One More Chance

   Chapter One 

Meeting Michael-Someday My Prince Will Come

Part One

Michael had trouble sleeping last night. Not a new phenomena. Sometimes his brain refused to shut down. The music and the creative ideas kept coming and he had no choice but to get up and write them down. But in addition to the creative juices flowing Michael had other things on his mind. He had recently returned to the United States and he was contemplating how to jump start his career again after being on hiatus for a few years.

He was in New York laying down some tracks for what he hoped might develop into an album. He needed a distraction to keep his mind off all of the other distractions that were consuming him. He remembered that when they were driving in from the airport into Manhattan he had spotted a toy store that he distinctly remembered visiting quite a while back on one of his many previous trips to New York.

He kept his eyes glued to the window and when he saw the storefront he yelled out “Stop the car!”

His body guard turned around sharply and yelled “What’s wrong, are you okay Mr. Jackson?”

Michael could not help but chuckle. “Yes, I am fine. I just want to take a look at this store. Let me out.”

“Boss, the store isn’t even open yet. Why don’t we come back later?”

“Look, I realize it’s not open. I just want to take a look in the window. There’s no one in sight, and I just need to stretch my legs and get some air.” He realized he had spoken rather harshly and true to fashion he added, “Please?”

“Okay Mr. Jackson. No problem. You’re the boss.”

They pulled over and Michael hopped out. The name of the store was simply THE TOY SHOPPE. He looked at the displays in the windows and thought his kids would probably love to come here. As he looked into the window he saw that there was someone sitting at a back counter and he decided he was going to try to get their attention. He started to rap at the window.

                                                                           

It would be another hour and half before Annie had to open the toy store. This was her favorite time of the day. She was alone and it was quiet. Her stepmother and stepsister rarely made an appearance before 10:00 am and left her the duty of opening the store. She had already straightened the shelves and picked up any errant toys that had been left out on the floor after closing. She had also swept the hard wood floors and wiped the glass display cases of all the little kid fingerprints and face smudges. Now she sat at the back counter and paged through a toy catalog to look at what was new and to see if she could come up with any new items that they could order.

She didn’t know why she bothered though because her suggestions were usually ridiculed and then vetoed by her stepmother. Lost in thought at first Annie didn’t hear the tapping on the front door. And when she did all she could think was “We’re closed, go away for an hour and a half.” But then she looked up. Standing at the door was a tall man. He had an elegant look to him. He was skinny, but not too skinny. He had this dancer body thing going on. He was wearing jet black jeans and a long gray trenchcoat. His hair was jet black, long and straight, shoulder length and he had a neat brimmed hat on.

She slowly got up and started to the front of the store. For anyone else Annie probably would have yelled at the door that they were closed but it was almost as though she felt compelled to talk to this man. He saw her approaching the door and his face lit up in the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on any man before. She quickly disarmed the alarm and unlocked the two deadbolts and opened the door.

He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place where she had seen him before. “Yes, can I help you?” she asked the stranger.

“Hello. I am sorry to bother you, I know the store isn’t open yet but I was hoping maybe I could persuade you to open up for me.”  His voice was soft, comforting.

All at once Annie recognized him. “You’re Michael Jackson,” she stated in disbelief.

And once again his face lit up in that beautiful smile. “Yes, that’s me,” he said rather sheepishly.

“Please come in,” she said.

He entered the store and Annie quickly re-locked the door and re-armed the alarm.

“Is there something I can help you with?” she asked again.

He was looking around the store with great curiosity and then said, “I was here a long time ago. Maybe like 10 or 11 years ago. I remember I loved it. There was an older gentleman that was the proprietor at the time.”

“That was my father,” Annie said.

“Oh, okay. Is he around or maybe is he going to be here later? I would love to say hello and see if he remembers me.”

“He died six months ago,” Annie said.  She was still grieving the loss of her father and as usual when she talked about him she started to get a little emotional.

“I am so sorry,” he said. Before Annie knew what was happening, he pulled her into a hug and he continued to talk, “I don’t know what I would do if my mother died. We are very close. I am sure this has been a really hard time for you.”

The Way You Make Me Feel

The hug was so comforting and warm and sweet. He was a total stranger but it was probably one of the most sincere offerings of sympathy Annie had received from anyone since her father passed away. She found herself resting her head on his shoulder and hugging him back. He smelled incredible. Some sort of spicy sweet scent that was very captivating and very inviting. One of his hands gently cradled and caressed the back of her head and then he slowly released her from his embrace. He gave her left arm a gentle squeeze before totally letting go.

“Thank you. You are so kind,” she said. And Annie meant every word of it.

She looked into his eyes and saw a sadness that she didn’t see there before. She had to change the subject before she broke down and started to cry. She suddenly vaguely recalled that he had children. Perhaps that is why he was here?

“You have children, right Mr. Jackson?”

That did the trick, his eyes lit up and there was the smile again. “Yes, I do, three children. And please, call me Michael.”

“Is that why you are here perhaps, to buy a gift for one of them or all of them?”

“One of the reasons, and also hopefully to buy something for myself!”

Annie couldn’t help but laugh and he laughed with her. “You see whenever I travel, anywhere in the world, I always make a point of trying to visit a toy store and a bookstore. I guess it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. I guess I’m kinda a big kid still.” He ducked his head bashfully when he said this.

“What are you interested in?”

“Well…I remember when I was here the last time your father had a lot of thinking toys. Stuff that was fun, but made you use some brain power. I like to get my kids stuff like that. But I also like the silly stuff, like Super Soakers.”

“We still have a lot of educational stuff but we also have some plain old fun stuff. Please take a look around and feel free to take your time. You have about an hour and half before the store actually opens so you will not be bothered.”

“Thanks. That’s why I was kind of hoping you would let me in.” He smiled again at her and it made her feel so amazingly wonderful.

She was about to go sit back down behind the counter, but he hesitated a minute so she stopped, “Is there something else?” she asked.

“Would you mind showing me around and talking with me for a bit, only if I’m not bothering you.”

“It would be my pleasure."  

