Whitney and the girls hopped into the limo and met Kevin and Bray at Mr. Chow, where the paparazzi were all over them as they hopped out the limo. They hadn't made it yet, so the ladies got settled in an intimate part of the restaurant where no one could bother them. Whitney was excited, as it had been awhile since the family went out together . Whitney's babies were growing so quick and she had a special, close relationship with them all. Bobbi Kristina was a budding 18-year old ready to take on life. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go to college yet or pursue show business, but she was in transition to decide what would be best, and had been taking over some positions with Nippy, Inc and helping Kevin in his production to aid her decisions. The twins were active in school, playing sports and other extracurricular activities. They both took up an affinity for music from their parents as well, taking up piano and were both good at it. Babydoll's vocals were strong and she could have a career at any point. They also were offered modeling contracts as they took up after their parent's good looks. However, like her mother did her, Whitney didn't want them to make a decision about show business until they finished school. Kevin whole heartedly agreed as well and wanted his kids to be just that; kids.
The girls were chit-chatting and munching on wonton sand shrimp dumplings until Kevin and Bray arrived looking handsome in their casual, but classy attire.
"That was perfect timing." Whitney said after Kevin kissed her and the girls. Bray gave her a hug. "You look good mom. Is that hairstyle new?"
"Tiffanie tried something new. I think I like it too." Whitney smiled at her baby boy as he served his sisters some lobster rice. He was just like his father- quite the charmer, kind soul and a gentleman. Girls knew that, which is why she paid more attention to the girls who called asking for him.
The family chit-chatted and laughed while the server brought over some champagne. Whitney, Kevin and Annie took some glasses, while Krissy was allowed a half of glass.
"To my wonderful husband and beautiful family. I love you all so much" Whitney said in her toast. "We love you too!" everyone echoed back. "Mom, I can't wait until Sunday when you perform." Krissy stated. "Me neither. I told everyone in class that they better all be tuned in during that time!" Babydoll joked. "It's going to be the highlight of the show." Annie added. Whitney couldn't help but smile. "I'm nervous because I haven't performed at the Grammy's in over ten years." "Baby you are going to bring the house down, just like you know how." Kevin assured her. "The Grammy's isn't gonna know hit them once again. Show this generation what they have been missing." Whitney chuckled and nodded. "I'll try my best to not let you all down."
The next day was busy, as Whitney went through her first bouts of rehearsal for her part in the Grammy's showcase. This was followed up by practice with the Pre Grammy gala. Her and Clive talked about how he was looking forward to having her back and performing. She also spent some time with her fellow peers at lunch, and caught up with the kids afterwards. CeCe and her good friend Kim Burrell had arrived and she did a quick spa date with them as well. All the while however, she was developing a massive headache, in which she popped medicine all day to try to subside the symptoms. Once that was done, she hung out a bit with Gary and Pat before going back to her room to wait on Kevin, who had a jam packed day with production meetings and finalizing contract details.
"Hey babe." Kevin came in to see Whitney lying on their bed with a towel over her head. "You okay?"
"I'm okay. I just got this nagging headache that won't go away…."
Kevin came over and put his hand over her head. "I'm sorry babe. You're not warm. Did you take medicine?" Whitney nodded. "Yeah. It helped a bit earlier, but not right now so much."
"Well I was gonna see if you wanted to go to the mixer downstairs, but you probably need some rest."
"No baby, I wanna go…" Whitney started to sit up, but didn't have the strength to, so she laid back down. "Whitney, lay down. We'll party the night away at the gala tomorrow anyway." Kevin commanded. "Sorry honey, I'll be fine tomorrow." Whitney mumbled as confidently as possible. Kevin took off her shoes and clothes, changed into something comfortable himself, and dimmed the lights. "We both had a really long day." He told her as he hopped in bed with her and held her tightly to his chest.
"You always know what I need Kev. You always do….."
"Forever and always baby. I've got you and you got me." Kevin told her.
"Forever and always." Whitney repeated before they both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.
(February 11th)
The next day, Whitney didn't feel much better, but she decided to soldier through it anyways. With the Pre Grammy gala going on that night, she had too much to do that day to worry about her headache. Kevin had already awaken and showered by the time she got out of bed.
"Good morning beautiful. How you feelin' today?"
"Better." Whitney fibbed. She silently asked God to forgive her and relieve her of her pain. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. Listen, I have another production meeting in a few. Sorry that we can't grab breakfast. But I will be back by this evening so we can get ready for tonight. What's on your plate for today?"
Whitney tried not to squint from her pounding headache, so she turned away from Kevin. "Um… gonna have breakfast with the kids, then rehearsal, then perhaps shopping with CeCe and Kim if there's enough time. If not, I will have Pat grab me something to wear."
"Sounds good. Call me if you need anything" Kevin told her as he threw on his jacket. He walked over to his wife and gave her a kiss. Something inside of him made him give her another, longer kiss. Then he kissed her on her forehead, cheeks and chin and ran his fingers across her beautiful face. Whitney did the same thing, running her hand over his handsome face. They intently looked at once another before they gave each other one last kiss. "I love you so much baby, you know that?" Whitney told him, temporarily forgetting her pain through her famous grin. "l do. And I love you. Forever and always." Kevin smiled as he got up, took another look at his wife, winked, and left.
Whitney mustered up as much strength and energy to have breakfast with the kids, who were going to do some shopping and have pool time while she and Kevin were busy.
Whitney mustered up as much strength and energy to have breakfast with the kids, who were going to do some shopping and have pool time while she and Kevin were busy.
As they finished up their meals, Whitney asked them out of the blue "You know mommy got you right? No matter what, I will always be there for you."
Krissy and the twins gave her a look. "Yeah mom, we know that you are here for us. You always are." Krissy stated. "Like today, you're taking time to hang out with us before you get ready for tonight." Babydoll added. Bray looked at his mother. "Why? Is everything cool?"
Whitney smiled as she adjusted her shades in the sunlight. "Everything is cool. I just wanted you all to know that. Just having a mom moment, that's all."
The kids understood where she was coming from and everyone departed from breakfast. The headache was becoming massive… but Whitney soldiered on and went to the rehearsal for the gala. She did however, have to leave early because the lights and noise were starting to bother her. The music director and band didn't seem to worry about it however because they were dealing with an iconic pro. They knew that they could adjust accordingly and be just fine. The told her to get some rest, and that they would see her that night.
Whitney began to feel progressively worse and headed back to her bedroom. She did however, leave a cheery voicemail to CeCe: "Hey sissy! I can't wait to go to the gala with you all tonight. Maybe we can do a duet together! I'm gonna relax a bit and get ready with Kev and maybe we can all meet there? Let me know what you wanna do. Kay, love you. Call me later. Bye!"
Whitney came back and took two more pain pills. She pulled out her Bible and read a few scriptures in her favorite book of Psalms to try to get her mind off of her pain. She sat for a few more minutes before deciding to take a soothing bath….not noticing the very hot temperature of the water
Suddenly, the lights became too bright for her. She found herself squinting uncomfortably. The pain and pressure built up in a way that she never felt before. Things began to get bleary and she felt faint as she put a hand over her face
She managed to disrobe herself somehow. If she could make it in the tub at least, she thought, maybe she could get some relief. She put one foot in….
She barely put her other foot in before she faded to black, falling over in the tub…