In which the illegitimate granddaughter of Beatle Paul McCartney finds herself in Liverpool in the early 1960s, falling hopelessly in love with John Lennon.
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14th October, 1960
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Ringo slept at the flat with Ruby that night before they left for Hamburg. It was easier that way; Rory Storm and the rest of the Hurricanes would be picking them up in the morning on the way to the airport - Ringo had made the call to them on the way back to Gambier Terrace. From there, they'd board an early morning flight to Hamburg, hitchhiking to the Reeperbahn once they arrived in Germany.
Ruby was excited; not only to see more of the world - she'd never been to Germany - but to see John and the boys again. It felt like far too long since she'd spoken to her grandfather, since she'd seen George scoff a sandwich, and discussed a drawing technique with Stu... and she missed the conversations that she had with John - the intellectual, incredible conversations that had her mind whirring and a smile painted on her face as she argued her point against his. Before he had left, John and Ruby had been as close as two friends could be - or she thought so, anyway.
She wondered if he felt the same.
She wondered if he would be excited to see her again, or if he would be angry that she had come all the way to Germany without telling him... she knew from the future that he sometimes had a temper - not to mention that she had sometimes seen it herself - though he had never been totally off the hook with her.
"You ready?" She felt bad because in truth, she hadn't even noticed that Ringo had been talking to her. The van, which Rory was driving, was stopped almost in front of the main doors of the airport, and Ringo and Ruby were the only ones left in the van - everybody else was already unloading their instruments and suitcases from the back. The many bags and cases had been arranged gingerly around everybody, and the entire way to Speke Airport they had all had to keep an eye on the teetering tower of luggage in case it should fall onto somebody.
Ruby smiled at Ringo in reply, tearing her mind away from her friends who were still so far away and yet within reach. "Yeah," she replied, "I'm ready. Sorry, I, um... I'm just a bit preoccupied today -"
Ringo chuckled, "it's early, huh?"
Ruby nodded, humming in reply as she pretended that the early hour was the route of her lack of concentration. "I've never been to Germany," Ruby said absentmindedly as she wondered if the Germany of 1960 would be anything like the Germany of the twenty-first century. She doubted it.
"Me neither," Ringo replied. "Should be fun - I've heard loads about the place."
She was glad that he was enthusiastic about it. In truth, the thought of getting on a plane terrified her - just as it always had - but the thought of getting on a plane in the 1960s when there was next to no safety regulations was one that haunted her, and knew that it would continue to do so until she was on the ground safely in Germany. Ringo, who had been oblivious to her fears, got out of the van and then turned to help her down. Ruby appreciated this, though she really didn't need him to. Ringo was even so kind as to unload her two bags before starting on his own.
"F-flight l-leaves in two h-hours." Rory, who had a terrible stutter when he was not singing, said as he turned away from the rest of the band to speak to Ringo - and Ruby by extension. Whilst none of the boys had been explicitly off with her, she got the feeling that they were not happy that Ringo was bringing along a girl - one that they undoubtedly saw as 'his girl' - and one that he had only met the night before. She was not Ringo's girl, and if even one of the boys made a hint at it (they hadn't so far), then she would make no hesitation to put an end to their belief.
She wasn't anybody's girl. She never had been, though that wasn't to say that she didn't like the idea of being somebody's girl. If the right person came along, then she could see herself being quite comfortable with that title -
Ringo was waiting for Ruby by the door. He had a smile on his face; it was a warm smile, and it filled her with confidence. Maybe this flight wouldn't be so bad - especially not if he kept looking at her like that. He was looking at her like she was the prettiest girl in Liverpool at that moment, and she didn't like it. Ruby didn't want to lead him on, but she also did not want to be presumptuous and assume that he saw her differently than he actually did.
So she followed him into the airport without another word because it was easier than calling him out.
