"The only wave that changes anything is a tsunami. You have to tear down houses and destroy the land if you want to be sure no one will forget you."

~The Power by Naomi Alderman

*

Friday, May 20th, 1983

Miami, California

Tsunami Records

"You came." Her voice was breathless, as if she could finally breathe again now that she knows I'm here. My tongue darted out, wetting my lips. My shoulder pushed off the wall, my legs walking towards her with ease. I took a hand out of my pocket to stroke her cheek with the back of it, the feel of her skin against mine felt like home.

"I came." I wasn't about to miss her unveiling her record company - something I had no idea was even in the works. Astoria never ceases to amaze me with her determination and abilities. "You're amazing. I had no idea..." I didn't need to even finish my sentence, she knows what I'm amazed by. Her. This. Everything. I glanced around the lobby where the main part of the party was being held, everything was dressed up in silver adornments and soft white lights. Brinley and Mary Anne had had a hand in all of this, clearly. Her lips stretched over her gums, revealing her gorgeous smile and clean teeth.

"Michael..." She began, but I wanted to talk.

"No, don't talk. Every time we have a moment to talk it seems we get into a fight, and I don't want to do that today or any day for that matter. Let's just..." I sighed happily. "Be together. Ok?" She nodded after biting her bottom lip and releasing it. Her eyes darted around briefly, searching, but then they came back to mine, glittering with love. My thumb stroked her cheek again, the need to kiss her becoming overwhelming. "I'm so proud of you." I whispered, making her cheeks flame in response.

"Oh, Michael... Permission to speak?" She asked me cheekily. I responded nonverbally so she could continued speaking as my thumb gently massaged the redness from her face. "Thank you," Astoria giggled slightly, "Um. Heh, I got the flowers you sent me..."

Ah! The flowers I sent her, yes, I remember. (And why wouldn't I? That was yesterday...) She doesn't like roses, I learned that after the first time I'd given her a bouquet - not that she was rude about it, because she wasn't. I remember her giving them a long sniff and looking a little disappointed with her bottom lip sticking out slightly, she'd tried to hide it from me but I asked and she explained... so I never bought her roses again. Instead, I'd sent her some ranunculus' that were mixed whites and pinks. Some of them had vivid greens towards the center of them; their petals are extremely delicate, you pinch one they'll wither for sure - the petal, I mean.

You see, there's this legend that comes with ranunculus... The story goes that a coyote was tossing his eyes up in the air and catching them repeatedly, but them an eagle swooped down, caught them and left. No longer having eyes, the coyote created his own out of a couple buttercup flowers. Thus the ranunculus was born, and the saying that comes from this story is, "I am dazzled by your charms". And boy, am I dazzled by her. Astoria knows this story too, she's the one who told me about it.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She confirmed quietly. Gosh, we were acting like a couple of love sick teenagers again, and I fucking love it. Except she was the shy one this time instead of myself, which was the case when we first went out back in the 70's. Someone walked past us, chattering with another. It made us both freeze, myself going to cover her as if we were doing something explicit, intimate. But we weren't, not yet anyway. I had plans for later however... I leaned back, giving her space once more after the group passed us by without a single concern. Her hands laid on my jacket lapels, feeling the thick gold stitching of my band jacket I'd had made recently.

"This is sexy." She commented. My hands found her hips under the black fabric of her outfit, the pads of my fingers touching against her skin-she wasn't wearing a proper shirt, just this overly lacy, decorative, black bra. A growl escaped me, surprising us both. Astoria giggled at me. "I guess you like my outfit, huh?"

"I like whatever you chose to put on this luscious body of yours. Even if you wore a potato sack, I'd still enjoy ripping it off."

"Hmm, someone's horny." My smirk turned into a found-out smile, she knows. I hummed, allowing my finger to run down her neck and over her jacket with all its adornments.

"You already know, baby." I growled once more. She blushed heavily.

"You need to stop," She let out a single laugh, "I should be mingling. I'm the head of a record company now, I have major responsibilities to adhere towards." I sighed, knowing this would be the end of our fun for the time being but then she surprised me. "But..." My eyes found hers.

