They got off the lift on twelve.  Ringo warned John yet again, “Don’t make a scene.  You don’t know what the situation is here.”

“Right,” John said as he checked the signs with the arrows looking for the room number, walking way ahead of the other two.  Finding the right door, John banged briskly with his fist.

A woman opened the door.  “Oh my God, Billy, it’s John Lennon.  And Ringo!   Come in, come in,” she said, pleasant as can be.

A young man walked over and extended his hand, a broad smile on his face.  “What a thrill it is to meet you!  I’m Mick’s cousin Bill, this is my brand new wife, Meg.  We’re in town on a honeymoon trip and to see in the New Year.”

“That’s very nice.  Congratulations,” John said brusquely, reluctantly shaking his hand.  “Now where’s Mick and Lee?”

“Lee, the nice girl that had lunch with us?  She went up to the room.  Mick’s in the loo.  Is there a problem?”

The room! John thought.  The room!

“Could very well be,” John said as he banged at the bathroom door.  “Come on, Jagger, let’s have ya!”

The door opened and Mick stepped out, casually saying, “’ey, John, Ring!  Hello Mal.  I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had it.  I stopped at two other parties after yours, then met these guys for lunch.  I used to be able to stay out all night without sleep, no problem.  I must be gettin’ old,” he laughed.

“Yeah, old at twenty-three!  Now where is she?” John demanded.

“Who, Lee?  I assume up in the room.  That’s where she headed.  Isn’t she how you know I’m here?”

“Actually, no.  Now how do you two come to be here together?” John asked, poking Mick in the shoulder.  “Take her to one of yer ‘parties’, did ya?”

“John!” Ringo said threateningly.

“Whoa!” Mick said, backing off.  “You think I’m here with Lee?  Hey, I do a bit of flirting with the girl for a laugh, she’s become a good friend, but I’m not stupid.  We ran into her in the restaurant and I bought her lunch is all.  Ask them,” he said, indicating the couple.  They quickly nodded their heads.  “What’s going on John?  She did seem a little preoccupied.  Isn’t she in her room?”

Ringo said, “The desk clerk said she checked out but that he’d seen her with you.  I’m sure she must have headed home by now.”  He turned to the couple, “We’re sorry to have disturbed you.  C’mon, John,” he said, pulling him along and out the door.

As they moved towards the door, Mick grabbed hold of Mal’s arm, whispering, “What is going on?”

“If you see her or hear from her, please give us a ring,” Mal said, leaving the room, the worry apparent in his eyes.

***

When they got back to the flat they heard the TV on in one of the music rooms.  They found George and Paul staring blankly at it.  When Paul saw them, he jumped up.

“Where is she?” he asked hopefully.

“We missed her,” Ringo said miserably, “by ten fuckin’ minutes.  She checked out.  She’d run into Mick by some fluke accident and he bought her lunch.  She must have thought we’d find out where she was and split.”

“Yer joking, right?”

“No,” Ring said.  “We’re right back where we started.  Where’s Brian and Neil?”

“They’re in the kitchen, warmin’ up some party leftovers.  Thought we’d have a nice homecoming meal,” George said.

John went to one of the cabinets and found a small bottle of pills, popped a couple into his mouth and washed them down with a swig of Scotch, keeping hold of the bottle.  Then he just slumped on the couch, staring blankly into space.

When Neil and Brian came in, their expressions were happy, but on being apprised of the situation, their looks turned to frustration. 

“Look,” Brian said, “food’s on the table getting cold.  You have to eat boys.  I say she’ll be home on her own before you know it.  Come on.  She will be home, John, I promise you.  I never saw a person so in love.  Come, have something to eat with us.” 

John allowed himself to be led into the kitchen with the others.

                                                                      ***

Lee watched the English countryside rushing past her as she headed south.  The compartment was very like the one in the opening scene in A Hard Days’s Night, and she smiled for the first time since she was at the party.  She was glad she had the whole thing to herself.  According to the train schedule, she should be in Bournemouth by 6:30 p.m.  There were fewer trains today as it was a holiday, so she’d had a long wait.  It would be dark soon.  She hoped she would be able to get a taxi from the station without any problem.  It was such a small seaside town, Poole.

She wondered what possible excuse she could give to Mimi for being there alone.  Mimi was nobody’s fool and would know something was wrong.  Well, she had a bit of time to think about it, and if she lost her nerve she could always head back the way she came.  She was killing time anyway, just to give John a few more hours when he wouldn’t know where she was or what she was doing. 

Why did she decide on Mimi?  She didn’t know really, but she needed the comfort of family right now and since he wouldn’t let her go home to her own, she would go to his.  There was a bit of ‘I’m going to tell your mother on you’ going through her mind, but didn’t think she had the nerve to spill all this.  And, if she were being completely honest with herself, it was also a bit of ‘please find me, chase me down, love me.’  She wondered if he would ever think to find her there. 

Upon arriving, she alighted from the train and looked up and down the platform.  Two other passengers got off as well.  One was a woman who was greeted by a man who kissed her before they walked off together toward their car.  The other was a middle-aged man.  There was not another soul in sight, and the little terminal was dark and empty.  There was a pay phone there, but she didn’t know the numbers of any local cab companies she could call.  You would think that there would be at least one cab here for possible arriving passengers without a ride.

“Excuse me sir,” Lee said to the man before he could get away, “but would you have a phone number I could call for a taxi?”

“That’d be hard with the holiday, and all.  Isn’t anyone picking you up?”

“No.  I wanted to surprise my aunt.”

“Well, why don’t you call her?  I’m sure that will still give her a surprise.”

“I’m afraid she doesn’t drive.”

“Well, where are you headed?  My missus should be along in a minute, perhaps we can give you a lift?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare impose,” Lee said, feeling very uncomfortable.  What had she gotten herself into?

“Where does your aunt live?”

“Poole, Dorset.”

“Well you’re in luck, aren’t you?  That’s where we live.  Who is your aunt?”

“Mary Smith.”

“Mimi?  John Lennon’s aunt?  Lovely woman.  Didn’t know she had an American niece.  She actually lives just up the next road from us.  How lucky is that?” he said as the headlights of his wife’s car pulled up and stopped.  “My name’s Fred, by the way,” he said extending his hand.

“Lee,” she said shaking it.

He opened the back passenger door for her and she climbed in.  “Annie,” he said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I offered this young lady a ride.  She’s Mimi Smith’s niece come to visit as a surprise.  Lee, this is my wife, Annie.”

“Hello Annie, and thank you so much.  I had no idea I couldn’t just get a taxi here.  My mother’s name is Annie too!” she added quickly.

“Well then, she must be a lovely woman,” she laughed.

“She is, thank you.  And thank you so much for this.”

“You’re very welcome, my dear.”  Lee just sat there wondering at the irony of these people having the same names as her mother and John’s father.  She wondered if that was a good or bad omen.