Annie gave him a quick tour of the store. Her father was like a master planner when it came to the layout of the store. Dolls in one area, a little book nook in the back of the store, a section for arts and crafts. They walked around the store and Annie asked him questions about his kids. He told her that the oldest, Prince, was into technical stuff. The middle child was his daughter, Paris. She was into the typical girl stuff, dolls and loved to read. And the youngest was Prince Michael the second but his nickname was Blanket. He was young and rambunctious and loved to have fun and play so most anything would make him happy.

She could tell he loved his kids. The whole time he talked about them his face was animated and glowing. He picked out three items, one for each child, and one item for himself, a doll for Paris, a computer game for Prince and a mini puzzle for Blanket, and for himself, a magic kit.

He then turned to Annie and said, “I have one more request. I would like to bring my children to the store so that they could also pick out one toy for themselves. I will keep these under wraps and give them perhaps as Christmas or birthday gifts. But as a treat I would like them to be able to pick out one toy each. The only thing is…I…um…how do I say this…it’s very important to me that my children are not recognized. Their privacy is very important to me. So I usually request that the store be closed for a few hours for private shopping. I mean it could be done after hours…I don’t like to inconvenience anyone. Do you think you could arrange such a visit for me?”

“I would prefer if you talked to the proprietor of the store and made the arrangements with her. It was one thing to let you in now on your own—and I know she will probably be upset that she missed you as it is.” She thought to herself, you don’t know the half of it. “I can give you one of her cards with the store info and where she can be reached.”

“I don’t understand, your father was the proprietor, do you not own the store now that he has passed away?”

“My stepmother operates the store. I only work here.” She said this firmly and as bluntly as possible and hoped he would not ask anymore questions. Thankfully he did not.

“Okay, then I guess I will have one of my people call her and make the arrangements. I sure hope that you will be here though. I would love for my children to meet you.”

“I am usually here, though not always up front. Again, my stepmother and her daughter usually work the front of the store when they are here. I do mostly inventory and the bookkeeping and ordering duties.”

“You can still come up front for a few minutes, right?” He gave her the most piercing look as though he was trying to read her mind—as though he knew that there was more to Annie's story than she wished to divulge.

“Of course, if I am here I could come up front and say hello.” She took his purchases and rang them up for him and put them in bags. He paid with cash. He laughed as he took the money out of his pocket, “Once in awhile they let me leave the house with money.”

She gave him one of her stepmother’s cards and walked him to the door, once again disarmed the alarm and unlocked the door to let him out. Annie reached out her hand so that they could shake but he chose instead to embrace her again. It wasn’t quite as intense as the first hug he gave her but she was able to catch that enticing scent of his again.

Then he suddenly said laughing, “I am so embarrassed, I didn’t even get your name.”

“My name is Annie Walker,” she responded.

“Till we meet again, Miss Annie Walker.” He tipped his hat slightly and started walking away. She could see a black sedan suddenly pull up along the curb and a gentleman got out and opened the door for Michael and he jumped into the vehicle and it drove off.

Part Two

Bill, his trusted security guard, turned around and said “Everything okay boss?”

“Yes, fine—thanks. We can go on to the studio now.” Michael sat back in the seat and thought about his encounter with Miss Annie Walker. She was a beautiful woman but for some reason chose to hide behind sedate clothes. She wore a prim white blouse covered with a black button down sweater with a gray tweed skirt, and her lovely curly, blonde hair was held together in a severe ponytail. There was a profound sadness about her. When he had mentioned her father he could see she held herself in check or otherwise she may have started to cry. Michael knew what it was like to be filled up with sadness and despair. A few years ago he felt like he would never be happy again. He didn’t know what he would have done if it had not been for the unconditional love his children gave him. They were a great source of comfort to him and seeing them everyday laughing and enjoying life always brought him back to life. Perhaps Miss Annie Walker needed some laughter and love in her life.
He looked forward to seeing her again when he visited the store with his kids. He also thought to himself that he would send her a thank you gift for the help she gave him this morning.

“Mr. Jackson, we’re at the recording studio,” the security guard said from the front seat.

“Thank you.” Time to get to work.

Annie had about 10 minutes to spare before she officially opened the store so she barely had any time to reflect on her encounter with Michael Jackson. He had been so warm and real. Not what one would expect from such a superstar and controversial figure. She straightened up one last time and then before she knew it her stepmother and stepsister were marching through the front door.
Gloria Alvarez Walker was a formidable woman. Her father had met her a little over two years ago and he was immediately captivated by her. Gloria had been married and widowed several times over. Annie’s father was not her typical husband choice. Usually she married older, rich men who apparently were on the verge of dieing, Annie thought caustically. Because of this, Gloria had obtained an enormous wealth over the years. Annie had been suspicious of Gloria’s attraction to her father. Granted her father was a very kind and loving man, but he was no high powered business mogul nor was he as old as the men she usually married. But her father’s store was located in the upper west side of New York and catered to many wealthy New Yorkers and many celebrities. Celebrated personalities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Ashton Kucher and Madonna along with some of New York’s famous politicians and athletes, had frequented the store and Annie always believed that Gloria savored this above all else. Plus her father had treated her like a queen.

Close behind Gloria was Susannah Alvarez or Suzie, Gloria’s only child by her first marriage. Suzie was exactly the same age as Annie, 35. But they were polar opposites. Suzie was a glamour girl. She was the type of woman that men stared at. She had a body to die for and dressed in beautiful designer clothing. She was sophisticated, or at least she thought she was and she liked to have fun. She was flirtatious around any man who paid attention to her and most did.

As usual the day started out with an order and a criticism—“Annie, did I not tell you to move the display of those Barbie’s to the front of the store? Those books you insist on pushing belong in a separate section towards the back. Barbie is a big seller. I am trying to run a successful toy store here and you seem to want to thwart me all the time!”

“Annie, did you make any coffee yet this morning? I desperately need a cup,” Suzie whined.

The lovely aura she had felt when Michael was in the store was evaporating quickly. It was going to be a long day Annie thought. After she moved the display for Gloria and settled Suzie in with a cup of coffee she informed Gloria of their pre-opening visitor and told her that one of Michael Jackson's assistants would be calling to request a private opening for his kids.