"But, what?"

"But, maybe... you'd like to go home with me tonight?" Astoria's eyes couldn't meet mine, she's being so cute this evening. Her voice had became quiet too as her sentence continued towards it end.

"Yeah, I'd like that." One of my hands rubbed her back, lingering on the small of it and not wanting to leave. My tongue darted outwards to damped my dry lips as she finally looked up at me.

"Ok." She shrugged, "That's great then." Her hands patted my jacket, sliding along my shoulders as she leaned up on her tip-toes to kiss me sweetly. "I have to mingle now..." She turned us, making my back face the wall; her dainty hands slipped slowly through my own as she walked backwards, biting her lip. This woman right here... My head shook lightly from side to side. Thank you lord! Mm!

"Go mingle, I'll catch you later." I smiled with just my lips, walking her walk away and into the crowd.

Astoria

Brian and Nikki were lingering in a corner of the lobby, chatting to themselves. It took me by surprise - not once since we've begun working together have they truly taken a moment and communicated with each other. As I made my way to them the sounds of their voices found my ears and they immediately tuned in on their conversation.

"...wouldn't be a big deal. I mean,"

"Yeah. I'll admit I freaked out at first but we're good. I'm married and you have..."

"Paul." She told him, holding her drink close the her chest.

"Paul. That's right. Should meet him sometime shouldn't I?"

"If you want to." She shrugged, catching sight of me in her peripheral and stopping their conversation by turning my direction. "Ash! There you are!" Her arms were open to give me a hug, I leaned in.

"Hey. You guys doing alright?" Brian gave me a nod before taking a sip of his drink.

"Doin' good. The guys from Universal Music Group are here, have you had a chance to talk to them yet, Briggs?"I stared at him for a minute, wondering if I should talk to Universal. I know I should but I feel all light weight and airy, my mind is everywhere but in the game right now. Slowly my head shook back and forth as my eyes looked past Brian to stare at the patterned wallpaper. He sighed softly, putting a hand in his suit pants pocket. "You want me to talk to them?"

"Please." I spoke quietly. His strong hand patted me once on my shoulder before walking off. Brian didn't need me to tell him where I was mentally, he knew, or at least he has an idea. He's such a good friend, honestly. After another moment I turned to face Nikki, who was smirking in my general direction, her eyes looking me up and down knowingly.

"Michael's here, isn't he?" I rolled my eyes.

"Am I that much of an open book?" I asked her with a slightly frustrated sigh.

"We've just spent a lot of time together, that's probably what it is." Pause. "But I can tell you've missed him." My eyelids opened more. Nikki took a sip of her drink, one of her eyebrows raised.

"You know too much, Nikki Taylor." My whisper was falsely menacing, my smile giving me away for the softy I am.

"Or perhaps I know just enough?" We chuckled together before i got down to business.

"You four are ready for the set then? All prepped, instruments tuned, everything?"

"Everything and More."

I rolled my eyes once more at her, the use of the new song title as an answer only slightly annoying.

"Good."

Later - Michael

The party was nearing an end and the group called Nikki & The Flies looked to be tired from everything they'd been doing all night, but my eyes had lost sight of them earlier on in the evening. Earlier in the evening the group had debuted a new song as well as plans to drop another studio album later this year titled Everything & More. The album title was the song they played and I couldn't help but notice how it felt as though the lyrics seemed to outline Astoria and I's relationship to a T - but from her perspective - she must have written this song too, like Underground...

You know, I was wrong. It can be difficult to admit, but she's flourished with or without me and my opinion of the song I thought was dark- Well fuck, people love it. It's not just about a single song now, she manages a band - multiple bands now, correction - and now an entire record company. What a woman! I'm not entirely certain, but she might be the first woman to start her own successful record company... I'll need to look that up later.

"There you are!" Her familiar voice sounded form behind me, making me turn around. Astoria opened her arms to wrap them about my waist in a deep hug, I heard her breath in through her nose then breath out contently. A hum came rumbling from my chest as I stroked her hair with a hand, the other resting comfortably at the small of her back to keep her close.

