“I made her sit in the back. And he had to pay for her drinks.”
Prince really cracked up laughing then, and it felt like a win when I was able to really crack him up. He loved to make other people laugh and embraced a good laugh when it was available to him. And this rental house in LA had a good kitchen for laughing. Just the right amount of reverb off the tile backsplash and big windows. We shared many mornings like this in various houses he rented in LA. During the years when we were a couple, every once in a while, when it got unbearably cold in Minnesota, too cold for the good people and the bad, he’d prod me awake and say, “Let’s go to LA.” California seemed to be full of light and air, and breakfast together felt like the safe haven of love and pancakes neither of us had when we were children.
Prince hated that I was bummed out about not getting cast in the “Diamonds and Pearls” video, so he took me shopping on Melrose Avenue, which back then was a cool street where you could get all the up-and-coming designers. Prior to that day, my only experience of shopping was at the mall: part utilitarian, part social function.
“Trust me,” he said, “you don’t want to go to the mall with me. Last time I went to a mall, I took half the people with me. Not good. There’s screaming and craziness. People get hurt.”
His idea of shopping was a “fast and plenty” approach. We drove down Melrose in the limo, and at each place, either a bodyguard would go in first to prepare the store for Prince’s arrival or Prince, who was faster than anybody else, would bolt in and out before the people inside knew what was happening. So I followed suit. No time to check price tags. Just scope out the coolest clothes, grab whatever we want, and hand it to his security on our way out.
“Do you like this dress?” he’d ask me, holding up something I wouldn’t wear in a million years. My day-to-day clothes were mostly leggings with oversize shirts and maybe a jacket. But wanting to be a team player, I’d say, “I don’t know. I think so?” He’d smile and hand it to the security guy. When I really did like something, I didn’t have to say a word. All I had to do was smile and he’d hand it over. We laughed at the crazy stuff—bondage bras and leather—but it was a little early for that sort of thing.
There would come a time later on when I would lead these expeditions on my own—and Prince would usually end up wearing the clothes I bought for myself. When I was in the band, Melrose was my go-to place for short skirts, tiny tops, cool boots, and punky sweaters. It was the King’s Road of Los Angeles. I became the shopper because when he wasn’t wearing custom clothes, he wanted to wear a jacket or stylized pants, and the best styles (and sizes) for him were usually found in the women’s department. I got used to buying suits, knowing that he was going to take them for himself and put in shoulder pads or dude them up in some way. He’s the only man in the world who was really able to make that work—and work well.
He walked through one shop after another, scooping things off racks—dresses, skirts, sweaters, jackets, and sneakers so I could play basketball with him—and people followed behind us, paying for everything.
“It reminded me of that shopping scene in Pretty Woman,” I told Jan.
As the limo pulled away from the hotel, taking me back to the airport, I looked over my shoulder crying. Another Pretty Woman moment. I felt like that every time I left him, like I was leaving my other half. It was so comfortable to be around him. He could be incredibly funny and had the capacity for such tenderness. He could also be mean, I soon discovered—but so could I, so even that was weirdly okay with me. It made him human, and he seemed to like and respect me more when I checked him on it. He had more than enough women putting him on a pedestal. He needed someone who wasn’t afraid to tell him the truth and work hard and play hard. I couldn’t beat him at basketball, but I could lift him up, and my legs were so strong, I could get a wrestling lock on him and make him say “uncle.”
I started making frequent trips to Paisley Park. We recorded “The Max,” “Blue Light,” and “When God Created Woman” all in one marathon session. I hung out on the soundstage watching the Diamonds and Pearls Tour show coming together. I sat dancer style on a long black sofa in the studio, watching and listening to him work, doing my best not to nod off. When I was in Germany, he called almost every day, and I continued sending him videos. Lisa Bonet was directing a video for him, and after she also declined to cast me, he wrote:
MAYTE!
What a kickin’ tape! Ballet is cool, but when u dance like that… ! Thank u. keep all your tapes in a little secret section in my house. Only know where they are.
Believe it or not, Lisa thought u were 2 pretty 4 the part in the video. The girl she picked is tall and strange-looking with short hair. Such is life. But ’m sure we’ll work 2gether on something. miss u 2 & hope 2 see u soon!