A week after the MRI, it is confirmed that Prince's failed hip replacement is the cause of his pain. With a few other tests, the specialist has deemed him a favorable candidate for the second procedure. He also feels there should be no unforeseen complications from this surgery only if Prince follows through with his recovery and physical therapy as directed.
This particular morning, before any conversations about when the actual surgery will take place, I wake to find myself alone in bed. After my initial confusion, I look over at the baby monitor display to see Ramiel's crib is empty.
"Okay," I mutter. Pulling myself into a sitting position, I do my best to shake off the lingering sleepiness with no avail. My grogginess is overridden by surprise when I power up my cell phone to find it's almost 10 AM "What the...?" Well, no wonder I can't wake up, I've had too much sleep.
I hurry to get dressed, pulling my hair back into a low ponytail, and head downstairs. When the elevator doors open, I find Prince playing with Ramiel on the floor of the living room.
"There's Mommy," Prince says cheerfully when he spots me first.
Ramiel pushes up from the floor, butt first, then walks to me as fast as his little legs will carry him. He chants the whole distance, "Ma, ma, ma, mom!"
"Hey, Handsome," I scoop him up and kiss his nose. Ramiel giggles before ineffectively trying to communicate what they had been doing. His hands flail in mock gestures that I know he's picked up from us.
"Um, hm, is that so?" I nod, as if his jibberish makes sense. Prince nods from across the room, when Ramiel looks to him for confirmation.
I join Prince, who has now moved up to the sofa, "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You've looked so tired lately, I thought you could use the extra sleep," he leans in and kisses my cheek. He also takes a second to place the back of his hand on my forehead. Again, there's concern in his eyes as he scans mine. "I have to head to Paisley soon, do you want me to take Ramiel with me?"
"No, I got him," I insist. My logic is, if he has to go in, more than likely he won't have the ability to entertain him.
"Can you be there by 1:00?" He asks, his eyes scan me again.
I knit my eyebrows as I nod, "Sure, no problem."
He strokes my cheek before he stands, "I'll see you two, later, then." We both get goodbye kisses before he leaves.
"I guess we're going to Paisley today," I say to Ramiel after Prince has left. He watches me while I talk then starts jabbering away. Just like his father, I laugh to myself. "Come on, Booger Butt, let's get ready."
*******
When I arrive at Paisley with Ramiel, Prince is in the Atrium, alternately playing guitar and jotting lyrics into his notebook. The first thing I notice is that he looks more polished than when he left the house this morning. The guitar is set aside when I let Ramiel down and he toddles to his father, "Da, da, dad!"
"Little Man," Prince says as he scoops him up into his lap. He presses a kiss to his cheek then looks up at me, "Are you sure you're okay, Sugar?"
"Um, hm," I nod, but my quietness and frown don't sell my answer.
Prince stands, walks over to me, and his eyes examine my face. With his free hand he brushes my brow with his fingertips, his face is concerned. "Talk to me," he says in a serious tone.
Right after Prince had left the house, I had started to really not feel well, but I knew he wanted us here, so I powered through. "I don't know, maybe I caught a virus. I feel drained, and my stomach is kind of upset," I answer truthfully.
He raises his eyebrows, purses his lips and nods. When he looks at Ramiel, he makes an excited face, "You want to hang out with Uncle Kirk for a few minutes? Huh?" Prince walks over to the desk and punches a couple numbers, "Hey, could you come to the Atrium? Thanks."
I frown quizzically at Prince as he smiles at me and softly pats Ramiel's back in fatherly fashion.
"Hey, there's my man!" Kirk says with a grin as he comes around the corner. Ramiel bounces excitedly in Prince's arms, reaching for Kirk as he reaches for him.
"Uh-ca Cur," Ramiel's best copy of Uncle Kirk he can muster.
Prince passes him over, "We'll be right back," he mentions to Kirk. We wave to Ramiel, he returns the gesture and blows us a kiss, we laugh and each blow one back. Prince turns to me, offering me his hand, "Sugar?"
I take his hand and let him lead me to the elevator in silence. Once inside I study his expression to find he's doing the same. "Why are we going upstairs?" I ask.