"Here I am." We swayed slightly from side to side, just barely. The two of us stayed like that for a single blissful moment before she spoke again.

"Ready to go home?" That word: home. It made me think, it made my imagination run wild, it made me want more... but can I ask her for that? Is it too soon? We just got back together. Giving her a nod along with a smile seemed sufficient enough for her as she kept one of my hands in hers and led me out of Tsunami Records building. A limo was waiting, ready to take us to her place. I'll admit I don't remember the way to her condo - I wasn't paying attention.

It was a week later while we laid in her bed when she asked me to move in with her...

...And I said yes. It's safe to say that I do know how to get to our home, now.

Tuesday, June 21st, 1983

Woodland Hills, Cailfornia

6:47 PM

Looking out a window of my condo, I watched a limo pull in at the base of the private complex. A smirk spread across my face as I quickly pulled my cropped shirt over my head, grabbing my trusty leather jacket, the keys jangling in my hand while my sunglasses slipped up the bridge of my nose on the way out of my home. Michael had left my place yesterday. He had a fitting for some new clothes he was having made by a notable fashion designer, he wouldn't even let me see the sketches. No, you have to wait! I want you to be surprised. The sound of my feet rushing down the stairs of the expensive complex sounded in my ears, I could have taken the elevator but I didn't want to. I'm too excited. Finally turning the last corner, I saw the limo. Prince was standing up in through the sun roof, his hair a thick, curly waterfall on one side of his head.

He grinned once he saw me, waving a hand through the air making the gold pattern glint in contrast on his black jacket. "Get in bitch! We've got a concert to hit!" With one last smile he disappeared into the vehicle. I jogged the remainder of the way, my heavy combat boots hitting the asphalt in a crunchy thump. The metallic tinkle of my keys lightly found my senses, alerting me to their presence in my shredded, cut off jean shorts. Before I made it to the door it opened for me from the inside, allowing me to slide on in. The skin between my butt and upper thighs became exposed as I sat, sticking to the leather somewhat. The car door shut and we were off.

The ride there was wild. The back of the limo was full to burst and I didn't help things, but we all pre-gamed together. Bottles of champagne were passed around with sticky, wobbly hands. Some of the women from Prince's band were there with manicured nails, some glittery and others neon in color. My eyes looked down at my own plain nails, wondering if I should get them done too. Maybe not. I've kept them filed and trimmed, clean, they look fine.

"Pass me that bottle again, will you?" A buff man handed me one of the bottles of champagne. I took a swig, enjoying the slight burning sensation it gave to the back of my throat. Handing the bottle back I noticed the Purple Man himself eyeballing me, making an eyebrow raise the tissues of my face. "You need to take a picture, boi?" He shook his head, his eyes briefly closing.

"I just- You've got tits Briggs, I never noticed." I made a face, my lips puckering.

"Whaaaaat?" I chuckled sarcastically, "How did you not notice? They're fucking huge." I sat up straight, grabbing them and giving my breasts a little jiggle - that always drove Michael nuts. His discovery genuinely surprised me, we'd spent about two months together touring and he never noticed. Not that I expected him to ogle my breasts all the time, I hid them quite well. While growing up that was just another thing I had to do in order to "get with the program", modesty is everything for a woman, Astoria. My grandmother's voice invaded my head against my wishes. I'm a grown woman. I have sex, I have a boyfriend, I have a job, and I own my own company. I can show off my tits if I want to! Prince made a face and held up a hand in my general direction.

"If you value my sanity, you won't do that again." My eyebrow raise. "Please." I know my faded red crop-top showed them off a bit more then usual, but this was ridiculous.

"Are you that flustered?" I asked him, being cheeky. We glared at each other for a minute. "Ok, ok. I'll stop shaking my chest in front of you; however," I leaned my back against the dark leather interior of the seat. "You gotta tell me why you refuse to flirt with me." My arms crossed across my chest and I noticed his eyes flicker down to them and back up to meet my eyes, glinting with mischief. Prince leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. One hand smoothly lowered his round, mirrored sunglasses so we could see eye to eye.

