AMELIA
"No James. That's not the plan to be followed I thought we already discussed this," I yell against my phone as frustration starts to consume me. The contractor for Michael's home followed the wrong plans that can pose a serious problem in the future. Now I have to go there and check the amount of damage done.
"Okay, just stop building that part of the house and move onto the other side. I'll come by as soon as I can," I explained as calmly as I can and hanged up.
"Woah, chill girl. What happened?" Jaz asked as she takes her plate to the sink. She came over because she wants to spend the night here so we can get ready together for the Jones' party tomorrow evening.
"There's a problem at Michael's property." I said and let an exasperated sigh.
"Big?" she turned to me and raised her brows.
"I still don't know yet, he won't tell me. I guess I have to go there tomorrow before going to the party," I walked towards the table to finish my food.
"Just make sure to be back before we get ready. We need to be early there, you know to do a final check,"
"I'll just leave early. I promise to be here after lunch," I look at her as she leans against the kitchen counter.
"You better be. Now, what are you going to wear?" She giddily asked.
"I honestly don't know Jaz. I'll probably wear one of my office dresses," I shrugged as I pick up a slice of pizza.
"And look like you're attending a business meeting? I ain't going to let you," she said with sass and confidence as she grabs my wrist and drags me out of the kitchen. We were on the way to my bedroom and we pass numerous flowers in their different sized vases that Michael sent over after we had that phone call last week.
We haven't talked since then, maybe because he's busy with his tour. I must admit, I kind of miss him and hearing his voice. Sometimes I hear him singing inside my head. As the night falls quiet, his voice loudly serenades me. But I don't know what to believe or to follow; do I follow the heart that yearns for something more with him? Or the heart that I need in order to survive?
Jaz crouched down to the bag that she brought over that contains clothes, shoes, and make-up to the brim.
"We're going to a wedding anniversary party, and I refuse to be seen with you wearing something..." she analyzed me from head to toe.
"Something what?" I questioned her.
"Blah," she continued and I gasped jokingly.
"Now that's rude. I don't even have a formal dress to wear," I whined.
"See. I knew you don't have any, that's why I brought a couple of extra," she rummages her bag, taking the contents and handing them to me one by one.
"Now let's just find the right dress for you," she told herself as I look over her getting busy with options.
"Did Peggy tell you anything about dress codes?" she asked.
"No, she didn't. Why?"
"Good, so we can wear anything without thinking of the color," she chirped and laid out the dresses on the bed. There are different colors and patterns with different lengths. She bought two short dresses which we tossed out since it just runs above our knee, which we find inappropriate. We also ruled out the deep necklines. I don't know why she brought those.
"Mia! This will fit you!" she handed me a long red velvet dress with thick straps.
"Don't you think this is a little too much?" I timidly asked her.
"What? This is the simplest dress out of all the ones I brought," she said.
"Red is such an attention stealer, Jaz. And it has a slit on the side!" I pointed.
"It's nothing, Mia. It's there for a reason. If you're not going to wear it, then I will," she said as she began to reach for the dress in my hand that I quickly retract.
"Go find yours in your pile. I'm gonna find matching shoes for this," I said as I walk towards my closet.
"I knew you're gonna wear it," she smirked at me and proceeded in looking for a dress to wear.
---
As the night deepens and hours pass of deciding what to wear, Jaz and I settled on the bedroom floor with a big tub of ice cream.
"So what now?" she asked me as she scoops from the tub.
"Huh?"
"The thing between you and M," she side-eyed.
"I don't know anymore Jaz. Everything is so confusing," I said as I grab the spoon and shove it into the ice cream.
"Well not to me,"
"What do you mean?"
"Mia, it's clear as day that Michael likes you. He ain't going to send a dozen flowers a day if he doesn't," she said and faced me.
"Really, Jaz? That's your basis?" I raised a brow at her.
"Look, all I know is he's sincere. I doubt that engagement the moment I read it,"
"How so?"
"They don't look engaged to me when we're having dinner at his house. All of us, including him were uneasy because of her cheesy actions," Looking back, I think she's right. But I'm too caught up with my emotions that night that I forgot to read the room.
"That doesn't change the fact that he's still engaged, Jaz." I sighed as I dug onto the ice cream again. She stayed quiet for a minute and stared at me.
"What? Is there something on my face?"
"Yes there is. There are a few lies on the corner of your lips, right here," she said as she grabs a napkin and wiped an imaginary mess on my face.
"Wha- Jaz stop," I said with a giggle.
"What? It's true! You're lying to me and to yourself. We both know you like Michael so what are you afraid of?"
I heavily sighed because I definitely know the answer to that.
"My heart, Jaz." I faced her with hurt written on my face.
"I don't know if I can take the gravity of his name. I'm afraid that if I do let him in, my heart can't take it," I worried.
"Don't you think you're depriving yourself from being truly happy? The way I see, I think this is the time, I can tell that Michael is serious about you," she assured me.
"But what if-"
"Mia, there will always be what if's. But if you try to answer them all, you'll lose a lot of time instead of dedicating it to something much more important," I looked at her with uncertainty.
