Finally he turned around, minutes later, and his eyes were dark and sad.
"What's it all for," he asked me quietly, "I'm a failure at school, I'm a bloody fuckin' Beatle, we run around like monkeys in a zoo. Then I meet you and feel like an asshole. What's it all for?" I shook my head quickly in disbelief.
"John, what's wrong with you? What is it, really? Is it Cynthia? Julian?" John cursed again.
"Cyn. I've lied to her almost as many times as I've lied to myself. Julian, yeah. Poor kid. I bet he doesn't even remember what I look like. Great father, I am."
"John, it's not as if you've had much of an opportunity to relax and spend time with him."
"You want to tell that to him for me? Tell that to a three year old, 'sorry Jules, I hafta be in Beatles, they're more important than you, leave me alone now.'? No, sorry, it doesn't work."
"John, I know that you are a wonderful person, you're talented, smart, generous, handsome..." John's right eyebrow arced and one side of his mouth slightly curled up. Encouraged by this small sign of happiness, I continnued. "Yeah, it's true. Damn, if you weren't married I'd run up and kiss you right now. But that's not the point. What I'm trying to say, and not saying, is that you are someone really special, and if you can't see that, then..." I threw up my hands in an exaggerated motion and John finally smiled. "Now, then, get on back to that hotel and talk to Cyn. Or do more than talk. Just not when I'm there." John laughed.
"And if I don't?" His sarcasm was back, that was a good sign!
"Well, then," I pretended to think it over, "I'll just open my eyes wide like this and shout OHMYGOD IT'S JOHN-" John ran over to me and clapped a hand over my mouth. I twisted away, giggling.
"Okay, okay, that'll do. I'm coming.........." But he turned back and looked out over the water. "It's a nice place, this. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be normal. To be able to actually face yourself instead of your fears. To go where you want to go without taking hell with you. You know?" He turned to me again, his eyes pleading for me to understand him. Though I was getting there, I still didn't exactly know what sort of hell he was talking about, but I came close.
"Yeah, John, I think I do. And you know...I think that Yvonne will too."
"Oh, that's right, Yvonne's coming over!" His eyes brightened visibly.
"First time I've seen you smile like that in a couple of days, John! I like it!" I laughed, and, together, we walked back to my car, and returned to the hotel.
As soon as we got up to the room, and John went inside, I headed back down to say goodbye to Cynthia and Patti, and, only minutes later, greet Yvonne once more.
Down in the lobby, Patti and Cyn were waiting for me, appropriately disguised with wigs and elaborate makeup. I hugged them both.
"Goodbye, Cynthia. Goodbye, Patti."
"Goodbye, Penny," they both said. Cynthia smiled in a motherly way down at me.
"Penny, be safe, now." I raised my eyebrows.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know!" She laughed.
"Yes, I promise I will," I said seriously. "Thank you both so much...for everything."
"We had a lot of fun," Patti whispered in my ear. "And let me say this about you: out of any girls that we've met who have been a girlfriend of our Paul, you are definitely the best. I mean that in every way...I hope that you get what you are looking for...you deserve Paulie, and I think that he deserves you. Good luck!"
"Thank you!"
"Any time. I hope to see you again, Penny," said Patti, and smiled in return.
"Me, too," said Cyn, and squeezed my arm. Though I doubted that such a meeting would ever occur, I nodded encouragingly and hugged them, each, one more time. I felt myself getting choked up as I watched them walk out of the hotel, and then turn around to wave once more. Because, truth was, they were walking out of more than a door. They were walking out of my life. I felt quite sure of that, at that moment.
"Bye..." I whispered to myself, and then sat down to wait for Yvonne. 'Out of any girls that we've met, who have been a girlfriend of our Paul' is what Patti had said. I had never thought of it like that. After what had happened back in the hotel room, it would make sense...to me, anyway, maybe not to Paul. Was I really Paul McCartney's girlfriend? Did he love me? I gasped and blushed...just the thought made me giddy with happiness...also so dreamy that it took me more than five seconds to realize that Yvonne had entered the hotel and was standing ten feet away from me, smiling excitedly and ready to have fun.