Gloria’s face lit up like a child on Christmas morning. “Did you hear that Suzie, Michael Jackson!  How terribly thrilling. I hear tell he still has some money socked away. He is shrouded in controversy and he’s been a bit of a recluse since that trial ended a couple of years ago but still it would be a coup for us to have him in our store with his children. Think of the publicity. He shall get his private opening definitely,” Gloria exclaimed.

“All right Annie that will be all. Don’t you have some inventory and receiving to do in the back?” As usual she was unceremoniously relegated to her back office. She didn’t know what to expect, perhaps a thank you that she treated Michael Jackson so nicely and encouraged him to call her. Well that would never happen. And besides that, she swore that she was never asked to move that Barbie display to the front last night or any other night!

Part Three

She sat at her desk located in the back of the store and started to work on the receiving paperwork. For the umpteenth time since her dad died she thought to herself why didn’t she get a backbone and stand up to Gloria? Her life was a mess and she didn’t have the strength or know how to make it better. Annie had graduated from art school right before her mother died. About 10 years ago. When her mother died she put her life on hold and returned to New York to take care of her grieving father and to help out in the toy store. She had stayed put all these many years.

A couple of years ago, when her father complained of loneliness, she had encouraged him to go out and meet someone. And he had; only it wasn’t the person that Annie had in mind. Even before they married Gloria had started to undermine her authority in the toy store. Her father would often confer with Gloria on decisions on what to order and how to set up the displays, tasks that had always been Annie’s responsibilities. When she complained privately to her father about it he would pat her on the cheek and tell her, “Don’t worry kiddo, once Gloria and I are married, we will be doing all kinds of traveling and you can run the store all by yourself.” Well that never seemed to develop and instead after they got married, Gloria had taken a greater interest in running the store and little by little Annie’s authority was being totally undermined.

Not long before her father died he took her aside and asked her out to dinner. He had said to her, “Just you and your good old dad, like old times sweetie.” Annie was delighted. It had seemed such a long time since she and her father had enjoyed some alone time together. It was at the dinner that he revealed to her that he had accepted an offer from Gloria of a rather large loan to stave off creditors and save the Toy Shoppe from going under. Annie was devastated to say the least. She knew the toy store was going through a rough patch but he had told her not to be concerned, that he planned to meet with his accountant and see if he could secure a loan. He also told her that since Gloria had invested such a large amount of money to save the store that he was going to make her the general manager. He said to her, “Annie, you of course will be her assistant manager—you will continue your roll in charge of inventory, ordering the products and making sure the store is in tip top operating order. But Gloria has such innovative ideas about how to modernize the store, you know bring it into the twenty first century.”

He said he would concentrate being out front and entertaining the customers as usual. “With all three of us working together Annie we will make the Toy Shoppe come back to life and be the best toy store in New York again.” How could she deny her father’s happiness? After all she would still be there, working with him and she only wanted her father to be happy and for the toy store to be successful—right?

Then tragically, her father had suffered a massive stroke while walking to work one morning. He was dead immediately. Annie went numb just thinking about it. That was six months ago. Apparently her father had never filed a will, at least none that could be located. Gloria’s lawyer told Annie that Gloria’s investment gave her controlling interest in the store and without a will there was no way to tell who her father wished to inherit the store. She had visited a family lawyer that her father had used years ago and he pretty much told her the same thing. He said that if a will was located and Annie was listed as the inheritor there was a chance that they could go to court and see if they could wrestle some control of the store from Gloria; that was her only hope.

So for now it seemed Gloria was officially in control of the toy store, pretty much leaving Annie out of the picture. It was soon after her father had died that Gloria started to bring Suzie into the store to help out with sales duties. And then Annie was shoved even further into the background for good.
It wasn’t like Gloria didn’t continue to pay her a decent salary. She did. At least apparently enough for an unmarried woman in her thirties to survive on in the big city. And considering Annie didn’t have much of a social life she didn’t have to worry about buying a lot of new clothing or going out to fancy restaurants. She figured that Gloria was trying her hardest to push her out. Make her go find another job. But Annie could not bring herself to abandon the toy store that her father and mother started and ran for so many years. Or was it that she was afraid to try to go out on her own? Either way, she sat and took the criticism and the snide remarks and orders from Gloria and Suzie till she could figure out what to do next. Annie was still sick with grief. She felt alone without a friend and for now felt her best option was to stay put.

Part Four 

Later on that night she was sitting in her bed eating a bowl of ice cream watching one of her favorite movies, Top Hat with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Between spoonfuls of the ice cream and watching Fred glide across the floor with Ginger she was thinking about Michael Jackson. She was in high school when Bad came out. She remembered listening to his music—she recalled liking it but when she went away to art school her tastes had changed. She started to listen to more classical music. But because of whom he was and what had transpired in his life, she, like everyone else around the whole planet, could not help but occasionally pay attention to him.

During all the momentous occasions of his life, the good and the bad, the media splashed every sensational detail in print and on television for everyone to see. She thought she never really formed an opinion, bad or good of him. She was never much of a celebrity watcher and tended to ignore the gossip magazines and websites. And because the toy store did attract celebrities she didn’t always feel wowed by the whole star thing the way Gloria and her daughter seemed to be. But meeting him today was a whole different experience from meeting other celebrities. He was so down to earth, kind of shy, and very sweet. She was looking forward to seeing him and his children when they came in for the private shopping trip. She put the empty bowl on her nightstand and dozed off to strains of “Heaven, I’m in heaven…”

Meanwhile, a couple of blocks away in his hotel suite, Michael lay on his bed in his pajamas watching the very same movie, as it happened to be one of his favorites also. He had just finished reading his kids a bedtime story and tucking them in. Earlier, he gave the calling card from the toy store to an assistant along with some dates that he thought he would be free and instructed the assistant to work out the details with Gloria Walker. He told the assistant to make sure it would be a day that Miss Annie Walker would be in the store. That was important.

He then also had the assistant put together a gift basket with several music cds and a book of poetry. He included a personal note with the gifts and instructed the assistant to send the package directly to the same toy store. He said it had to be delivered between 9:00 and 10:00am tomorrow morning. He would have rather had it delivered to her apartment but he really wanted her to get it tomorrow morning and thought this would be quicker. He figured she would probably be alone during that time period and she could enjoy opening the gift and reading the card before her stepmother arrived.

