Friday's Appointments· Prince Rogers Nelson

Chapter 7: Get Out

I wasn't sure how to approach the situation. I didn't want my Mother there as much as Lance didn't, but I didn't know what to do or say. I certainly wasn't afraid of her, I was afraid of if she refused or became difficult like she always did, what would happen then? Lance already told me if I didn't make her leave, I'd pay for it later and I didn't feel like getting pushed around that night or worse. A part of myself was hoping she would just leave but I knew the type of person she was and I knew she wasn't going anywhere without kicking and screaming.

Lance left me swiftly once he made his threat clear, he darted to the living room to make sure they were getting along. Gloria had never met my Mother, Gloria refused to come to our wedding she told Lance it was a tacky wedding she wanted no part of and the opportunity to meet my family never arose for my mother in law. Now certainly wasn't a good time to change that. I decided to join everyone in the living room after I collected myself, Lance was following his mother like a lost puppy while my Mother examined our living room closely with a wide grin.

"You've certainly done a lot to the house since I was last here. I like it."

"I think it looks cheap." Gloria smirked. God I hated it. I rolled my eyes and walked to my Mother who was still looking around at every inch of the house. "So, Leona," Gloria cleared her throat. "What do you do for a living?"

My Mother perked up at the question, she loved talking about herself. "I work with a local bank."

"You must be well off."

"I make enough." My Mother made her way to the sofa to take a seat and relax for a brief minute. "And you?"

"I retired years ago. My late husband had plenty of funds set back for our later years so when he passed I decided to slow down and ease into retirement." I often wondered if Lances Father had any sense about him, God knows Lance got all of his personality and ideology from his Mother. I heard brief stories about Lances Father but none that gave much insight to him as a person. 

Lance sat on the arm chair next to his Mother and I sat opposite in a lone chair facing the sofa. I took this moment to collect myself and figure out ways to get my Mother to leave as quickly as possible, the subtle glances from Lance every few minutes only put on the pressure though. As I pondered my options the conversation went into more details about careers and work life, lance of course had to talk about himself but focused mainly on talking to his Mother instead of mine. I briefly began to think of work and who I worked for. I sometimes forgot I worked for a music icon, maybe it was because he had started to slow down a bit from his Purple Rain days and didn't go out much. Then again he was usually too busy screwing some women to think about tours or interviews. 

"So Sarah," Hearing my name called by Gloria brought me back from my thoughts. "Are you still working as a secretary?"

"Yes, I work for Prince now."

"Prince?" She seemed impressed. My Mother shot a slightly judgmental look at my direction, God only knows what was going through her head. "Well, I didn't think rock stars needed secretaries."

"They don't." Lance interrupted. "I think that little shit just likes pretty faces around."

I couldn't tell if that was a compliment. I was however slightly offended of how he spoke of Prince. Prince wasn't a bad guy. Why did I even care?

"Sarah," Lance changed the subject. "Go get our guests something to drink, would you?"

"Oh, just a water for me Sarah, I'm not one much for sodas." Gloria smiled. I was half tempted t spike her water with a shot of Coke but decided it'd be too obvious. Instead I rose from my seat and made my way to the kitchen to grab two glass cups from the cabinet. As soon as the door closed I heard footsteps behind me. My Mother had followed me into the kitchen. "You want water?" I asked.