"Happy birthday, Maia!"
The overwhelming feeling of love pulled on Michael's heartstrings at simultaneously uttering the exciting statement with his wife. They both watched as their daughter stood up in her crib, using the railing for extra support as she bounced in her excitement. She smiled brightly, her newly-growing teeth shining through.
For the past three years, the couple had been living in nothing but pure ecstasy. The groundbreaking success of Off The Wall led Michael to begin the process of creating his second album; Thriller, which he was grateful to be releasing later that year. It'd also been a time to watch his daughter grow into the perfect morph of him and the love of his life. He almost couldn't believe the position he'd been in before Celeste changed all of that.
Celeste smiled at Maia, kissing the curls on the top of her head. "How does it feel to finally be three?" she asked her enthusiastically.
"Gweat!" Maia answered in a high-pitched voice. "I'm a big girl now!"
"You sure are, Princess!" Michael responded joyfully as he picked her up out of the crib before letting her rest on his hip. "Are you ready to have a great day today?"
Maia nodded eagerly. "More than ready!" she squealed as she clapped her hands together in delight.
With that, Michael and Celeste proceeded to get their daughter ready for her special day. They'd waited much too long for this day, yet dreading it at the same time, as they had to acknowledge the fact that there was no way of stopping their pride and joy from growing up. Nevertheless, they continued to push away the overwhelming emotions that threatened to release themselves.
Once all of their necessary tasks were completed, the three of them headed for the kitchen, and there awaited the first of many birthday surprises for Maia.
"Okay, Maia, are you ready for your first birthday surprise?" Michael questioned, his excitement mirroring the innocent child's in front of him.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Maia couldn't help the squeals of glee from escaping her lips, and with her words ringing in Michael's ears, he walked towards to fridge as he opened it to reveal her surprise. The slice of cake that he held tightly in his grasp caused Maia's jaw to nearly drop on the table beneath her as he set on neatly in front of her before taking a seat himself. "Cake for bweakfast?"
Celeste sat down in the chair across from her. "Well, of course!" she exclaimed. "Only the best for our birthday girl!" Her words caused Maia to blush deeply—a trait that'd definitely come from Michael—and before Celeste could utter another word, Maia's tiny fingers were already searching the delicious treat. "Slow down there!" She then signaled for Michael to reach for the Polaroid camera he'd kept at his side. "It's picture time."
Michael took his cue to grab the camera out of its bag, preparing to capture what would soon be a lifelong memory he'd replay in his mind over and over again. He held it up to his eye as he smiled graciously, and had it returned by their precious child. "Say 'cheese'!"
"Cheeeeese!" Maia shined a dramatic smile at the camera, which caused Michael and Celeste to laugh heartily with each other.
For the remaining amount of time, the three of them simply enjoyed their time together, and Michael felt at peace at the sight of his two girls interacting with each other in such a way that made his heart dance repeatedly. He knew that he'd have his heartstrings pulled on many more times throughout the day, and the thought of that caused his lips to curl into a smile he couldn't hide.
***
An overwhelming rush of excitement was the only thing going through Michael and Celeste as they each held one of Maia's hands, opening the gates to the Amusement Park they'd reserved her birthday party at. They'd closed it down to the general public, as Michael's ever-growing fame continued increasing rapidly, which he didn't know how to handle at times.
Closing the gates in front of them started it all. The purity, the wonderment, the magic. Michael almost felt like a child again himself at the sight of his surroundings, and what made his heart grow ever bigger was his gaze casting down to see his daughter's expression mirroring his. He almost felt as if he was able to live vicariously through her.
They soon caught sight of their first guests that were already waiting for them near the gates, and a vibrant Maia quickly let go of her parents' hands to greet some of her favorite family members.
"Maia, slow down!" Celeste called out in a panic, attempting to run after her, but feeling Michael's hand gently pull her back as he gave her a reassuring look eased her nerves.
Despite Celeste's continuous protecting, Maia continued in the direction she was going in until she reached Janet's arms. "Auntie Janet!" she squealed happily.
"My favorite girl!" Janet greeted her enthusiastically, tightly embracing her niece with an equal amount of force.
"That's how it is, huh?" Randy gasped dramatically, putting a hand over his chest for dramatic effect. "You're gonna greet her first?"
Janet released her embrace with Maia to stand up and slap Randy's arm playfully. "It's okay, Uncle Randy," Maia assured him. "I love you just as much."
"Ah, I know you do!" Randy then lifted Maia off of the ground as he swung her around, hearing the joyous noises of laughter falling from her lips. "How old are you now?" he asked, setting her down carefully. "Like, twenty-three?"
Before Maia could answer, a frantic Celeste was catching up to them as Michael trailed behind her, unable to stop the chuckles that fell from his lips at Celeste's protective instincts. "You're a lot faster than I remember," she stated, causing all of them to let out sounds of laughter.
Soon, they all made their way further inside as they awaited the arrival of more guests, and soon enough, the park began getting fuller and fuller by the minute. Although Michael and Celeste were starting to stress themselves out with nonstop preparations, that all slowly faded away any time they looked over at their daughter, just to see her creating memories that they knew would play themselves repeatedly in their minds.