He looks at me and says nothing, the door opens and he takes my hand. "Come on," his words are soft, barely above a whisper, he pulls me from the elevator and towards the private quarters. Once we're inside, he turns to me and smiles.
I laugh at his sudden oddness, "What?"
Prince reaches out, lifts a plastic cup from the table by the door, and presents it to me, "Here." I take the cup and shrug as I look at him. "I think you need to pee," he elaborates.
Our eyes lock, "Pee?" I blink once, the realization hits me, "You think I'm pregnant?"
A wide grin spreads across his face, "I know you're pregnant."
My swallow is audible and I blink a couple more times before I actually start to move towards the bedroom with the cup in my hand, Prince is close behind me. When I get into the bathroom, I hesitate, looking at the cup. "What if I am pregnant?" I whisper the question, more thinking aloud than looking for an answer.
When I look at Prince, he's beaming with excitement, "Well, then, I guess our little family will get a little bit bigger." He moves forward, placing one hand on my hip, his other on my stomach and presses his forehead to mine.
Our eyes meet, "We never discussed having a second child."
His eyes search mine, "I know," he whispers, "but, would it be so bad?"
I look away, uncertain how I feel at this very moment, I'm still dumbfounded by the sudden possibility. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Hold this," I say, offering Prince the cup. He takes it willingly and steps back, giving me room to pass him so that I can get to the toilet.
Once I'm in position, he hands it back to me. I place the cup and try to will myself to pee with no luck. When I look up at Prince, he nods with a knowing smile and turns, within seconds, the flow starts. I pull the cup carefully, handing it off to him before I finish emptying my bladder.
By the time I join Prince at the counter, he's already dipped two different tests and replaced the covers. "Now, we wait," a smile plays on his lips and his eyes sparkle as he pulls me against him.
Soon we are sitting side by side on the edge of the tub, while I stare blankly at the floor. Prince senses my apprehension and begins stroking my back, "Is this not something you want?" His voice is barely above a whisper, and he watches me closely.
"I don't know," I breathe, "I mean, I hadn't put any thought into it one way or another." I'm at a loss at how to explain the barrage of thoughts swirling through my brain. "Remember that whole spring chicken thing? It applies more now than it did before."
Prince's expression is of concern as he stands and crosses to the counter, he lifts one test to look at it, then the other. I carefully watch his reflection in the mirror for some sort of reaction, but he maintains a poker face. His expression is questioning when he turns, leans against the counter and crosses his arms. "What would you like the tests to say?"
I take a couple deep breaths as I scan the floor around me. With the question worded like that, I have no choice but to go with my heart. I bite my lip before responding, "Positive?"
His eyebrows raise, his expression serious, "Are you sure?"
I look at the floor, then back at him, nodding. Prince says nothing as he turns, picks up the tests, and deposits them into the trash can. He then carries the cup to the toilet, dumping it, then adds it to the trash. I watch his every move like a hawk, waiting for some indication from him, but there's nothing as he tidies up.
It occurs to me that he may have been wrong in his assumption, and he's doing his best to hide his disappointment. I feel my own stomach sink before I muster the courage to ask, "So, I'm not pregnant?" The words are forced, in just those few minutes, my hopes were raised.
Prince examines my face, I know I can't hide the disappointment in my eyes. Slowly, one corner of his mouth starts to pull back before revealing a huge grin. "No, you're pregnant."
"What?!" I'm left stunned. When Prince starts to laugh, I swat at him.
He quickly evades my reach, but returns to pull me into his arms. "Now you can't deny that you want this as much as I do." He searches my eyes again before his lips meet mine. No, I think, I guess I can't.
"I can't believe I'm going to go through all this again," I breathe, resting my head on his shoulder.
Prince laughs. "You rocked it the first time," he reminds me. "We have to get you downstairs, though, Kim's waiting for you," he kisses my forehead.
"For me? Why?" I frown.
"I'm holding a press conference, Sugar. I want you beside me," his eyes search mine.
"Oh," mild panic starts to set in.
"Don't," he says gently, "Come on." He leads me through the suite and to the elevator. Instead of stressing about the press conference, my mind fixates on my newest discovery: I'm pregnant.