"I know it's scary, and you're taking a leap of faith here. But you'll never know unless you try. I'm confident that Michael will take good care of you. Just give him a chance," she said and hugged me with much comfort.
Maybe this is the right time for me to stop being afraid and take a risk. It's scary to do but she's right, I'll never know unless I try and be open to him. I just hope that if I throw all of this uncertainty away, it won't bother my heart again. The last thing I want to be in is lying on a hospital bed for having an attack.
We stopped eating when we realized it's already midnight. I put the ice cream back to the freezer and went back the bedroom only to find Jaz already snuggled under my blankets. I joined her and said goodnight and rest and face yet another stressful day tomorrow.
---
-the next day-
I woke up before the break of dawn because I have to go and drive for two hours from my apartment to Michael's property. No one knows how big of a problem this is so I need to buy some extra time before driving out again and get ready for tonight.
I quickly made myself some coffee and wrote Jaz a note and I placed where it's visible. She told me that she's going to the office to get something before we start fixing ourselves for the party.
After emptying my mug, I dashed out the door and locked it securely and drove my car. The sun begins to peep out from the horizon as colors of blue and hints of orange painted the sky. I managed to keep myself occupied for a good amount of time as I listen to the car radio softly playing.
This next ballad has swooned millions of hearts from all over the world. The track charted number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first track of five singles to hit number one from the album Bad. Here is Michael Jackson featuring Siedah Garret in I Just Can't Stop Loving You.
My heart skipped a beat when the radio jock mentioned his name. His voices quickly filled the void spaces of my car as my mind transports back to when I heard him sing this live at rehearsals, the same day I found out about Brooke. I don't know whether to be happy that somehow I got to hear his voice, or to be sad at the scene that associated it.
Before I get overwhelmed, I quickly turned off the radio and drive in silence until I get to the property.
I pulled up to the gates and saw the workers already. Some are digging, others are carrying wood planks and metal sheets. I parked at the usual spot and hopped out of my car.
I grabbed a hard hat and made my way to the area of the main house where the mishap was supposed to be. I searched for James, the contractor and supervisor of the construction, but he's no where to be found.
"Hey, excuse me. Have you seen James? Your boss?" I asked a worker walking by.
"I think I saw him talking to someone. He should be here somewhere miss," he politely replied.
"Thank you,"
I waited for him outside of the construction area and went to the side where the shade is since the sun is already cascading over the property. I scanned around in hopes of finding James when something caught me eye. It was James but he's talking to someone who's stance was rather familiar. I tried to take a closer look, squinting my eyes in the process but the sun is too blinding and they're far away.
I decided to give up and just wait for him to finish. I saw the worker I asked earlier approaching James and pointed the area where I'm at. The person he's talking to also turned around but I didn't see the face because it was shielded by an umbrella. James saw me and quickly dismissed their conversation and walked over to me.
"Hey Amelia, I didn't know you'd come so early," he said as he approached me.
"Yeah I have an agenda later tonight and I need to go there early," I paused and pointed at the man quickly disappeared. "Who's that?" I pointed at his direction.
"Oh-uh- that's uh- one of my colleagues who dropped by," he nervously laughed.
"Oh. Well, could you show me the damage please? My time is precious today," I said and we walked back in again on the main house.
After looking over the area damaged and the associated plans for it, the problem wasn't as big as I thought it would be. The workers grabbed a different plan and installed the floorboards in the wrong direction. It could be fixed immediately but it would take some time because they've already installed half of the floor.
We've discussed the approach we can do in fixing the matter and we finished in less than an hour. Good thing though since I promised to be home as early as I can.
I said my goodbyes to James exited the area to get out of the way for them to work properly. As I was walking back to my car, James' assistant approached me with an item in her hand.
"Ms. Johnson!" she called my name.
"Hey, Rose. What's the matter? Is something wrong again on the construction?" I replied to her and started to walk back to the area when she stopped me at my tracks.
"No, no there's nothing wrong. Someone wants to give you this," She handed me a brown bag and a wave of deja vu hit me. She's just like the lady at the front desk of the hotel who also handed me a similar brown bag.
"From who?" Please tell me I'm thinking of the wrong person.
"He didn't say his name. All he asked me to do is to give it to you," she handed me the bag and I slowly took it.
"How did strangers got inside of the property? The perimeter is heightened with security," I questioned her.
"Well maybe that person had the permission from the owner to have access inside the property," she said and shrugged.
"But-"
"I have to go back to work, Ms Johnson. Duty calls. Drive safe!" she said as she waves and starts running towards the construction site.
My attention went back to the brown bag I'm holding and immediately opened it. I scanned around the property as if I'm trying to find the person who's not even there.
As my eyes check the vast land, all I saw were workers maneuvering heavy equipment. I curiously took the box out which was inside the bag that's warm to the touch and it had a note sticked on top of it. I opened the box and it was a freshly baked mini apple pie. My breath hitched as I read the note that took me to the dream I once had and confirmed my assumption.
You look beautiful as always, my angel.
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a/n: Thank you for the 5k reads 🥺 I love y'all! Let me know what you guys think in the comments. ✨