I Saw Her Standing There: Book 1: A Paul McCartney love story

Chapter 4: A Day Without Paul

     Today was the first day Analeigh wouldn't see Paul since moving to Liverpool. She had grown accustomed to seeing him for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and sometimes even for all three. She did her daily routine after waking up: Shower, clothes, breakfast. She decided she would go and try to see some of Liverpool. Since this was going to be her new home, she figured she should know where things were.

     When she stepped outside the wind was a bit chilly. Luckily Paul's jacket kept most of it out. She found herself wearing it a bit too often and knew that probably wasn't a good thing. Getting attached to a boy about to make it big time was a silly thing to do. But she chose to let it happen anyway. She was wearing her favorite black boots with the studs at the toe, her dark washed jeans, and a white, slinky tank top that read "God Save the Queen" in all black letters that she found in a thrift shop two years ago; Paul's jacket completed the look.  She lit a cancer stick, and walked South toward The Cavern when she saw John walking her way.

  "Hey there, pretty bird!" said John turning and falling into step beside her with a smile. "You lost without Paulie today? I know he had some family things to do with his da' and Mike."

  "Hey, John." She said with a little smile. "I am actually, seeing as how he's always the one to show me around."

  "Well, if you don't mind, I'd be glad to show ye around some more. Where'd ye like to go?"

  "That'd be great! I'd like to get to know Paul's best friend more, anyway. And I didn't really have a destination. I was thinking about getting some more clothes and maybe some different film to play around with."

  "Oh. Then we better go get Ringo." John joked with false disappointment. "And as for clothes and film, I know just where to go."

      They walked into a vintage shop and looked around. Analeigh found a few shirts and jeans she liked, and a dress that she was dying to try on. She handed John her jacket to hold while she tried everything on, and stepped into the dressing room.

  "Hey," said John. "Is this Paul's leather?"

  "Ohh." said Analeigh turning pink, though John couldn't see her. "Yeah. He gave it to me the other night." she said while squeezing her hips into the dress. " 'Said he wouldn't need it anymore 'cause of the new look."

   "Hmm." said John thinking. "That's nice of him. I'm surprised though. This jacket is as much a part of him as his knapsack.'

   "His what?" Analeigh asked confused.

   "Nothing, darling" said John with a laugh. "Anyway, he wouldn't even let Jane, that's his ex he dated for about two good years, wear it for a night."

   This shocked Analeigh into silence, so she just stepped out of the dressing room to see if John liked the dress. It was monarch purple, tight fitting with thick straps, and a gold zipper from top to bottom. It came to the middle of her thighs, and she knew it was doing wonders for her ass.

  John let out a low whistle and said, "As to not disrespect my comrade, Paul is going to love that dress.....and will probably want to rip it off with his teeth."  He smiled a saintly smile and gave her a thumbs up. Analeigh laughed and went back into the dressing room to put on her clothes.

   She came back out and paid for her things. After they were bagged and handed to her, John gave her Paul's jacket, and she shrugged it on before stepping into the chilly Liverpool air. Their next stop was at a camera store with tons of supplies. She settled with a roll of regular color film and some infrared to take some weird shots. Maybe the boys will let me photograph them, she thought.

    After they left the film store, John wanted to show her this record/book shop he and Paul found a few years back. When they walked up to it, it seemed to stand slightly taller than the rest of the buildings. It was brick like most of the others, but this one was different somehow. They walked in and immediately saw that it was floor to ceiling records. In the center was a winding staircase that led to the top floor where the books were kept. They looked around for a while. John imagining coming into this record shop a few years from now and seeing The Beatles printed on one of the covers, and Analeigh imagining the people who took the photographs for the covers. This store was truly magic. They walked upstairs to what John thought of as a safe haven. The only thing Analeigh loved more than photography and music were books. She felt sad for people who didn't enjoy reading. They would only know one world for the rest of their lives, while she already knew hundreds. She could sink into the pages of a book as easily as she could fall behind the lens of a camera.

     She came out with 5 novels. Some she had read before and others she hadn't. A book store was a dangerous place for a girl like her. She soon found that John loved reading just as much as she did. He had even started writing a book, though it wasn't finished. They had a lot in common. They both grew up without their fathers, though John also without his mother; he lived with his Aunt Mimi from the time he was small, and they had the same intellect. He saw the world much as she did, and though life was always changing him, his heart stayed the same. He was a nice, tender hearted boy, she found. The hard act he used in front of some of the girls was really just a false front. She could see the tears that fell from his eyes in the night, and it made her feel closer to him.

   It was getting close to 2 o'clock, so John walked her back to the hotel. With a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, they said their goodbyes. She set her stuff down in her suite, and walked to work.

     After work Analeigh was exhausted, so she went straight home. She got to her room only to find a box in front of the door. She picked up the box, it was light, and carried it into her suite. She set her key down and went to her room to undress and open the package. She tore through the tape and found tissue paper with a letter on top. She opened the lettered addressed to her and began to read:

              Dear Analeigh,

                 I was hoping you could put your fancy camera magic to work for me. Make me an album. When we make it big, I don't want to forget these little moments.

                                                                                     Your Something,

                                                                                                             Paul

     She smiled to herself and threw off the tissue paper. There was a red and white striped photo album with at least 70 pages, front to back. She started on it right away by putting several of the photos from the show into the sleeves. When she finished fitting the photographs in, she set it aside, climbed into bed, and dreamt sweet dreams.