Hommage To A Prince

I pulled up to the Jet Blue arrivals area at the airport and my son Jonathan had just a small carry-on bag in hand. He was only going to be here for two nights, which was all he could fit into his busy schedule this time around. Now that he and Deb have transformed me into a grandfather Jonathan has become very much the hands on father to 11 month old Gabrielle.

While he was in town we had a bunch of paperwork to attend to, and a whole bunch of people to visit. One of those was my second ex, and still my best friend, Claudia. For a number of years, during summers and school vacations, she was step-mom to Jonathan and his sister Elena. Visiting Claudia was high on our to do list, and as usual when Prince heard my truck rounding the corner half a block away he was right there at the front door looking out through the screen, tail wagging and letting loose with a series of soft happy barks. Seeing Jonathan emerge from the truck had him even happier and more excited than usual.

Claudia had made fresh coffee and baked her famous spice bread, actually a kind of heavy cake with nuts. Prince acted like Jonathan's only reason for the visit was just to see him. He thinks that there's something really special about the way Jonathan rubs him behind the ears, and he wouldn't let him stop the whole time we were there, although he did let Claudia get a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

I miss the days when Jonathan would be here all summer, and we'd do lots of fishing instead of lots of rushing. We did manage to get everthing done that needed doing, though. I took Jonathan back to the Jet Blue departures, and then I drove home to the suddenly empty once again house. The next morning I stopped by Claudia's house. Prince was all excited as usual, but I could tell that he too missed Jonathan.