Prologue: Purple Rain

Explanation

I was walking down the street in the city, wiping the tears from my face. I had out ran David, which wasn't that hard. I couldn't recognize where I was but I just needed to be alone with my thoughts. I was feeling horrible, Prince kicked me out for Vanity and Michael is all cuddled up with this Brooke Shields chick at a party.

I looked up and across the street, and a sigh of hope came out. It was a strip mall salon called "Beauty Oasis". I immediately ran across the street, almost being hit by a car process.

It was a more downscale, blue-collar salon, than the one I just left. It only had five hair chairs and two manicure stations. It was filled with old ladies and young waitresses getting perms, haircuts, and dye jobs.

I ran over to the first station I could get too and sank into the chair. It belonged to a girl named Vivian at least that's what it said on her name tag. She had to be in her early 40s, big black hair and bright hazel eyes. She wasn't plus sized but she was curvier than most white girls. She was writing in a notebook before she looks up at me with a harsh look and they softened when she noticed my eyes were full of tears and that's when she dropped everything.

"Bad day sweetheart." Her voice was kind of nasally, she has to be from Queens, New York I knew that accent anywhere.

"You can't even imagine." I sniffed and she grabbed my hands and dipped them into a dish of soapy water and started massaging them.

"Spill." she said pouring some sort of oil that she pulled out of her purse on my hands, which made them tingle but it soothed me a bit.

"I worked really hard all of the time ok. My career is very important to me. My friend Hannah convinced me to blow off career for a bullshit vacation. That's done nothing but stress me out. I am stressed out beyond belief, I can barely sleep, my hair is falling out, I became friends with a guy named Prince and all he did was kick me to the side when his girlfriend Vanity came around. My boyfriend and me are most likely never getting back together, he cheated on me and got a girl pregnant. We made up and fell out again! And now he's probably dating this awful girl Brooke... so this vacation was all for nothing! Because I'm more stressed now than before I left for it and I wish..." I sniffed."I wish I'd never even come to Minneapolis."

"And is the baby his?" She said drying my hands and starting file my nails.

"I don't know" I shrugged and she shook her head at me. "Well, what am I supposed to do?  Knowing him they're gonna get engaged. His family is very strict on their religious beliefs and she's gonna have the family six-carat princess cut diamond ring on her bony, unpolished finger." I sighed heavy. Vivian shrugged at me.

"You're asking the wrong girl. I'm with my guy eight years and then one day it's "I met someone else. Move out."" I gasped.

"What'd you do."

"Cried a lot and gained twenty pounds. Scott kept the apartment and my precious baby Cinnamon. I didn't get shit." She picked up a picture of the cutest teacup Yorkshire terrier. "I didn't even get to throw her a first birthday party."

"No!" I said in disbelief.

"What could I do?" She shrugged and started painting left hand. "He was a big shot musician and a man who followed his dick to greener pastures. I'm a middle aged high school dropout with stretch marks and a fat ass. Happens every day. At least to women like me."

"That's awful."

"So what's this Vanity got that you don't three tits? Your cute as can be, just a little babydoll. "

"Thank you...Well she's from Niagara Falls and she's lead for one of side projects."

"Is she as pretty as you?" She said blowing on my nails.

"She's gorgeous..."

"She must be a bitch." she said as she placed my hand back on the table.

"Big time." I replied almost immediately. She rolled her eyes and shook a bottle of clear nails polish. Then started going over my nails.

"She needs more of the mascara and less of the eyeliner and could use some..... seriously use some manner lessons. But other than that, she's a bombshell. But it's not like It's not even like I like him, he's my friend and the fact that he kicked me out...." I shook my head remembering that day.

"Well maybe he-" She was cut off by a delivery guy walking in.

"Hello ladies..." Vivian's head shoots up and I turn around also to see a tall strapping hunk of a man. Dark hair and dark eyes. He had to be in his late 30's . I looked back at Viv and she was fluffing her hair. Then he came over.

"I got a package for you." His voice low and husky. She smiled leaning over and ended up knocking over a bottle of nail polish in the process. She tried to ignore it and signs the package with the biggest smile on her face.

"See ya later." And he left. Vivian watched him the entire way out the door.

"Dammit!!!" she blurted out and started cleaning up the polish. "So are you sure this boyfriend of yours is the one?"

"I love him I know that much after all of this I do still love him but my God I don't know how we're gonna fix this or if it can be fixed"

"And this friend of yours ehhh....Prince. I think you still care about him..... because you wouldn't be this upset if you didn't care." She said trying to scratch the polish residue off the table.

"I guess" I shrugged. She finished my nails and I paid her.

"Wait" she called after me. I came back over to her station and she slid me a notebook. "I'm a huge fan." and she smiled at me. I smiled and shook my head.

I gave her my autograph and left. As I was walking I started to recognize where I was slowly, I turned to the right and I was at the cafe Prince took me to that day he kidnapped me. I walked further along and I saw the farmers market me and Prince were in that day when I waved to him for the first time.

Shoppers flooded the sidewalks, people were rushing towards the buses that took them home. Street traffic was clogged at the 77 intersection so I walked to the park nearby and sat on the bench. As soon as I took a seat I looked up and see Prince riding down the street, hugging the right shoulder of the road gliding through the car pileup . He looks up and met my eyes, which caused him blasts down a side street and pass me. Hmm. Guess I had my answer.

I had been sitting on the park bench for a couple of hours. and the sun was setting. The kids and their parents were leaving, a couple of them came up and talked to me. A good thing about this city is that I could be recognized and not be mobbed. The dog owners gathered their pups and left. Soon, it was me in the park alone.

"Hey this seat taken." a deep voice said and my head shot up. Knowing exactly who it is was. I met his eyes and he had a smile on his face but I looked away.

"No...ok" he answered himself and sat down but I scooted over to the very end of the bench.

"You left this at my place." He reached around me and held out my Chanel earring in my face, I snatched it and crossed my arms again. It fell quiet between us but he persisted on having a conversation.

"Silent treatment again huh?" he said and I still didn't respond. I didn't even turn in his directions.

"Look I know you don't have anything to say to me, but at least hear me out, please." I turned around and looked at him.

"You have five minutes..."