for letting us explore your farm, Mr. Cordeaux. This is an honor." Michael smiled as he shook Philip's hand.


Michael then looked at Sandra Cordeaux and extended his hand.

"And it's very nice to meet you, Mrs Cordeaux. You live in a such a beautiful place." he said as he gestured to the amazing landscape of trees, flowers and fields.

"Thank you, Mr. Jackson. This farm belonged to my great, great grandfather and it has been passed down many times." said Sandra Cordeaux.


"Please call me Michael." he said with a smile.
"Can you show us your gardens? Do you grow flowers too? How many animals do you have? Can I see them all?" Michael was like a kid. He wanted to hear everything the couple had to say and see everything they and on their farm.

It was so rare for him to be able to see such things without hundreds of people and cameras around.


Philip laughed a kind laugh before answering.

"Of course, Michael. What would you like to see first?" he asked.


Michael looked over at Ian who just simply stood quietly with a smile. He knew this was a great thing for Michael and he wanted him to enjoy himself.

"I'd like to see the animals first if that would be okay?" Michael said as he looked with wide eyes at Sandra and Philip.


"Right this way, gentlemen." Philip said and walked toward an old, red barn where the sounds of animals could be heard.


Once inside, Michael laughed as Ian covered his nose due to what he called 'farm smells'.

"Right here we have our chickens." Philip said and gestured toward a very large enclosure in the barn. It was divided into three sections. One of the sections had four roosters. Another had many tiny wooden houses and several hens wandering around and pecking at the food which was scattered for them.
And in the third section Michael guessed there must have been a hundred or more chicks.



"Oh listen to that, Ian." laughed Michael as he leaned over into the pen for a better look at the chicks.

"They all sound so cute. Don't you just want to take one home?" he kidded to Ian.


Ian looked at the chicks.
"Just remember as you are 'ooohing and aaahing' where your KFC comes from." Ian laughed a loud laugh that startled some of the chicks and sent them loudly peeping toward the back of their pen.

"You scared them, Ian. Don't you go mentioning KFC." Michael pretended to scold Ian.


He then turned his attention to Philip.

"This is fantastic, Mr. Cordeaux." said Michael.


"Wait until you see what is next." Philip said in his thick, french accent.
"Quiet now. We don't want to frighten them..." he said while moving slowly to another part of the barn.

Michael followed Ian who followed the Cordeaux's around a corner.

Ian was the first to see what was inside the next stall.

"Oh boy, Mike. Check this out." he said.


Michael stood on tip toes and peered over the wooden wall.


"Oh my God. Look at that..." he said in his softest voice.


In the stall was a beautiful, dark mare and her new born.



"She just had him a couple of hours ago. We haven't even named him yet." said Sandra.


"Did you see the birth?" asked Michael.

"Yes, we did." answered Philip.


"Birth is such a miracle. I have seen it with some of my animals." Michael said.
"It is never something that becomes not magical to watch."


"That is very true, Michael." said Sandra while gazing upon the new mother and her son.


Michael stood quietly and watched the mother horse and her baby. They were both dark brown with exception to the new born who had a tiny white mark between his eyes on his forehead.

Michael's love for animals ran deep and he was so happy to be seeing such beautiful creatures that day.


After being shown several more animals, including a pair of donkeys, several turkeys, a field of cows and more cats than he could count, Michael was also happy when Philip decided to show them some of the gardens and the back pastures and fields.



One field looked empty-- there were no animals as far as Michael could tell.



"What do you do with that field?" he asked Philip.

"Well, that is where we go when we want to relax. There are no gardens and no animals. Just wild flowers and whatever else nature places there." Philip smiled as he looked fondly out at the field.


It was so incredible.
Even this early on in the Spring, the field was alive with yellow and purple and white wild flowers of all sizes and lengths.



There were several trees surrounding the field --almost shielding it like it was a secret place for those lucky enough to see it.


Michael thought of Jaiden. She would think it was so lovely.



Then all of a sudden he got a wonderfully lovely idea and a smile as bright as the afternoon sun spread across his face.


"Philip, if you have some time, I'd like to talk to you about something......."






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