Another Chance Book I of III

Book III-Chapter 17, The Rain Begins

The Rain Begins

Princes POV

Prince woke up refreshed despite the stress of the previous day.  He stretched and looked over at his beloved Bella who was still sleeping.  She could be credited for his feeling rested this morning because of her tender care last night as he tossed and turned.  It remained both amazing and mysterious to Prince how her gentle cuddling could effect him as it did.  He felt totally loved and comforted after being held and sung to by Bella.  He was grateful to her and to his Creator for making her so intuitive of his needs and so loving of him and his soul.  He turned on his side and kissed her gently on her cheek.  He loved her and his love grew with every angelic smile he witnessed and every simple caring act she gave him each day. He was the most blessed man on the planet, of this he was sure.  As he continued to watch her sleeping she stirred slightly and he saw her long lashes start to flutter.  Within a moment her eyes opened and when she saw him looking at her she smiled and said "good morning baby".  "Good morning Bella", he said. 

 It was 4:30 AM.  They had a 6:30 AM sound check scheduled for this morning and then they would be performing at 8:20.  While the videos from today were not those intended for submission to any network, they would shoot film to give them an idea of the quality of the shoots to come and if Prince's idea of creating video footage from live performances for use on MTV and BET was workable.  Bella started to get up but Prince held her arm gently and said, "Bella, I love you".  He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. " My Prince, Bella said, I love you more.  Take your shower baby while I make the coffee", she said.  She got up and made her morning water, washed her hands and went into the kitchen and put the coffee on.  Prince headed into the shower to prepare for this momentous day. 

Prince had not been on television or Cloud Stream as it was called today since this journey had begun.  He was both excited and a little nervous about it.  His work would be seen by many more people than ever had at this point in his life, not just in LA or even California.  LA Morning was regionally syndicated throughout the Western States as was Good Morning and some markets like Dallas and Chicago and Detroit even received the morning shows.  He was nervous simply because he pictured the number of people seeing the performances at the same time.  His thoughts bounced around in his mind as he showered, but began to gain the razor focus he was known for as he moisturized his body and his face.  He put on a little mascara and highlighter to emphasize his cheek bones and contour his face and nose for the lights.  He also picked out his short Afro until it was perfectly round.  He looked in the mirror and was pleased with the outcome.  He dressed quickly and went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.  Bella was pouring it into his mug as he walked into the kitchen and expertly dressed it to his taste.  She had fruit juice, some Oatmeal with strawberries and toast waiting for him as well.  The  Oatmeal was on low on the stove for Elaine and Carlos when they were ready. The bodyguards had already been served.   Bella and Prince held hands and prayed over the food and then ate chatting a bit about the plan this morning.  During the sound check, Bella and Elaine would block the choreography as they had never rehearsed in the actual space before. They would arrive in the first costume and have their 2 changes already on a hangers for each one in its own plastic bag to  facilitate ease and speed for each change.  Prince had arranged for 2 of the Arista Costumers to be there to help the girls change quickly and to handle any emergencies that might arise with the costumes.  Prince ran the set list in his head as he ate.  He would do all four of the songs for the videos two in each of the two segments of the show that he and the band would be performing.  They had decided to do If I Love You as the Opener and then When 2 R in Love, followed by I Love You Still and finally, Bella's Eyes.  The film would be sent directly to the Film Division of Arista for review.  That was the one thing that was an unknown in Prince's mind...would his idea create film that would be acceptable to MTV and BET.  They would know in a few hours...but Prince trusted his judgment and thought it would be a major win for the band, himself and Arista.