In a World of Strangers: A Michael Jackson Love Story

Chapter Five

The next morning I woke up feeling like a brand new human. Mainly because it was the first time since leaving home that I'd slept in a proper bed. For a moment after opening my eyes I had no idea where I was, and it felt quite like a dream, because the bed was proper royal with an ornate headboard and four posters adorned with light green satin drapes, nothing like I would ever get to sleep in normally. Then last night's events filled my mind little by little and excitement bubbled up within me. I could hardly believe my luck; I had been sleeping in a guest room in Michael Jackson's apartment. Okay, it was his family's, but I was there as his guest. How freaking bonkers was that?!

We'd skipped the movie, but we did drink hot chocolate and stayed up quite late talking. He asked me some more about my childhood and my upbringing. He was curious about my favourite subjects in school and what I liked to do in my spare time. I also told him about my years in London and all the different jobs I'd had. He watched me with intense eyes, as if I was telling him the most captivating story ever. I couldn't fathom why, but then I suppose having never had a normal life himself I could see the fascination.
We went from one topic to the next, completely engulfed in our conversation, and eventually we were talking about his performance again. I raved about his ability to captivate the audience the way he did, and asked if he noticed the standing ovation he received. He shrugged and blushed and, surprise surprise, said that he wasn't completely satisfied with it. I shook my head and told him that he needs to give himself some credit. Nobody does what he does, he's a real pioneer and it felt like every time he moved a finger he set a new record. He laughed at that remark and eased up a bit. We got to talking about his upcoming concerts and that he was excited that I was coming. And then he mentioned that he was going back on tour a few days after the concerts and asked if I was feeling up for coming along. I looked at him stunned silent for a bit, not really sure how to react. It was all very exciting, but also quite much to absorb in such a short amount of time. Then again, the reason I'd stayed in the first place was to spend time with him, so I supposed a little road trip would be alright. It was just to be around the United States and we'd be back in New York a few days before I had to leave. His eyes lit up when I finally agreed to go.
I could not for the life of me understand what made him so fond of me. I'm not going to lie, this was better than anything I'd ever hoped for, but never did I anticipate we'd actually click the way we did. We spent another hour or so talking before he showed me to my sleeping quarters, bid me goodnight and then went off to his own bedroom.

I had no idea how long I'd slept, but I stayed in bed a little while longer, just revelling in the comfort of the silk sheets. The sun was peeking through the curtains and somewhere in the distance I could hear birds chirping. Outside the door I heard footsteps dragging across the floor, they stopped just for a moment, lingering, only to continue after a few seconds. I was wondering if it was Michael listening for a sign that I was awake. I wasn't sure if I was ready for him to see me all sleepy and disheveled, so I got up and into the adjacent bathroom to freshen up just a tad. I splashed some water in my face, brushed my teeth and tried to refresh my unruly curls, but I never held out too much hope for those. After a last once-over in the mirror I took a deep breath and tried to find Michael in this maze of an apartment. I opened the door and immediately a waft of American pancakes and coffee filled my nostrils and it made the hair on my arms stand up, trying to remember the last time I had breakfast food. I followed the scent and landed in a humongous kitchen, marble floor and beautiful wooden counters and cabinets, with a copper stove slap dash in the middle of the room where a lady was standing, flipping pancakes. I froze, expecting it to be Michael, I was a bit taken aback. But then I wasn't exactly surprised that it wasn't Michael making breakfast. The woman who introduced herself as Maggie smiled warmly and bid me good morning, beckoning for me have a seat at the opposite end of the island as she slid a plate towards me.
I said thank you and introduced myself as well and I poured maple syrup and berries all over my meal. The smell had made me ravenous, but I didn't want to come across as rude or ill-mannered, so I scraped my brain for all the memories of earthly etiquette I had. Learning different customs and decorum from all sorts of civilisations had scrambled my brain a bit.