”So, who is this mystery date of yours? Anyone I know?”
My sister was eyeing me in the mirror as I was trying on ensemble number 273.
”Do this look ok?” I asked and turned around.
”You look like you’re trying too hard. You didn’t answer my question.”
I sighed and turned around in exasperation and pulled the sweater off.
”It’s just someone I know from school, that’s all. Besides, he’ll be here in an hour and you can see for yourself. Ok, how ’bout this one?”
I held up a pink blouse and looked at my sister but she just rolled her eyes and left.
”Gee, thanks for your help!”
”Anytime lill’ sis’.
I was standing in the kitchen looking at the clock. Thirty minutes past 1; he was late!
” Are you sure you didn’t just imagine having a date?” My sister asked teasingly as she walked up behind me.
”It’s not a date, and no, I didn’t imagine it. He’s just late, that’s all.”
I tried sounding convincing, but I was beginning to doubt my own sanity. Did I actually smoke a joint that night? Did it fry my brain cells making me think I actually talked to him on the phone?
”Well, lover boy is 30 minutes late. Not a good sign if you ask me.”
”Good thing I didn’t ask you then!”
”My, my aren’t we testy? It’s not my fault that you picked up some bum at 54 who can’t tell time.”
Just as she finished the sentence, the doorbell rang.
”Sis, would you mind getting that? I think my bum is here.” I asked in the sweetest voice.
This was going to be fun.
I stayed put and listened. The bell rang again and I could hear my sister annoyingly yelling out that she was coming, followed by the sound of the doorknob turning. At first I couldn’t hear anything but a few second later a scream broke the silence accompanied by the door slamming shut.
Very slowly my sister appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, where I was busy laughing.
”Who was it?” I asked amused.
She looked like she had just seen a ghost.
”Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson is at the door. Michael Jackson is at the door asking for you. How is this possible? Oh my god!!!” She said in an unusually calm voice.
”Yes, Michael Jackson is the bum who can’t tell time. You should see yourself! Speaking of, where is he?”
It took a few seconds for the question to sink in.
”SHIT!” She gasped and looked at me in horror. ”I might have forgotten to let him in.”
”You might have forgo… I can’t believe you!”
I ran past her and found a confused Michael in the hall.
”I’m SO sorry about that. My sister is mentally challenged.”
”She is?” He asked with concern.
”No, I’m just kidding.”
”Oh”, he said and smiled.
We found my sister in the living room pacing back and forth. When she saw us, she quickly extended her hand towards him.
”This is my sister Angie. Angie, this is Michael. I believe you’ve met?”
He politely took her hand and shook it.
”Hello, it’s very nice to meet you Miss.”
Angie didn’t respond. She just stood there with her mouth open, still shaking his hand. I elbowed her in the side. She was embarrassing me!
”Oh, hi… I’m Angie…. So sorry about before… I’m Angie… I already said that.” She was starting to look flushed. “Welcome to my home.”
”Thank you very much. And don’t worry about before. It happens a lot.” He said politely, sensing her nerves.
She was still holding on to his hand and Michael was beginning to look uncomfortable.
”So ok, I think me and Michael are gonna leave now. I think it’s best… Angie, if you could let go of him, that would help!”
”Huh? Oh damn! I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” She quickly let go.
Michael just smiled at her. He was so sweet and he looked even better in the light of day. His big afro was perfectly combed and his teeth were perfectly white. He was so cute!
I kissed my sister on the cheek and asked Michael if he wanted to get out of here. He tried not to nod too enthusiastically to spare Angie’s feelings.
The ride down the elevator was a bit awkward. Michael had his eyes fixed on the floor and I had my eyes fixed on him. When he suddenly looked up I could feel my face turning red.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just… I can’t believe you are here.”
Michael looked confused by that statement. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”
I couldn’t tell him that I had imagined this for so many years and finally it had happened.
“Well, it’s just… You’re famous and stuff and you probably have a lot of things that would be more interesting to do than this. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you came…. But I…uhm… Never mind.”
“I might be famous, but I’m still just a regular guy too. I guess that’s hard for people to understand, but I get it.”
He looked a bit hurt and looked down again.
“I’m sorry Michael. I guess I’m just surprised to see you again after all these years. And really, I’m very glad that you came today.”
“I am too,” he said and blushed.