“You must let me pay you for the ride,” Lee offered.

“Don’t be silly,” they both said at once and laughed. 

It was just a fifteen-minute ride, and they stopped right in front of Mimi’s door to let her out.  She thanked them profusely, and they were on their way. 

The porch light was on, but the house was dark.  It was much too early for her to be asleep.  After several attempts at ringing the bell, she peered into the window.  She saw a couple of cats wandering around by a dim hallway light.  God I hope I didn’t go through all this for nothing, Lee thought.

She saw several cars parked at the next house down the road and she decided to drop her bag on Mimi’s porch and walk over there.  As she got closer, she heard laughter and conversation coming from inside.  She rang the bell and waited.  A woman opened the door.  “Yes?” she asked.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Lee said, “but I’ve come to visit Mrs. Smith next door and she doesn’t seem to be at home.  Do you know if…”

“Of course she’s not.  She’s here.  And you are?”  The woman looked at her skeptically, which was understandable.  Fans could be quite devious.

“Please tell her John’s friend Lee.  She’ll know.”

Mimi came to the door right away.  “Lee, my dear,” she said with a huge smile and a short hug.  “What a surprise!  Alice dear, may I have my coat?  I have to get home.  Thank you for a lovely dinner.”

“Of course, Mimi.  It was a pleasure having you.”

As they walked across the way together, Mimi asked excitedly, “Where is that boy hiding?”

“He’s not Mimi.  I came alone.  Sorry to disappoint.”

She stopped abruptly, looking at Lee with concern.  Lee knew her mind was thinking the worst.

“Oh, no Mimi, he’s just fine, I swear.  Don’t worry.”

“Then what’s wrong?” she wanted to know.

“Nothing at all.  I just came for a visit if that’s all right.”  Lee felt very awkward at that moment.  She wished she hadn’t come.  “I could leave tomorrow, if that’s okay.  I just thought it would be nice to pay you a visit, is all.  I know John doesn’t come nearly as often as he should.  I thought you could use some company.  John said you don’t mingle much, but apparently he’s wrong.”

“Actually, he’s right.  They kept at me because it was New Year’s Day and they were having this dinner party, and it just doesn’t do to be totally ungracious with one’s neighbors.  But I usually keep to myself.  Come on in, dear,” she said, unlocking the door.  The cats immediately rubbed up against Lee’s legs and she bent down and petted them.

Lee walked into the parlor, looking around, smiling at a couple of their gold records mounted on the wall, the plaque he had made for her saying, “The guitar’s all right for a hobby, John, but you’ll never make a living at it.”  And there, right next to his MBE medal, a precious framed photo of him as a little boy, one of the ones with the little cap on his head, but a pose she had never seen.  She couldn’t take her eyes from it and her heart broke.

“Can I make you a cup of tea?”

“Yes, thank you Mimi.  That would be lovely.”

“How did you get here?”

“Train.  Then I couldn’t get a cab and this lovely couple from down the next road gave me a ride – Fred and Annie?”

“Oh, them.” Mimi said dismissively.

“They seemed nice enough.”

“They are, I suppose.  They’re just a bit pushy to be ‘friends’.  Like I said, I like to keep to myself.  The family was always so big, there was enough social life just among us.  I miss them.  Sometimes I wonder at the wisdom of John talking me into moving.  But it is lovely here in the warm weather.”  Mimi bustled around the kitchen, pulling things out of cupboards.

“If you’ve been traveling for a while, you must be hungry.  I haven’t cooked this evening, but I can give you a sandwich and some scones.”  She placed some bread and a platter of cold meats on the table.

“Thank you, Mimi.”  Lee quietly made herself a sandwich while Mimi watched her with narrowed eyes.  This girl was definitely unhappy, and the last time she’d met her she was enthusiastic and her eyes were filled with adoration for John.  And John looked quite smitten too.  Kept asking what she thought of her.  Actually, she quite liked her, despite her being an American, which still came under the category of ‘foreigners’ to Mimi.  Something had definitely gone wrong here.

“Do you want to call John and tell him you arrived all right?” Mimi asked suspiciously.

“I did that from the train station,” she lied, avoiding the older woman’s eyes.

Oh boy, Mimi thought, definite trouble here.

                                                                        ***

The seven of them sat around the kitchen table, picking at their food and speculating about where she might have gone.  It seemed that John was finally drained and sat there quietly, all his anger from earlier in the day dissipated.  He looked beaten and unhappy, drinking directly from the Scotch bottle.

Brian said, “I’m quite sure she just checked into another hotel – most likely a smaller one and not so well known.  That’s what I would do if I wanted to get lost for a while.  John, if she calls again asking for her passport, I strongly suggest you give it to her.  It will put an end to this not knowing where she is and a bit of time away from you will show her what she’s walked away from.  She will miss you terribly.  And not just you, all of you!  If you want to get her back, let her go.”

John blew up at Brian.  “Don’t you get it?  She thinks I don’t love her.  She will have to come here and beat it out of me before I give it up.  Everyone I love fuckin’ leaves me!”

He got up from the table, taking the bottle of Scotch with him, and went to Lee’s room and locked the door behind him for the night.  He climbed into her bed, smelling the lingering scent of her perfume on the pillows and sheets, hugging a pillow to him and taking pulls from the Scotch bottle every so often, till he finally drifted off to sleep.

                                                                     ***

“Did you sleep well, dear?” Mimi asked the next morning, as Lee padded into the kitchen.

“Yes, thank you.”  Actually, she’d hardly slept at all.  She kept hoping for the phone to ring, for him to at least call asking if she’d heard from her – something.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Mimi asked.

“Whatever you’re doing for yourself will be fine.”

“It’s a bit nippy.  I was thinking porridge.”

“Great.  I love it.  Do you have raisins?”

“Yes, of course,”

As they sat there eating, they chatted about their holidays.  Mimi had spent Christmas up in Liverpool with the family and had just returned three days ago.  Lee knew this because John had spoken to her on Christmas.  She’d had a wonderful visit and was expecting John’s half sisters, Julia and Jacqui, for an extended visit during their Easter holidays from school.

John knew Lee a couple of months before he told her about his sisters.  This information had somehow never made it into the public domain, and it was known that John was an only child.  Mimi was very protective of her sister’s reputation and what she called ‘family business.’  It seemed quite painful to him, relaying the information about Julia’s life with “Twitchy”, as he called him.  Lee was quite surprised to learn about it, and taken aback, altering her opinion of his mother a bit.  She’d kept this opinion to herself.

Lee told Mimi all about Christmas at Ringo’s and how sweet baby Zak was and their wonderful New Year’s Eve party, relaying how funny John had been in his ‘nappy’.  Then her face clouded over.

“All right, girl,” Mimi demanded, “are you ready to tell me?  What has that boy done now?”

