Chapter 10: The Reunion
(Justin’s POV)
I recline back spreading my arms over the length of the couch I’m seated on. I have been waiting for twenty minutes now for this interview to start. The interviewer, Jesse Duncan, told me we’re waiting on his supervisor before beginning.
My eyes scan the room for something to occupy my thoughts and relieve some boredom. I spot a cluster of drawings, obviously drawn by a child.
“You got a kid?”
Jesse looks up from his notebook at me with confused eyes. I motion towards the drawings which he looks at for a moment before looking back at me and responding. “Oh, no, this isn’t my office. This is the editor’s office and her son, Jackson, colored those.”
I nod my head pretending to be interested in what he’s saying. Man I’m bored.
“It should only be a few more minutes.” I nod again and sigh heavily. As if on cue the door to the office swings open and a young woman rushes past me to empty her things onto her desk. It isn’t until she looks up at me that I realize who she is.
“I apologize for my tardiness Mr. Timberlake but I was caught up in a meeting.” She explains not really looking at me but trying to make it appear as if she is. I can’t believe it’s her. I never thought I would see her again. “I’m just here to observe so just pretend I’m not here.” Easier said than done.
I hear myself say ‘okay’ and am surprised I found my voice.
As Jesse starts asking me my first question I take in her appearance. She looks different; more mature, sophisticated…it’s kind of sexy. She’s dressed very professionally in a black dress suit and her hair pulled up in a neat bun. I really shouldn’t be thinking about her like this, especially after all the drama we went through.
It’s kind of hard to believe all that drama happened in only a few weeks time.
“Mr. Timberlake?” The sound of Elaine saying my name snaps me out of my thoughts. “I know that interviews can be rather grueling and you don’t always feel like answering all these intrusive questions but your fans really want to know so I would appreciate it if you would pay attention to what Jesse is asking you and try to answer the majority of his questions.”
This Jesse kid looks terrified to be here right now but grateful for Elaine’s presence. I wonder how long he was going to let me sit here in my own little dream world before getting my attention. “Right,” I look towards Jesse and apologies. “Could you repeat the question?”
Out of the corner of my eye I see Elaine roll her eyes at me but offers Jesse an encouraging smile.
“Uh”are you single right now?”
My eyes instinctively move to Elaine whom is seemingly mesmerized by the pen she holds in her hand. I clear my throat uncomfortably.
“Right now my album is my girlfriend.” Jesse is scribbling furiously on his notepad. I said what…..six words. What is he writing? Is he seriously going to ask me these ‘Teen Magazine’ type questions?
“Do you feel vulnerable about being solo for the first time?”
That’s better.
“Do I feel vulnerable about being solo for the first time?” I say rubbing my chin and glancing at Elaine once again who is still ignoring me. “No. A little bit exposed, maybe. A little bit... na-kid.”
Jesse chuckles at my answer and I force a smile. I didn’t think it was very funny. As he starts to ask the next question I can tell he’s reading straight from his notebook. He doesn’t even look at me when he speaks.
“The Jackson comparisons are a recurring theme. Indeed, the knowing thing to say about Justified is that it's the album Michael Jackson would have made if he'd fulfilled the potential he showed in the late 80s.”
“That's a huge compliment,” I reply as though I’d never heard it before. “But I don't know how comfortable I am being compared to Michael. Michael became his own entity. I just think it'll be different. I think it'll be something a little bit different.”
“But comparable in impact, maybe?” Elaine adds, her skills as a reporter taking over as she leans forwards on her elbows to ask the questions. Again she’s looking in my direction but not at me.
“Comparable is a good word,” I say nodding my head. “A very good word to describe it.”
“Have you always loved the attention you got from your fame?” Jesse asks trying to regain his part as the interviewer and get my attention back on him.
“Ummm, yeah,” I say with a smile. “It's not that I loved it, it's just that I was more comfortable - no, I am more comfortable - with 300,000 people at Rock in Rio, when we hit the stage, than I am probably right now. It's so funny because, the family... whenever we gather round at Christmas or at Thanksgiving, it's like, ‘Get your guitar out and sing something.’ And I'm like, ‘I don't really feel like it, because there's, like, only about 10 people."'
I see her smile. She’s trying her best to hide it behind her hand but I can still see it. That makes me smile too. She may have tired to screw me over but I still think she’s cute.
“Did you ever do anything completely desperate for love?”
Is it just me or are these questions really random?
