Slow Love

Chapter 17-Saturday

I wake up, look over and he's sitting in bed with a notebook and glasses on. What is up with the glasses? Looks sexy tho. He is feverishly writing in this book. He stops and looks over at me watching him. He softly says, 'Good Morning Love.'  I reach up and put my arms around him, kiss him on the cheek, and reply, "Good Morning." I look down and my robe is laying across the end of the bed, so I slide out, put it on and head to the bathroom. I took care of business and then look in the mirror. God, what I night! What a week! A week ago I was getting ready to leave home and come here to work. Little did I know what was in store for me. As I wash my face, brush my teeth, thoughts are flooding thru my mind. I am supposed to leave tomorrow, but I can see that's not going to happen. I would love to stay longer, I have nothing else to do otherwise, I am retired. LOL! I do have a house to figure out what to do with now. If I am going to be here, I have to do something with it. I have to do something with this hair. I wonder if the girls have any ideas? It needs something. Maybe I can go to the salon today. We really don't have anything tonite except an"appearance" so we have a free day. Maybe I can get my spa day? Well, let me see what he has on the agenda. God, that man! He is so beautiful. He is definitely better looking than I am. What does he see in me? He even looks great in the morning. Look at me, I look like I've gone to raccoon ruin. Circles around my eyes, from mascara,bags under my eyes and just the ravages of getting older. Maybe the surgeon can fix a few other things while he's at it? Nope, he loves me for me. I don't need to change anything, but it is a thought. These surgeries really scare me. What if they are not successful? I know it is going to be painful. Can I deal with the pain?  Better yet, can he? It is a good idea to go with him on tour, it will help make the pain bearable. Traveling with him is like a dream come true! I love him and there is no denying that. I just don't know if I can live with him. That is my hesitation. I know he can be difficult, I know all too well. I just refuse to battle with him. I want peace in my life and I think so does he. I wonder if his stunt last nite hit the press? I know it had to. It was too obvious what was going on. He may as well just said while he had the mic in his hand, Yes, I am madly in LOVE with her.  Security was really tight so I doubt there was any pictures, but people will be running their mouths. I will look on my tablet when I get done in here and see if anything has hit. I'll find out. The good news is, he seems relaxed so, if there was something, he would have heard all about it by now. I think I'll take a shower. Sounds good. Get a hot shower to relax and get ready to take on the day. He seems intent on what he's doing. I turn on the shower and get in. It feels so good. This old body needs the heat to get moving in the morning. I hope he stays put. I just need this time to collect my thoughts. Well, that went well. I'm done and out. I turn around to leave, there he is watching me.  I stroll over to him and say, "whatcha doing?" He replies, "watching you. You are so beautiful I just love watching you. You know I like my eye candy." I said, "So, anything in the papers?" He says, "Well, about that, yes, there is." Uh,Oh here we go. Brace yourself for the hissy fit. "So?" He says, "you'll have to see it." OK he seems calm and collected. Maybe we are good. I head straight for my tablet on the night stand. He said, "you were right, it hit the Star." I get to the Star Tribune and there it is. He says, "Read it babe and tell me what you think." So I read it, it is written by Jon Bream, that's good. He's one of their better guys. Well, it is a good review of the show. He gets into me.  Very respectful. He says, "Prince's new lady friend is enjoying all the attention he is giving her." I have to hand it to Jon, he damn well knows who I am and he did not give up my name. Jon and I get along really well so I expect he's going to call. It's been years since the last time we spoke, but he'll be a calling, I am sure. He will want an exclusive. I say to him, "That went well. What do you think?" He said, "Jon is a good guy, I'm glad he did it. He is respectful and wants to be on my good side. We have mended the fences so we should be nice back to him. What do you think, babe?" I said,"OK, you want me to do your memoirs, if you didn't already know,  you know now. I'll do that for you. We can use that as a guise to give Jon the exclusive. If we give him that, he will have my back. We go way back and he owes me. OK?" He goes, "That is pure genius G, that is pure genius! I like that. You have the perfect cover. Writing my memoirs! I am so happy you will help me do that. I expected you to say no, but YIPPIE! I am so happy to hear that. I'll have the staff put the call thru if he calls. We can do this." I said, "let me talk to him. He owes me and I can handle this. Can you let me do that?" He said, "You know babe, I've changed. I will be more than happy for you to handle this for me. I love you and I trust you. Should we call Jon?" I thought about it and said, "You know, it may be in our best interests to call him. Just give it to him and it looks good if we summons him rather than him pursuing us."  "OK, I'll have Patrick get hold of him. I said, "Is Patrick here?"He replied, "Yes." I said "do you ever give that guy a break?" He said, "Yes,why?" I said it seems like you work that poor guy to death. He said, "But when I tour, he has plenty of time, so don't worry too much about him babe." OK, let's get this things rolling. It is better now than later. I'm going to get dressed. Have Patrick get him here today. Darling, this is going to be a different point of view, OK?" He looks at me puzzled. I say, "I am calling Jon, not you. OK? The interview is with me, not you?" Are you OK with that?  He throws his arms around me kissing me all over saying,"Baby, I love you. You know how much I hate interviews! I love you,I love you! You just take care of that for me and I will be forever grateful." I say, "OK buddy, you owe me big time for this.  I want my spa day and you are giving it to me." Have Patrick set me up for my spa day today and have Jon come by tonight. I will take care of it and all will be well." I know Jon and he will be there whatever time we tell him. He would not miss this for the world. I am so tired and I know that spa day will rejuvenate me. I look over and he is just beaming with that smile ear to ear. I say, "So?" He throws his arms around me and says, "I love you Baby. I love how you just took charge of this. I love you, I love you, I Love you. You are my Best Friend." I say, "OK, you need to give me some space today so I can pull this off. Get that spa day, get Bream scheduled and I'm going to prepare for this. Go!" He looks sheepishly at me and says, "Can I go with you for the spa day?" I said, "Sorry sweetheart, but no! I need this and I need this to be on my own. We can do one together next time, OK?" He looks down and says, "OK." I said, "Go, get this done ASAP." So he kissed me on the cheek and zips out. I check my messages and I see my friend, Bonnie has sent me one marked urgent. I open it up and it says, "What are you doing up there. I see you are in the news. What's up with that?" I panic when I go to the link and it is OK, it is just what they picked up from the Star, so all is well. I message her back, and say, "I'll fill you in later. Hold the fort down and I won't be home tomorrow." I look up, here he comes bounding in all smiles. He said, "Done!  Spa at noon and Bream at 6:00pm. Does that work for you Baby."  I said, "Perfect!" He then says, "Let's go eat and then you can leave for your day." He takes my hand to helped me out of bed and leads me to the dining room in the apartment. Brunch is waiting there for us. I get a cup of coffee and some food and sit down. He is sitting there just beaming. Lord, this is just too much energy for me this early in the morning. I say to him, "Whatcha thinkin'?" He just gushed about how I was taking charge of the situation and how wonderful I was to handle this and so on. I looked at him and said, "You caused this mess so I'm getting you out of it, OK? I know you love me and you want to tell everyone in the world you do, but really? You need to put this in check. I know you and I just don't think you are ready to expose yourself after all these years of keeping your private life, private. This one is easy to fix, but if you don't watch yourself, the next one may not be as easy to fix. You need to think with your big head and not the little one. Do you understand?" He thinks a min and says, "Baby I understand what you are saying, I hear you. I am just tired of it. I want to be free and I want to have a normal life with you. I love you and I want the world to love you too. I know who I am and it has been a hard life for me. If you agree to be with me, I want you to have a normal life and not change what you are used to. But I hear you. I'm just so excited and can't help myself." I said, "OK, let's compromise. I have not committed to this life yet. I have agreed to go on tour with you. I am committing to you for the short term. During this time, protect me, please? I don't want to have to do this again. If we commit long term, then you can do whatever you want to do. This will give me some time to get adjusted to it. OK?" He says, "OK, Deal!  I can do that." I leaned over and kissed him. I said, "Sweetheart,I love you and I love you with my whole heart. I think I want this but I do not want any roadblocks along the way. I love the changes I've see here this week. I need some time to get used to the new you. Do this and I think all will be well. Remember we need to take this slow." He agrees. He tells me that Kirk is taking me to the spa. I look at him and said, "Why can't I drive myself?" He says, "I want Kirk with you just in case some reporters are sneaking around. It is for your safety. I am just trying to protect you. OK?" I agree. He said, "Get going, Kirk is waiting for you." So, I get my purse and kiss him goodbye. I head out and Kirk is all smiles. I greet him and he helps me in. He pulls out and we head to the spa. Kirk looks over at me and says, "That was a powerful show last nite, wasn't it?" I turned  said, "Excuse me! He has created a mess and now I have to get him out of it and this spa day is my pay off.  "Kirk laughs and says, "He loves you Gigi, he can't help himself. He is a hot mess." I had to laugh. I said, "Yes, I know Kirk. That boy is going to be the death of me if he does not start thinking before he acts out. What is up with that? He has always been so calculated and now that has just flown clean out the window." Kirk just laughs and says, "Gigi, he is in love. I mean really "IN LOVE". He is so in love with you he doesn't even know what he is doing. This is what we have all been trying to tell you. We have not seen him like this, never, ever. He is a changed man. We like him like this. You know?" I just laughed shaking my head. I said,"Kirk, you know I'm just trying to protect him. I don't want this to turn out bad. I want to see where this takes us and I don't need anything our path." Kirk says he understands. Kirk tells me we are almost there. I ask if I should call him to come get me? He said, No,he was waiting on me. Just text me when you are done and I'll escort you from the door to the car. He gets me out and in quickly. I check in and all goes well. I get puffed and buffed. I get the whole deal.I get my hair done, my nails, makeup, pedicure, a massage, a steam, facial.  I'm good to go. I feel rejuvenated and I'm ready to get this interview done. It's about 5:00 so I have a bit of time to prepare for Jon. Kirk is there and waiting. He gets me into the car and tells me that no one has followed us and all is well so far. He looks over at me and says, "Gigi, you look stunning. Just keep loving my brother the way you have." I said, "Aww, Kirk, thank you. You know this whole thing has run over me like a train in the night. I needed a break and this spa day was just the ticket. I need time,Kirk. I just need to sort this out. I love him, know that." Kirk then says, "I know this has been hard for you and I respect that. This is turning your world upside down and inside out. You really are what he needs and I'm glad he finally found that." I try to hold my tears back, but a few leak out. Kirk says, "Gigi don't cry, he loves you, be happy." I said holding back, "I know he does. I know." Kirk says handing me a handkerchief, "Blot those tears and look good our man. You know he's waiting for you." We pull into Paisley and sure enough, he is outside hopping around. He is just full of himself.  Kirk says, "Look see how happy he is." I said,"Thank you for taking me. I enjoyed our chat." We pull up and he runs to the car door. He see me and just gushes. "WOW, you look beautiful girl!" I don't know if I'm gonna let Bream have you tonight." I looked at him and said, "You got us into this mess, just chill out." I need to get ready for him. I have to prepare for this, OK?" We get in and Patrick is still there. It's about 5:30.  Patrick shouts, You look beautiful, Girl! I thanked him and said, call me when Bream arrives. We head up to the apartment and he is just hovering over me. I said, "Look, you do your thing alone and I need some space to do this, so bug outta here." He says, "OK, Baby, I'll leave you alone. How long do you think this will take?"I said, "I don't know but I'm going to try to keep it as short as possible. You know I have some catching up with him so my guess is about an hour - hour ½. OK?" He says, "Perfect and I will disappear, right." I said, "Right." I am doing this alone, without you. It will be better that way. If Jon sees you with me, the jig is up. Got it?  He says, "Got it!" So, he kisses me and leaves. I get a cup of coffee and relax on the sofa for awhile. As I gather my thoughts, I think back on what Kirk said. He is right, this man that is madly in love and has lost his mind. LOL!  Thoughts keep racing thru my head. I just closed my eyes and rested. Here it is, the call Bream is here. I answer and tell Patrick to have him sit in the Atrium. I head out and look over and see Bream sitting on the chair. He looks like he's about to come unglued. He can hardly sit still. OK, got do this. I head down the stairs and round the bend. I shout, JON! He stands up and opens his arms to greet me. I hug him and he says, "Great to see you Gigi. How have you been? I said, "Good, really good. Let's sit here. Is this OK with you Jon?" He agrees. He is about to burst. I said,"Jon what do you know." He says that's why I'm here isn't it? I gave him my famous look and said, "Now Jon, I am not going to play any games, you know?" He said, "I know you Gigi, and you are a straight up type person. I know better than that." I say, "I called you here to give you something I think you not only deserve but something I think you will do justice to. He was grinning ear to ear and winks at me. I said, "No, stop it, it is not what you think. Were you at the Dakota last,  night?" He said, "Oh yeah, I got a call immediately after the first show so I hot footed it up there. I caught the second one. The whole thing. Even the table deal beforehand." I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. He damn well knows what's going on and nothing I'm going to say is going to change that. So I have to get a compromise out of him for that. I laughed out loud and said, "Jon, what I'm going to give you is something better than what you witnessed. You did me right in your review and I am glad you respected me, not to mention him. You are a top notch journalist and I respect you too." He gets a little giddy and says, "When I saw you, I had to wonder what was going on. The call I got was really off color and not very nice because the caller has no idea you two had a past. Even though we have been out of touch for a long time, I did recognize you. You were hot back in the day, which I was jealous about because that got you a lot of interviews I wanted. You are still hot, girl." I said, "Thank you. Now Jon, can I trust you, really trust you? You know you owe big time me for that interview I got for you back in the day with Bon Jovi." He nodded yes and proceeded to say, "I did not rat you out in the article today, did I?" I said, "That is why I contacted you. You have always been respectful and I know you will keep this under wraps. So we agree? He nodded again. I said,"Jon I need to hear you say Yes." So he replied, "Yes, I'll keep confidential what ever you tell me to." I said, OK. Here we go Jon, this is what I'm giving you. If you need any details, I'll give you my cell and email.  