“What makes you ask that?  He hasn’t done any…”  She had been trying to hold back, but the pain all rose to the surface and she let go, and the floodgates opened.  Once the tears started she didn’t care to stifle it any longer.  “Oh dear,” Lee cried.  “I’m so sorry.  I just couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.  He will not let me go home to New York.  He has my passport.  Please, Mimi, if he calls, please don’t tell him I’m here.  Please?”

Mimi’s heart went out to the poor girl.  She knew John’s temper well and how it could turn in an instant.  “Sounds serious,” Mimi said.

“It is to me.  For him…probably just another day, another…”  Lee composed herself a bit before continuing.  “There was this stupid misunderstanding, and then John…well…got very drunk and took up with this other woman.”  Lee wouldn’t dare say anything to Mimi about drugs.

“The party had gone so well,” Lee continued.  “I worked so hard on it, to make it perfect for them.  He even announced, finally, to everyone there, that I was his girlfriend.  Then, later in the night after everyone had gone, I found him in his bed with that other woman, that obscene, obnoxious cow!    There in our flat, with someone else.  I couldn’t bear it.  I left.”

“You just let him get away with it?” Mimi asked incredulously.  In the Stanley family, the women were strong and didn’t put up with any guff from their men. 

“I’m not his wife.  I can’t tell him what to do.  Nobody tells John what to do.  You know that!  He’s a rock star.  You only see the little girls screaming,” Lee continued.  “I see these wonton sluts putting it in his face.  Up close.  No real man could resist, I guess, and that nephew of yours is…well, the most man I’ll ever know.”

“Then it’s your job to whip him into shape, my dear girl, keep him in line,” Mimi interrupted.

“I try to do that in a kidding sort of fashion, but the reality of it is, if it doesn’t come from him, I don’t want it.  I don’t want to police him.  I love him more than my life, Mimi, but I want him to feel as lucky to have me as I am to have him.”

“The really sad reality, my girl, is that most men are dogs.  I was lucky enough to have one of the good ones, but I lost him much too soon,” Mimi said wistfully.

“I know there are other girls occasionally, one night stands that don’t really mean anything.  I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it.  John gave me a ring last year and warned me when he gave it to me,” Lee looked down at her bare finger, “that he wasn’t promising complete fidelity.  Not yet.  But he expects it from me!”  Her face betrayed the irony and pain she was feeling.

Mimi shook her head.  “Well, isn’t he a shrewdie?  He gives you a ring, claiming ownership, then does as he pleases?”

Lee’s shoulders slumped and she covered her face with her hands.  “Most of the time, he’s so wonderful.  He’s been so good to me, Mimi.  I don’t want to paint a horrible picture here.  I’ve been very happy.  But that woman!  He’s known her a while and has been with her in the past, and he took her in the place where we live together, for me to see!”

Lee’s lip started quivering and the tears came again.  She reached over for a napkin and dried her eyes and blew her nose.  “I’m sorry, Mimi.  I didn’t mean to burden you with this.  I know he’s your son in every sense of the word, but I love him so much.  How could he do this to me?  Show me so little respect?”

“I’d like to box his ears, is what,” Mimi said furiously.  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.  I’d love the company and he deserves to suffer a while.  Eventually we’ll tell him, but for now…”

“No, I don’t want him to know!”

Mimi’s voice softened, as well as her attitude.  “I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been able to stay angry at him for very long, and I suspect it’s the same for you when he turns on that charm, which he got from both his parents, by the way.  Meanwhile, we’ll distract ourselves for a while.  Let’s get dressed and go into town to the market.  I need some things and I know a lovely little place for tea.  What do you say?”

“I’d like that, thank you.  And I think your darling nephew should pay for it.  I have a ton of cash in my purse that I pinched from the petty cash box!”

“Good girl!” Mimi said, hitting the table with her hand.  John always said ‘good girl’ to her, but for entirely different reasons.

                                                                 ***

Late the next morning, Ringo went into the kitchen and found John and Paul sitting at the table over breakfast, seeming to be reconciled and civil to each other.  He was glad.  He only wished Lee would either call or walk in the door.

“Mornin’, Ritch,” Paul said.

“Mornin.  John, I was just talkin’ to me mother and well, I couldn’t help but ask if Lee might be there.  You never know, she loves Elsie.  She’s not, but she assured me that if she does show up she would, of course, keep her there, but would call me on the quiet.  She reminded me how Mo kept her hand in by staying close to me home, and she thought…well, maybe Mimi?”

“Mimi?” John repeated.  “I think she was a little afraid of Mimi.  She’d pick your mum over Mimi any day.”

“Well, she’s not there John, and I made George call Louise too, so no one left but Mimi.”

“Well, there’s me dad,” Paul said, “but I think we all agree that’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” John said.  “Okay.”

John stared at the phone, wondering if he should make this call.  Seemed a waste of time, she wouldn’t go all that way alone.  Would she?  He also didn’t want to alert Mimi to his own stupidity again.  He didn’t need her coming at him right now.  He felt all hung over from the pills and the booze, and he’d had some more pills this morning, just to numb the pain.

He rang up anyway.  The phone rang and rang and no one answered.  He would try again later.

                                                                       ***

Mimi called for a taxi to take them in to town and pre-arranged a time to be picked up and brought home.  The tea shop that Mimi brought her to was quaint and quite charming.  They had a wonderful discussion, Mimi filling Lee in on all the family gossip over sandwiches, little cakes and scones, till they were both suitably stuffed.  They also downed two pots of tea each

 Mimi was usually closed-mouthed and tight-lipped about her family, but she had a very strong feeling that this one might be “the one” for John.  She came to this conclusion not only because she liked her, but by how much she already knew about everyone, which she could only have gotten from John.  They talked like they knew each other for years, Mimi didn’t even have to explain who this or that one was.

When they left the shop, they went to the market for a few things, and when they were done, they passed a florist shop and Lee went in to buy two potted plants – one for Mimi, and another smaller one as a ‘thank you’ for the couple who had given her the lift the previous night.

                                                                    ***

“Happy New Year, Mimi,” John said with trepidation and dread.

“Well,” she answered, “better a couple of days late than never.”  Mimi waved Lee over, pointing to the phone.

“John?” Lee mouthed silently.  Mimi nodded.  Lee covered her mouth with her hand, listening intently.

“Always a wiseacre,” John replied.  “Actually,” he went on, “I asked Lee to give you a call to make sure you were okay.  Didn’t you hear from her?”

“Lee?  That nice young American girl, are you still with her?”

“Yeah, Mim.  It’s pretty serious,” John said, sounding lost.  “So you didn’t hear from her?”

“Hear from her?  No, can’t say that I have.  But I was out at the market today.”

“Maybe she called then,” John offered.  “So how did you spend the holiday?”

“Went to bed with a good book at ten.  But I had dinner with the neighbors next door yesterday.”

“That’s good, Mim, don’t want you to be lonely down there.”

