My LOVE is Forever (Book 4-1st Alternate Ending)

Part 73

The next morning, our imminent visit to Paisley Park has Anastasia overly excited and now she has a million questions. Her questions are more centered more around my relationship with Prince than just basic information she had always asked about her father.

How did you meet? Was it at a concert? Was my dad a good boyfriend? Did you live with him in Tennessee before you got married? Did you have a house here? Did you work at Paisley Park with him? Anastasia's questions are fired at me so rapidly that I end up sitting in a dazed stupor across the table from her as distant memories flood my mind.

"Mom?" She says it softly, calling me back to the present as she waits for answers.

I shift my eyes from the table top to hers and smile. "How bout after we get dressed, we do some driving around. I'll show you some places and do my best to answer all your questions."

She frowns as she ponders my answer, "Okay."

Anastasia finishes her breakfast before I do, and scurries off to her bedroom to get dressed. I text Tyka:

Going to head out with Anastasia this morning. We'll be back well before the tour, I'll call you then.

I hurry to get dressed and Anastasia appears in the doorway of my bathroom as I'm applying some light makeup. "We're coming back here before we go for the tour, right, Mom?"

"Yes," I nod into the mirror at her reflection. "Right now we're mostly going to be driving around," giving myself a final look over, I deem this acceptable for now. I turn to her, "You ready?" Anastasia nods excitedly before running out of the room, I find her waiting by the side door that leads to the driveway. I stop to grab an insulated bag, putting some snacks and bottled water from the refrigerator into it before we head out to the car together. Anastasia is anxious for answers, and I'm stalling, not really knowing where to start.

I steer the car along the now familiar roads, and soon find myself entering the neighborhood where Prince and I had called home. "Whoa," I hear from the backseat, "these houses are mansions!" When I glance at Anastasia's reflection in the rear view mirror, her head is craned as far as it can go to gawk at all the large homes on the quiet street.

A twinge of embarrassment flows through me over the extravagance of the neighborhood, but I bring the car to a stop and take a deep breath. Pointing to what was once our home, "Here's where we lived."

"Here?!" Anastasia gawks some more. "Wow, Mom," she breathes. Her mouth is agape as she takes it all in, then a frown forms when I slowly put the car back into motion.

"Another family lives there now, so we can't just hang out in the street," I explain to her. "But that was where we lived."

Anastasia blinks at me, then turns to get another glance of the house, "You sold it?"

I grimace, "Yes and no. It was mine if I wanted it," I pause to collect myself. "I just couldn't live there without your father, it was our place." Anastasia frowns again before flashing an expression of confusion. "One day it will all make sense to you, I promise," I force a small smile and she shrugs. I explain further, "We're only here a couple months out of the year, a house that big needs a full time family and a lot of upkeep."

"You could hire people," she offers.

I scrunch my face and shake my head as I look at her in the mirror. "We're fine where we're at, and we're closer to Tyka." That last comment seems to sate her for the time being.

As I merge onto the expressway. "Where are we going now?" Anastasia questions.

"Well, someplace that's very special to your father and I. You've been there, but you were too little at the time to remember." She watches me in the mirror and I smile as I think about our next stop. "It's the perfect place to talk," I wink at her.

As we pass by Paisley Park, I point it out to her, I hear her gasp, but she falls quiet again. Exiting the expressway, I point out the little flower shop, "I worked there for awhile."

"You worked?" She stares at me, amazed.

"Yes, I worked. Actually, I was working in a warehouse in Tennessee when I met your father." I laugh, thinking back, "Then he let me work here for a while, but we were traveling so much, I had to quit."

I steer the car down the tree lined street, then pull into the drive, stopping before I reach the gate. "I'll be right back, I have to unlock the gate."

Anastasia bobs her head as she tries to get a better view of the entrance. "I've been here?" She asks when I return to the car.

"Yep," I pause after I pull through to lock the gate again. I feel sentimental as I drive up toward the area that was our favorite spot. "This is the best place to talk about things," I smile at her in the mirror, Anastasia looks uncertain at these new surroundings. "Your father had a house here, and your grandpa lived in it for a while before he died," I tell her as we pass where the house had stood.

Anastasia's eyes dart back and forth, "So, where'd it go?"

"The house?" Anastasia nods. "Prince had it demolished," her eyes get big and I put the car back into motion.

"Why?" She stares out the back window at the empty space.

"Your father did a lot of things that didn't make sense. I believe he may have done it to lower the taxes on this property, or maybe it was a way to help forget some of his past. I never did ask him why, I just knew this place was special to him. He brought me here several times."

I drive up to the gravel area, park and cut the engine. "Here?" Anastasia looks shocked.

"Yes, here. Come on," I grab the insulated bag and exit the car.

Anastasia climbs from the back and looks around the area before following me over to the metal garden stake that surprisingly still standing. "There's a lot of weeds," she states matter of factually.

"Yeah," I smile my eyes tear up as I think about the hundreds of dandelions that Prince had decapitated one by one during our talks.

When I plop myself into the ground, Anastasia just stares at me. "Sit," I urge and she reluctantly obliges. "Okay," I breathe, "should I start at the beginning?"

Anastasia meets my gaze, nodding slowly, so I start. "Well, there was a want ad in the local paper for waitstaff, at the Vineyard near our house..."