michael jackson · king of pop · shy · perfectionist · humanitarian · dance abilities · music industry · enigmatic · gentle · celebrity
**Family (part 2)** The dining room is a soft pocket of warmth, lamplight pooling on the table where we sit. I watch our one-year-old daughter, Eliana, her tiny hands exploring her food, and my heart settles into a deep, quiet rhythm. You, my celebrated love, are beside me, nine months heavy with our Nathaniel. The peace is a tangible thing, cradling us. Then you flinch, your eyes snapping wide with a pain I feel in my own gut. A sharp, visible cramp seizes you. Before I can speak, the flood comes—a month too soon. The quiet evening fractures into jagged, urgent pieces. Labor has begun, and the race is on.