Another Chance Book I of III

Book III-Chapter 111, You're Dating Who?

Prince's POV

When they arrived at the VIP terminal, the bus with the band and instruments was just pulling up. Perfect timing Prince thought. He and Carlos and the girls got out of the SUV and the men thanked Jermaine for the ride. They handed off their carry-on's to Bella and Elaine, mindful of the wedding rings and attendant gifts that were in them. They then helped the band to get the instruments into the baggage area of the plane and once done collected their carry-on bags from their women and along with them and the band showed their ID and VIP boarding passes to the TSA officers who were waiting for them under the heat lamps. Cleared to board, they began to do so. Their pilot, Greg Landers, had ordered some hot Apple Cider be on board to warm them. They were handed a cup of the tasty liquid once they were seated. Prince raised his cup to Bella and said to a wonderful concert and a good visit with family. She smiled and raised her cup as well. They were sitting across the aisle from Elaine and Carlos and both men were sitting in the aisle seats. Prince turned to Carlos and said that they needed to remind their mothers to call Bella and Elaine's mom's to coordinate who would handle what as related to home deliveries, carpet laying, drape hanging etc. while they were on the road for the European tour. It was right around the corner and they wanted to ensure the houses were ready when they returned from that travel so that their entire focus could be on the wedding. Both men smiled at the thought and fist bumped saying "Praise the Creator" softly. An announcement from the flight crew came over the speaker system saying they would be coming around to pick up their cups shortly but that additional drink service would be available once they reached a cruising altitude. Shortly after the cups were picked up, another announcement was made saying to put their seat-backs into the upright position and to ensure their seat-belts were buckled. The senior flight attendant did a walk through of the cabin and within minutes they were in the air.

Prince had pushed his seat back as soon as it was announced that they could and was running the playlist for the performance through his mind. He was excited about doing this New Year's Eve show in Chicago as he had never done such an event in his home town. It would be packed and he knew that many of his and Carlos childhood and college friends would be there tonight and he wanted to be certain to give them the best performance possible. This was the first place that had nurtured their talent, first in his parent's home and their church and then in elementary through high school as well as in college. The local hole in the wall clubs had given him the chance to perform and later after the residency at The Stork Club in Detroit, the nicer venues had opened up to him allowing him to be ready by the time they began to tour. He and Carlos and the band had grown a lot since then, and he wanted that growth to shine through in the musical performance tonight. He opened his eyes and taking Bella's hand into his own, brought it to his lips. She had been staring out of the window and turned to him and smiled. "A penny for your thoughts", he said to her. She looked at him her gaze filled with happiness and said, "I was just thinking about how all of this has happened. The residency in Detroit, our meeting as we did, your meeting Christian, the Album, Elaine and me finishing college early, Carlos and Elaine finding each other, the movie, so much has happened so quickly. And Prince, it is all because of the gift that the Creator gave you...because of the music. It always goes back to the music. How blessed we are". "Yes Bella, we are blessed and favored". They sat quietly, holding hands, not saying much as the plane winged its way to the place of Prince's birth. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts of thankfulness and love. There was no need for words...they both knew that this was an amazing journey they were on and they just wanted to savor it for the moment.