The next day, Sofia came home in tears. ‘What’s wrong, babe?’ Prince asked, pulling her into a hug.
‘They won’t accept my resignation! My principal submitted it to HR, and came back saying I had to fulfill my contract or they would sue me, and work to have my teaching certificate revoked. They really played hardball.’
‘No big deal, babe. You won’t need a teaching certificate living in my world. I can hire a lawyer to fight the lawsuit. Don’t you have a union membership?’
‘Yes, and I called them. They said they don’t help teachers trying to leave the profession, just the ones who want to stay in. I’m scared.’
‘Don’t be scared, mama. The Max is in control.’ Prince’s quoting a scene from the show while wrapping his arms around her made Sofia smile a little.
Sofia went to work the following Monday, and her principal pulled her aside. ‘Sofia, what brought this resignation request on? I thought you were happy here.’
‘I enjoy my job, Ms. Watts, but my schedule doesn’t really work with my boyfriend’s lifestyle.’
‘Who is your boyfriend, that you’re willing to turn your life upside down, put your career in jeopardy? You’re a very good teacher, Sofia. I don’t say that to everyone, believe me.’
‘My boyfriend is Prince. I was on tour with him before the school year started. I will continue performing with him as a backup singer and sometime keyboardist.’
‘Well, that is a different kettle of fish, but I’ll say to you what I’ve said a million times before to young women. Don’t compromise your career for a boyfriend. A fiance, maybe, a husband, probably, but a boyfriend, nope. Boyfriends come and go. Only you and Prince know where your relationship is going.’
‘Thanks for your advice, Ms. Watts. I’ll certainly keep that in mind.’
When she got home that evening, Prince was waiting for her. ‘I’m pissed to have to tell you this. I spoke with my lawyer today, and he said you really should finish the school year. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear.’
‘Could I talk to the lawyer tomorrow after school, get a feel for his reasoning?’ Sofia decided sharing what the principal told her wasn’t necessary at that point. ‘I had really made up my mind to just walk out of my contract and let the chips fall where they may.’
‘He said all the same things HR told you, but he also said there was no way he could win a suit brought against you since you signed the contract. They could ask for the rest of your salary, and the salary of your replacement, and get it plus court costs. It’s only one more semester, five more months. Don’t you have two weeks between semesters? Let’s take one of them and go away to a beach. Think of it as a consolation prize.’
‘Okay, I’ll do it. I don’t mind the work, but I want to be with you, babe. This relationship is my highest priority.’
They had a blissful week in Hawaii, and Prince was a man of his word. He focused entirely on Sofia, catering to her every whim. He could tell she was exhausted and depressed after a long semester and disappointing news. She blossomed under his attention, turning back into the woman he had fallen in love with. He knew he was asking a lot, encouraging her to work through one more semester.
It was new for him to be the supportive one in a relationship, and part of him enjoyed spoiling his woman. He had a new appreciation for everything Sofia had done since they had fallen for each other. She never complained, at least not until she found out she had to finish the school year.
The vacation was over, and the new semester began. Sofia’s principal added responsibilities to her job description, requiring her to come in earlier and stay later for trainings. She found herself spending less time with Prince as a result. To his credit, he made sure to be available for her every evening, but she had to go to sleep super early to make it all work. He was left on his own during his most creative hours, without his soulmate around. It wasn’t long before he started feeling lonely.
Sofia took Valentine’s day off, thinking it would be romantic to spend the day with Prince since it was their first Valentine’s day together. He said he had a special surprise for her on Sunday night, and she knew his concert wouldn’t start until at least midnight. She couldn’t wait for the school year to be over. She could feel distance growing between her and Prince due to her now ridiculous schedule. She knew how special what they had was, and she didn’t want to jeopardize it.
Sunday night, Prince spent a lot of time making sure the concert venue was exactly right. The performance was being filmed for a special showing on VH1, one that would be interspersed with scenes that would make it more like a movie. That left Sofia at loose ends, waiting for a special surprise that didn’t seem to be coming. Finally the doors opened, and the fans crowded in. The concert was amazing. ‘You don’t need to sing backup tonight, mama, just hang backstage and be there so I can get some loving between sets.’ He poured a little more port into his coffee mug, and took it with him out to the stage.
Sofia loved watching her man perform. He didn’t spend as much time with her backstage as he’d promised, but she knew how laser focused he became when he was performing. He had port waiting backstage, as well as onstage. Sofia had never seen him drink so much alcohol.
‘Come out front for this last song, mama,’ he exclaimed, holding her tightly by the upper arms and pulling her in for an intense kiss. Breaking it off almost as soon as he'd kissed her, he continued. ‘It has so much energy, I want to see you jumping up and down for it. Be sure and come backstage right after so we can spend every minute together.’ Prince was bouncing on his heels, he was so excited.
Sofia dutifully went down and placed herself front row center, assisted by the great guys in security. She loved the song, and did find herself jumping up and down, much as Mayte was while hanging onto Tommy as he played the keytar. She was glad she didn’t have to wear combat boots, though.
Her heart stopped at the end of the song, when Prince took yet another drink of port, sang the final chorus, and pulled Mayte to him for a very long kiss. The crowd went wild, since he’d never done that with any woman onstage since his earliest tours. They took it to be a message that she was his girl. She acted like she was completely surprised, not even putting her hands on him. Then he took her by the hand and led her offstage.
