Call Me Back Again

CHAPTER 15

When John first returned to the land of the living, he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. It didn't take long to figure out, though, because the instant he drew a deep breath, he immediately recognised the smell that made him smile. Sure enough, when he forced his eyelids apart, he found himself sprawled on Paul's bed, face-down on a pillow that was infused with the scent he loved so much. It was difficult to describe: it was without a doubt a masculine fragrance, yet it smelt fresh and sweet, and almost floral. If he had to put an image to it, it might've been a herb garden after a refreshing fall of rain or some airy-fairy shite like that. John had opened the green bottle when he'd been on his little expedition, and he'd liked it then, but somehow it had changed into something better on Paul's skin, and John couldn't get enough of that so he inhaled it some more before he nearly had a heart attack.

Out of nowhere, Paul's voice rang through the room and for a brief moment, John thought he'd been caught getting high off the scent of another man's aftershave. Then, as the actual words began to seep through his sleep-addled brain, he noticed that Paul was talking about music, and also that the sound came from the corner opposite the door. Moving his head so he could see, John noticed a video recording was playing on the computer. A dazed Janeway was sat partly atop the keyboard, so his best guess was that she'd accidentally hit the playback button.

Intrigued, John got up for a closer look. If he'd been able to make sense of the intimidating keyboard cover, which had all kinds of colours and symbols, he might've paused the thing. Problem was, he was not computer-savvy. He still used Windows XP and screamed bloody murder for George whenever something went wrong. This thing wasn't even a real computer as far as he could tell. There was only a monitor, which didn't appear to be attached to a computer, and it all just looked so different. John had never even seen a Mac up close, only knew it had to be one because of the Apple logo below the screen, which he recognised from his iPhone. In truth, he was actually scared to even touch it, afraid he might ruin something, so he hoped it'd stop on its own accord and watched.

He recognised the background: Paul was sat on the piano bench downstairs, with his back to the piano and a guitar in his lap. He was talking about a song he was going to do - apparently after receiving requests to do more contemporary music - and then launched into 'Photograph' by Ed Sheeran. John loved that song so much; it never failed to make him well up due to the memories it brought back. However, as much as he adored Ed's version, there was something about Paul's voice that went straight into his heart and he found himself wiping away tears even before the chorus, which was an experience in and of itself. He didn't even know Paul could sing let alone that high, that beautifully, or with that much feeling. It was as if he sang about himself, or John, or anyone who'd ever felt the sting of love or loss.

As the song ended, he watched how Paul just sat there for a few moments, staring at the floor until a voice behind the camera asked, 'you alright, Paul? D'you want a second take, or...?' John didn't know whose voice it was; Mike's, perhaps? It had to be someone Paul trusted because his eyes were wet when he looked up, and he didn't hurry when he wiped them. 'Maybe later,' he said to the person filming. 'Let's just do the chords first and fix it in editing, yeah?' And with that, the camera zoomed in on the frets and Paul very eloquently explained how the song was played.

Clearly, this was a YouTube lesson, and he'd been in the middle of editing it. There were some moments when he stumbled over his words, broke down giggling, or said nearly the same thing twice because he'd mentioned the wrong chord. All in all, it was highly entertaining - especially the outro about links in the description, and subscribing, and supporting 'Strumming Scouser' on Patreon, and the catch phrase at the end which was all done in a thick Liverpudlian accent - and John decided to check out the channel when he'd get home.