“So, where do you wanna go?”
“How ‘bout Central Park ? I’ve never been and the weather is nice today.”
I agreed and when the elevator came to a stop we made our way to the park. Some people turned around and stared, but no one approached him. He seemed to appreciate that.
“Hey, look at me!!” Michael squealed. He was hanging up side down from a tree branch.
When we had reached the park he turned into a little kid, excited about everything. It was hard keeping up with him as he was running from place to place; first the swings, then the see-saw and now the big trees. It was an absolute delight watching him and it was hard not to get pulled into his world of fun and games.
“Hey, you should come up here. I have a great view of the lake and the castle.” He had climbed almost all the way to the top and was yelling down to me.
“No, I will fall down!” I yelled back.
“You will only fall down if you believe you will fall down.”
“Yeah, and what’s your point?”
He thought about that for a second and laughed.
“I guess I don’t have a point. I just want you to come up here. You don’t know what you’re missing. It’s magical up here!”
I took a look around and reasoned that if it was downright magical maybe I was missing out.
“Ok, I’m coming up. But I swear, if I fall, you’re gonna get it good!”
He just laughed as I began the climb. Before I knew it, I was sitting next to Michael on a huge branch, our legs dangling down on either side.
“It’s really pretty from up here. You were right. I guess we miss out just stayin’ on the ground all the time. Never occurred to me to ever climb up here.”
“I love doing things like this. Can’t do it that often though, so I kinda go overboard when I finally get the chance. Can’t really go into parks back home. Too many people come up to me. Can get scary at times.”
“People don’t do that here?”
“No. I really love it here. I can just be me. I wish I had a place for myself where I could just climb trees whenever I want to. Like maybe my own park! How cool would that be?”
“Very cool indeed!” I agreed.
A few minutes of silence passed by.
“Michael, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, ask away.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
I could tell he was blushing and he avoided eye contact.
“Nope.”
“How come?”
“I dunno…” he answered, shrugging his shoulders.
He looked out into the distance and I joined his gaze. We both sat silently for a moment. After a while I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he was looking at me, but when I turned my head he turned his away. I once again looked straight ahead but after a few seconds I noticed his eyes on me once again, and just as before, he quickly turned his head when my eyes met his.
“Michael, what is it?”
He was chewing on the inside of his cheek and looked a bit nervous.
“It’s nothin’. I was gonna tell ya somethin’, but it’s too embarrassing.”
I was curious now.
“Oh come on! How bad can it be? What, you were born with a tail?”
Michael giggled. “No! If I tell you, you can’t laugh! Promise?”
“I promise! Cross my heart and hope to die… Oh… and scouts honour!”
He took a deep breath. “In scl I knd d a cush
“Huh?”
He sighed and cleared his throat.
“In school I kinda had a crush on you.”
For a while I just sat motionless and stared at him. Did he just say what I think he just said? I didn’t know what to say. A smile crept across my face and I couldn’t contain a giggle. Michael looked at me with big worried eyes.
“Are you laughing at me? You promised not to. I know I never shoulda said anything!” He covered his face with his hands.
“No, no, no, no! I’m not laughing at you, Michael. I actually have something to tell you too.”
He removed his hands and looked at me.
“Like what?”
“I kinda had a crush on you too.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” He said defeated.
“Am not! And I can prove it to you.”
I began descending from the tree.
“How?” Michael asked suspiciously, looking down at me as I once again stood on the ground.
“Come with me and I’ll show you.”
“I made this! Where did you get it?” Michael asked surprised.
We were standing in my room and I had just shown him the drawing he made so many years ago. I had made it a habit of carrying it around in my pocket book along with other treasured items I had found, bought or received over the years. Stuff with personal memories attached to it had always been very important to me.
“You left it behind when you left Montclair
“But why?”
“Like I told you… I really liked you! You were actually my very first crush and I was so sad the day you left. I was heartbroken because I hadn’t had the chance to talk to you. I wanted to so badly, but I was too shy. Besides, you never talked to me either, so I figured you were just not interested in getting to know me.”
“Wow, this is silly. I really wanted to talk to you too but I was too shy. I talked about you at home all the time. Finally, Mother told me to ask you over for dinner but I had no clue how to do that. I almost did it though, but ended up asking you for the time instead. Do you remember that?”