With no time to waste, the couple hastily prepared for the next activity, ensuring that all of the required materials were in hand. They then gathered everyone to the area, where a brightly-colored piñata was hanging from a tree branch.
"Okay, everyone," Michael announced, raising his voice just a bit to make sure that he was audible enough. "Now, it's time for the piñata, in which Maia will hopefully be able to successfully reveal all of the treats hidden inside."
As the words fell from Michael's lips, all of the smaller children's faces started beaming with excitement, which filled his heart immensely at seeing how joyful they'd become. He then held his hand out for Maia to grab as Celeste began tying a blindfold over her eyes.
Once the blindfold was tightly secured, Maia was handed the piñata stick to begin swinging with all of her might. She continued going as fast as she could, despite Randy continuing to pull it up further.
"You got it, girl!" Janet shouted out in encouragement to Maia. "Knock that piñata down!"
Maia used the words of encouragement Janet had to offer as fuel before using every last bit of the strength in her tiny arms at the right moment, which caused the piñata to burst open as it fell off of the tree branch, revealing all of the promising treats.
Within seconds, each child was rushing over to pick up as many pieces of candy as they possibly could into their goody bags. In their protective nature, Michael and Celeste hurried over to help Maia take off her blindfold quickly, not wishing to see her get trampled by the amount of young children coming her way.
***
It was after Amusement Park rides and many more activities later that everyone was seated around the large table to begin singing the traditional birthday song to Maia. Michael and Celeste had made sure to tie a variety of balloons to Maia's seat, making it extra clear that it was her day. They'd lit the few candles that graced the cake, Michael getting the video camera out of its bag to capture this moment.
"One, two, three!" Michael counted off before starting to record. "Happy birthday to you!" Everyone soon joined in. "Happy birthday to you!" The more everyone sang, the redder Maia's cheeks became. "Happy birthday, dear Maia!" Michael and Celeste looked over at each other as they sang, their gazes saying everything that words couldn't. "Happy birthday to you!"
Sounds of clapping sounded just as the song ended, and Maia wasted no time before blowing her candles out proudly. She watched as her parents made their way over to either side of her, covering her cheeks with soft kisses, and much to their surprise, she'd reached over to get enough frosting on her finger to smear it on both of their noses, hearing them feign gasps as they did the same thing.
The rest of the party was spent socializing with the last of the guests before they bid them farewell, cleaning up any messes that were left behind, and continuing to create the most memorable day possible. In a short matter of time, everything was taken care of, and Michael, Celeste, and Maia took a walk around the park before seeing the thing that caused Michael and Maia to instantly look at each other.
"Do you see what that is, Maia?" Michael questioned, not trying to hide his evident excitement.
Maia's tiny hands clapped in delight. "A carousel!" she exclaimed with glee.
Celeste gasped. "I can't believe we haven't seen that all day," she said in disbelief. "There's only one thing to do now, you know...ride it!"
With the words barely escaping Celeste's lips, the three of them were practically sprinting to where the carousel was. Once they'd reached it, Michael and Maia stepped on to find a horse they'd be able to share as Celeste headed over to the control panels to start the ride. She was able to hop on quickly to where Maia was sitting in front of Michael as he played with her small curls from behind.
Celeste then took a hold of the golden bar on top of the horse to ensure that she had the extra support she needed before caressing Maia's cheek lovingly. "We hope that you've had a great day, Princess," she murmured softly.
Maia gave a smile, her small, front teeth poking out. "It was more than gweat; it was the best."
"And we're so glad that we were able to give you that, baby," Michael stated honestly as he continued to twist her curls between his fingers, which brought him peacefulness.
The more the carousel continued to slowly move along, the more sleepy Maia became from a long day of excitement, and so to keep her in her restful state, Michael began doing what he did best: sing. "She's from a world of popcorn and candy, pony rides for a dime, little children laughing." Michael felt Maia's head beginning to nestle up into him, and he soon turned her around to fully face him, making sure she was comfortable enough as he continued singing. "I lost my heart on the carousel to a circus girl, who left my heart in pieces." He continued to sing heartily until he completed the song, and he knew that he'd successfully been able to keep his daughter asleep.
Michael turned over to look at Celeste, whose gaze was filled to the brim with happy tears from the interaction the two loves of her life had just shared. "Oh, baby, don't cry," he cooed to her.
"I can't help it," Celeste gigged through the few tears that'd managed to fall from her eyes. "Even after all of these years, I don't think I'll ever be able to properly express how proud I am of you."
"Cel..." Michael trailed off, using the nickname he'd given her all of those years ago. "It wouldn't have been possible without you."
Celeste shook her head. "Give yourself some credit, too," she scolded him softly. "I simply guided you, but you're the one that made it happen."
Michael couldn't help but smile at that. It was true; he'd overcame every obstacle life had thrown at him, and looking at who was sleeping in his arms made him fully realize that. He wouldn't have been in the position he was in, had it not been for the therapist that guided him through the pins and needles of life all of those years ago.
***
That's it—that has been Pins & Needles, guys. I can't believe it's officially the end, quite honestly. As I've mentioned, this has been my favorite book I've ever written thus far, and I can't thank each and every one of you for continuously giving me the motivation I needed while writing this book. This has been an experience I'll cherish forever. I love each of you so very much, and thank you for always staying loyal, no matter what.