"Maybe later, all right? Besides, you don't have a guitar that's been strung for a right-handed player."
"Hmm, good point. Damn."
All of a sudden, the bell for the gates rang again. Paul excused himself and went to answer it.
"Probably a gate-bird." He confided in me, before pressing the receiver button. "'Ello?"
"FOR AULD LANG SYNE!!!!!!!!!!" A voice bellowed out, "LET ME IN, YOU DAFT BUGGER!!!" Paul laughed to himself.
"It's John."
"OF COURSE IT'S JOHN, ASSHOLE!!!!" John yelled from oustide, "OPEN THE ^!@&^%(* DOOR!!!!!"
"All right, all right!" Paul pressed the necessary button and the gate doors swung open. Soon afterwards, John walked into the house.
"WHERE ARE YOU, PAULIE???" He shouted.
"In here!" Paul yelled back.
"In here," I could hear John muttering under his breath. "How specific is that." Soon, however, he entered the door to the sunroom, but stopped once he saw me seated on the piano bench. Paul moved up to greet him, and whispered something in his ear. John nodded, and moved slowly towards me. He carefully extended his hand out to me. I looked at Paul. He nodded encouragingly and mouthed to me,
"He won't hurt you." Shaking a bit, I let my hand be enclosed by John's strong grip.
"Hello, luv." He said calmly, quietly. He had a lower, more nasally voice than Paul's. I didn't reply, but did shake his hand before stepping back once more to sit down on the nearby couch.
"Allegra, this is John. John, this is Allegra." Said Paul in a singsong voice, smiling. I smiled faintly in return, but only at Paul. He gave me a Look that clearly stated, 'Give him a chance', and nodded at John.
"Er...." said John, "Cyn said she enjoyed meeting you...and she also said you were prettier than our Paulie here," he ruffled Paul's hair; Paul rolled his eyes, "and I just had to come see for meself. She was telling the truth." He finished softly. John was so nice! I always had heard that he was abrupt and sarcastic. Not to me he wasn't. Maybe it was because he was afraid that I would have another panic attack. I smiled, but didn't say anything. John looked even more uncomfortable than he had before. "Uh...well, I don't know really what to say." He looked at Paul for help. Paul looked at me.
"Allegra, how about you play something for John on the piano?" I blushed and shook my head.
"She plays?"
"Like Beethoven himself!" That gave me a giggle. Paul looked very pleased with himself for making me laugh. "Come on, now, give it a go." I shrugged slightly, and sat down on the bench again. This time I played a louder, faster sonata by Mozart. Only one movement. But by the time I was done, I seemed to have played out all of my frustration and anger. I felt strangely serene and exhausted at the same time. John was impressed.
"*&%$&$&#, Allegra, that was great!"
"In case you couldn't tell," Paul said to me, "John rarely minces words." John moved closer to me and I felt myself shrinking away. He sat down beside me, and I felt the panic of being near another man reaching me again. Paul noticed, and tapped John on the shoulder. John looked around, perplexed.
"Down, boy!" John yapped and stood up again. "Aren't you going to introduce your mates, then?" Paul gestured towards the door. Two more forms were standing in the entrance to the room. I gasped and jumped up. I hadn't known that they were there."
"Calm down, Allegra, it's all right," Paul said soothingly, "shh....there now. See, we know them." The two figures stepped into the room.
"Too many people," I whimpered to Paul. "Too many people." The room started to spin again.
"Breathe, Allegra! Breathe!" I was swaying gently from side to side with my eyes half-closed. Paul stepped forward and shook me hard to wake me up again. It was a mistake. My eyes opened wide with the strong, forcing touch and I screamed. I screamed in utmost fright and panic, and jumped back. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I forgot, Allegra, I'm sorry......" Paul cried, and moved away from me. He let me be, shaking like a leaf in the middle of the room.
After a minute or two had passed, I managed to calm down again, and suddenly remembered the other forms in the doorway. They were, of course, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, each of who were now standing generously far away from me, probably to prevent another scare like the one I had just experienced.
Paul motioned George forward first. He walked awkwardly up to me, hands stuck in his pockets.
"'Ello, Allegra." His voice was thicker than either John's or Paul's, and heavily weighted down with the Liverpool accent. I smiled, and so did George. For some odd reason, I found myself reacting better with George than I had with John.
"Hello." I said softly, and let him take my hand to shake gently. George looked like a little boy who had just been given a puppy for his birthday. He beamed, and moved back again. Ringo came up next, and because he was so much smaller than the others, he was also less intimidating.
"Hi, Allegra."
"Hi, Ringo." He smiled, and I did as well. I backed myself up and sat down on the couch. Paul picked his guitar up and moved it out of the way so that he could sit beside me. I didn't find myself recoiling like I had with the other Beatles, most likely because I had known him for more than a day, and the others for less than twenty minutes. I wasn't scared when he was so close to me that I could smell his cologne, or, if I had wanted to, touch his face. He acted as if he didn't notice my change in attitude towards his closeness to me, rather, he began a conversation with John.
"John, did ya bring your guitar?"
"Yeah, 's out in the car."
"Can you go get it?"
"I dunno. Can I?"
"Funny, Lennon. Funny. Get your (*&%**# guitar."
"OOOOOH, Paul's using bad language!" Paul threw a couch pillow at John, who left, laughing, to do as Paul requested.
"I'll go with!" Ringo volunteered, and followed him to the door.
"GET MINE TOO!!!!!" George hollered from his position on a nearby chair.
"Yes, your Holiness!" Retorted John sarcastically. I laughed again.
"Get Back" To My Homepage!!!
(That joke has been overused, hasn't it?)