Mimi’s heart went out to him, hearing in his voice that he was suffering.  He also sounded exhausted.

“Well, you know where to find me, John,” she said, thinking she was giving John a little hint and not betraying Lee at the same time.

“You can come up any time too.  We have plenty of room for ya.  Just let us know in advance.”

“I will, dear.  And a happy new year to you and the boys.”

“Okay, Mimi, take care.”  John hung up the receiver.

“Well, what did she say?” Ritch wanted to know.

“When I asked if she heard from her, she said, ‘No, can’t say that I have’.”

John walked off in a fog.  Ringo knew that John had already taken too many pills today and he had moved the stash on him.  He also knew John’s speech patterns really well and knew when he was being evasive, which he’d learned at Mimi’s knee.  He immediately called Mimi himself.

“Mimi, this is Ringo,” he said when she answered.

“Hello dear,” she said.

“I promise not to tell John, I swear on me mum.  Just say yes or no.  Is Lee there?”

“Yes dear, that’s a splendid idea!”

“Thanks Mimi.  That’s an incredible relief!  Bye, and thanks.”  Mothers fuckin’ know everything, he smiled to himself.

Ringo found George and Paul in the music room, randomly plucking away at their guitars.

“Feel like taking a long drive?” Ritch asked.

“Not really,” George answered.

“Lee’s at Mimi’s.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m driving,” George answered, getting up.

“Coming?” Ritch asked Paul.

“No, I’ll stay here with John.”

“Don’t say anything to him yet.  I promised.”

“Okay.  Please call me from there and let me know what’s going on.  And please bring her home.”

“That’s the idea, innit?” Ringo said.

                                                                       ***

It was nightfall when George and Ringo pulled up in front of Mimi’s house.  Mimi wasn’t surprised to hear the doorbell and quickly got up to answer it.  She let them in, looking behind them for John.

“We haven’t told him, Mimi.  I told you I wouldn’t,” Ringo said.  “Where is she?”

“Having a bath.  The poor girl’s a wreck.”

“So’s John,” George said.

Lee came out of the bathroom in her pajamas and a towel wrapped around her head.

“Mimi!” Lee said pointedly, looking at the two of them standing there.  George came over and took her in his arms, squeezing her tight.

“I promised I wouldn’t tell John, and I haven’t.  But Richard called afterward, and I didn’t want them worrying unnecessarily.”  Mimi left them alone and went into the kitchen to see to their late dinner.

“John doesn’t know, luv, I swear,” Ritchie said.

“Then where does he think you both are?” Lee asked accusingly.

“He couldn’t care less about us or anything else right now.”  He gave Lee the ‘eyes’ so she understood what he was talking about.

“Oh, so now I should be worried about him?” she asked with definite attitude. 

“Not at all,” George said, kissing her forehead.

“No hug for me?” Ritch asked.  “I haven’t been home since before the party, sitting by the phone waitin’ to hear from you!”

“I’m sorry to be so much trouble, Ritchie.”  George let her go and she went to him, clung to him and he kissed her neck.  She smelled like lavender soap and, God help him, he wanted her so bad.  He gently pushed her away and held her at arm’s length.

“We missed you at the Savoy by ten minutes.” Ritchie said.

“How did you know?”

“Did a bit of sleuthing.”

“Mick?”

“No.  But we found out about him, and I had to keep John from throttling him.”

“Oh, God,” she groaned.  Lee took both their hands and walked them over to the settee and pulled them down on either side of her, happy to be making contact, feeling their warmth and love.  She missed them so much.

George put his arms around her and pulled her close.  “You are coming home with us.  You know that, don’t you?” 

“I won’t.  If anything, he should be here right now.   Not you.  What is he hiding behind now?  Booze, pills, weed?”

“Haven’t seen him with any weed, have you, George?” 

“No.  Weed makes you laugh.  He’s not in any laughing mood.  You’ll be happy to know he was ready to call in Scotland Yard to look for you.  You know, baby, things aren’t always what they seem.”

“Bullshit, George.  I saw them together.”

“If you’d seen John after you left the party, you’d know that he was barely able to stand up, let alone get it up.  And that bitch was giving me the come-on when I found them next mornin’, so I don’t think she got any, if you know what I mean.”

“John can get it up under anesthesia!” Lee said.  The men had hysterics.

“God, I miss you.  Come home,” George implored.

“Mimi, how’re you doing?” she yelled into the kitchen, changing the subject.

“You can all come in and sit down.” Mimi said.

“Dinner’s ready,” she said, taking their hands and pulling them along.  George and Ritch eyed each other, knowing they were getting nowhere.

“Pot roast and potatoes and all these veggies, it’s enough for an army!” Lee said.  “All this for just us two, Mimi?”

“You never know who might drop by,” she answered smugly.

“Mimi, may I use the phone?” George asked.  “We promised Paul a call.”

“Yes, of course.” 

After dinner, Ritch and George went to work on Lee again, trying to talk her into coming back with them.

“Look, it’s coming up on three days already,” Ritchie said.  “He’s suffering, believe me.  It’s time to let this go.”

“You know you’re comin’ back.  I say come back and make him suffer.  Ignore the crap out of him!” George offered.

“As you can see, I’m already in my pajamas, so as soon as I help Mimi clean up, I’m going to bed.  I’ve had nothing more than cat naps since this happened.  If he wants me, he’d better be as enterprising as you and bloody well find me.  I’m not leaving here tonight and that’s final!”  She was not going to make this easy for him.

Mimi said, “You boys are more than welcome to stay too.”

“No thank you, Mimi,” George said, “but you, Miss, we’re not putting up with him the way he is anymore.  If you don’t come back with us tonight, we’re telling him where you are when we get back.  No more pissin’ about.”  He figured that would get her.

“Fine,” she answered.  “With the three of you knowing, one of you is bound to spill anyway.  But I’m not budging.”

George said, “It’s a long drive, Ritch.  We’d better get going.”

They kissed Mimi goodbye and thanked her, promising to see her soon.  Lee walked them to the door, where they both kissed her good and proper.

“You won’t be flying off from here, now will you?” George asked.

“No, I’ll be here.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” George said, hugging her tight.

“I love you both,” she said with an arm around each of them.

                                                                          ***

By the time they got back to London, Ringo and George were knackered.  They let themselves into the flat and found John curled up on the small settee near the piano, sound asleep.  Ringo went and got a blanket and covered him and turned off the lights.

They found Paul in the music room at the upright, working on a song about a man who wrote paperback books.  He smiled when he saw them.  “Is she here?” he asked hopefully.

“Nope.  Wouldn’t budge,” Ringo said.  “From what I could gather, she wants him to pay, to go down there and grovel.  I don’t blame her.  She worships him and this is how he treats her.”

“We’ll tell him in the morning,” George said.  “He’s going to have to go down there and get her himself.”

“Will she take him back?” Paul asked.

“Of course,” George answered.

