The Labors of Love: Short Stories

Just Like Old Times

Prince's POV

After a long studio session, I enter my kitchen ready for the dinner I know my wife is making.  Genny has dinner ready everyday at 7. If I'm not ready to eat by 7:30 she covers my plate in foil and puts it in the oven. Anything past that my plate is usually in the fridge. Right now it's 7:15 and I look forward to sitting down and eating with my woman for once. As I turn the corner I see her standing at the stove.

"Get a late start on dinner?"

"No, love. I was making chicken and it didn't come out right so I decided to put it in stew." I walk over and take a good long look into the pot. Seasonings are tied up in a small bag and floating on top of a boiling red stew.

"Smells good. What else is in it?"

"Shrimp, sausage, okra, tomatoes, onions, I just used whatever we had in the fridge."

"When can we eat?"

"Impatient," she chides "it still has to simmer for 5-10 minutes." I sigh rubbing my empty stomach and decide to fill it momentarily with a glass of water. I fill the glass to the top and offer it to her first. She shakes her head and continues staring at the pot. Taking big gulps, I down half the glass and sit it on the counter.

"Can I at least taste it?" She stirs the pot and lifts the spoon to my face. I take a bite and taste all the things she mentioned and more. After, years of eating her food her ability to season food still surprise me. She brings out flavors I never noticed in things I eat all the time and occasionally forces me to try something new. She takes the spoon tasting what's left on it. Her foot taps in the floor as she thinks about the taste. "Missing something?"

"Its a little sweet."

"What do you put in things to make them less sweet?" She shrugs.

"Open the fridge and tell me what we have." I do as I'm asked but I'm not sure what I should be looking for.

"You've still got chicken stock in here."

"No that might make it salty."

"Uhhh, what about wine?"

"Is it red?"

"Yea, it's that Merlot we tried and didn't like." I hand her the bottle and she pours a little into the pot. She stirs it and places the lid on top before cranking the heat.

"If its bad I'll order pizza." She chuckles. She grabs the glass of water taking a few sips before handing it back to me to finish.

"What've you been up to?"

"Worked on some new outfits, fixed the holes in your socks, nothing major. Still waiting on those faxes from Janet."

"I heard this next is album big. Have you heard any of it yet?"

"They sent a demo tape for me to listen to. It's a different sound for her. I like it."

"What's it like?"

"Soulful but robotic. She wants the dance to be sharp with a lot of straight lines and fast transitions."

"You up for it?"

"It will be a challenge but it will be fun to work with her again." She smiles a little excited to be working again after taking a break. After we got married, I released a lot of projects back to back. When The Revolution disbanded, she took on a choreographer role for me. We still perform together some times but, she's been enjoying being behind the scenes. "That reminds me. I got us some tickets to a jazz concert in town. Do you want to go?"

"We'll I'd never deny a pretty woman my company. Where is it?"

"It's at the jazz lounge but it's a private event. I thought after dinner we could go listen to some jazz, get some drinks, and just have a relaxing night out." I smile remembering the first time we went to that jazz lounge with the band, all those years ago. That was the day I promised her I'd prove how serious I was about her. I knew from that night she was the woman I was going to spend my life with. The way she closed her eyes as she listened and smiled under the lights stunned me. The way she looked up at me and her eyes seemed to glow. I held her closer than ever that night. Her body pressed against mine surrounded by our favorite thing. It was the first time she let me kiss her in public. We've become regulars at that jazz lounge and I hope that never changes.

"Sure, mama. Sounds alright."

"Well let's get some food in your stomach. We don't want any accidents like last time." I give her a side eye.

"It was your fault!"

"I did not tell you to drink on an empty stomach!"

"But you know I can't stand watching you drink alone."

"You just don't like dealing with me after a few drinks when you're completely sober."

"It's more fun the other way." She's right. I don't like when she's drinking and I'm not but mainly because alcohol makes her want to have sex. Nasty sex. The kind that makes your body hurt in the morning. The kind that's better when everybody is a little tipsy. 

She fixes bowls of stew carefully placing large spoonfuls over rice. We dig in savoring the meal and the conversation being had around it.

"Hey, babe." I smirk.

"Yes, my dear?"

"You wanna take a shot?" She drops her spoon in her empty bowl and looks up at me. My smirk widens as she examines my eyes for trickery.

"Who are you and what have you done with me damn husband?"

"It's still me. I just know we've both been working really hard. One night of fun won't hurt." She looks at me suspiciously leaning back and crossing her arms. "Come on, Genny babe. Just one."

"I'm not dumb. You know I only take my shots in threes."

"You don't have to take them all at once. Just take the other two at the lounge. I'll do it with you. It'll be like old times." Earlier in our relationship we had a lot of drunken nights. We were young, in love, famous and on our way to being rich. Clubs and after parties filled our schedules more than performances for a little while but everyone ate it up. We were spotted everywhere, dancing and smiling, constantly wearing sunglasses and walking around with suckers in our mouthes.

"Alright alright but if I get drunk, we should go to Denny's in the morning."

"Deal." She stands up and goes to the freezer, pulling out a bottle of her absolute favorite rum. She had a case of it imported from Trinidad and she still only drinks it on special occasions. I take two shot glasses down from the shelf and place them in front of us. She smiles seeing the orange and teal and slowly fills each glass.

"Ready?" She asks picking up her shot.

"Ready." We cheers and take the shot. The liquid is cold from the freezer but it still burns. I shudder feeling it land in my stomach. She smiles unfazed and puts her glass down before wrapping her arms around me. She smiles looking up at me obviously excited to be going out. "Why don't you go get ready? I'll clean this up and meet you in the room."