After the Dance: My Life With Marvin Gaye Read Online Free

four-year-old twins, Kiefer and Rachel, at their luxurious Beverly Hills home. Bryant came along to help. Diana Ross lived around the corner and her brother Chico became my friend. So did Burt Lancaster’s daughter Susan, who, in the midst of her rebellion against her bourgeois parents, actually came to live with Mom and me for a while. She took us to her father’s luxurious house in Malibu to go swimming. But Susan seemed happier in our hood. She loved our inner-city alternative culture.
    This was all heady stuff: me discovering this new and different Marvin Gaye singing about the mercy of Jesus in his “God Is Love” while moving between the worlds of my mom and dad and the super-rich Hollywood movie stars.
    Mom had moved up a bit herself. She found a job in the office of a successful attorney I’ll call Luke. As was often the case with Mom, boundaries were blurred between work and play. I never knew if Mom and Luke were lovers. But they were certainly friendly enough for Luke to invite Mom for an afternoon swim one Sunday. Mom was insistent that I come along.
    “I want you to have a great time, sweetheart,” said Mom as we drove into the rarefied atmosphere of Mulholland Drive. “But be polite. And if you do speak, don’t be fresh.”
    “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll be cool. I just wanna go swimming.”
    We pulled up to a grand estate at the top of a hill. In the driveway were statues of nymphs dancing around cascading fountains. A maid answered the door and led us through the house to the pool. There was a marble staircase, plush white carpeting, and enormous abstract paintings on the wall. Outside, the party was in full swing.Twenty or so guests were milling about. Mom went over to say hello to two white men in bathing suits who were seated in lounge chairs. They immediately got up to greet us.
    Luke, the host, was in his forties. Slight of build, he wore a black toupee and spoke with a thick New York accent. He kissed Barbara on the cheek before looking me over. He liked what he saw. So did his friend whom he introduced as Big Jack—not his real name—a potbellied man with dark eyes and a hairy chest. He stood over six feet and wore a gold Star of David around his neck.
    “We have food and drink,” said Luke, pointing to a serving table piled high with shrimp, lobster, and bottles of champagne. “We also have other refreshments.”
    “I’ll take the other refreshments,” said Mom as Luke handed her a joint.
    “If you’d like to change into your swimming suit,” Luke told me, “there’s a cabana on the other side of the pool.”
    Walking to the cabana, I stopped to take in the view. A thick layer of brown smog covered the city below.
    This is what it means to be rich , I thought. You leave the dirt behind. You rise above the smog.
    I changed quickly. Putting on my two-piece cobalt-blue bikini, I was aware of the effect it was sure to have on Luke and Big Jack. I knew that my body would be carefully scrutinized. I knew that my physical attributes would be appreciated. I understood that, at least for a few minutes, I would be the focus of attention. I would be the star of this small party.
    Walking back to where the adults had assembled, I saw that, after sharing a joint together, the trio had moved on to cocaine. A half dozen thick lines had been laid out on a glass table. As soon as I appeared, though, the snorting stopped. The men looked up at me and broke out into smiles. Mom smiled as well.
    In a Lolita-like moment, I felt both shy and excited. I thoughtabout taking off my top. Mom would have had no objections. She had always let me do whatever I wanted.
    I recognized the power of my blooming sexuality. I wanted to feel that power even more fully. I wanted to thrill these men.
    The longer the argument inside my head went on, the more the drama built, the more intensely the men scrutinized my body. I decided to seize the moment and give them what they wanted. I got in the pool and took off