“I never really feel like I did anything desperate for love,” I say. “I mean, I just feel like I've made mistakes. Thinking that something was what it wasn't. I just feel like I've made mistakes.” I turn to look at Elaine who is looking straight at me for the first time since Jesse started questioning me. “I'm really not in a very romantic mood at the moment.”
“Do you miss Britney?” I didn’t see that one coming…note my sarcasm.
“Umm, yeah,” I say, my gaze flicking to Elaine for what feels like the hundredth time. “You know, days will go by when I miss... I miss the good things, I miss the good things. I'll leave it at that. Britney has always surprised me.”
“With what? Her honesty?”
“Ha! No, no, no, not with that. I think, the size of her heart. She has a big heart, a really big heart. That's always impressed me about her.”
Jesse flips the page of his notebook. “Do you have any vices?”
“I like ice cream and sweets.”
“Those barely qualify as vices.” Elaine butts in. “Why don’t you tell us about drugs and drinking habits instead.”
“They're just habits,” I say. I know she’s trying to get on my nerves with these questions. I won’t give her the satisfaction. “That doesn't make them vices, does it? If you like them, and if they're fun for you, and if you have no regrets about them, then they're not vices, are they?”
I think Jesse noticed the tension in the room so he lightens the mood with his next inquiry.
“What is your house like?”
“What's my house like?” I echo. “It’s”uh”it's beautiful. It's huge and still feels homey and small. It's somewhere in between shabby chic and uh, oh man, I got a lot of leather. Somewhere between shabby chic and and... and... art from like, Mexico.”
“Any wild parties?” He asks with a stupid looking smirk that Elaine giggles at. Gag....
“Not yet. I did organize a board-game night recently.” I can’t help but laugh at how dorky that sounds. “We played Pictionary and Cranium, but not Monopoly 'cos that's f**king awful.”
“Mss. Jacobs?” The secretary of the office interrupts Jesse’s next question. Elaine quickly apologizes to both me and Jesse before asking what she needs. “Sarah is here with Jackson. She said she needs to speak with you.”
“I’ll be right out.” She stands from her desk and walks to the door offering another apology. “This will only take a moment. Please continue without me.” We both watch her walk out the door before Jesse asks me the next question.
(Elaine’s POV)
The feeling of relief to get out of such a small space with Justin was soon replaced by the fear that something had happened to Jackson. I rush over to my nanny and son immediately snatching Jackson up in my arms to look him over.
“Mama!” He exclaims happily throwing his little arms around my neck. Don’t worry he’s alright.
I hug him back while looking over at Sarah. “What’s going on?”
“I’m so sorry to do this to you but I’m having a bit of a family emergency and I need to leave right away. I tried to call Abby but couldn’t get through.”
“Oh my gosh!” The poor dear. “What happened?”
My heart goes out the girl when I see a tears slip down her cheek. “My dad had a heart attack this morning.”
“Oh no, I’m so sorry.” I can’t imagine what she must be going through. “Make sure you call me when you get a chance and let me know what’s going on and if you need to talk you know I’m just a phone call away alright…”
(Justin’s POV)
Just as Jesse is about to ask me the final question Elaine sneaks back into the room carrying a small child. Both my and Jesse’s attention is jarred away from the interview.
“Everything okay?” Jesse asks as Elaine sits back down at her desk.
“Sarah had a family emergency so I have Jackson the rest of the day.” I nod my head although she wasn’t directing that comment at me. When she turns the small boy, who I can only assume is Jackson around, I can’t help but gasp.
It’s like looking at picture of me when I was a kid. He has the same blonde curls and bright blue eyes. It’s almost creepy. At this moment I can’t help but question myself now. Was Elaine really telling me the truth those three years ago?
She makes eye contact with me as she speaks and I can tell she knows what I’m thinking. It must be written on my face. “Don’t let me distract you. Finish up.”
“You’ve told me that fame is just a word to you, you live ‘in the moment’, your good at golf, your considering writing a book, you’re an ace at Scattergories….I’m just wondering if there’s anything you can’t do.”
“I can't let go.” I answer finally able to take my eyes off Jackson. I drum my fingers frantically against the table, look at my feet. “I can't let go. It's my biggest struggle and I know it's one lesson I'm going to have to learn in this lifetime, how to let go.”
“I just have one last question if I may,” Elaine prompts readjusting Jackson in her lap. “Do you have any regrets?”
I can hear the double meaning in her words. If she was asking solely about my career I would have responded with a ‘hell no.’ But I know what she’s really asking and I’m not sure I know how to respond to that…..
TBC......(I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who reads my story and leave feeback; I really appricate it and it motivates me to update. So please continue to review!)
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