Prince called me up here to convince me to help him write his memoirs. I have been here all week. I just agreed to do them and last nite.  He was over joyed that I agreed to help him. That is partly what you and the crowd at the Dakota witnessed. I will be going on tour with him here shortly to see how he does this. It will help me to adequately write from that perspective. You know this is a massive undertaking and it will take me a great deal of time to disseminate it. He does not see himself like the rest of the world does. He is an Icon and a Rock Superstar.   We have not set a time frame yet, but will probably do so in 6-12 months when I can asses how long it is going to take to put together. We need to find a publisher and I don't think that will be a problem. You are going to help there.  I'm sure when this hits, the offers will come flooding in. So there you have it. Does this make you day?" At first, Jon is gobsmacked. He was speechless and stared at me blankly. I snapped my fingers in Jon face and said, "Jon, are you in there!" He came to and said, "WOW, you were not kidding that you were giving me something better than last nite. This is a career changing article you dropped right in my lap. Gigi, you are the perfect person to do this. You two have a history and you already have so much to begin with. I know you have been his friend for a very long time. I am happy he asked you to do it. You will do it justice." I said, "See, I told you. You don't need to lower yourself to gossip columnist. Speaking of which, I need you to keep CJ in check, can you do that?" He nodded yes. I went on and said, "Jon, now I'm going to give you the stuff I need you to help me with to keep out of the press for now. OK?" He emphatically says, "Yes, I'll do what ever I have to for a story like this. Tell me what you need done." I gathered my thoughts and figured where to start. OK got it. I said, "Jon, you know Prince and I have been friends for a very long time, almost 30 years. (he nods yes.) I know all his personal and private things that have not been publicized or shared. I know where all the skeletons are so to speak. He nods again. This week has been something else for both him and I.  We have discovered we are madly in love with each other. (Jon jumps up and cheers and comes to hug me.) I said, that is what I need you to keep under wraps. Jon, sit, please sit. Here's what I'm going to do. Not only are you getting the story of a lifetime, you are going to get more. If you help me, which I know you will, you will get this story as well. (Jon can hardly contain himself) I know as a journalist myself, you cannot keep it all out of the press. You can sanitize it and run interference for me and keep CJ in check, that I know you can do. Can you do this for me?" "He says, you got it! Anything you want me to do, I'll do it and help you as much as I can on the sideline." I continue to say, "Jon, I do not know where this is going, that's why I am going on tour with him to see if I can handle this lifestyle. Either way it ends up, you get the exclusive. He jumps up and comes over to hug me.  He says, "Gigi, I'm so elated for you. You deserve to be happy. I hope it works out." I said,"Jon while I am on tour with him, you know the rumor-mill will be buzzing. That is where you come in. Every time you see something, try to put it in check. I know you cannot catch it all, but what you can do will cloud it enough for us. OK?" He said he can and will do what needs to be done. No worries there. I said, "Jon this was a very hard decision to make to have you come here but it needed to be done after his little stunt on stage last nite. (Shaking my head) You deserve this and I know you will do it justice. You know I have my hands full with him and the way he is. I just wanted our privacy for awhile longer and he just blew it right then and there. Jon I have to tell you, he is really different than I've ever seen him before.  He really is changing and for the better. He is evolving into a better person. Please know that. His days of wild are over and I really love the man I see now.  So are we good?" Jon hugs me again and says, "Gigi, you have my trust and integrity. I will not do anything to betray you. Just like you have never betrayed him. I respect you for that." I said,  "One more thing, Would you send me your article prior to publication so I can look it over and approve it?" He said, "No problem." I stopped at the reception area and wrote down my cell and email and handed it to Jon. He hugged me again and said, "Gigi, don't worry about one thing. I have your back this time. Trust that." I said, "I do Jon, that is why you are here."He then said, "Enjoy yourself and be happy. He is going to take you on the magic carpet ride of your life. I will be in contact with you soon." Thanks Jon. I know I'm in for a real treat. You take care buddy and we parted ways.