Bella's POV
Wednesday morning, Bella woke up before the alarm went off and lay there thinking about all that had transpired in the last 48 hours. They had a monster film on their hands which was mind boggling, Prince's album was still flying high on the charts and all indications were that it would continue to do so. The book Another Chance remained on the New York Times Best Sellers list and showed no signs of slowing down and the rewards from it all were huge. It was really quite overwhelming and so she was glad that they were leaving today for Key West. She had never been there although she had been to Florida with her parents and on tour. She was really looking forward to some time with Prince when he wasn't so focused on the work as they had been in recent months. The four of them had worked really hard and they deserved some downtime. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:30 AM. Their flight would leave at 12:15 PM and arrive in Chicago at 7:15 Eastern Standard Time. They would only be on the ground long enough for the band to get off and unload the instruments and get them on the tour bus for Sidney to take to his home. They would then take off for Detroit and would and pick up Ray Burgess and his family and then fly to Key West arriving at about 9:15 PM. She turned over and looked at Prince. He was sleeping like a baby. Once he had finally come to terms with all that was going on with the film and its rewards with the help of his loving Savior, he felt better but his body needed the restorative power of sleep and rest. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and got up. Going into the bathroom, she got her robe off of the hook behind the door, did her morning routine and headed for the kitchen.
She clearly was the first up this morning and so put the coffee on while enjoying the quiet of the house before others were up. Bella sat down at the table and turned on the Cloud Stream. Good Morning America-the replay was just coming on. The host, Peter Cummings was talking to his co-host, Anita Cromwell about Another Chance, the film and how incredibly well it was doing. He had some footage that they were going to play from a showing that had occurred last night. It was focused on some of those that had attended as they were coming out of the movie theater and would play right after the commercial. The coffee pot alert went off letting her know it was ready. She got up and poured a cup and dressed it while she listened to the commentary and ignored the 30 second commercial.
Prince's POV
The show continued and the current shot was of Peter Cummings talking to a young couple that were exiting the Theater. "So what did you think"? "It was amazing", the man said. The music scenes were crazy. This Royal Prince dude is the real deal." "He is hot too" the young woman said. "And so sexy." Her boyfriend smiled and said..."yeah and so is Bella and that Elaine too. I will go to see it again just to watch those two". "Thank you", Peter said and moved quickly to three young women. "So did you enjoy the film"? "Yes" one of them who was wearing an Another Chance T Shirt with picture of The Royal Prince on it. " It was a wonderful film. Royal is the finest man I have ever seen. I would do him in a second". "You realize he is engaged right"? "Yeah, but he ain't married yet. Hey Royal, I'm available" she said as she pulled up her T shirt to show her size D cups and shook them. The camera quickly panned away. Bella looked at the woman and started laughing..."lady you really don't know my Prince". Looking up she saw Prince standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. " Morning baby" she said. He moved toward her, pulled her out of her chair and hugged her and then kissed her passionately. "Morning Bella", he said in his deep morning voice. Smiling Bella poured him a cup of coffee and dressed it. As Prince sat down at the table she said, "The lady there said that she's available Prince". "Yeah I saw" he said. "I prefer my woman to be a lady in public...so I don't think I will be asking her for her number". "Oh you"! Bella said giggling and kissed him on the top of his head. "What would you like for breakfast"? "Truth be told, I would like me some Bella Ala Nude, but I know we have a lot to do to get out of here, so, I will wait on that". Bella smiled and shook her head. Ross walked in and greeted them. "So what would you like to eat this morning. It should be filling, because they won't serve lunch on the plane until a little after 1:00 PM", he said. Prince said "Waffles man and some of those breakfast meats you do too". "And some Cantaloupe slices with chopped fruit on top...and some eggs", added Bella. "Sounds great", Prince said. "I'll chop the fruit", he said. "I will cut the Cantaloupe", Bella chimed in. "And I will set the table" , Elaine said as she and Carlos walked into the kitchen. "I will do the eggs", Carlos said. Everybody stopped and looked at him. "Uh baby, why don't you set the table and I will do the eggs", Elaine said. "Great idea" Prince said laughing. "Hey I can make eggs", Carlos said. "Uh huh, maybe next time", Elaine said. Carlos mumbled something under his breath but went to the cabinet and started getting the dishes down to set the table. They all got busy and in record time before they knew it, Ross was using the intercom to call the Security team for breakfast. They sat down and Prince said the grace. "Father, thank you for this food and for the cooperative spirit that exists within all these that live in this house. Please grant us traveling grace today as we go to a much needed vacation. Keep us safe on our trip and please bring us home safely too , relaxed and ready to do your will. In Jesus name, Amen"! They dug into the wonderful meal and enjoyed each other's company while they ate. When they had finished, Frank and Larry took cleanup duty while the four went to dress and check their bags to make certain they had everything. Both Bella and Prince dressed in all white. Bella wore an above the knee sleeveless, cotton blend white dress with a matching jacket and white sandals. Prince wore white cotton/silk blend pants with a matching white pull over tunic with silver braid on the collar and white sandals also . Carlos and Elaine wore similar outfits in pale yellow.