The next morning Annie arrived at the store refreshed and ready to handle the day. As she went about her pre-opening activities a delivery man rapped on the front door. That’s strange, all deliveries were usually made in the rear of the store and she wasn’t expecting anything today either. She opened the door for him and he said “Delivery for a Miss Annie Walker?”

“That’s me,” she said. She signed for it and was handed a gift basket. There was an envelope taped to the outside which had her name hand written on it, “Miss Annie Walker.” She instinctively figured it was from Michael Jackson.

 Butterflies

She carefully opened the envelope and took out the card and read it:

Miss Annie, I wanted to thank you again for opening the store early for me yesterday morning and taking the time to assist me in picking out some gifts for my children.  You were very gracious and kind.

I also wanted to say again how very sorry I am on the recent loss of your father.  Though I have not suffered the loss of a parent I can tell you personally that I have dealt with sadness in my life of one kind or another.  I have found that there are a few activities that help me to relieve the pain and sadness in my life.  Among them are listening to music, reading poetry, dancing, and listening to my kids laughter.  Therefore I am including some music cds of some of my favorite classical music selections plus some cds by a guy called Michael Jackson.  I hear tell he’s pretty good.  I also am including a book of poetry and essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson—one of my favorite poets.  May you find some comfort and joy in listening to the music and reading the book.  As far as the dancing and listening to the laughter of my children—I hope someday soon to give you the opportunity to join me in both activities.  Sincerely and with love and peace always, Michael Jackson

She opened the gift basket. True to the note it was filled with about 10 compact discs of both his music and classical music, and the book of poetry. Wow. She was blown away. What a beautiful gift. She took her treasures and locked them away in her desk to be taken home later on and enjoyed more in private. She didn’t want Gloria or Suzie to know about the gift. And somehow she knew that is why Michael had it delivered before the store opened.

Part Five

Later that day, Annie prepared herself to leave for the night. She bagged up her gifts from Michael so that the others could not detect what they were and put on her coat. As she entered out into the front of the store Gloria stopped her. “Annie, I spoke to Michael Jackson’s assistant. The private shopping visit is set for next week, Monday the 10th."

Annie stopped in her tracks. She got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “That’s my scheduled day off,” she said.

“Well so it is,” Gloria said rather nonchalantly. “Well my dear you can change it if you want to be here. But after all Annie you already got to meet him. It’s up to you my girl—but either way that’s the day he picked out and that is the day its happening.”

She had asked for the day off over a month ago. It was her father’s birthday. Obviously this meant nothing to Gloria. Annie planned to go visit her father’s grave. The cemetery was in upstate New York. She was going to catch the train early in the morning and spend some time at the cemetery. As much as she wanted to meet Michael’s children, she was torn. She knew that Gloria had not visited her father’s grave even once since he died and this would be her first visit since the burial. Her father was buried in a crypt next to her mother. Something Gloria had tried to fight—but the space had been purchased by her father many years ago and Gloria had no desire to pay for another.

Gloria was stingy with giving out day offs. She had to practically twist her arm to get her to give her this day. And she thought it was significant to go on his birthday. “I guess I will have to miss Mr. Jackson’s visit,” she said rather forlornly.

“Annie, don’t be such a sad sack. It’s not the end of the world,” Gloria snapped back.

Annie left the store in a hurry and made her way to the subway. When she got home she tore off her coat and collapsed on her bed and started to cry. Her gut instinct was that her stepmother didn’t want her at the store on the day Michael visited. Why was she so emotional about this? She didn’t even know him. He did say that he hoped she would be there. But she had planned this visit to her father’s grave for some time and after all wasn’t her obligation to her father bigger than Michael Jackson?

She was still saddened though. Then she remembered Michael’s gift. She grabbed the bag and emptied it out on her bed. She held the book of poetry lovingly in her hands. She opened up one of the classical music cds. It was Debussy. She put the cd in her disc player and listened to the music and read the poetry.

Michael did not get a chance to communicate any further with Annie for the rest of the week and he felt agitated about it. But it had been a productive last few days in the recording studio, and although he was sad about not being able to see Annie, he figured all that would be remedied when he took his kids to the toy store on Monday for their special shopping trip. Little did he know that Annie would not be there.

Part Six

On Monday morning Michael entered the store with his children. Luckily his security staff was in full force. Apparently word had leaked out that Michael and his children were making an appearance at the toy store and the media was out in full force. TMZ and some other paparazzi were there snapping pictures of him and his kids as they made their way into the store. As usual practice, Michael had his children wear masks to cover their faces and hide their identities. This was usually fodder for the media. They thought it was weird and odd but the only reason why Michael did it was so that when they were with him they were unrecognizable. This enabled them otherwise to go out in public without him, with a nanny or other friends and be virtual strangers to the general public. It made perfect sense to him but of course everything he did and said was usually twisted around and made to look weird or odd and sensationalized to the hilt.

When he entered the store he was greeted immediately by Gloria Walker who then introduced him to her daughter, Suzie Alvarez. Gloria practically squealed in delight, "Oh Mr. Jackson this is so exciting and there’s paparazzi and everything!” Michael unfortunately did not feel the same way. The only bright spot was that he was going to get to see Annie again.

Michael asked “Where is Miss Annie Walker? Is she in the back? Can you please tell her to come out and say hello?” He was excited beyond belief to see her again. He had thought of nothing but her all night.

“Annie had the day off today. She isn’t here,” Gloria said. “She was told you were coming today but still chose to take the day off. Silly girl! I suppose it’s her loss!”

Michael stopped listening to her after she said that Annie was told that he was coming in today but chose to take the day off anyways. He couldn’t believe it. There had to be some sort of mistake.

He snapped back to attention when he felt Paris pull on his hand. “Daddy, can we please look around?”

“Of course my darling. First let’s introduce ourselves to the nice ladies and say thank you,” he replied back to his daughter.

Michael’s children stepped forward, taking off their masks, and each of them introduced themselves and offered a hand to Gloria and Suzie. Suzie barely noticed because all her attention was on Michael Jackson. Suzie was thinking he looked kind of odd and he was a bit older than her, but still was quite fascinated by him. She was silently making her plan of attack.

Gloria said, “How adorable they are.”

Michael got down on his one knee and motioned for them to come toward him and gave further instructions, “No yelling, inside voices, understood. You can look and touch, but carefully, and place the toy back on the shelf if you are not interested. And remember, only one each, so pick out a good one. Got it?”

“Yes, Daddy,” they said in unison. He then smiled at all three of them, and said “Go have fun!”

As he got up he heard Gloria whisper to her daughter something that he was not obviously supposed to hear, “After they removed the masks they appear to be so very normal—not what I expected at all.”

Michael was used to hearing rude and crass remarks about him, but always cringed when he heard them about his kids. He turned around slowly and approached both women. He wished that Miss Annie Walker had not abandoned him to the wolves and wondered what the truth was about her not being here. He would have to talk to his assistant who made the arrangements to make sure that she had specifically asked for Annie to be there.

Suzie Alvarez immediately latched onto Michael’s arm and began to flirt outrageously. This is something that Michael always had a hard time with. But because he was who he was and taught at an early age as an entertainer that he must always be on for the public he took it all in stride.

“Mr. Jackson, I absolutely love your music,” she gushed. She blatantly ran her hands up and down his arm. Paris approached Michael and Suzie and pulled on Michael’s other arm. “Daddy, come and look with us please?”

Suzie wished she could shove the kid out of the way but instead said in a saccharine tinged voice “Sweetie, can’t you see your daddy and me are having some adult time—can you go away and leave us alone for a few minutes?”

Michael looked down at Paris and said, “Paris, give me a minute kiddo and then I’m all yours.”

Michael watched Paris run off toward the book section of the store and then delicately disentangled himself from Suzie’s grip. “I feel like I must tend to my kids Miss Alvarez, perhaps once they have settled down a bit we can converse further?”

“All right, if you must of course. I don’t have any children but I guess they are a handful.”

Michael and his kids were in the toy store for about two hours. In that time period he successfully eluded Miss Suzie Alvarez for the most part. Though at one time he was forced to submit to a picture taking session where Suzie boldly put her arms around Michael and kissed him on the cheek while Gloria snapped away.

His children each picked a toy out and Michael had one of his assistant’s pay for the items. He had his kids line up again at the end of the two hours and thank both Gloria and Suzie and then they were whisked away back to their hotel suite. His mind was on Miss Annie Walker the whole time. He questioned the assistant about whether or not she asked specifically if Annie was going to be there, and she assured him that Gloria Walker had said she would. He had one of his assistants do some quick research to find out where she lived, he planned on paying her a visit this afternoon—hopefully she would be in.

Part Seven

Once she was home she slipped into her favorite comfortable clothes and started to brew herself a cup of tea. She sat at the kitchen table and thought about her father. He used to love his birthday. Her father was somewhat of a big kid at heart. For his birthday her mother used to make his favorite cake and they would always put on party hats and sing Happy Birthday. Even at an early age Annie loved to draw and would always make her father a special card.

Her mother, and then after she died, Annie, would always give her father a new toy for his birthday. It may have seemed somewhat perplexing to the outside world to give a grown man that owned his own toy store a toy for his birthday, but usually her mother would do extensive research and give him something unusual like whatever the newest and most popular European toy was at the moment.

As she sat and reminisced of course she started to get emotional and just then there was a knock at the door. She got up to answer it wondering who it could possibly be. She opened the door and there stood Michael Jackson. He was casually leaning up against the door jamb with his hands in his jacket pockets. He had on the same black jeans but this time instead of a trench coat he wore a black jacket covering a simple white button down shirt. The first thought that jumped into her head was how absolutely sexy he looked. Where did that come from she thought?

“We missed you today at the toy store. Is there a reason why you are avoiding me and my children?” He seemed so serious that she was kind of taken aback.

“I am s…s…sorry if I offended you,” she stuttered out. “I had previous plans.”

He realized that he had kind of scared her and he didn’t mean to. He was really just kidding around. Note to self: try not to be so scary he thought.

“Can I come in?” he asked tentatively.

“Of course,” she said quietly. “I was making a cup of tea, would you like one?”

“No that’s okay,” he said.

She led him into the kitchen and motioned for him to sit down. Once the tea was done she took her mug and sat at the table with him.

He continued with his gentle teasing, “Your stepmother told me you intentionally missed me today—choosing a day off rather than interacting with me and my children. She referred to you as a silly girl.” And then in a serious, stern voice (again just kidding with her) he said “I did ask you to be there Miss Annie Walker—why were you avoiding me and my children?”

Annie had her hands wrapped around the mug and her head was bent down, seemingly to blow on the tea to cool it off, but when she raised her head to him he saw immediately that she was crying.

Michael felt terrible. He scooted his chair right next to hers—close enough so that now their knees were touching. He put his arm around her and said “I am sorry Annie. I was just kidding.”

She looked at him and even though she felt miserable she made a mental note of the fact that he called her by her first name, dropping the Miss. “I went to visit my father’s grave at the cemetery. Today was his birthday.”

Michael felt like a schmuck. He took her in his arms and her head gently landed on his chest and she began to cry even harder.

“It’s going to be all right Annie. I promise,” he said. “You just have to give it time.” He held her in his arms and tenderly kissed the top of her head.

He removed her head from his chest and looked into her eyes. “I came here not to scold you but because I was concerned about you and now I am glad I did. Remember in my note I told you that listening to the sound of my children’s laughter helped to relieve my sadness and pain?” She nodded her head silently. “Well, why don’t you come to my hotel suite and meet my children and have dinner with us tonight? I know they would really enjoy meeting you and I know we can all help to make you a little bit happier.”

She said in a tearful whisper, “I don’t know, I was planning on staying in tonight…”

“And do what Annie, think about your father and cry some more. Then get ready for bed and think about your father some more and cry yourself to sleep?”

