Another Chance Book I of III

Book III-Chapter 119, The Wedding Week

Prince's POV

Bella and Elaine were scheduled to fly back to California this morning for the final fittings on their wedding gowns this afternoon. Prince was a little nervous about Bella traveling without him even though Ross, Melvin, and Ray would fly with them. The 4 had stayed in their homes last night and enjoyed the feeling of being in their own space. This morning Ross had made a wonderful breakfast for them and served it in Bella's kitchen. It was the first meal they had ever had there, which made it even more special. Bella insisted on taking a picture of the 4 and their bodyguards at their lovely kitchen table with the floor to ceiling glass windows showcasing the glorious yard that ran between their two houses. The gardener had been there doing some plantings off the back patio, and they had asked him to take the picture so that all of them could be in it. The smiles in the picture were contagious, and all who looked at it over the years would find themselves grinning also. Clearly, the 4 hardworking performers were happy, and their security team was happy for them. The picture would remain one of Bella's most treasured all the days of her life. Prince and Carlos rode to the airport with Bella and Elaine. Both girls thought it was overkill to have 3 of their security team travel with them, but Prince stood his ground. He wanted them protected, and that was that. They would join them back in Los Angeles the next evening, but there were some details that the men needed to handle with their financial advisor before the wedding, and this was the ideal time to do that. Prince was an absolute junky about keeping his word, and he and Carlos had some promises to make good on.

Carlos's POV

When they returned to their homes from the airport, they went to Carlos and Elaine's place. Carlos had some documents that they needed to review together. He and Prince had to call in some favors to get them, but when their sources learned why they needed the documents, they were more than happy to help. When Prince and Carlos were just starting and making a little money, they, of course, had increased the earnings of their band members as well. Miguel Torres, their rhythm guitarist, had helped his parents buy a house with his newfound wealth and had moved in with them to help with expenses. It was his fondest wish to pay off their home for them. The timing was perfect because there was a certain senorita that he had met about 2 years ago, who was also a graduate of the University of Chicago and was a teacher in the suburb of Highland Park that he was really gone over. Her name was Juana Gabarra, and he wanted to ask her to marry him but did not feel free to do so until his parent's future was secured. Prince and Carlos had never told him, but they had promised themselves that they would help him pay off the home when he and his parents first bought it. He was an excellent friend and loyal band member who had worked harder than anyone they knew to graduate and help his folks, and it was something that they really wanted to do. Carlos had a conversation with Miguel while they were on the road, and he said that he had saved up all but $30000.00 of the remaining balance on the house, even though he was handling the monthly note. The total balance was $90,000.00. Carlos had asked how much he thought the type of wedding that his future bride would want would cost. Miguel had speculated that since she was one of three girls and the other two were already married, it would probably be similar to their weddings. They had been small and intimate and wonderful. He thought that he could do it in another 2 years for about 25 to 30 K. Prince and Carlos had agreed to put in $30K each on the house, which would allow Miguel only to have to use $30,000 of the $60,000 he had saved. That would allow him to have enough for a ring and a downpayment on a home of his own. In Mexican culture, the bride's family would do most of the wedding. But Prince and Carlos would make certain that their wedding gifts would be very generous as well, just in case! The two friends sat in Carlos's study and looked over the Mortgage information that gave them the house's payoff amount. Satisfied that the numbers were correct, Carlos picked up the phone and called their financial advisor and ordered him to write a check to Miguel Torres for $60,000.00 and code it as a gift. Their advisor said he would drop it by in an hour. They would meet with Miguel later today and give it to him. They were very excited about doing that. In the meantime, they went over some other business, but not until after they had called Miguel and made arrangements to meet him for lunch at The Gage. The 4 and 1/2 star restaurant had been doing business in its iconic Michigan Avenue location since the 20th Century and served incredible food. When they were boys, they used to dream about having meetings with music people there. Now it was one of their favorite places when getting together with friends in their home city. They fixed the time to meet at 12:30 PM. Prince went back to his house to change clothes accompanied by Frank, while Larry stayed with Carlos while doing the same. At 12:05 PM, Prince and Frank got into the rented SUV and drove to the front gate of Carlos's home. The gate opened and admitted them, and Carlos and Larry came right out and got into the vehicle. Both men would be leaving their leased vehicles in LA when they formally moved into their new homes. They would be car shopping in Chicago tomorrow morning before leaving to join the girls. The new cars would be one of many surprises for them. Another big one would be their LA home, which the two men bought together. With 2 master suites and 4 other bedrooms, it would be a great house until their babies became pre-teens, and then...they would buy another. But for now, it could house the 4 and their security team whenever they were in LA. It was located in Northridge, an LA suburb, and had a Beverly Hills look without the Beverly Hills price tag. They had bought it furnished, and they hoped that the girls would be pleased. They would take the girls to see it when they got back to LA this week.