“They really love each other.” Ritch added.  “It’s like one of the great fuckin’ loves of all time.  Both of them are passionate, thick and unreasonable.”

                                                             ***

In the morning they found John in Lee’s bed again.  They all three stood around the bed looking at him.  He must have felt their eyes on him and he stirred. 

“What is it?  Any news?” he asked groggily.   He had three days of beard and his hair was standing up on end.  

“Actually, yeah,” Ritch said.

“How much shit have you had, John?  You slept for an age,” Paul complained.

“Not that much since someone hid the shit on me!  Is she home?  Don’t fuck with me.”

“No, she’s not home but we know where she is.  We were with her last night,” George said.  “Ritch and I.”

He sat up quickly.  “Where, and why didn’t you bring her home?”

“She wouldn’t come.  She’s waiting for Sir Galahad and I guess we didn’t fit the bill.” George shrugged.

“All right, enough questions, where the fuck is she?”

“Mimi,” Ritch said.

“I called Mimi, goddamnit!  She lied?”

“To you.  She promised Lee she wouldn’t tell you.  She didn’t promise about me,” Ritch said.  “You’re lucky to have such a perceptive drummer.”

“My perceptive drummer should have told me yesterday, is what!  He deserves to have his balls twisted in a knot.”

Ritch looked to the others.  “Such gratitude!  I was hoping to bring her home to you with a bow round her neck, but she wouldn’t have it.  You’ll have to go down and claim her.  She’s not settling for anything less.  So why don’t you get up and get yerself showered and shaved and all presentable like?”

John got up and smiled for the first time in three days.  “Thanks,” he said, heading for the loo.

As he passed George, George made a face and waved his hand in front of his face.  “Christ, John, you don’t half stink.”

“Sod off,” John said good-naturedly.

                                                              ***

John came into the kitchen where they had breakfast waiting for him.  He actually looked pretty damned good, lost a couple of pounds, all shaven, hair clean and shiny.  Definitely Sir Galahad-ish in one of her favorite suede suits.  They all applauded him.

“Nice job,” Paul said.

“Thanks.”

“I’d want ye meself,” Ringo joked.

“Don’t be cute!”

Neil and Mal came in.  “I’m offerin’ me services as driver,” Mal said.

“Thanks,” John said, “but if she wants Sir Galahad, he has to come in charging on his horse on his own.”

“John, you’re the worst driver -- the worst!” George said.  “And you’ll get yerself lost fer sure.”

“Be that as it may, the drive is fresh in your brain, make me a map and list of all the changes, and make it as simple as possible, please.  For a four year old.”

“Even that’s a stretch,” George teased.

“You people are lucky I’m feeling better,” John said with a smile.

George got some paper and a pencil and immediately started on the directions, while John dug into his breakfast.

George handed the paper to Mal when he was done.  “You better go downstairs with him, Mal, show him which pedal is which, that sort of thing.”  George was really breaking them on him.  He gave him the ‘John look’ that said ‘enough already’.

As he was leaving, they all shouted advice to him:  “Watch that mouth of yours!” “Bring her some flowers.” “Try not to fuck it up.”

He put on his coat, made sure he had enough cigarettes.  Ritch suggested he bring a couple of changes of clothes, in case he decided to stay a day or two.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” John said, and doubled back to his room.  As he was gathering a few things and some underwear, Paul came in.

“John, I have something you need to give her.”  John looked up expectantly.  In the palm of his hand, Paul held out her ring and necklace.

“How did you get these?”

“Found them on the desk the mornin’ she left.  I didn’t want to upset you any more than you were.  If she came home on ‘er own, I would’ve slipped ‘em to ‘er, but, well, here,” Paul said, handing them to him.

John reached over and took them, pocketing them.  He cringed at the realization of how much pain he must have caused her.

“Sorry,” Paul said.  Unexpectedly, John reached over and hugged him with one arm and patted his back.

                                                                       ***

John rode into Bournemouth thinking, all things considered, not too bad.  He’d only made wrong turns and had to double back two times, and almost crashed into the road divider once.  All in all, not too bad for him.    

John had a set of keys to the house, but Mimi saw the car pull up and got to the door and opened it just as John was about to push it open.

“Any houseguests I should have been told about?” he asked sarcastically as he pushed past her.

“Not a one that’s any of your concern!”  She always gave him back as good as he gave.

“I’ve no patience for any nonsense today, Mimi, where is she?”

Lee was sitting in the parlor looking at a magazine when he filled the room with his presence, and she immediately froze on seeing him.  He stopped, Mimi right behind him, and stood there staring at her for a few seconds.  Not for the first time, he was torn between just grabbing her and shaking the life out of her or taking her in his arms and holding her and never letting go.  He settled for just being relieved that she was all right.

“I’m glad you’re safe and all right,” he managed to get out.

“Any reason I shouldn’t be?  Let me think.  Oh yes, you had another woman in our bed.”

His face tightened up.  “Mimi, do you mind leaving us alone for a while?”

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” she said.

“I know we need to speak about this,” he told her, “but would you mind what you say in front of her?”

“She knows you better than I, John.  She can tell me a few things.”

“Nobody knows me better than you and the boys.  Nobody.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”  A tear dripped down her cheek.  “Turns out I don’t know you at all.”  Her voice broke.

“Baby…”

She got up, put up her hand and went to her room and shut the door.

“Fuck!” he said, slumping on the couch and punching a pillow.  I handled that really well, he thought.

Since she was barricaded in the large guest room, he took the smaller one and settled in.  Mimi soon called them both in to dinner.  They very civilly passed each other platters of food, condiments and made polite small talk through Mimi.

“So John, do you have that nice Malcolm staying in a motel or something?  You could have brought him here,” Mimi said.

“I came on me own Mim.”

Lee could not believe her ears.  “You drove all the way down here from London alone?”

“Yeah,” he said proudly.  “Made a pretty good job of it too.  Only got lost twice.”

She put her head down and smiled.  Damn him.

What’s this, he thought, the ice melting a bit?

After Mimi served tea and dessert, John asked Lee, “Maybe you’d like to go for a little ride?  I promise not to drive you off a cliff or anything.”

“No thank you,” she was quick to answer.  “There’s a program Mimi and I were going to watch on the telly tonight, and it goes on in ten minutes.”   Lee began clearing away the teacups and plates.

“Well, haven’t you two planned yer whole day?” John said dejectedly. 

Mimi tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a smile as she left the kitchen and went in to the parlor to turn on the TV.  Lee went about her business, washing up the plates, drying them and putting them away.  John sat there watching her ignore him, something he was definitely unaccustomed to.  She then left him there in the kitchen, alone, and took her place along side Mimi on the settee.  He sat himself down alone in the armchair with a definite sulk on, crossing one leg across the other and resting his head on his hand.  He didn’t even like the show, a definite ‘girly’ story.