He looked at her intently and continued, “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not wrong to think about your father—but why not come with me and you can sort of celebrate your father’s birthday with me and my kids instead of staying here, all alone with your grief.”

She suddenly thought he was right. Perhaps she did need to be with other people and he was so kind and loving and she did want to meet his kids—she bet anything they were great.

“Okay,” she said.

“Good,” he exclaimed. Before he helped her up he kissed her on her forehead and then on her nose. They were such intimate gestures and when he kissed her she felt an absolute tingle go through her whole body.

“Just give me a minute to get dressed,” she said once she rose to her feet.

“What are you talking about girl you are dressed,” Michael said.

“I can’t go like this, I am meeting your children,” she exclaimed.

“Annie, they are my children, not royalty. They won’t judge you—that’s the beauty of children. They don’t care what you look like, or what you are wearing or what race or religion you are—that’s what adults care about. And besides that, you look absolutely lovely.”

Michael meant it. Her attire was very different from what he saw on her at the toy store. She was wearing a faded pair of blue jeans that he noticed immediately when she opened the door to him before. They hugged and accentuated all her delicious curves. She wore a pink turtleneck covered by an oversized blue sweatshirt. Her hair wasn’t in that strict ponytail that she had when he first met her. Instead her blond curls were cascading around her shoulders and gently framing her beautiful face.

He reached up and caressed her check with his hand. “You should always wear your hair down. It’s much lovelier this way. You look beautiful,” he said.

She blushed slightly.  "Just let me go and wash the tears off my face and I will join you in a minute.”

She went into the bathroom and looked at her face nervously in the mirror. He just told her she was beautiful. What was happening here? Just relax Annie and go with the flow she told herself. She quickly splashed cold water on her face. She also gave her teeth a quick brushing. He told her he liked her hair just the way it was so she didn’t touch it.

She came out and grabbed her coat. “Should I bring something?” she asked nervously.

“Just yourself,” he said. He helped her on with her coat and they exited her apartment. As she was locking her door Michael called his driver on his cell phone. He then took her hand and held it as they walked to the elevator.

When they got to the lobby her doorman was chatting with Michael’s bodyguard and driver. “Good evening Miss Walker,” the doorman said.

“Good evening to you also Charles,” she replied. Michael continued to hold her hand as all four of them exited the building.

“Coast is clear boss,” the bodyguard said. The driver opened the door for them and Michael helped her into the vehicle. He continued to hold her hand in the car. The simple gesture made her feel so good.

Part Eight

They arrived at the hotel and as they were exiting the vehicle she could see that there was a small group of women standing close to the entrance of the hotel. Some of them were holding up hand made signs that said stuff like “MARRY ME MICHAEL!” and “WE LOVE YOU KING OF POP!”

Michael turned to her and said “Annie I am going to go over there and talk to those ladies. They are some of my oldest and most loyal fans. They have been with me through all of my ups and downs and I usually like to say a few words to them now and again. So let my security guard Bill escort you into the lobby and wait for me there, okay?”

“Of course Michael,” she said. As she was walking through the revolving door of the hotel with Bill, Annie could hear the ladies starting to yell out Michael’s name as he approached them. She could also hear Michael saying, “Good evening ladies, it’s a little too cold for you to be sitting here waiting for me!”

After a few minutes, Bill excused himself and went to look for Michael. They then both came back in. “Bill worries about me,” Michael said demurely. He once again took her hand in his and they continued toward the elevators.

Bill the body guard said to Michael, “See you in the morning Mike?”

“Yeah, see you in the morning, Bill.”

They rode up in the elevator hand in hand. Michael’s suite was one of the exclusive ones in the hotel. He opened the door and barely had it closed behind them when three children came barreling at Michael practically knocking him to the ground.

“Daddy’s home!” they all shouted, laughing and hugging and kissing him as he lowered himself to their level. He took his time kissing them and caressing their heads lovingly.

“Okay guys, we have company and I want to introduce you.” They immediately quieted down and lined up in order, oldest to youngest.

“Okay guys, this is Miss Annie Walker. Her father used to own the toy store you guys were in today. Miss Annie usually works there but had to be away today and she missed meeting you so she’s here tonight to meet you. Miss Annie, I would like you to meet my children. This is Prince Michael Jackson, we call him Prince.”

Prince stepped forward with a huge smile on his face and offered his hand to shake. “Hello, Miss Annie Walker,” he said.

“Please call me Annie, all of you,” she said smiling. “Pleased to meet you Prince.”

“This is Paris Katherine Jackson.” Paris stepped forward to shake her hand, “Hello Annie,” she said with a smile.

“And last but not least, this is my baby, Prince Michael the Second, but we all call him Blanket.”

As Michael said his introduction, he ruffled little Blanket’s hair. Blanket ran towards Annie and hugged her leg and looked up and said, “Hello!”

“Hello, sweetie,” she said and she also couldn’t help but caress the back of his head.

“Annie is going to have dinner with us tonight,” Michael said.

“Yeah!” they all yelled in unison. Paris took a hold of Annie's hand and started to pull her towards the dining area.

“We are having Daddy’s favorite dinner tonight,” she said.

“Oh yeah, what is Daddy’s favorite meal?”

Prince answered the question. “Kentucky Fried Chicken of course!”

Annie looked over at Michael and he ducked his head, “Another one of my guilty pleasures,” he said.

Annie smiled at Michael and he playfully winked back at her! She could tell that this was going to be good medicine for her tonight. They all sat down at the table and then Michael said, “Let’s all join hands, and Paris, can you please say grace?”

“Yes, Daddy. Dear God, bless the food we are about to enjoy. Thank you for providing it for us. Also God look out for all the children who don’t have a place to live or food on their table tonight and every night. Please God, bless them and bring some love into their lives. Please bless our Daddy, and bless my brothers Prince and Blanket. Also thank you for bringing us Miss Annie Walker to our table tonight so that we can share our dinner with her. Amen.”

“Very nice Paris, thank you!” Michael said.

“And now Annie, another tradition in the Jackson house is that we like to have a little music with our dinner.” Michael turned around and turned on a compact disc player located on a table behind him. James Brown emanated from the speakers. The kids all started to sing all at once.

She had never enjoyed a dinner more than she did that night. Singing and laughter and music abounded. At one point Blanket got up to show her his version of Daddy’s moonwalk. He was very good. Prince told some jokes and Paris told her about their time at the toy store. They enjoyed a bountiful meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits with butter and jelly.

After dinner all three of them showed her what they picked out at the toy store.

“If your father owned the toy store why is he not there now?” Prince asked.

Annie looked over at Michael for guidance and he nodded his head to her as though to say it was all right to tell them the truth.

“My father passed away a few months back,” she said.

Prince and Paris understood but she wasn’t too sure about Blanket. Paris came up to her and gave Annie a similar hug to the one that her father had given to her.

“Are you still sad Annie?” she asked her.

“Yes, I am still sad. But I am trying to remember the happy times I spent with him and that sometimes helps.”

All three of them were looking at her now with somber eyes and she felt as though she was going to start to cry again. Then Michael interceded. “Hey guys, Annie’s dad is with the angels now. I didn’t want Annie to be alone tonight and that is why I asked her to come to meet you guys. So you have to do your best to make her laugh and smile, okay?”

“Ok, daddy,” they all said at the same time.

Michael then said, “Why don’t you guys put your pajamas on and then pick out a story and then maybe if you ask really nice, Annie will read to you.”

Prince and Blanket started towards their room with Michael following behind, Paris stayed back and let the others get ahead. She pulled on Annie's arm.  Annie looked down at her and Paris said “Annie, I understand how you are sad—and I am glad you came here to be with us. Sometimes daddy gets sad and he says we always cheer him up.”

Annie caressed the back of the girl's head and said, “Thank you sweetie, you guys are doing a good job of cheering me up!”

They put their pajamas on and then brushed their teeth and then all three of them crawled into Blanket’s bed. Michael said this is best because Blanket usually conked out before the other two.

Michael and Annie read the story together. Michael made up voices to go along with the characters that had all of them laughing. Soon, as predicted, Blanket’s eyes started to close and then he was sound asleep. They finished the story and then Michael gestured to the other two to crawl into their beds. He tucked them in and then he kissed them goodnight. They asked in whispers if Annie would please kiss them good night, so she did.

They backed out of the room, shut the light off and closed the door.

Part Nine

Michael put his arm around Annie and guided her back to the living room onto the couch. “Thanks for the help,” he said.

“It was my pleasure."

Her head was on his shoulder with his arm around her and it felt so comfortable. He moved her head slightly so he could look her in the eyes. “Do you feel better Annie?” he asked.

“Much better. You were so right. I needed company tonight instead of staying home alone. You made me feel like I was part of a family again.”

“You don’t consider Gloria and Suzie family?” Michael asked in earnest.

“I have no family anymore,” she said rather stridently. “My mother and father’s parents are long dead. My mother had one brother that died when she was young and my father was an only child. And no, I am not close to Gloria or her daughter.”

Annie tentatively asked Michael, “What did you think of Suzie?”

Michael looked down at her, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you know, she is very beautiful. Model type beautiful. A lot of men find her attractive,” Annie said in a quiet voice.

Michael pulled her from his arms and gazed into her eyes, “To quote an old saying Annie, sometimes beauty is only skin deep. The only beautiful woman that I wanted to see at the toy store wasn’t there—and I was deeply disappointed.” He gave her one of those captivating smiles and she couldn’t help but get a slight fluttering in her stomach.

“I should probably be going,” she said with a sigh. “I have to work tomorrow and it’s been a very long day.”

He helped her up from the couch. “First I need to freshen up a bit.” He pointed towards the hallway and said “It’s the door down from the kid’s room.”

She turned the light on in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. He was flirting outrageously with her. She felt like she was in a dream. Could he possibly be interested in her? Especially after getting a look at her stepsister Suzie?

On her way out she heard a small voice calling from the kids’ room, “Daddy! Daddy!”

She quietly opened the door and saw Blanket sitting up in bed. She went over to the bed and knelt down, “What’s wrong sweetie, do you need your daddy?”

“Annie, can you get me a drink of water?”

“Sure munchkin." Annie went over to the table in the room that held a pitcher of water with some small cups and poured a little bit of water into one of them and brought it back to Blanket. He took the cup in his hands and drank up. “Thank you Annie,” he said and then lay back down.

By then Michael had entered the room. “You okay Applehead?” he said to Blanket. With his head on the pillow he said sleepily, “I’m okay daddy, Annie took care of me.” And then just like that his eyes closed and he was back to sleep. Michael and Annie crept out of the room quietly.

“Thanks again,” he said. They walked back into the living room. “I called my driver. He will be here in a few minutes to take you back home again.”

He led me her by the hand to the door. With her back to the door, Michael took both of her hands in his and said, “Annie, this isn’t goodbye. I want to see you again. But the next time we see each other, it’s going to be just the two of us. The only thing is I am very busy this week with recording sessions so I probably won’t be able to see you for a few days.”

He reached up with his hand and caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and turned her cheek toward his hand to get the full effect of his touch. His hand dropped and she opened her eyes. He was suddenly a lot closer.

He leaned in again and whispered in her ear, “Till then, I want you to think about me though, can you do that Annie?”

She felt a fluttery feeling from her head to her toes and Annie's voice trembled as she quietly replied back, “O…okay. I will Michael.”

She closed her eyes again as his lips started to graze along her cheek toward her lips. He’s going to kiss me Annie thought—and she felt like she was on her first date waiting for her first kiss. His lips just met hers when there was a knock on the door. They both jumped and Michael pulled away from her. They were like two kids caught doing something wrong.
“That’s my driver,” Michael said apologetically. “Time to go,” Annie said breathlessly.

Liberian Girl

Part Ten

Michael lay in bed with his pillows propped up against the headboard. He was looking at his cell phone. He had several messages from his brother Jermaine and his father Joseph. He groaned, placed the phone on the bedside table and sunk into the bed. His family was ever anxious about his return to the states. They seemed to want to convince him that the best way he could make a re-appearance into the public eye was with a reunion with his brothers.

