Within You, Without You | George Harrison ✅

3

The car ride was silent and awkward, though definitely not boring. I made a mental note to never let John Lennon drive while I was in the same car as him. It was terrifying.

Paul was laughing, and Ringo was chuckling. It was only George and myself who seemed mildly concerned by John's lack of direction, speed and control of the car.

In fact, George was tensed up against the door handle of the Austin Princess car, and I was in the same position beside him, since Ringo was sitting opposite us and there was only two people who could sit on each bench. John and Paul were in the front.

I was ashamed of where I lived, so I had John pull up about two blocks away from the set of flats that I lived in. There was no way that I could have millionaires seeing the sorry little flat that I called home.

He pulled up beside the curb. "Can I have your number?" George asked as I went to get out of the car.

Ringo stared at the two of us, and it made me feel uncomfortable, but only because it felt so intrusive.

"George, I don't think that's a good idea -"

"It's for professional reasons!" Paul called, defending his friend.

"And what would they be?"

"Well he hasn't thought of them yet." Ringo replied.

George shot him a look.

"Go on, bird," John said from the seat, turning around so he could register his input in the conversation, "give Geo your number. This might turn out well for you -"

"He's married, John." I pointed out. "And besides -"

I cut myself off before I could say anything else.

"Besides what?" John pushed.

It's not George I'm interested in. It's you.

I shook my head, "nothing." I answered, reaching into my bag and pulling out my notebook and a pen. I scribbled down my number and then ripped the page out, handing it to George. "Just to keep you quiet, George."

He smiled. "Ta," he waved it at me, "see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Beatles." And I turned and walked away from the car, closing the car door behind me.

I waited until their black Austin Princess car was round the corner and out of sight before I started walking to my flat. Luckily, the rain had eased up a lot since I had caught the bus, so by the time I reached my flat, I wasn't too wet.

I took off my coat and shoes and dropped my bag by the door before I hurried over to my phone. I had an important phone call to make.

The recipient of my phone call answered on the second set of rings, "Hal?" I said by way of a greeting.

"Hey, Reena!" Hally, my best friend, exclaimed. "How'd the job interview go? Did you get it?"

"I did." I replied. She squealed in delight. When I didn't squeal with her, she stopped.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "This is better than either of us could have hoped for! You got the job!"

"I did." I repeated.

"Then why are you so sad?"

"Because it wasn't the one that I wanted."

"I thought you applied to be a receptionist at the studio?" Hally asked.

"I did." I repeated again. "But I got the job of personal assistant to The Beatles instead."

"Then why are you fucking moping!?" Hally exclaimed, "that's better than the one that you wanted! Think about how close you'll be to John, all of the time -"

"John isn't interested, Hal." I sat down on my settee.

"How do you know that?" She asked me.

"Because George is."

"George Harrison?" She echoed in surprise. "But you don't like him -"

"He's charming." I told her honestly. "And he flirts a lot. He said that he didn't flirt unless he was serious, but -"

"Wait," she said, stopping me mid sentence, "you actually spoke to them today?" I hummed in reply. "But it was just an interview -"

"I met George in the reception area before I went in for the interview. And then I met the others afterwards... they drove me home."

"Jesus." Hal breathed. "Well that's more progress than we could have hoped to make today. Good job!"

"Hally!" I snapped. Hally fell silent and then I immediately felt bad for snapping at her. She was excitable, and I had burst her bubble of happiness. "Look, Hal," I said, "I'm sorry for snapping, okay? I'm just a little bit stressed. George asked for my number, and -"

She gasped. "Did you give it to him?"

"Ringo, Paul and John sort of peer pressured me into it." She laughed. "Hal, it's not funny. They're really manipulative."

"Oh come on," Hal asked. "How bad can they be?"

I had a feeling that I was only just scratching the surface.