Motivation of Memories: The Second Book of the Labors of Love Series

Visitation

Genevieve's POV

Day three of rehearsal is going dood so far. At this point we've gotten through the whole song and we're refining and polishing. Madonna has been acting strange though. She seems really excited and no one seems to know why.

"Alright everybody in their places. I want to see the dip again. Remember she should be able to see her entire face in the mirror."
I press play and watch them closely. Everything looks good except the stunts. They're having trouble visualizing them without the stage. They told us it would only be a day of building but they lied. At least we were able to get their costumes and props today. There are a lot of scenes where she takes things from them or they hand her something. Props are always hard in dances. One fumble and the prop is useless.
"Drop the watch again and I'll glue it to your hands!" I stop the music and start over. "I don't care if all you're doing is swaying, make it intentional. More intensity!" They're performance is missing something and I really think its just the stage. I stop the music and decide to call it. "Thats it for today. We will pick this up on Monday. Monday we should have our stage and we will be correcting every mistake. We will not be going onto the set without this finalized." I return to my corner and write my notes as they all pack up. The dancers file out but Madonna stays, walking up to me.

"You alright?"

"Yea, I just want all of this to come together. We really need them to finish the stage."

"Don't let it stress you out, Girly Pop. It'll work out." She oats my shoulder but I don't look up from my notebook. She eventually walks away, leaving me alone in the room. "You should stay here for a while and clear your head." She smiles giving me a wink from the door before it closes behind her. I turn half the lights off and pull out my Purple Rain CD. The space is technically still mine for another hour so I might as well do some practicing. I lay in the middle of the floor and just listen to the album, giving myself a chance to get into the right headspace. Once the CD has played once I get up and work through my routines. I know this isn't how it'll sound live but it'll help me remember all the words and different parts of the songs.

I play the CD on loop practicing everything I can think of. After the third time, I stop the CD to breathe. I close my eyes and put my hands on top of my head. The door opens behind me. Probably just one of the dancers that forgot a water bottle or something. I continue to just stand and breathe waiting for them to find whatever they're looking for and go. I hear some shuffling and the sound of crumpled paper. I open my eyes to see what they're doing and gasp. I immediately turn to face him hoping that what I saw in the mirror was true.

"Surprise." Prince smiles sitting on a stray bench we had been using to practice.

"What're you doing here?"

"I had them put me on an earlier flight. I knew rehearsal didn't end until 4 but there weren't any cars outside. I asked the front desk if you were still here and they said you were so I just walked back." He walks up to me as he speaks smirking a little looking down at the flowers in his hands. When he finally stops in front of me he looks at me with a warm smile. He offers me the flowers and I take them bringing them to my nose. Roses. I smile looking down at the soft pink roses surrounded by baby's breath and greenery. "Come on. Lets get out of here."

I grab my things and hold his hand as we walk out to the parking lot. He leads me to his rental and we climb inside. I smile down at my bouquet as he drives us to the hotel. The pink is so soft like the blushing cheeks of baby. The tiny white and pink flowers of the baby's breath complement them well. The arrangement is wrapped in a mid-toned grey paper with a silver-lined dark grey ribbon holding it together. Its so beautiful. The colors, the flowers, the bow, its so simple and elegantly beautiful.