Sofia didn’t know what to think. Her heart broke watching her man, or who she thought was her man, kissing another woman. In public. In front of hundreds of fans. In front of her. Security led her backstage, where Prince stood beaming. Mayte was standing beside and a little behind him, smiling uncertainly.
‘What did you think?’ he asked, walking toward her, reaching out for her, taking her hand.
‘I loved everything until you kissed Mayte like that,’ Sofia replied baldly. ‘You said you didn’t want me up there, or that could have been me, which makes a lot more sense to me, given that I’m your girlfriend, the person who is giving up her career in three months. Frankly, I hope that wasn’t your surprise.’
‘Mama, that was just acting,’ he replied. ‘Mayte and I planned it Thursday night about 3:30.’
‘While I was asleep due to my job. You could have clued me in on Friday night or Saturday, or even this afternoon. I would have loved to have been up there with you, being the woman you showed the world was yours. Just hearing you planned this when I was unavailable and then didn’t share it with me makes it hurt even more.’
‘Well, if you feel that way about it, maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t walk out on your job.’ Prince immediately became defensive at being called out for disrespecting his girl. It had been so hard not getting to spend time with her.
Mayte had turned into a good friend. He enjoyed her company, though she was a little immature. She never disagreed with him, never put anything but him first. It didn’t occur to him that was because she was his employee. It didn’t occur to him that she might be angling to be more than an employee. The minute Prince became defensive, she gave a little smile of triumph, which everyone except Prince noticed.
Trying to salvage the moment, Prince said, ‘Come on, mama, let’s go home. It’s late and you’re tired. We can talk more in private.’
Wanting to salvage her pride, Sofia agreed. Maybe Prince was just acting. But she didn’t think that's what it was on Mayte’s part.
Once they arrived at home, the argument continued.
‘It really didn’t occur to you that this would hurt me?’ Sofia asked, still feeling wounded and betrayed.
‘Mama, everyone knows Mayte from the last two tours. They were centered around her, building her up as a big deal in the NPG. This was just the next step in the creation of her stage persona.’
‘So, the plan is for you to keep treating her like your girlfriend on stage? Where does that leave me when school is over? I’ll be onstage watching you kiss her every time we perform that song? Based on the smile everyone but you saw light up her face when she saw our argument begin tonight, she is definitely wanting more than a professional relationship with you. Am I still going to be singing backup, playing some keyboards? Are you still planning to have me onstage with you? Will I need to share you with another woman?'
‘Of course you're not going to share me!' Prince shouted, furious at the thought, and being called out for a mistake.
'Well, good, because I'm not up for that.’ Sofia crossed her arms in front of her. She wanted some answers.
'Maybe that stage business thing needs to stop,' he admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to re-center himself. He hated losing control, hated raising his voice. 'I've thought alot about you being part of the NPG, and since you can’t be around for rehearsals most of the time, that could become problematic. I’m happy to have you there sometimes, but I don’t know if you’re ready for the rigors of actual touring. You had it pretty easy that month that we spent on the road.’ Sofia bristled at his implication.
‘What do you mean? I played every concert, did every soundcheck, even all the aftershows. The only difference between me and the rest of the band is that we slept together every night.’ Sofia's chest was rising and falling with her angry breaths. It was a distraction for Prince, but he wanted to finish this before he concentrated on her body. Work before pleasure.
‘It boils down to the fact that you aren’t available for rehearsals. My bands are tight. You know how hard we rehearsed last summer. Ten, twelve hours a day. You can’t do that and teach.’
‘And I’m walking away from that on Memorial Day. Did you forget? That’s only fourteen weeks from now. It isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things. Surely you can wait three and a half more months. We’ve made it this far.’
‘But you’re not around when I need you. You’re either in class with your students, or you’re in a meeting after school, or you’re asleep because you have to get up so damn early.’
‘You remember I'm doing this because I have to, right? So the fact that my schedule is inconvenient right now makes me too much trouble later? Is what you’re really saying that you’d rather I wasn’t around at all? Because it’s sure starting to sound like it. You and I talked about the fact that this would be hard in January when I went back to work. You made it sound like it would be worth it. That what we had would be worth the sacrifices we’d have to make.’
‘I didn’t know how hard it would be, night after night, not to have you around, mama. You know my most creative hours are midnight to 6 a.m. Every time I have an idea, I don’t have you to share it with. I want to come home or call and wake you up so I can share it with you, but then I feel guilty because I know how hard your job is. Steve, the art director, and Mayte are usually the only ones around at Paisley, but it isn't the same.'
Sofia's tender heart sank at his words. 'I'm sorry, babe. Can't you hold on a little longer? The school year will be over before we know it.'
Prince looked down, shaking his head. When he looked back up, his eyes were bright with tears. He hated himself for what he was about to say.
'I just don’t know if I can continue making this work, mama. It might be better if you moved back into your apartment for the rest of the school year, and we can go back to how we’re living now when school is over.’
Stunned by what she had just heard, Sofia sank into the chair behind her, tears of her own filling her eyes.
‘Are we breaking up?’
Oh, dear. What do you think? Is this the end for Prince and Sofia in 1994?
Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting!