An 80's Dream

The Wish

"Dee I think your phone is going off.." Shania said to me as we got off our bus and headed towards our apartment building.
"Yeah. Its probably my mom asking me to pick up milk or something.."
She looked at me funny then said, "Well don't you think you should answer it..."
I shook my head and said,
"Not until my Pokemon has evolved..."
She laughed as we headed up to our stoop and headed inside the building. "What do you think mom and dad are doing for our birthday?.."
She asked as we headed up the wooden flight of stairs getting to the third floor.
"I don't really know.... probably what they do every year. Cake, ice cream and being able to watch TV for an extra hour.."
She nodded. We came into my apartment flat until our parents came home. Shania's dad worked for an accounting firm in Manhattan. He always wore a suit and tie to work very cliché like. My mother worked as a secretary for a law office in Brooklyn. We called them both mom and dad. We both had single parents.
Usually living on the east side of Brooklyn we'd both have a ton of friends and go out every other night.
But not Shania and me. We had each other. From the day I moved in here when I was four, with a pink Tomagotchi pet hanging from my belt and saw a girl across the hall with the same one, we were friends.
It was even more strange when we found out we shared a birthday. Our parents decided that ever since that day we'd share a birthday party. The same cake and the same candles to blow out, but it wasn't like I was sharing it with a bratty sibling. I was sharing it with my best friend so it never bothered me. It never seemed to bother Shania either. We were both alike in alot of ways, our dark brown hair and our height. The way we dressed and even our taste in music. Shania and I were die hard Michael Jackson fans. We were both feverish for him. The day he died, when were both ten, stunned us. We still don't quite know how to cope. We liked other artists too, sure we did, But Michael Jackson stuck with us like bad bubblegum for some reason.
It's like we're attached to him. He's left some kind of mark on us. We always liked being on an MTV binge on our birthday because they'd do a Michael takeover. Especially the Motown 25 performance where he moonwalked for the very first time.
That one was always our favorite.
In the middle of all my thought rambling I felt my phone buzz in my pocket again. Shania dug throw my fridge looking for a snack. It was my mother. Who could have guessed
"You had better pick up milk and eggs if you want cake tonight. Go to Larry's and pick it up so we don't go bankrupt..." she text
I sighed hard and said out loud to Shania,
"I should really make a career from knowing what my mom says before she says it.."
I see Shan stick her head up over the fridge door with half a sticky bun hanging out of her mouth.
"Hmmph?" She mumbled.
I shook my head and put down my school bag, and tossed my jacket down.
"Come on let's go see if Larry is having as much fun as we are. We gotta pick up stuff for cake.."
She nodded and finished my mom's pecan sticky bun.
We headed down the block, chattering back and forth until we got to Larry's corner store. Larry was funny old coo He would sit on a lawn chair beside the store doors and wave his cane to people he knew that would stroll by. We approached his store and got ready to heckle him.
"No y'all two got to go home!!"
He shouted at us being falsely serious. "I don't think you wanna chase off your only business!" I yelled giggling as we stood infront of his chair.
Larry scratched his bald head and took off his sunglasses even though it was almost dark out.
"Well whatch'all want now? Ya done came by this morning for a soda pop and a magazine. I ain't no 7/11, what this look like?" He got up, hobbling in with his cane and let's us both in.
"We just need eggs and milk Lawrence. Were not here to buy your entire stock. Chill!" Shania said giggling standing by the counter as I went back to grab the stuff. Shan and Larry teased one another back forth laughing and I passed something I had never seen before on one of Larry's shelves. It was a People's magazine.
It showed Michael on the front. Where his Thriller album had broken records. The headline wrote, "Jackson's Thriller makes a killer! Will rock Motown next month."
I smiled and called Shania back. The pages were worn and faded. When I opened it they were very dusty. I blew them, clearing them off the dust and smiled. Michael wore his red Thriller jacket on the cover, smiling his gorgeous smile.
Shania looked over my shoulder and smiled too.
"Hey look at this..." she said to Larry holding it up.
Larry looks over from his cigar and points. "Thats been sitting in this store for over twenty years. Aint nobody touched it..."
I flipped through putting the eggs and milk to the side. The article spoke of how Michael's album had beaten the Beatles and even Elvis in record sales. His performance at Motown in May of '83 was supposed to send him straight to the top. As if he wasn't already there.
"Come on Dee we need to get home.." Shania called to me from the register and I put the magazine back.