“Yes I do. I remember scolding myself for not talking to you when the opportunity finally arrived. My God, I can’t believe I had the chance to go to dinner at your house, but you chickened out!” I said and playfully gave him a nudge in the ribs.
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” He laughed. “I guess I owe you one, huh?”
“I think you do! Can you cook?”
He thought about it for a while.
“No, but I can make cookies! And, I can order in. Or ask you out to like a restaurant or somethin’.”
“Like a date?” I was smiling from ear to ear and Michael was fidgeting with the drawing, looking nervous.
“If you wanna… Do you wanna?”
“I would love to!” I squealed, finding it hard to conceal my excitement. Michael seemed to relax at my enthusiasm.
“Oh boy… Well, ok then. I guess we have a date. I’ve never been on a date before ya know… So if I do anything wrong, I wanna apologize in advance.”
“You’ve never been on a date before? Why?”
“I dunno.” He shrugged and once again looked a little uncomfortable.
“Hm, well I guess that’s about to change. I’m looking very much forward to it Michael.”
We decided to go out that evening since he was working full time the next two days and wouldn’t be available. He went home to change and I went on the hunt in my closet for just the right dress. I went for a cute deep blue halter neck gown with a plunging neckline that Angie lent me after I had discovered that I had absolutely NO clothes! She helped me do my hair and make up, and after about three hours I looked stunning. My Farrah Fawcett due was just right; big and poofy!
When Michael arrived I was feeling very nervous. This was a date! Like a real date! With Michael! I opened the door and there he was looking incredibly hansom in a white suit with a pink shirt. He had bought me a dozen red roses and gave me a peck on the cheek as he entered.
“Wow, you look very pretty” he complimented. I noticed that he was trying to hide the fact that he was staring at my cleavage. Yes! The dress was working!
“Oh, this old thing? Thanks… And you look very very hansom Michael. I really like your suit.”
“Thanks. My sister picked it out. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, lemme just put these in water.” I walked towards the kitchen and asked over my shoulder. “So where are we going?”
“Uhm, The Four Seasons. Is that ok?”
I returned to the hallway again and grabbed my coat. “Sounds wonderful. Shall we.”
He smiled as he gave me his arm.
Michael had reserved the table in the furthest corner and also the nearest tables around it. He said he wanted some privacy and didn’t like it when people stared at him while he was eating. He told me that sometimes people actually had the audacity to stop and not even conceal the fact that they were looking at him in restaurants. And that of course made it hard to relax and, not to mention, to eat.
He was being such a gentleman; pulling out my chair and always asking if I needed anything. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he was for real. I had never met anyone as genuinely sweet as him. And he was being so cute and not even knowing it. When the waiter came over and presented us with the house wine, a lovely cabernet from 1970, Michael declined and just asked for some orange juice and before the waiter left he told him that it didn’t matter what year it was made. The waiter looked a bit puzzled but didn’t say anything. I was trying not to laugh, but Michael didn’t seem to catch on.
We talked about old times, what we had been doing since then and what we wanted to do with our lives. Michael’s life seemed to have been much more interesting than mine, and I imagined that would also be the case in the future, but he listened with great interest as I told him about what I had been doing. When I told him about Ted he became a bit upset.
“Why do people do that to each other? I mean, I don’t get it! If two people are together, then that is it! It’s the two of them, not anyone else. Not ever. Just the two people. I could never do that and I’m very sorry that it happened to you. That Ted guy sure deserves a whoopin’!”
I told him it was ok but that I agreed, although a whoopin’ wasn’t exactly what I had been plotting in my mind, which had included dismemberment of a certain body part and various forms of torture, but I didn’t tell Michael that. Instead I changed the subject to his living conditions.
“You said you were here with your sister? How come you didn’t just come alone?”
“Well, I wanted to, but Mother didn’t like it. She wanted me to be safe and looked after, so she told Toya to go with me. She didn’t really want to and I don’t think she’s happy here. She eats chocolate ALL the time and she’s gettin’ a bit chubby if you ask me.” He whispered the last part.
“She seemed kinda rude at 54 if you don’t mind me saying.”
