Time Waits for No One

Chapter 9 - Dear Michael

The Afternoon of August 29, 1977

"Juju, can you put some cups and stuff out?"

"Yeah, sure, Jimmy, maybe when I get done sweeping, wiping down the table, and what else was it you wanted me to do? Dust the blinds? Give me a fucking break!"

"No, you give me a break! I'm not the one who invited a bunch of people over to my apartment like I got time and space for all that! You shoulda thrown the damn game night!"

"Oh, please! The man who literally moved here from my exact apartment for more space specifically to entertain folks and who literally said 'hell yeah, let's do it!' last night is now complaining."

The siblings went back and forth as they prepared Jimmy's apartment for the kickback in honor of Michael, with Jimmy in the kitchen putting together bowls of snacks and fruit while Jacqueline was in the living room, helping to tidy up and get things together as Margaret ran to the store to get some last minute accouterments. Jimmy was excited and it wasn't truly that many people- just Michael and Latoya, who were allowed to bring a friend or two who may want to be there to celebrate the birthday boy- but the anxiety now belonged to the usually collected older sibling who was crumbling under the pressure of keeping up with the Jo- Jacksons.

"Jimmy, just relax," Jacqueline called to him from the living room. "You're always the one telling me to be cool and let things flow, I'm surprised you care. It's gonna be just fine."

"Yeah, whatever." Jimmy grumbled. His apartment was located in Lenox Terrace, a coveted building in the heart of Harlem that was also home to several Harlem luminaries. With his extra income from his fledgling DJ gigs and getting promoted at the record store, and Margaret holding down a steady job at Macy's, they were able to find a nice spacious one-bedroom apartment during a spring rental promotion that made their rent price fairly affordable. Margaret had an eye for interior design and was always very anal about keeping their space clean and stylish, and by giving up their starter apartment furniture to Jackie, they were able to start over and thrift some beautiful mahogany living room tables and TV stands and plush velvet couches, with eye-catching framed art and family portraits. Their apartment not only had more space, but a far more sophisticated vibe than Jacqueline's could offer and was the perfect place for a small kickback, despite Jimmy's jitters.

Jacqueline wrapped up sweeping the living room floor as the residence's telephone rang, piercing over Bob Marley's summer heater album Exodus.

"You want me to grab that?" Jacqueline asked. Her brother entered the living room with an attitude, donning nothing but gym shorts and a worn white tank top, crossing to the phone.

"Why would I want you to answer the phone in my house, bird brain?" he jabbed, before swiftly picking up the phone, ignoring Jacqueline flipping him the bird. "Yo!" he greeted the caller.

"Hey, Jimmy! It's Toya!" the Jackson sister chirped on the other line. "How ya doin'?"

"Oh hey, girl! I'm alright, just getting this place right for the get-together! How are you?"

"Oh, Jimmy, I'm just great. I'm juiced about tonight, it's really sweet of you to be willing to put something together for Mike. We should get there around 6:30-7ish, right?"

"Aw, it's no trouble at all, Toya," he lied. "Yeah, we should definitely be all ready to roll around then. My sister gave you the address right?"

"She sure did! You need us to bring anything, I can have my driver make a stop if you need us to grab something on the way."

"That's thoughtful, Toya, but I think we're all set. Wifey is actually out right now grabbing some last-minute stuff, so I think we should be good! Thanks for the offer though! Unless you wanna bring something for your brother, don't worry about it!"