                                                                        ***

The next morning, John looked up from his breakfast, which he barely touched, and said to Lee, “Would you come down the back garden steps with me and take a walk along the shore?”

“What for?”

“We need to talk,” he said with determination.

“A little chilly for that,” she said, hoping he would take the double meaning.  “Besides, Mimi knows what happened.  Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of her.”  Mimi looked at Lee reprovingly.  She was beginning to think he had suffered enough.

“Not what I have to fuckin’ say, after what I’ve been through these past few days!” John said testily.

“John!  That mouth!”  Mimi had absolutely no tolerance for that kind of talk.

“Sorry, Mimi” said ‘little boy’ John.

“I’m not the one you addressed that to.”

Now he ignored her.  He was not about to apologize to Lee for saying ‘fuck’.  It was like the very breath he took.  She knew him well enough by now.

“Don’t bother, Mimi,” Lee said sarcastically.  “He can’t help indiscriminately saying it any more than he can keep himself from doing it!”

“Nice!” he said, scraping his chair against the floor and bounding out of the kitchen.

About an hour later, he found her in her room with a book.

“Would you please have that walk with me?  Please?”

She supposed she couldn’t keep this up forever and didn’t want to upset Mimi further.  “Fine,” she said.

When they got to the bottom of the steps, they made a right turn and walked along the shore, side by side, not touching.  Let him do the talking, she thought.

“How could you have left me like that, so worried for you?” he asked, stopping.  His face showed bewilderment and the actual pain of being worried sick.  “I would have understood you breaking a lamp over me head rather than that!”

“Then you have your answer.  Besides, I don’t physically hurt people I love.  I try not to hurt them at all.  I’m still reeling from that smack I gave you at that party.”

“I deserved it.”

They walked quietly for a bit more.  He said, “We’re kind of the same, you and I – volatile, jealous and possessive.  Remember that first night we met?  George and Paul went out and the three of us went home together?  They wanted me to go out with them, to leave you and Ritch alone together to get acquainted.  I didn’t even want you alone with him then, but he threw me out of the room.  I had to remind ‘im how young you were.  Remember?  I know where all his guilt buttons are.”  John smiled, trying to make her do the same.  She didn’t.  John doesn’t have any guilt buttons, she thought.

“Ritch is a good man, and I know you love ‘im.  But you’re mine.  We’ve both known it from day one.”

“I might be yours, but you certainly aren’t mine, are you?  You’re off planting seeds with anyone who gives you a wink and a nod.”

He knew he deserved that and didn’t defend himself.  After a brief pause, he said, “I’ve no intention of planting seeds in anyone but you.  Don’t ya’ go thinkin’ that!  You have to know how much I love you.  After all this time, what we have?” John was quick to point out to her.

“We have nothing, apparently.”  She wanted to hurt him so bad, cause him some actual emotional pain.

He stopped again abruptly.  “Yer such a friggin’ girl, ya know that?” he yelled, pointing at her and pacing back and forth.  “It’s just a stupid, mindless dick, Lee.  A bad fuckin’ habit I got into years ago.   Nothin’ to do with my love for ya.

“Not that this matters at all,” he went on, “but I don’t think anything happened at all the other night.  I don’t remember, meself, but Paul said he heard me yellin’.  He thought I was with you.  Since when have you known me to put me drawers back on afterward?  I had ‘em on!”  Lee thought about it, the indelible picture in her brain of the two of them.  Yes, he did have them on, come to think of it.

“But it doesn’t matter,” John said contritely.  “I have been unfaithful to you.  Not often, but with her, so you see, it doesn’t matter.  It was a male ego thing.  I had been with her in the past, before I knew ya, and since we weren’t ready yet to make it known about us, how could I plausibly turn it down?  She is the press, there would have been questions.  I thought it would be easier to just give it a pull and be done with it.  I’ve done it, see?  It’s never been worth it.  God, I could barely get it up for her that time. And the guilt was enormous afterward.  But I’ve done it.  You have to forgive me.  There’s nothin’ else for it.  Forgive me!  Please?”

“So you did lie to me that time?”

“I’m not lyin’ now.”

“What if I did it?” Lee countered.  “Would you forgive me?  What if Paul had gotten under my skin that night?  Would you be forgiving me?”

“No!”

“That was rhetorical, John!”

“Doesn’t matter.  I’m a jealous prick.  You love Paul, just as you love all of us.  It’s not the same.  That’s a real threat.  Good girls are not pigs like us.  We can separate it so easily.  ‘Hello, nice to meet ye’, let’s fuck!’  Sometimes not even that much conversation required.”

“That’s right,” Lee was quick to point out.  “That’s why you should trust me implicitly.”

“I do, really.  I just get crazy at the possibility of anyone taking you from me, ‘specially him.  I’m so insecure when it comes to you.  You’re so good and I so don’t deserve you.  I love you so much, girl.”

Since this was ‘true confessions’ she wanted all of it.  “Who else?  How many others?  Anyone else whose company I should be humiliated to be in?”

“What?”

“You heard me!  I want it all now.”

“What possible purpose…”

“Then this conversation is over.”  She turned to leave.  He grabbed her arm, stopping her and turned her around.

“All right.  All right, goddamnit.  Aside from her and the actress from the film, no one.  Just quick blows or hand jobs with slags before a show.  And a lot less of those, thank you very much.  You’re in my bed every night.  You’ve ruined me for other women.  Just those two since you, I swear on me mum.”

“Eleanor?”  Lee could not believe what she was hearing, all her beautiful memories of that time crumbling in her brain. 

He sighed.   “It’s a game Paul and I have played since we were kids, like King of the Hill.  See who could score the lead actress first.  A pissin’ contest.  My dick’s bigger ‘n better than yours.  I think Paul might’ve had her too, afterwards.  Old habits die hard.  I really didn’t want to play, you and I had just gotten started, and afterward I hated meself, and tried to make it up to ye.”

“Yeah, afterward, you went out and bought me a ring.  I guess I should thank her,” Lee said, starting to cry.

The pain in John’s face was evident as his eyes reddened and glazed over and he took her hand and kissed it.  He then took her ring from his pocket and placed it back on her finger where it belonged. 

“I bought you this ring because I love you and I’d made a terrible mistake and it made me realize how very much I need you, and since you, other girls just pale in comparison.  At least give me credit for seeing the light. Anything else has meant absolutely nothin’.  I used to knock ‘em off two at a time.”

“And you gave all that up for a silly little inexperienced girl like me?  What a joke!” Lee said disgustedly, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

“You were inexperienced, and even then, the hottest woman I’ve ever known.  Great sex is as natural for you as that beautiful smile.  How many times and different ways do I have to tell you what you do to me?  No one has made me feel the way that you do.  And I love that it’s all been for me and with me only.  When I saw his hands on ya…You and I are incredible together and you know it.  And more importantly, I know it.”  His expression softened, the anger leaving him.  “Why’d you come here?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she answered, her eyes searching the heavens.  “To be close to you without being near you.  I couldn’t bear to be near you knowing you’d been with her.”