"HI, Penny!"
"Yve, hi! I didn't even notice you were there!"
"I know! I was noticing you not noticing me!"
I laughed, and we hugged each other.
"So, let's get upstairs," I said with a smile, "John's been waiting for you!" She squealed and I grinned.
While in the elevator, I turned to her once more. She had been very quiet for the past few moments, probably anxious about meeting John once more, now that she liked him so much.
"Yve, remember I said that I had something important to tell you?"
"Yes, I do...what was it?"
"Yve, I totally fell for Paul." She smiled,
"Nothing new there."
"No, but I mean I REALLY fell for Paul. Literally. On the bed." Her eyes bulged to the size of saucers, and she yelled,
"YOU DID WHA-" I clapped a hand over her mouth.
"SHHHHH! No, NOT all the way, but a LOT of the way. Christ, Yve, Paul likes me too and he wants me to do It with him."
"Do you want to?" This time I had no doubts.
"YES! That's why I'm so scared! Because I shouldn't!" Yve started pacing around the elevator.
"Okay, here's what we can do," she said, twirling a blond strand of hair around her finger, "if you really want to say yes, which I'd imagine that you do, you need to tell him how you feel and what you're worried about...you're not having your period now, are you?"
"No, luckily."
"Well, then, that's one less worry. Er...does he...um...have a...any protection?" I blushed viciously.
"I don't know, I never asked him."
"Well, before you do ANYTHING, anything at all, Penny, ask him, all right? At least you should be safe."
"All right." The doors opened on the correct floor. There, standing in front of us, grinning mischievously like four Japanese gnomes, were John, Paul, George and Ringo, hands extended outwards as if to offer us something for our trouble.
"M'lady," George stepped forward and took my hand, giving it an elaborate kiss, "how kind of you to grace us with your presence!" I pulled my hand away, giggling.
"Me thinks thou dost protest too much," commented John seriously, in an overdone Old English accent.
"Me thinks thou are acting similarly to a jack-ass," I retorted, and then stepped away from Yvonne so she could be seen by all of the Beatles. "This is Yvonne, remember, she came back due to generous amounts of request." Yvonne smiled with what she called her 'deathshed grin', and said, simply,
"Hi, John, Hi, Paul, George; Ringo."
"Hi!" They all said back, except for John who stepped up to her, smiling.
"Watch out," I whispered to her, while he continued getting closer to her. He stopped once he was only inches away from her, having to look down because, like me, she was shorter than he by a substantial amount. I waited for the sarcastic remark. Once again, none came.
"Hi, Yvonne," he said simply, "would you care to go for a walk? I know you just got here...but I'm dying to get out this damn hotel. 'Like to join me?" Yve's face brightened up so much that she looked like a sun giving off its brilliant light.
"Yes, I'd love to," she said politely, and the two returned to the elevator. While Yve was rifling through her purse, before the doors closed, John looked up quickly and gave us a victorious thumbs-up. He grinned devilishly. I very nearly collapsed in laughter. He had gotten what he wanted!
And the other Beatles did collapse in laughter once the doors were closed, and John and Yvonne had left.
"Didn't take him long!" Ringo burst out into chuckles, gasping for breath, "he went right for her like a car for the mouse!" Paul too was laughing,
"She's in for something!!!"
"SO'S HE!" George and I counter-attacked, and then we looked at each other and began to laugh even harder.
"Wow," I finished up finally, several moments later. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "Wow. And I thought he was depressed! Along comes yvonne, and bang!"
"I know," said Paul, shaking his head, "but we're forgetting one slightly large problem."
"What?"
"Cor, John's married for Chrissake, I think he put that out of his head! What about Cynthia?"
"What about Jane?" I asked myself silently.
Continue With Chapter Five!!!