The Dance

*31*

The next hurdle for Emma was Thanksgiving. Prince's family had been cordial, but not exactly open to her. She was hoping getting to spend some time on their turf would warm things up.

She had reached out to Tyka to see what she could bring. Dessert was suggested, so Emma volunteered to bring a pie. She offered to bring more, but wasn't met with very much enthusiasm, so she left it at that.

Thanksgiving day, Emma came out of her dressing area in a camel cashmere sweater and black pants, with flat heeled boots and a colorful scarf that included violet, to coordinate with Prince's gifts of jewelry.

Prince came out of his dressing area in a bulky black and white striped white sweater and black pants, with his typical black suede wedge heeled shoes on. For him, he looked very conservative. Looking over the top of his glasses, he said, 'I don't remember that sweater or scarf? Have you worn them before?'

'No, but the sweater is one of my favorites. I have a collection of cashmere sweaters, so you'll see a lot of them. Am I overdressed for you family?'

'Sugar, we dress for each other, not other people. I love what you have on, especially the jewelry. We look good together, so no worries.'

Prince drove them into town in his purple Dodge Prowler. 'You like making an entrance, don't you?' Emma asked.

'My nephew likes to take a ride around the block with me. It gives me a break from the grown ups. I gotta warn you, someone is going to hit one or both of us up for money. I wish it wasn't like that, but it is. If they come to you, send them to me.'

'I guess it is hard to be at a completely different economic level than your family.'

'The other piece you should know is that we own the home we're going to. All of my family lives in homes I purchased for them, rent free.'

When they arrived at the house, Emma was glad to see Prince was no slumlord. It looked nice, and fit the neighborhood.

On entering, Emma headed for the kitchen with her pie, uncertain as to where to place it. She was greeted by Prince's sister Tyka, who was happy to see Emma again after the wedding. Emma noticed dishes in the sink, so she pulled an apron out of her handbag. Placing the handbag under the table, she asked, 'Would you like me to wash, or dry?' That broke the ice with the rest of the women in the family. Conversations flowed more easily after that.

The women wanted to know about Emma's past, so she filled in a little about her widowhood, meeting Prince, and her girls, who were staying in Atlanta for Thanksgiving. Emma complimented dishes, asked for recipes, listened more than she talked, and made herself agreeable. It worked out fine.

The men approved of Emma's appearance, but questioned Prince on his choice for his third wife. Prince replied, 'Hear me, now. To me, she's Emma. To her I'm not a superstar, I'm Prince. She's a teacher, and a musician, and she's been on me from the beginning to stop spending money on her. She's real, she's gorgeous, and she loves me. What else would I want?''

Emma and Prince went home with an empty pie plate and full tummies. Emma said 'I feel like I passed initiation today. To them I'm still not what they were expecting, but I'm also yours, and that apparently counts for something.'

Prince replied, 'Well, the men in my family appreciate what they like to call 'a good stack of flapjacks', so you won them over on that score. If the wives approve, you're in. We won't really do that for another year, unless there's a wedding or funeral to attend.'

'Okay, that's different from what I'm used to, but I've heard of that before.'

By Christmas, Emma figured out ways to be involved that were rewarding and joyful. She jumped into helping the staff that coordinated Prince's philanthropy, which turned out to be lots of fun. Many of the groups that Prince either supported or created an outreach for were child oriented, and skewed toward either music, the arts, or technology. She enjoyed working in a hands on capacity, rather than being the 'face' of a group.