i was one of them

standing in the hallway of the record company
as if i were one of them

brief case over a shoulder purse (over a shoulder)
bags hanging from each finger of the other hand
i looked up the wee staircase toward a desk
on the landing that used to be a theatre stage
where jamie answered a ringing telephone

jamie looked down at me nodded his head put a hand in the air
sign language said hold up gotta take this call
i dropped the stuff hanging heavy on my body just off the plane
then turned on the stereo at my cozy desk
contentedly because i chose the new music we were all working on
i LIKED this stuff with our new producer FINALLY
i waited for jamie though he was going out to a dinner meeting
and it wasn't yet my turn to be involved with the roundtable of musicians

i looked up when jamie snapped his fingers
with an expansive smile and a hand over the phone he whispered spryly
it’s my kids you’ll love this they’re trading places and voices
imitating me on the phone
they’re playing with me you know as if i were one of them

well i did know what he meant
he and the kids talked fast
skipped around acting as if they were one of the humans
jamie and kids were on the same page
for me and for him it was the height of praise
when any of our magical young ones
acted as if we were one of them

the little record company caused such fun at dinners talking music
spaghetti in los angeles ginseng in the recording studio a beatle a taj mahal
consciously we set out to be one with the perks of our jobs and our kids
and so had we become perks for each other
it wasn't romantic it was idealistic the moment was cool
...
at first sight of my family's long-ago beach mansion
2 year old niece juliet squealed to my sister
“look mom we're a queen”
always we are one of them and likely share a perk