He sighed heavily. He loved his family. He was a Jackson, and at an early age it was drilled into him the importance of being a part of that family. Being a Jackson meant being loyal and dedicated. He was told time and time again how he needed to pay respect to his beginnings. He thought he did. But apparently it wasn’t good enough.

They were all with him during the trial—the support from them was amazing to him and he needed it and he loved them for it and he had thanked them for it. His mother would listen to him when he told her about his need to be independent from the rest of them, but she too would eventually cave into pressure from Joseph and she would soon probably be leaving messages for him to talk to her. He knew what that meant.  "Your brothers need you and you need them too," She would say.  He closed his eyes tight and tried to relax.

He needed someone to unburden his soul to. He needed someone who he could trust and who would understand him and someone who would look out for him as a person and not as an entity. He did trust a few old friends, like Elizabeth. He knew he could confide in her and she would not judge him. But Michael wanted more than Elizabeth could give him.

This brought his mind back to Annie Walker. Why was he so drawn to her? She was very sexy and didn’t even know it. Or perhaps was afraid to show it? He wasn’t sure yet but wanted to find out. He chuckled as he recalled her questioning him about his opinion of the sultry Suzie. Obviously Annie felt like second best next to her. She had no reason to though. Suzie was not Michael’s type. Annie was. Her beauty seemed to radiate even more with his slightest touch. It seemed to awaken an inner confidence in her. After their near kiss, she was glowing when she left his hotel suite tonight. He wanted to bring more of this out in her.

But even more than her beauty and her sexiness, he liked her. She didn’t seem fazed at all that he was Michael Jackson. He also admired the way she treated his children. They seemed to take to her right away. He had loved watching her with them. And then there was the knowledge that she was alone in the world. Michael was keenly aware of this because he too often felt lonely.

Michael was intrigued by Annie Walker. He asked her to think of him till they met again. He already knew he would think of nothing but her till they met again. It was much more relaxing to think of Annie than think of his family. For the first time in a long time, Michael closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Part Eleven

When Annie returned from her evening with Michael and his kids she was too keyed up to sleep. So she sat up in her bed with the television on but with the sound down thinking about the day’s events. At the moment she was thinking about her father. Growing up Annie had the ideal childhood. Her father was the type of man that loved to have fun and because he ran a toy store Annie was a big hit with her fellow classmates. He seemed to always have his finger on the pulse of what kids liked to play with because he himself was like a big kid.

After her mother died Annie soon realized that her mom truly ran the toy store. Her mom gladly took care of the mundane role of making sure vendors were paid and customers received their orders and when the furnace broke Annie’s mom took care of that too. Her father’s role was to amaze and delight the customers and to make sure that the shelves were stocked with the most tantalizing toys from all around the world. Annie’s mom loved her father dearly and did everything for him—she often told Annie, when your father is happy we are happy so I must work to make sure that he is happy all the time.

When her mom died her father fell apart and it only seemed natural for Annie to return to New York and take over the role that her mom had filled—making her father happy and making sure the toy store was run efficiently as possible. Annie loved her parents. They had made sure that she had a good life and sent her through art school. It seemed only right that she help her father out. That meant Annie had to give up her dream of becoming an artist for awhile.

At first Annie really enjoyed herself. She loved the toy store and being there with her father reminded her of her childhood and all the good times she had there. She would still dabble in her art. She always had a sketch pad handy and had an easel set up in her apartment.

But eventually Annie started to spend more and more time taking care of operations at the store and less time thinking about her art. Her creative energies were focused on making sure displays were right and that her father didn’t spend too much money on outlandish toys that would never sell.
Annie always thought, next year you will go to your father and tell him that they should hire a manager and this way her father could still concentrate on the toy buying and entertaining the customers and Annie could get back to her life.

Annie had always been a bit of an introvert and unfortunately not much of a risk taker. And for this reason, she grew comfortable in the role she was playing. Why try to go out and put yourself out there only to find that you are not any good. Here at the toy store you are in charge and your father looks to you for guidance and advice.

It wasn’t that her father ignored the fact that Annie had left her dreams behind in order to come to his side—it was just that her father sincerely thought Annie was happy, because Annie never let on otherwise.

Then her father met Gloria and everything changed. She knew in some way that she should be happy, after all isn’t this what she wanted? Let Gloria handle more of the responsibilities and she could concentrate on her art. The only thing was that when she went to pick up a pencil and start to sketch she couldn’t seem to get herself to draw. It was like she was blocked. No creative energy was flowing. She felt zero inspiration. This sent Annie into somewhat of a tailspin. She became more and more depressed in the last few years. She didn’t seem to be needed as much at the toy store and now she couldn’t even practice her art.

Annie let her mind drift to Michael Jackson. She had only been in his presence two times. Once at the toy store and then again this evening yet she couldn’t get over how each time had been so uplifting to her psyche. He made her feel like she could tackle the world. "That was silly, right? I mean you’ve only been in his presence two times Annie!" she thought to herself.

In some ways Michael reminded her of her father. Like her father, people seemed to like being around Michael. Plus Michael seemed like a big kid at heart, just like her father was. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she was attracted to him.

Though, she could not deny that she was sexually attracted to him also. She loved the look of his face and one of the first things she had noticed about him was that his body was well sculpted—he had a dancer’s body she thought. In art school she had drawn many nude models. What would Michael look like posing nude—she felt herself blush thinking about it—Annie get a hold of yourself! Suddenly she had the urge to draw him. She got up from her bed and rooted around in the back of her closet. She pulled out a giant sketchpad and some pencils. After being around Michael, somehow she was inspired.

Perhaps she could work up the nerve to ask him to sit for her. Not nude of course, but maybe just for a portrait. But until then she could use a picture of him to start out with. She would have to go on the internet and see what she could come up with. Also she could use some new pencils—tomorrow at lunch she would go to the nearest art store and see if she could pick up some new supplies. Suddenly Annie Walker felt like drawing again!

But for now she would crawl back into bed and get some sleep—she was very tired from all the day’s activities. As she closed her eyes she thought of Michael. He asked her to think of him till they met again, and Annie planned on honoring this request to the fullest. After all it was much more pleasant to think of him than think about Gloria and the toy store.

By Scrantonmjfan