He came close and put his arms around her, pulling her to him.  She still couldn’t bear to have him touch her and started pushing him away, crying hysterically.

“Stop!” he demanded, holding her tighter.

“Let me go,” she cried, pushing at him, hitting his chest.

“I won’t.  Hit me all you want. I’m not letting go.”

“You don’t love me.”

“Don’t you ever say that, d’ya hear?  Ever!  Think of what I just went through in New York for ya.  Think I would put meself through that for just anyone?”

There was a large rock at the back of Lee’s feet and she slipped down and out of his arms, sitting on the rock, crying her heart out, thinking about what he was saying.

John kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands.

“Listen to me,” he said.  “Look at me, goddamnit!”  He gripped her shoulders.  “Girl, I’m on my knees, beggin’ you to forgive me…

She quieted down.  She knew she would, of course, always knew she would.  She touched his face.

“…and askin’ you to marry me.”

He didn’t know till that moment that he would say that.  It was so easy.  So natural.

She sat there with her mouth agape, not quite sure she heard what she knew she heard.  He’s just being cute, trying to fix this.

“Don’t mess with my head,” she managed to get out.

“I could never get away with that with you.  They’ve all been mindless twits, ‘til you.  If you don’t believe me, call your father.”

Her look was incredulous.  “You asked my father?”

“Told him, more like it.  I think he quite liked that I had a real pair on me.”

Lee’s head was spinning.  The thought that he had discussed marrying her with her father a month ago and had never let on filled her with shock and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“You really want me?  For always?”

“Don’t look so surprised,” he said.  “You knew this one was to the death.”

“Mr. Romance.  The question always was if you knew it.”

He smirked at her.  “Always!”

She threw her arms around his neck and flung herself at him sending them both sprawling in the sand, kissing, rolling around and laughing and crying at the same time, neither of them caring that it was January and they were frozen stiff.  They kissed each other hungrily.

He ground himself against her saying, “I’d take you right here, Missy, but it’s so cold it might break off.  And a husband without one would be pretty fuckin’ useless, don’t ya think?”

“Husband,” she repeated, almost reverently.

“Let’s get up there and put it to good use.”

“Here?  In Mimi’s house?  No, we couldn’t.”

“Watch me!” he said, getting up and giving her a hand-up.  They headed back to Mimi’s.  As soon as they walked in the door they went to Mimi hand’n’hand, John saying, “Mimi, isn’t there somewhere you might disappear to for an hour?   Or two?  Like visitin’ a neighbor or something?”

“Well,” she said, eyeing them, “perhaps I can bring the lovely potted plant over to Fred and Annie for giving Lee a ride the other night?”

“Jolly good idea,” John said in his mocking tone.  “Good old Fred and Annie, whoever they are, bless ‘em!”

When Mimi had gone, John took her by the hand into the room she was staying in and closed the door.  Unlike his usual impatient ardor when he was about to take her, this time he caressed her slowly, stroking her hair, petting her gently, kissing her forehead lightly, almost as if he was afraid of breaking a china doll.

“Baby, I really am sorry you had to see all that and be hurt so bad.  The lads really ripped into me for it.  I know this sort of sounds weird, but I’m really glad that they are so protective of you, even if it’s from me.  I know you will always be looked after and I’m glad they love you so much.  I mean that.”

“Can you deal with my loving them?  Over the past few days, I sort of got to thinking that maybe it was all my fault somehow.”

“No one thinks that.”  He kissed her mouth softly, sweetly, as he began slowly undoing her clothing.

“Even Paul?”

“Especially not Paul.  Horny bastard.”

She looked into his eyes.  “There’s no one else I want this way except you, John.  Do you understand that?”

“Yes.  Just remind me now and again, because sometimes things aren’t quite right in me head.  You wrecked me when you left, and showed me I can’t live without you.”

“Oh John, I love you so much.”

“Lunacy not withstanding?”

“Believe it or not, it’s part of your charm and the passion you bring to my life.  There’s no one in this world like you.  I’m the luckiest girl that ever lived,” she said as she undid his clothing, reaching up and caressing his bare shoulders and she kissed his mouth slowly and passionately.  They were now very naked, their hands lightly exploring each other as if for the first time.

He took her hand and placed it on him, and he let out a heavy moan.  “Oh yes,” she said, so very lucky.”

He smiled and lifted her in his arms, with great effort and carried her over to the bed and deposited her on it, letting out a grunt and a groan. 

“Sorry luv, it’s not you.  I’m such an out of shape weakling.  Must do some body building!”

“Don’t you dare!  I hate muscle bound morons.  This is the only part of you that we need to build up and I can take care of that just fine,” she said, pulling at him.

“You can revive the dead in that department,” he laughed as they hugged and kissed each other.  “I never did get a chance to thank you for that wonderful party.  It was our best ever, until I went spare.  We all had a wonderful night.  I was so very proud of you!”  He pointed at her.  “You sang to me!  Not bad, either.  Do I have to launch your career now?”

“One singer in the family is more than enough.”

“I love you, baby,” John said.  “You never did answer my question, ya know.”

“I thought I did.”

“No, you tackled me.”

“Ask me again.”

“Torturous woman!  Will you marry me?”

“Oh, yes.  Anytime, anywhere.  Most definitely yes.”

John lifted her thighs around his waist and entered her slowly, caressing her everywhere, consummating this union in such a gentle and yet passionate way, Lee felt transported, almost as if she were floating on a cloud.  He showed a tenderness she had never seen in him.  It was wonderfully slow and romantic.

“Oh Christ, I want you,” he said, moving faster, harder.

Pulling him into her, her murmurings were incoherent babblings.  Suddenly, something in the back of her mind came to the fore, she not quite being able to put her finger on it.  What was it?  Damn, she thought, I’ve lost my concentration and momentum.  She wracked her brain, then it dawned on her…

“John!”

“Oh baby, it’s good, so good, I’m really close…”

“No, John you have to stop!”

“No way!” he laughed, his tongue taking hers. 

“No, really, please,” she begged.

He slowed down, looking at her.  “What is it?  Am I hurting you?”

“No, baby, but…I’m sorry, but I’ve forgotten my pills at home.  I haven’t had them.  We can’t.”

“Like hell we can’t.  Don’t worry, I’ll make sure…”

“No!” she said, “I read about that, the little buggers can still swim through, even if you don’t…” she tried to push him up, but he wasn’t having it.  He took her wrists and held them up over her head.

“Stop!” he demanded seriously and kept at her, harder and quicker, his desire for her only piqued because she was saying no. Then, unexpectedly, she too got all caught up in it, the risk they were taking, but one that didn’t seem to scare him or put him off.  All she could think was, he really loves me, he wants to marry me.