"We have flirted. Although, not as much as I normally would I'll admit." He offered. His form glittered under the false lighting, the fabrics of his outfit glinting softly as they moved with his body with every bump the car ride provided. My eyes must have lingered a bit too long for his liking because he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. My eyes found his once more.

"Sorry." Muttering, I glanced at my feet.

"See! It's shit like that. Just when I think I've got you pinned down, you act shy, or you do something completely spontaneous that takes me off guard. You-" He stopped himself and I was left wondering as to what he might say, and I wasn't about to press him on it either. You can ask him a lot of things but if he didn't want to speak, then he most certainly wasn't going to. I twiddled my thumbs in my lap, now sitting properly as I felt the uncomfortable sensation of my skin adhering to the leather, for certain this time.

"It's because of Michael, isn't it?" I asked quietly, and somehow he heard this comment over the roar of people that surrounded us. He looked away, pushing those round sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Even when you two weren't dating when I first met you, you were still his. That's not something that changes easily." I squinted at him, taking in his words as I glanced away. Just then a woman with long nails bumped into me in excitement - she was sitting next to me so it wasn't that surprising it happened. She quickly apologized and went back to what she was previously doing. Prince let out a sigh, his hands now on his lithe knees. "Anyway, I'm glad you still were able to come with."

"Thank you asking me, P." I gave him a friendly grin, he chuckled lowly.

"P?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm gonna call you. 'P'. It works as a shortened version of your multiple names, Prince, the Purple One, the Prince of Funk, ect... You're royalty, boy-o!" Merry laughter wracked my being and soon Prince began to laugh with me, the song in the limo changed making all the hot bodies in the vehicle begin to groove along. Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry was blaring through the speakers, a funky jam indeed. Prince pretended to be the lead of the song, dancing suggestively in his seat and then up on his knees. He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the way to him so we could dance together as he faked singing; I already knew today was going to be a great day, but this moment made me all that much more sure.

We made it to the Beverly Theater in Hollywood, California just in time to be seated for the concert. Big Chick offered to let me piggy-back ride him, so that's exactly what I did as Prince rode on the back of another one of his security guards that was with us. We were one huge posse of people, it's insane. Three security guards, Prince, myself, all the members of The Revolution came with too... that's five more people, and two other women Prince currently was playing around with so... We're a group of 12. Big Chick let me slide off his back and my boots hit the floor with a dull thud.

The theater was filled to the brim, absolutely full to burst with heated bodies ready to move to some James Brown soul. I'm one of these bodies, I thought a feeling of disbelief running through my being. Soon the lights went down and the band came out, the stage lights lit up and after a short but sweet intro, out came James Brown himself. The crowd screamed - it wasn't quite as wild as the crowds for Nikki & the Flies got, but still it shook the building - everyone who was here, was here for Soul Brother Number One. No one was sitting down, at all, I'm not exaggerating. It was only halfway through his third song I found myself scanning the crowd for Michael, wondering where he might be.

Two thirds of the way through the show a sweaty James slowed it down as the band played in the background, talking to the crowd.

"Thank you... Right now, we're gonna get it hot before we call him. He said don't do it, but I got to do it." He chuckled, smiling into the microphone. "I got to say it anyway; we got another fantastic people for you - he's too much to be a person, he's a people - cause he's so beautiful and I love him for so many years... A young man I watched grow and grow! Like I said, audience he was so beautiful sometimes you have to jump back and kiss yourself and count your blessings each and every day - let it keep happening." He seemed to be going off on a tangent now, but the crowd was polite - this is James Brown we're talking about here. James continued, sweaty and into the mic.

"I got a new inspiration and new motivation because I just- I just- somethings happen to make you feel good. If you will ladies and gentlemen, very quiet and very humble and very meek and just beautiful and just full of talent - it's running out his ears - he and his whole family. If you will, let's give another standing ovation for the young man sitting behind you that you have no idea who's in the audience, MICHAEL JACKSON! MICHAEL JACKSON! MICHAEL JACKSON!" The