Petty Little Beatles

Act I: Scene iv

The drive to the airport was the quickest it had ever been, even as the weight of doubt and fear pressed into the heads of both Mr. and Mrs. Tom Petty. Behind the wheel, Tom was worrying his brain away, thinking and thinking of endless possibilities that would greet them. He was typically chill and relaxed, but even the arrival of four children had a particular effect on him. He had never felt anything like it, this sudden strike of fear that rattled against his every nerve. He would tense his knuckles on the wheel, and he would breathe in and out deeply for a moment typically found at the traffic light. His wife would pat his hand a bit or ruffle his hair, and he would be calm again. Then, the feeling would return to him at the next light, as quickly as it had left it would come back. Even then, there was a second emotion lying below the first. Some strange offspring of his fear had decided to feed on his joy and produce an almost excitement-like feeling that chilled him to the bone. He was allowed to be excited and perhaps even a bit happy, even as the waves of the sea of fear came ever so closer to leaving him below the surface. At the next light, he asked the question that had probed at his brain since he had taken his seat behind the wheel that morning.

"Why are we going to the airport when I clearly remember being told to go to the agency to pick up the kids?"

Kay had a fast answer. "Change of plans," she said. "The agency decided it would be better for us to pick up the British babes at the airport."

"And why would that be?"

"Good Lord, I don't know!" Kay's expression softened when she saw Tom's eyes widen. "I suppose it makes it easier for them."

"And that's well, I think." The light before them changed to green, and Tom hit the accelerator. He tightened his grip on the wheel for his hands had begun to shake. I need a cigarette, he thought, and I need it bad.

His wife seemed to be excited more so than him. Her eyes were aflame in a delightful sense which captured her pupils, surrounded by a faint line of brown. She was more than a bit jumpy (not that Tom could blame her), and when she spoke, her voice was quite a few octaves higher than usual and a fast strew of words he could hardly keep up with came from her lips.

"Darling, John, James, George, and Richard, I know they're going to be a handful - but a good handful - yes...They're going to be lovely, just lovely...British babes...Oh, and I know that you're away in the studio and on the road, and the newspaper was not well anyway, and they heard the news and promptly fired me."

Tom almost slammed the brakes. "They did what?"

Kay put a hand on his shoulder, feeling the tenseness of muscle beneath his shirt. "They thought it was for the better good." She saw a quick glimpse that was his eyes widening as he drove on. "I see that a bit, and they decided a mother has no place of work in their business." Her hands shook slightly, a movement he felt no matter how small it was. She sighed and closed her eyes; then, she softly said, "But I suppose it is better so I can see the kids, and they will have someone to look after them."

It was getting harder for Tom to keep his eyes on the road. Grasping the wheel, his knuckles whitened and Kay saw his hands shake. His eyebrows were lowered over his eyes as he mused over what his wife had told him. 

"Now why," he said aloud, "would they fire a lovely woman willing to adopt four children?"

"Baby, that is not how they see it!"

Tom shrugged. "Well, that's how I see it. It is disgusting how they will just fire a person willing to-"

Kay interrupted him. "They think it will make it easier for us to take care of the children." She gently pulled one of his hands away from the wheel into her lap, and she caressed it. He allowed her to turn his hand over, so she could run her fingers across his, where the skin was calloused. She could feel him relax, slowly and reluctantly. She was not thinking that he would let his anger slide away immediately and all at once, and he did not. 

He turned the car after a little while more of driving. He cursed softly beneath his breath before he was quiet again. The silence nagged at Kay, and for one terrifying moment, she felt it was her fault.

Tom said, "I suppose that does make sense."

Kay sighed in relief, but she still held his hand in hers. Tom let himself smile a little because he happened to like having his hand in hers. It felt almost safe, a small comfort that he was not alone in this huge step they were taking together. Together. And that, in itself, was an amazement to the two of them. 

Tom finally felt the last flame of anger drift away. His smile widened and he felt the anger surrender to a bit of excitement. No, it was more than simply a small bit of excitement. The feeling coursing through his being reminded him of the adrenaline following a show. It was, perhaps, the most wonderful feeling he could have felt in that moment. He lifted his hand to simply grasp hers. His fingers intertwined with hers, that feeling of comfort extended and his anger fell apart and away. 

Kay returned his smile. "This is going to be one amazing day. One mostly empty car to one overflowing with children." She laughed.

Tom found himself laughing, too. "I'm going to love it." 

"You're not alone in that!"

Tom turned the car into the parking lot, and it was not until that moment that he realized how truly excited he was. His hands shook as he shut off the car. He quickly lit a cigarette to ease his nerves. He opened the door and stepped out. Kay ran a hand through her hair, nervously, but she smiled when Tom came around to open her door.

"Thank you, honey." She stepped out and kissed his cheek. 

Tom smiled around his cigarette. "You're welcome." He closed the door behind her. He held his arm out, and Kay placed her hand between his shoulder and elbow. This was a nice and familiar comfort, as well. Tom could not stop to smile as he walked up to the airport with his wife, nor could he stop his hands from shaking. Once they walked up to the doors, he stubbed his cigarette out and threw it away. He wasn't going to need it where they were going, that was certain. He spared another smile towards Kay's direction before he held open the door for her and stepped in to the airport behind her.