She allowed herself to fall back into her passionate mode, letting all the wonderful stimulation fill her again, thrusting against him, him filling her completely, all hard and rough, like they’d never done it before.

He loved when she let herself go this way, so completely abandoning all inhibition, giving herself to him totally.  She murmured sweet, yet very dirty things in his ear, making him totally crazy.  She made him feel like he was the only man that ever lived.  He didn’t think any girl could ever mean this much to him, as much as his mates and his music.  Up until her, girls were just playthings to be used and discarded.

“Come on, girl, give it up,” he demanded roughly and breathlessly, “I can’t wait anymore!”

She always got hot when he was demanding, that good girl/bad boy thing, and his words made her tighten against him and thrust faster and harder until the contractions inside her made her moan and whimper, he doing the same simultaneously, as he shuddered and filled her.  He usually was able to wait until he was sure she was satisfied first, but not this time.  He didn’t even watch out for her, like he’d promised.

She hugged his neck and kissed him and they both said ‘I love you’ at the same time.  As was their habit whenever he withdrew from her, he lay on his back and gathered her into the crook of his arm, she hugging his waist or stroking his chest.

He laughed and said, “I think I’ll write a song called, ‘Give It Up’ or ‘Come Together’.  Do all the men of the world a public service.”

She giggled. 

“With your squeaky clean image?  They still haven’t gotten ‘Please Please Me.’”

“Don’t worry.  The girls always got it.  It’s the grown-ups that are a little thick.”

She hesitated…“John?   What if…you know,” she let the question hang.

“We’ll cross that bridge…”

“But I swore I’d never do that to you.  That’s something that both people should want more than anything when the time is right, such a huge responsibility.  I’m only eighteen.”

“First off, I think I did it to you.  Don’t worry.  Drugs stay in yer system for a while.  I think I know a thing or two about ‘em.  We’ll be okay.”

“And if we’re not?”

“We’ll still be okay.  You’ll still be my wife, only sooner rather than a little later.  Don’t fret about it.  Right now I can think of worse things happening than making a baby with you.  Jesus.  Who said that?” he said, looking around.

Lee laughed hysterically.  “See?  You’re no more ready for this than I am!”

“If it happens, I’ll be ready.  I promise you.”

He was being so sweet, trying to reassure her, but she knew it would be disastrous right now.  She said a silent prayer that the potent Lennon sperm stayed far away from her egg.

She had visions of herself in a suburban house discussing diaper rash with Maureen while they were out on the road whooping it up, and it nearly gave her a cold sweat.  No, God, please, not right now.  Not until this ‘road life’ is behind them.  It won’t last forever.

She said, “Now, about this conversation you had with my father…”

“Christ.  Women!”

                                                                      ***

They did stay a couple of extra days with Mimi and had a wonderful, restful visit.  Mimi was thrilled to have her boy home with her for a while, and he dug into her personal things and scrounged through her books to see what she was reading and what she’d been up to since his last visit.  They’d get into debates and disagreements over almost any topic and Mimi loved every minute of it.  She floated around the house humming all day.  John’s company was the only thing sorely lacking in her life, and Lee tried to give them as much time alone as possible.

As they were getting ready to leave, Mimi called Lee into her bedroom.

“I really want you to know how much I enjoyed having you here dear, and I hope you come again, even if John can’t.”

“Me too, Mimi.  You were a lifesaver and it meant everything to me.  Thank you so much,” Lee said, hugging the woman.

Mimi was not an overly demonstrative woman, but hugged her in return and said, “I want you to have something.”  She went to the dresser drawer and removed a box containing a beautiful cameo brooch.  “This belonged to my mother, also named Annie like your mother, and I’ve been holding it for John’s wife someday.”

“Oh no, Mimi, I couldn’t possibly accept such a valuable family heirloom.”

“John loves you, I know he does.  He will marry you,” she said with conviction.

“How about,” Lee suggested, “you continue to hold it and give it to me on my wedding day?  I’d feel a lot better about it then.  In the meanwhile you wear it once in a while.  That will make it much more valuable to me as I never knew John’s grandmother and I do know you.  If you wear it, I will be proud to wear it someday because you raised the man I love.  Made him what he is.”  She looked close to tears as she replaced the brooch in the box and put it away.

“You are a good girl.  When it really came down to correct decisions for himself, John always made the right choices.  If he’d have listened to me he’d have had a miserable life doing an ordinary job.”

“Good thing he doesn’t listen to either of us!” Lee said, and they both laughed.

                                                             ***

On the drive back, Lee was doing some back seat driving in the front passenger seat, a real white-knuckle experience.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive for a while?” she asked.

“As I recall, you don’t have a license and I do,” he pointed out smugly.

“You only just passed last summer and you know George has been teaching me and I’m pretty damned good.  George is the best driver of you lot, and if he says I’m good, I’m good.”

“At what I taught you, never mind George!  Just navigate,” he said, pointing to the road.

                                                                     ***

In the elevator on the way up, John took Lee’s hand and said, “From here on in, don’t ever put me through this again!  Scream, yell, punch and kick.  Just don’t leave me.”

“How about,” she answered, “you just don’t give me any reason to do those things?”

He turned to her and smiled.  “Hello.  My name is John Lennon.  And you are?”

“Touche`,” she laughed, kissing him.

Lee saw them all standing around by the desk, waiting, as they let themselves into the flat.

“You had the doorman call up, didn’t you?” Lee asked accusingly.

“Was she always such a wise ass?” George asked.

Ringo and John both answered at once.  “Yeah.”

Lee looked to John.  “Go ahead,” was all he said.

She went directly to Paul and put her arms around his neck and kissed him.  The look on his face showed his surprise and relief as he hugged her to him.

“What I really deserve,” Paul said, squeezing her tight, “is a good hard smack.”

“Don’t be soft,” she answered.

“I’m real sorry, girl,” he said sadly.

“I know,” she whispered in his ear.  “Everything’s okay now.”

                                                                       ***

A week later, Lee crawled back into bed early one morning after having gone to the loo, and snuggled up to John.

“John,” she whispered in his ear.

“Mmmm?”

“I’ve just gotten my period.”

At first it didn’t register.  Then he opened his eyes and stroked her hair.  “Told ya everything would be okay.  Happy?”

“Mmmm,” she nodded. 

“Me too,” he said.

“Also a little sad,” she added.

Lena King a New York State Supreme Court Clerk, and she loves her job.  In a prior incarnation she worked as a secretary and married quite young (twenty) to a Beatle person (twenty-one), a match made in Beatle heaven, or so she thought.  Would you believe his birthday was July 7th?  Typically, he had is mid-life crisis at thirty.  He got his new trollop and she got their beautiful daughter, who ironically, is now twenty years old.  She knows almost as much about the Fabs as her mother does, whether she likes it or not.  (She does.)  "How did they get outside the train mommy?" she giggled at four.  She's been spoon fed the stuff ever since.

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