"Yeah, yeah I'm coming." I grabbed my stuff and went to pay. Larry rung me up at the register and told me the price, "11.87"
I shook my head and handed him a twenty. "Highway robbery." I mumbled, "The soda costs 2.95 a bottle and now this.."
He bagged the stuff and Shania giggles.
"Get used to it, shortcake. Adult life is like grocery prices. They don't get no better.."
I shrugged and he handed me the stuff. "See ya Larry..." I said and we waved going out the door.
"Yeah, yeah.." he mumbled puffing his cigar.
We hustled back up to the apartment and got in the door. I gritted my teeth already seeing mom home.
"Well it took ya long enough..."
She said grabbing the plastic bag, hurriedly.
"Yeah you know how larry is.." I say as I motioned Shan to my room. I shut my door behind us and we plopped down infront of my small TV. We flipped it to MTV, seeing Michael's Billie Jean video on.
"You think they'll show the Motown twenty five..." she asked.
I nodded, "They always do. I'm counting on it..."
We heard my front door shut then close, chattering followed it. Shania's dad had come in from work. Shania had this crazy idea that they should consider dating and I told her she was crazy. There's no way they even liked each other, but the thought still kinda made me giggle. We sat watching more Michael music videos until we heard my mother shout for us to come into the kitchen. My mother looked just like me in the face but we were polar opposites. It's hard to even guess we're related by our two personalities. Shania acted just like her father but in the face you could not even assume she's his daughter. He wore thin reading glasses and was incredibly tall. My mom was short like me and always wore pants suits to the office.
We walked in and saw her sticking in our candles, shania's father lighting them as she went along.
"I hope you guys like chocolate and buttercream....it's a little trick I learned from Pinterest."
She shut off the lights and the candles glow filled the room.
Also filling the room was the echo of Motown 25 playing from my room. Shan and I smiled looking at each other. Our parents began to sing the birthday song to us. We poked our heads around to my room and saw just a slimmer of my TV. Michael spun around and sang a verse of Billie Jean. We smiled wider and when they began to clap at the end of the song we returned our attention to the cake. "Now blow out the candles and make your wishes girls.." Shan's father said and we looked at each other, shrugging. We looked at the candles glow and blew out quickly. I wished for the same thing every year as Motown 25 boomed from my room. To go back in time sort of like and go back to see it. Live and in person. To experience the energy of the performance and to just be in Michael's presence. The smoke from the candles danced up towards the ceiling and our parents clapped again. We brought our cake and ice cream to my room, wanting to finish our extra hour of MTV. I didn't touch my slice though...I just sat and listened to Michael while staring out the window. Shan looked up from her plate and asked soft,
"What's the matter Dee...you look long in the face.."
I just kinda shook my head and remained quiet. After a minute or two I said, "Do you ever wish for something crazy on our birthday Shan? Something just ridiculous.."
She shrugged and pushed around her melting ice cream, "Sometimes.." she mumbled.
I turned my head to the window and told her,
"I wished to go back...all the way back."
"Back to where?" She asked turning towards me. I sat on the window sill, hanging my leg out to the fire escape and said, "Back to Michael...I mean, not even getting to meet him once is tearing me apart. I miss him so much...could you imagine being there for Motown 25? Being in that audience the first time Michael performed his signature move..the dance that made him infamous?"
She comes and sits on the other side of the window
"Dee..honey you're like this every year. Come on...but hey guess what.." I looked to her and she finishes,
"I wished for the same thing.." she says smiling wide.
My face lit up and I giggled loud out the window, "I swear were like telepathic twins."
She nodded and took our plates to the kitchen, stuffing a piece of icing in her face she mumbles, "I should probably be heading out...I'll see you tomorrow girl.."
I nodded and told her goodnight. I still sat on the window sill. This time my eyes were towards the sky. In a glimpse I saw a streak of incredible light shoot across the sky. I smirked and closed my eyes. I wished on the shooting star, making the same wish. Muttering soft I said to that streak of light, "I know this is stupid but please let me go back. This man means the world and more to me. Even just for one day, twenty four hours....please. I know you can't work miracles but that's the leap I'm taking here. Please..take me back.."
I looked around to make sure no one was around to judge me being silly and wishing on stars like a child. I looked up to the sky once more and then got up to shut my window. Locking the latch at the bottom. I turned off my TV and shed some layers getting ready for bed. I remember my head hitting my pillow, then turning to see my Michael 'Bad' album poster on the wall. I smiled and blew it a kiss. Especially glad no one was there to see that, for sure.
I fell asleep fast and let my mind dream of sparkly gloves and fedoras.