Get It Straight, Or Say Good Night

Days Ending In Y

Nearly a week had passed and John missed making his call, they were playing two gigs a night in some obscure towns so Lou wasn't reading too much into the silent telephone treatment. George hadn't called either, so they must be holed up without a telephone handy.

They both called the next afternoon...

George first, grumbling about tacky girls to Lou and him then being the world's biggest sucker-upperer. Sucking up to Ma saying he was missing his mother's cooking, and then came John....

"So, I wanted to ask you something...." John had coo-d and baby talked to Evie for the last fifteen minutes and she had listened in, it was sweet how he was completely mush with the baby. "Can you hand Eve to your Ma?"

('Ma can you come take Eve for a bit, Johns on the line')

"Ok all good, they have gone to look at the sparrows on the clothes line" Louise sat beside the telephone on the floor, knees tucked under her body, phone in the crock of her neck "Something wrong? Is George playing up? Paul being bossy again? Oh, poor Richie, he hasn't been ill again, has he?"

"No, no, none of them are ill or bossy, although..... Nah, none of that Louie"

"You- what's wrong!? What is it? You better not have some sort of transmittable disease" Louise rattled through the sentence top speed.

"Trans- what- able "

"Transmittable from ..... " she lowered her voice so her folks wouldn't hear "from sex with random persons. I saw it on the BBC World News Affairs program thingo..It's on the rise you know"

"Oh, no! Bloody hell Louise, you get some stuff in your head sometimes" John's voice was a mix of unbelieving mirth with a tad of disgust but laughter sprang forth as he told her off "No Lou bloody 'ell, you need to stop watching the BBC. I was using protection, always"

"Not with me, you didn't" Louie smacked her arm for remembering, her face must have been as red as the mark she made, lucky no one was around to see.

"I know you" John teased quietly so as the other lads didn't get a wind of his conversation.

Well that didn't help now either! She was definitely very much redder than a London Double Decker bus.

"I- .... why are we talking 'bout se-" John bounced back down the crackling telephone line.

"Hang on one minute, why did you say was?" Lou grappled with a sentence long gone in the conversation, they had spoken quickly, tumbling through the words and now John was lost completely to what she was on about.

"What!?"

"I WAS using protection, always ......you said" Louie queried, she didn't understand where the conversation was going either actually.

"Well you see... I've been trying to be more selective these days"

Lou scoffed rather rudely. "What? Sex only on days ending in 'y'?" Lou smiled knowing she was making John think about which days of the week actually did end in Y. She giggled at the tease and clutched the telephone tightly just waiting for him to explode. 

"What??? ..... Hey! That's.... that's every-day!" John spluttered at his discovery of her teasing. Paul, George and Richie previously hunkered down on the lounge watching the telly were now standing with speed and milling about trying to eavesdrop in to the conversation, John lowered his voice "No Louise I have been abstaining from it, a bit, for you"

Louise giggled again.  'A bit' he was so not abstaining completely, but it was nice he actually knew what the word meant.

"Why?"

"Because when we do the shows in Liverpool next week, I want to take you out to dinner or somethin', then take you home" John grinned down the phone line. She heard it in his voice, the pitch, the happy tilt as he said the words.
She almost yelled hurrah! and had no idea why... yes she did, she secretly wanted to go home too." I want to make a good impression on you and all that"

'You're coming to Lidypool, why did I not know this"

"Probably because you're stuck in the 'ouse every minute of the day"

"Well I do have Evie to think about" Louie stood and looked through toward the kitchen and the window above the sink, that overlooked the back garden. Ma was a doting grandma pointing out all the sparrows and leaves that fluttered around them, showing her granddaughter the beauty of nature. (A/N: No not the ones that were farting at Paul a few chapters back!)

"Well not next week! You're coming to both shows. Your Ma can baby sit, I would imagine"

"Maybe just one show John. Two is too much to ask" Louie couldn't just inconvenience her parents like that, Evie was her responsibility.

"That's not what your parents thought. It's already sorted. They agreed with George last Wednesday" John laughed "All organised... No backing out now, Louise"

The phone was silent for a long time but he could hear her, feel her hanging on, considering the nights out.
Louie was dithering, thinking too much about something that should be easy, John begged silently that she would just hurry up, put him out of his misery.

"What did you mean by take me home?" Louie felt the blush swirling over her body, what did it usually mean.... And in saying that -where is home? Did he mean to cart her all the way back to London without Evie because that was simply not on.

"I mean we'll do the gigs, have some fun and when it's time, you and Evie come home to the flat. I miss.... I miss you both, alot....both of you Lou" Johns voice lowered he didn't want anyone to hear, bar her.
It was pretty difficult with George poking his toothbrush in his arm though "I want to try again and not stuff everything up like last time. I'll have to duct tape my big trap shut at times but I really want to try without that stupid bloody deal hanging about like a meat cleaver over our heads"

"Let's go to the gigs and see how it all goes. No promises.... and you will come around between shows to see Evie, of course"

"Ok sounds good, I suppose" Johns voice flat-lined, there was not too much happiness there Lou thought but what did he expect? For her to swiftly drop everything and rush back to the same situation, the same girls knocking on the door half-dressed, fully turned on ready for him and his rather good medicine.

"And John.." Louise heard him moving about to hang up the telephone.

"Yea, what?" He was upset, his beautiful, usually sensual telephone voice, now laced with a hint sadness.

"We both buggered all this up, not just you" Louise frowned knowing the truth. She was as much to blame as he and after conversing some more they promised to try and look forward and not to the past.

Lou replaced the telephone receiver carefully back on it's stand, sighing loudly as she ran fingers through her hair and the conversation through her head. She walked slowly out through the back door, out into her mothers well tended garden.

Nervousness was already running rampant through her veins. Nervous and worried about seeing him again and her worry that she wouldn't think straight when she did. Lou smiled at Evie as she yelped and gurgled over a daring sparrow swooping low.
Ma nodded as she looked up from Evie's clapping, smiling approval about the call and babysitting duties Lou supposed, even though her Ma had never heard a word.