Forever In My LIFE (Book 4) 2nd Alternate

Part 58

With everything getting ramped up for the tour, Prince starts spending even more time at Paisley than he does at home.  Therefore, Ramiel and I are also spending a great deal more of our time at Paisley as well. We soon start stopping in regularly during his rehearsals.  Ramiel loves watching his father perform on stage, especially when the light show is added in on occasion. He doesn't, however, like the headphones we make him wear to help protect his ears from the deafening volume of the music. 

At first, when I started bringing him down to the soundstage, Ramiel's reaction was like mine, he would just sit entranced, with his mouth agape, staring at his father.   I found it humorous, although, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit myself, that Prince has this same affect on me when he performs.  I get so mesmerized with watching him that time seems to stop. I want to notice every movement of his fingers on the frets, every subtle detail of his 'guitar faces', everything.   After a few times of bringing Ramiel in, he soon stopped with his staring and now bounces and bops to the music as I hold his hands for support.   This caused Prince to stop once, mid song, and joke good naturedly, "Son, you dance like your mother," winking at me before picking up right where he had left off. 

With everything advancing like it should, we manage to resume almost a full week of 'our' normal home life before the tour begins on March 14.   Prince flies out to Kentucky the morning of the thirteenth, and isn't due to return until the sixteenth, kicking off the beginning of this tour with four shows in just two days. 

The first night without Prince home proves difficult. Ramiel was so preoccupied with watching the doorway of his bedroom, anxiously waiting for his father to appear like he always does. That night, I had to return to the nursery twice, our normally easy-going child was fussy and inconsolable.  He fought sleep as long as he was able, and, with what I call a 'comfort feeding,' exhaustion was finally able to claim him.

Emotionally spent from Ramiel's unease, it's almost 3am when I manage to crawl into our bed.  My cell phone rings shortly after I get settled, "Hey, Sugar," Prince's voice is full of excitement and I can tell he's wide awake. 

"Hey," I breathe, happy to hear his voice, but fighting my own exhaustion. "Ready for tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah!" he laughs before becoming serious, "How'd it go tonight?"

"I won't lie, it was rough. I actually just got him down," I yawn. "He's so used to you being here that it was definitely a challenge.  I'm sure tomorrow will go better."  The line falls quiet, so quiet that I think we've been disconnected, "Prince?"

"Yes, I'm here," he sighs, I can tell this lack of harmony at home upsets him. 

"We love you, and miss you, but we're going to be alright.  Okay?"  I do my best to make him feel at ease.

"Okay," he whispers, still subdued. 

"You better knock their socks off tomorrow, Music Man," I joke, changing the subject. I'm relieved to hear a small chuckle from him. 

"Do you expect any less?" the cockiness returns. 

"Never," I smile, the man aims to please. 

Prince doesn't talk too long and his excitement about tomorrow's show returns quickly.  He knows I'm tired and that I need my rest so I can tend to our child, but I could also sense he was feeling torn, keeping me on the line until he was comfortable that we were, indeed, going to be alright.   "I love you, Baby," he says softly out of the blue.

"I love you, too," I whisper.

"I'll call tomorrow between shows," he promises before saying his goodbyes, "Kiss Ramiel for me."