Debbie Doll | Ringo Starr ✅

24

"You look fine, Cyn." I reassured her for the umpteenth time, "better than fine, actually. You look a million quid."

She smiled at me but continued to nervously smooth her skirt down. "I think I look frumpy... do I look frumpy, Ringo?" Ritchie had brought me a new ivory dress for our wedding, but John had done no such thing for Cynthia. She was wearing her nicest skirt, which was a horrible pink colour, and a shirt that looked far too tight for her.

He shook his head, "you look good, Cynthia," he reassured her, "stop fussing, though, in case you make Deb nervous."

I laughed, swatting his chest playfully, "she could never." I turned, kissing his lips softly. "I know that I want to marry you, Ritch, and nothing would make me change my mind."

Cynthia smiled at the two of us, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. "Where is he?" She muttered to herself, and not for the first time that afternoon. "He should be here by now!"

John was nowhere to be seen. We hadn't heard from him all day - nobody had.

It was just us at the registry office that surprisingly sunny Saturday afternoon; Ritchie and me, Cyn and Brian. John was supposed to be here, too, of course, but he was missing.

"He'll be here, soon." Ritchie put a hand on Cynthia's shoulder to comfort her, but she looked distraught.

She nodded, patting his hand with one of her own, but she didn't look convinced.

None of us were.

Since I had known John, I had met three of his girlfriends - Cynthia being only one. He didn't seem like the kind of man to settle down so young, and I wasn't sure how successful their marriage would be... still, he was a good man for marrying her after finding out that she was pregnant, anyway.

"Cynthia," Brian poked his head round the side of the door. She turned to look at him with a desperate look in her eyes. "He's here."

She breathed a sigh of relief. I did, too, though it wasn't as obvious. For a few moments, I had feared that he wasn't going to show.

"Thank goodness."

Ritchie kissed my cheek and then seperated us as he went over to the door which Brian had left open, "see you in a few, Miss Graves."

I smiled at him, "you will." I promised him.

Ritchie grinned and dashed off to join the other groom and our witness; Brian, in the ceremony room.

Cynthia and I held hands down the aisle, and handed each other off to our loves. It was quite nice, because the only people that we had were each other and the men that we were marrying. I hoped that it would always be the four of us, because I loved Cynthia and I loved John.

Ritchie and I cuddled closer, his arm around my shoulders.

John and Cynthia were standing with a few inches between them.

I frowned momentarily at the distance between them, because I wanted nothing more than for the two of them to be as happy as Ritchie and I were and hopefully would be.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of John Winston Lennon and Cynthia Powell, Deborah Marie Graves and Richard Starkey..." Ritchie and I laced our hands together as we became husband and wife.

* * * * *

Brian stood up, holding his glass of whiskey in the air. We followed suit, me sitting in Ritchie's lap with one of his arms wrapped tightly around my waist and John and Cynthia sitting on the opposite side of the table for us, each on their own seats.

"To the newly weds," he spoke loudly. Some other patrons of the pub looked over at us and listened to the first part of Brian's speech, raising their glasses as well, "to happiness and to their futures together." He tipped his glass slightly and those that were listening did as well.

"To the newly weds!" Everybody declared.

Ritchie and I smiled at Brian and then turned our attentions to each other, closing the gap between our lips and letting our tongues embrace.

"God, you two!" John exclaimed once everybody had gone back to their own conversations, "get a room!"

Ritchie and I seperated our lips and then glared at him. Cynthia giggled and then blushed a deep red when she noticed John shift his seat further away from her.

"Speaking of," Brian cleared his throat before he continued, "John, as promised, you and Cynthia are welcome to my flat." He reached into his pocket and took the keys out, dropping them into John's outstretched palm. Brian turned to us, "I'm sorry, you two, but I'd already promised the flat to them before you came to see me -"

"It's fine." Ritchie paused, turning to John, "can we go back to the flat tonight?"

John shrugged, "Micky's at Suzie's tonight, so there shouldn't be anyone there."

The first thought that went through my head was what we would do this evening. Usually we would have listened to a record or the radio, or just talked for hours on end... but I knew what a man and woman did on their wedding night.

The thought sent a thrill through me, though I tried not to let that show because John and Cynthia, Brian and Ritchie were all looking at me.

"What?" I asked, coming back to the present.

"I asked if you wanted to head back to the flat?" Ritchie paused, "it's been a busy day and I'd quite like to talk to you -"

John scoffed. Brian, Cynthia, me and Ritchie shot him a glare, narrowing our eyes at him. He chuckled and downed the remainder of what was his third pint of beer that evening.

I didn't envy Cynthia at all.

As much as I loved John, I knew that he was a handful. I could only imagine what their marriage was going to be like.

I nodded to Ritchie, "yeah sure, let's head back."

He smiled.

"I'll call you both a cab -"

"We can walk." I told Brian.

He smiled again at us, "my treat. For the newly weds."

We didn't argue because John and Micky's flat was quite a walk from the pub where we had gone for a drink after the ceremony at the registry office.

"That'd be nice, Brian," Ritchie said as he tapped the outside of my thigh. I stood up on cue and he stood up as well, "thank you."

Brian fished around in his pocket for the second time in a matter of minutes and pulled out a lot more money than the cab was going to cost. He handed it to Ritchie.

"Brian," Ritchie said, "this is too much -"

"Get something nice for dinner. I don't want the change, Ringo."

We both thanked him for the day and the money, and also wished John and Cynthia a good night before going outside to find a cab.