“Yeah I know and I apologize. You see, she’s been trying to set me up for a while now with a girl called Stephanie. She’s an actress and singer, so Toya figured she would be perfect for me. But I don’t like her like that, ya know? I mean, she’s nice and all but that’s it. But my sister keeps asking her over. Once I caught her going through my laundry and she was like “I just thought I’d wash your clothes” and I was like “Why?”. But I let her do it, cuz I hate doing it, and went to Central Park with you instead.”
We both laughed.
“Wow, you’re bad! But you gotta give the girl credit for trying and for using unconventional methods. I sure as hell wouldn’t do your laundry!”
“I know, right? But that’s not even the worst thing. Toya had asked her over without my knowledge and I was in my room getting dressed and she just barged in! I was in my underwear and she saw like everything. It was SO embarrassing. I really let my sister have it I tell ya.”
“Jeez, whatever happened to knocking? Or having your head examined for that matter? But I must say I am a bit jealous of her.”
“Why?”
I gave him a crooked smile and raised my eyebrow. When he finally realised where I was getting at, he turned all shades of red. I laughed and put my hand on his.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t serious.” I teased.
I gave his hand a squeeze and sat back in my chair. He looked at his hand and then he looked up at me and smiled.
“I just embarrass easily is all. Hey, do you wanna go on one of those carriage rides through the park?”
“Sounds romantic. I would love to!”
I shuddered a bit in the cold night air despite the fact that I was wearing a winter coat and was also covered by a big blanket. Central Park was beautiful in the night time. It was a clear night, so the stars were shining brightly in the sky, illuminating the surroundings. Michael had spent almost the entire ride with his head tilted back, gawking at the sky trying to point out different constellations. Normally I would have been offended by the lack of attention towards me, but I could tell that Michael wasn’t doing it to be rude; he was genuinely very interested in the stars and that fascination transcended onto me, and after a while, my head was tilted back like his. I didn’t have any knowledge about stars what so ever, but Michael named a lot of them. But when he started naming the entire cast of Snow White I began to suspect that he was pulling my leg.
But when he felt me shudder, his focus shifted.
“Are you cold? We could turn around and go back if you want? Maybe this was a dumb idea…”
“No, honestly... I’m fine. Just a bit chilly. Could I sit a bit closer to you? That might help.”
I scooted over next to him before he could respond. He was sitting straight up in his seat with his hands under the blanket. After a while of awkward silence he asked me if I was warmer now.
“It’s better… But…. Maybe it would be even better if you put your arm around me?”
“Oh, ok…”
He nervously put his arm around my shoulder and I snuggled up against him. I could feel his racing heartbeat through our thick winter coats, but after a little while, it returned to it’s normal pace.
“This is nice.” He said in a quiet whisper.
“I think so too.”
I searched a bit under the blanket and found his other hand and interlaced my fingers with his. His palm was a bit sweaty, but I just thought it was refreshing that a guy was nervous for once and not so forth coming as most guys were these days. I heard him let out a sigh and for the rest of the ride we just sat like that, in comfortable silence.
Later that night I was lying in bed thinking about my date with Michael. I had thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout the entire evening, but the goodbye at my front door had left me a bit baffled and also a bit hurt. When the carriage ride was over, we walked hand in hand the short distance to my sister’s apartment. Then the classic “so this was great” conversation commenced, and the awkwardness of not knowing what to do made both of us stare at our feet, and giggle nervously whenever we looked up and caught each others eyes. I wanted to kiss him, but I didn’t know how to go about it. Michael had seemed to enjoy the closeness we had shared earlier, so why didn’t he make a move?
Finally I had leaned in a bit closer and held his gaze, trying to get him to read my mind and give him the all clear. To my delight, he also leaned in. So I closed my eyes and waited for the magic to happen. But instead he just gave me the quickest peck on the cheek I had ever experienced, followed by a “Ok, bye!” I was stunned to say the least and it took me a while to register what had happened. When I finally opened my eyes again I saw Michael waving at me as he was getting into a taxi. I didn’t know what else to do but to wave back.
So, what did all this mean? Did I have bead breath? Or something in my teeth? I checked in the bathroom mirror as soon as I got upstairs. Nope, all clear and my hair was still perfectly poofed. I didn’t get it then! I thought we had a connection. Sure, it was a long time since we had seen each other, but still. And he hadn’t even said he was gonna call me or if I wanted to see him again. I went to bed very discouraged. Why did guys have to be so complicated?
