Nobody Wants To Know Him

XXIV - One After 909

Wednesday 14th February 1973
Liverpool, England
12.53pm

"John, that's today!" I'd never been to Germany before, but it was somewhere I'd always been interested in after being taught about the wars during history at school.

History was always a subject I enjoyed while in education; I'd always found it interesting, and my history teacher was always my favourite. Somehow, he managed to make things that happened several years ago, some further than living memory, engaging, bringing me to love history. And Germany was a country with a lot of it.

In addition to the world wars, there was also the recent history, with the start of the Cold War. There was so much to see in Germany, and particularly Hamburg, West Germany's biggest city, so the mere prospect was thrilling.

He stood to his full height, stretching his back, excited grin on his face. "Damn right it is!"

Both his hands slammed onto the marble of the counter as he leaned in, nose inches from mine, smiling. "Are you excited?" He must've been able to read my expression well, as I, in fact, was. Very.

But this was all very sudden, wasn't it? I'd have to pack extremely quickly, what if I forget something? What would I tell my parents?

Oh, my boyfriend has arranged an impromptu trip to West Germany, so I'm afraid I'll have to be going in a few hours hopping on a flight after giving you an hour's notice in advance.

Needless to say, they would not be pleased.

Seemingly picking up on my change to concern, he withdrew to standing again, leaning on the table in front of me, twiddling his thumbs. "Don't worry," he began with a calm aura to his words, "I've spoken to yer parents. Yer da', he loves me, y'know. Although he was a bit skeptical about Hamburg*, but I did convince him nothing would... uh... y'know."

My heart threatened to burst at his actions, massively appreciative of the lengths at which he seemed to have gone to plan this trip. Not to mention the money - one hundred and eighty pounds was not a small sum.

"Really?" The smile crept back onto my face. "God, John. I... I love ya. So much."

Excitedly, I flung my arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. He chuckled, amused, before gently wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

When he spoke, his voice was muffled. "Ye better love me after all this. Don't worry, I'll make sure that you do after this trip." He pulled away, locking eyes with mine. "I dunno, I was gonna do something else. I was a bit afraid to go down to the airport on the bus to get the ticket... I don't normally go out like that, plus I hate the bus. And I have the cats."

Of course, the cats! John had so many cats, who would look after them while he was away? And what about the house? It was so expensive, the perfect place to burgle, especially when no one's here-

"It's fine, _______. Paul's coming up to stay at the house while we're away and look after the cats. He's already agreed happily. Said I need a break or some crap."

He averted his gaze to the floor before speaking again. "Besides... I haven't been abroad for years. Just not somethin' I've really felt the need for, nor wanted to do. Not much fun goin' on holiday alone, y'know. I would've much rather stayed at home mopin' around." With a soft smile, he met my eyes again. I couldn't help but feel immensely proud of him for wanting to immerse himself in society again after being cooped up in his house for so long. "But that's changed, I guess. It's all yer fault I've actually got to do stuff now."

At that last remark, I glared at him with the hint of a smile tugging at my lips.

"Yeah, God forbid Johnny boy has to get on with his life."