Forever In My LIFE (Book 4) 2nd Alternate

Part 56

As the end of January starts to roll around, not only are we doing well with the introduction of solid foods, but also with Ramiel sleeping through the night the crib, in his own room.

I'm starting to feel accomplished and comfortable in my role as wife/mother/lover, juggling all aspects equally. That is, until Prince exits his office one morning with a purpose. "Sugar, I scheduled a meeting for you, next week at Paisley."

I'm on the floor playing with Ramiel when this abrupt announcement is made. "A meeting? For what?" I frown.

"Merchandising," he winks and chuckles as if I should have known. There's a flash of a grin and an exaggerated wave to Ramiel before he turns, returning to his office, and closing the door behind him.

Ramiel, who had started bouncing excitedly when Prince appeared, has ceased. "Merchandising?" I whisper aloud. Still frowning, I glance toward the closed door. "Your Daddy is up to something, Little Man," I bop Ramiel playfully on his nose with my index finger. This action brings forth his musical laughter, like so much does these days. What a great time this is, I think, everything is delightful to him.

Within the hour, while I'm in the kitchen feeding Ramiel some runny cereal, Prince strolls through. I know, even before he speaks, that he's on his way out. He stops to kiss my cheek and pretends to eat some of the baby cereal before kissing Ramiel, this mocked action makes Ramiel belly laugh again. "I'll be back before his bedtime," he tells me. With another quick kiss to both of us, and a "love you," he's across the room and out the door, leaving us both in a stupor.

The rest of the day I feel a little discombobulated, a merchandising meeting can only mean one thing, and that's a tour. Maybe our Tennessee trip helped solidify the fact that we're able to travel as a family, but with Ramiel still so young, I hate to disrupt any type routine we've already established. The other part of my argument, it would have been nice to be included in the decision to tour prior to finding out I was scheduled for a meeting.

It's just after midnight, and I'm in the process of giving Ramiel a bath when Prince finally breezes in. "There's my beautiful family," he says cheerfully when he finds us in the upstairs bathroom. Ramiel starts to splash and vocalize with loud squeals of delight, while I lean, offering my cheek to Prince for his customary kiss. "Hey," I say softly.

"Hey," he breathes, cuddling up beside me when I stand, his hand begins a slow, soothing caress along my spine. His volume increases, "How's my Little Man?"

I grin and shake my head as I watch Ramiel's eyes light up, Prince has that effect on the both of us. When I sneak a glance at Prince, my heart swells, I know that effect isn't limited to just us, and suddenly it seems wrong if he weren't to go back out on tour. We allow Ramiel to play a little longer, but when the splashing begins to slow, I remove him, pulling him against me and covering him with a towel. Prince looks perplexed that I had just soaked my sweater, "It's coming off anyway," I remind him, as we head to the nursery.

We fall into our nightly routine as soon as we step foot into the nursery, I love that we strive to do this together. Ramiel is soon diapered and buttoned into his sleeping gown, while I go ahead and remove my damp sweater in preparation for his final feeding of the night. As Ramiel nurses, Prince talks about how well the first rehearsal went tonight, "Those ladies were on it!" he says proudly, "we'll be ready to go in no time."

I smile and nod, staying focused on Ramiel as Prince's chatter grows more animated. I soon notice that Ramiel is more intent on watching and listening to his father than eating. "Prince," I say softly, "I know you're excited, and I'm excited for you, but could we get him down first. He'll be up all night if we don't tone things down a bit."

Since he understands how much Ramiel picks up from our moods, he switches gears, lowering his voice to a soothing volume. Ramiel soon focuses more on feeding, and his eyelids start to get heavy as belly fills. Prince, seeing Ramiel fall drowsy, sets the timer on his little water light that creates waves across the entire ceiling. Then he flips off the overhead light while I place him into the crib and wind his mobile. We kiss him goodnight in turn, then Prince retrieves my damp sweater, extending his other hand to me, "My, dear." The chivalry seems so humorous to me since I'm almost topless if it weren't for my bra. He escorts me out of the nursery and down the hallway to our bedroom.

In the bedroom, the sweater is tossed unceremoniously onto the ottoman and I'm quickly pulled into his embrace. "Join me in the shower?" he breathes, and although the tone of his words would lead an unknowing woman to believe he's feeling amorous, I know for a fact he's not done sharing the excitement of today's rehearsal.

When I agree, he releases me and leads me into the bathroom in a somewhat rushed gait. He's unusually quiet while we undress and prepare to step in, but once under the spray of the water, the floodgates open and his excitement flows freely. I can't help but smile in admiration at him, feeding off his adrenaline, my mind knows that he needs this in his life, just as much as he needs us. Suddenly, I know this is what he has to do, and even though it may be unconventional as a family, it's what I signed up for.

As my mind is coming to terms with the thought of him touring, his face becomes serious for a split second. "Sugar, you know I put the Hit 'N Run tour on hold for our baby, right?"

I nod, "Yes."

"Are you upset?" there's concern etched onto his face when his eyes scan mine.

"No," I smile again, trying to convey to him with my expression that I'm really okay with his whole plan. I do my best to offer an explanation for my brief responses, "You just surprised me, I wasn't expecting this all to happen so quickly."

The shower gets turned off and he grins as we step out, and I know I'm not going to be sleeping tonight. My husband has plans and he's prepared to fill me in on every aspect of it, I'm certain.

We each disappear into our prospective closets to pull on our pajamas, and I'm lead to the bed where we sit for hours discussing the second leg of his tour. I'm relieved to find out that, in consideration for our little family, the tour will be limited to just the US and Canada.

"Sugar," he tells me sincerely, "I'll never be more than a few hours away, and never gone longer than a couple nights. I want you to know I'm here for the both of you, no matter what."

With his words, any fears or trepidation I had had about him touring, dissolve from my conscience. He's as serious about being a father as he is a musician, and if anyone can pull it off, it's Prince.