A Love Bizarre

"Looks like we'll be sharing a suite tonight"

Just as I'd hoped, the movie became a success earning over 60 million dollars in the box office. The Purple Rain album was selling fast. When Doves Cry was the first single and the first to hit the number one spot on the hot 100 chart followed by Lets Go Crazy. Prince and I were alone in the studio. We had weeks to go before the tour. I was excited for him.
"I want to hire you as my drummer", he demanded.
I looked at him and giggled. "Well you can't have me now, I have an album to promote", I reminded.
"Right, about that... I want you to open for me."
There was a moment of silence.
"Well I talked to my tour manager. I was planning on going on tour with just me and my band."
Prince sighed in frustration.
"Don't take offence to this but you're not big enough to start touring alone. I had a few hits in my early days but I still had to open for bigger players like Rick James", he explained.
I looked down trying not to show how shitty I felt hearing those words. Nonetheless he was right. This was my first album. To ensure good promotion I should ride along with someone that will grantee a full stadium.
"You're right."
"Great. After we tour though, I want you to be my percussionist."
I wasn't thrilled about the possibility of working for him since I've had a taste of what it could be like to be in the spot light. If I was his band member I would disappear. I would be his shadow. He noticed my worried look as I hesitated to respond.
"Don't worry, we'll still be working on music together. You can still have your own independent image."
It was as if he read my mind.
"Okay that sounds good." Though I still felt a bit off about the idea of working for him, I felt confident that he'll keep his word.
He got up and walked over to his desk by the sound board and grabbed some paper work. He then smacked in front of me.
"Before you go on tour, I'll just need you to sign this contract."
He tossed me a pen.
"I don't know about this. Maybe I should have my lawyer with me before signing this."
"That's silly, it's just to confirm your employment with Warner Bros."
"Okay well I should at least read it."
"Come on Sheila. Don't be difficult. I really want you on this adventure with me", he begged as he grabbed hold of my hand.
"You act as if you're about to sign your soul away", he continued.
We both started laughing.
"Okay. Where do I sign?"
I signed away my signature. He then grabbed the contract and set it back on his desk.
"Listen since we're in the studio let's choose a song that we can sing together. A duet for the fans", he suggested.
"Okay, why not".
He picked a song called Erotic City which was a B-side to Let's Go Crazy.

🔸⚜🔸

1984 was a great year so far. We were hitting the month of November and the tour was right around the corner. Prince invited me to production rehearsals since we were going to sing a duet. My band and I have already choreographed our performance. When I got there everyone looked miserable. Wendy and Lisa looked like they wanted to choke Prince. Prince was working on sound. Staff were running around everywhere. It was madness.
"Hey Wendy!"
There was a brief pause. She didn't even try and force a smile.
"Hi", she responded as she went back to fiddling with her guitar. I wasn't sure where this was coming from. I assumed she was stressed out preparing for the tour. Mark Brown approached me. "Hey, follow me", he insisted as he placed his hand over my shoulder.
"What's up with Wendy?" I asked eager to know if I did something wrong. We finally stopped walking. We were far enough away from Wendy that she wouldn't be able to hear us. "Wendy is suspicious", he answers vaguely. "What do you mean?"
"I thought you knew..."
"Knew what?" I asked. I started to worry.
"That Prince and Wendy's twin sister Susannah are seeing each other and have been since the start of the year".
I stepped back a bit. I felt like I've been punched in the gut. Just then I'd realized just how deeply I was emotionally invested in him. All this time I thought I had this wall up. I thought I was protected. I didn't think it would bother me but it did.
"Okay so ...", I respond trying to seem confused and not bothered. "Nothing is happening between Prince and I. We're just really close. We're especially close now since we worked on my album", I continued defensively.
"Okay, calm down. I'm not Wendy's investigator. I just wanted to give you a heads up".
I let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry Mark. You're always looking out for me. Thank you. I'm sorry".
"It's fine. Look I know how Prince can be. Be careful".
"I promise, nothing is going on with us," I assure him. As much as I wanted to ask him to elaborate, I couldn't out of fear of him suspecting something. I had to act like I didn't care. My thoughts began to race. Why did Prince try to pursue me if he had a girlfriend especially after I had just opened up to him about being the other women in my last relationship? I started feeling vulnerable and angry. I finally walked up to Prince who was speaking to the man working the lights. As I approached I could hear that Prince sounded agitated. "I told you to switch on the purple lights right after its designated verse", he shouted at the worker. "Mess up again, and I'll have you replaced." It was then that I patted him on the shoulder as a gesture to ease up. He turned around. He still had a very irritated expression on his face.