At 11:00 AM, Prince, Carlos and Security loaded the bags into the SUV and took off for the airport. When they arrived, the band was already there and had started to take the instruments off of the touring bus. The driver would take the bus back to Arista once they had unloaded. Prince and Carlos greeted their band mates while they assisted in getting the instruments loaded into the luggage bay and then they all cleared their bags through TSA, showed their ID and boarded the flight. They got settled and soon heard Greg Landis, their pilot, announce that they would be landing in Chicago at 7:15 PM. He reminded them that only the band would deplane at this stop. He introduced the flight attendants and told them to sit back and enjoy the ride and then within minutes was moving down the runway and then into the air. The flight was uneventful and actually arrived early at 6:50. The band got off, unloaded the bags and instruments in record time and the plane took off again and in thirty minutes was landing in Detroit. Prince and Bella got off as did Frank and walking inside of the VIP terminal, greeted Ray and his family. Bella held Anna Elizabeth while her mother introduced them to their three boys including Ray Jr. who was walking fine now and had returned to his normal spunky self. At 6 years old, he was the consummate big brother ready to help with the little ones anytime. Bella said hello to Ray Jr. and then to Barry who was the next oldest son and then to Roger who was the youngest of the boys. Ray Jr. was the first to go up the stairs to board the flight. He was followed by his mother, Jeannette, who was carrying Anna in her car seat. Then Ray went up carrying Barry, then Bella and Prince was next carrying Roger. Frank brought up the rear. On the way up the stairs, Prince told Roger that Roger was his uncle's middle name and said it was really cool that they shared the name. He put his hand up in the high five gesture and Roger gave him 5 and said "yup cool"!. Prince had just made a friend for life. Ray had heard the conversation and had to smile. He really liked this Prince. Bella introduced Jeannette to Elaine and Carlos, but being a fan, she already knew who they were. Elaine got up and helped Bella to get the boys into seats and seat belts. Jeanette buckled the car seat in the seat between Ray and herself. Ray and Prince stood in the aisle and talked to Frank for a moment until the call to be in their seats was announced. Bella sat down next to Prince who kissed her cheek. "It was really nice of you to let Ray bring his family Prince". "They have been through a lot so I thought this would be a nice break for them". Now Bella leaned over and kissed Prince on his cheek. "You are the sweetest man", she said. He smiled and actually blushed and took her hand. Once in the air dinner was served. Unknown to anyone but Greg, Prince had told the crew there would be little ones on board and they had ordered some meals they would like. They had a choice of mac and cheese with fruit, or a beef wiener with baked beans. When Prince saw that he wondered if they had some mac and cheese for him too. They had ordered several extras so yes was the answer. For those that preferred to be grownups, they had a pasta dish, steak or chicken entrees. They enjoyed their meals including the little ones. At about 8:00 Anna started to fret a bit and Ray took her while her mother got a bottle out of the baby bag. She asked one of the attendants, Valerie, if she would heat it for just 20 seconds. She did and it came back to her at the perfect temperature. Ray said, I will feed her, so Jeannette handed him the bottle and she turned her attention to her middle son Barry who had finished his wiener but wondered if they had more beans. Valerie who was coming down the aisle refreshing drinks said "we sure do", and went and heated up some and brought them to him. Roger loved his mac and cheese and also enjoyed his fruit and milk too. Ray Jr. who had the wiener and beans had seconds on everything. When they were all finished, Ray Jr. took Barry to the restroom and made sure he washed his hands when he was done. Jeannette took Roger and did the same. Once they all got settled back into their seats, Jeannette then got Anna Elizabeth into her car seat which she had installed in