The Labors of Love: Short Stories

Genevieve Speaks

WARNING

This chapter is set in the present day. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I believe Prince would have lived a longer life with Genevieve, but his death in 2016 is something I couldn't bare to change. I know we miss him and wish he was here but I hope seeing Genevieve be strong encourages us to be too. With that said she doesn't speak on him directly a lot in this chapter. This is more so you can see all she's done in her life, so you can hear about her children and to give you an inside peek at some of the celebrity relationships she's cultivated that I won't be sharing in a book. After, Motivation of Memories the series will end. I will continue to update this book and my other short story novels as I see fit. I'd be happy to take requests for this book (or any of the other short story novels) and/or just answer questions in a q&a about her, her kids, her and Prince's marriage, etc, if you have any in a future chapter, but for now please enjoy.

Genevieve sits on the stage somberly. Her hair and makeup is perfect, she's dressed well, and her manicured hands and feet are crossed and in their proper place. The world has come to love her and respect her as a woman of grace and creativity. Years of dancing, choreographing, performing, modeling, acting, and singing backup have earned her a place amongst the greats in Hollywood. She's 62 now and has aged like fine wine but after the loss of so many friends and her beloved husband her smile isn't as bright as it used to be.

"Mama, you sure you want to do this?" Elijah asks coming to her side. "I know talking about Dad can be hard for you."

"I'm sure, Eli."

"Mama, do you need anything?" Lyra asks approaching.

"A water, please. Thank you, Lyra." Lyra turns away from her mother but stops feeling a hand grasp hers. "Children," she starts reaching for her sons hand. "I love you." She looks up at her children with teary eyes. It feels like it was just yesterday she was waddling around pregnant. They look so much like their father. Elijah has his smile, the curl of his lips keeping mischievous secrets. Lyra got his eyes. The hazel complementing the warm complexion she got from her mother. The Nelson kids got to choose for themselves whether or not they pursued fame like their parents and ultimately they all chose regular lives. Elijah became a music teacher while Lyra picked up activism and journalism. The only outlier was their younger sister, Cadence. Cadence, like her parents, only aspired to make art. She paints mostly but her favorite medium is photography and any opportunity she has to mix them she takes.

Cadence walks out fussing with her shirt. Genevieve's eyes glow looking at her youngest child. Everyone says she looks exactly like her mother but Genevieve knows she is truly her father's twin. Despite her appearance being the spitting imagine of Genevieve she acts just like Prince. Her hair flips in her face like his, her eyes cut to the side like his, she even has his walk.

Genevieve pats the seat beside her and they all sit down. It'll be the first time they've been seen together as a family since Prince's passing and Genevieve's first tv interview since the year after.

A person steps forward placing bottles of water and tissues on the table. Genevieve requested this interview wanting to get a few things of her chest after years of isolation. It took a while to recover from the loss of the man who gave her everything she ever wanted, but she was ready to talk about it. All of it. From the parties in the 80s, to her marriage and children, to her best work, and her next steps. When she told her children, they asked if they could join. She instilled in them a strong sense of family and they wanted to be there for her. To them, she was a superhero. After all she had been through she was always kind and loving. She was always there for them and they knew she need them to here for her now.

Genevieve stands seeing the host, a dear friend of the family she called out of retirement. Someone the children knew as Uncle Arsenio. This is something Genevieve is paying for out of pocket. It will stream somewhere specific, the details of which she's told herself she's too old to understand. It will be as long as it needs to and as honest as she always has been.