the seat to the right of her and Roger into the seat to her left and checked his seat belt. She let the seat back and the attendant brought blankets around one of which she tucked around Roger another she took for herself and settled in for a nap. Watching his mother, Ray Jr. did the same for Barry but he remained awake reading a book he had pulled out of his backpack. Once Ray knew all were sleeping except Ray Jr., he allowed himself to nap for awhile also. Both Bella and Prince had watched the family with interest. Bella could not help but smile...'soon that will be us she thought'...Prince heard her and said...'can't wait' in thought also. She looked at him and smiled. He leaned in and kissed her...really kissed her and then whispered in her ear, "I love you Bella", forgetting for a moment that Ray could hear them. He did hear the whole exchange between them, but never opened his eyes. He just smiled.
Prince and Bella had dropped off into a peaceful nap and were soon joined by Carlos and Elaine. Bella had draped a blanket around her as had Prince. Elaine had also asked for one, but Carlos had not. Frank looked over at his charges and smiled. They looked so relaxed and he was glad. They deserved it...they had really worked hard and accomplished a lot this year...he hoped that this time away would be peaceful and just what they needed to re-energize. An hour later the 4 were awakened by the attendants telling them they were coming around to collect any trash that they might want to throw away. Shortly, they were directed to put their tray tables away, put any books, tablets, computers etc. away as well and to put their seat backs up in the upright position. Prince helped to get Roger's seat back up. Ray Jr. got his up and his brother Barry's too. They were on the ground quickly and there was applause when Greg said welcome to Key West. It was 8:00 PM. Greg had done a 2 hour flight in an hour. He was a serious pilot.
Watching from places that were hidden from the view of most of those that were in or around the landing gate were several sets of red eyes...unseen or noticed by anyone except of course, Ray Burgess. He instinctively felt for his knife under his leather jacket. He sensed them before he saw them, but as they walked down the ramp toward the concourse, he looked out of the windows and saw the flickers of red. They did not know that they had been seen, but they had and Ray was therefore warned...which the enemy would regret. Masking his thoughts, he said 'Michael'. 'Yes Ray, I know they are here, but so are we. I have an entire Brigade of Warrior Angels with me. Do not worry...we will be ready'. 'My family is with me Michael'. 'I have assigned three Angels to watch over them at all times. No harm will come to any of them or to any of the others'. Ray smiled and said again in masked thought, 'thank you my friend. In that case, bring it on'! Ray went to pick Roger up as they walked to the VIP doors to exit the building toward the parking lot, but Roger said ,"no I walk". He took Barry's hand and by doing so let his dad know that he was not a baby. "Pwince", Roger said looking behind him? Prince stepped up his speed to get beside him and said "yes"? He put out his hand and gave it to Prince. Prince held his hand with his left hand and held Bella's with his right. He laughed and said to Bella in thought, 'I could get used to this'. The Skycaps who had been arranged for in advance had retrieved their bags and then loaded them into baggage space in the two black SUVs with their dark tinted windows. Prince tipped them for both cars. Roger insisted on riding with "Pwince". Ray laughed and said to him, "man, you don't know the trouble you are in for". Jeannette asked "are you sure"?, Prince looked at Bella who smiled and nodded yes. Roger sat in the second row of seats between Prince and Bella in the pull up booster seat. Carlos and Elaine were in the back seat. Frank was driving and Larry sat next to him. Ray and his family were in the other SUV with Anna in her car seat between her two brothers in the middle row of seats. Melvin was driving and Ross was also in the front. Jeannette and Ray sat in the third row of seats and held hands all the way to the hotel. Ray was not about to let a few demons spoil his family's first vacation in 3 years.