Lonely People

When I Loved

We recorded until noon the next day. Ellen spent the entire time in the production room to make sure Markus kept the first good tape. That cut the recording process short. Peter took us back to the hotel while Ellen stayed at the studio to talk about the final editing with Markus. All of us were beyond grateful to finally be out of that hellhole. Though, I felt bad for leaving Ellen with Markus. Something told me there was nothing to worry about, Ellen could handle herself. 

"Go fish," I said.

Janice sighed and drew from the deck. She huffed, obviously not getting the card she wanted. Molly looked up at her and asked, "Got any threes?"

"Aw, I just picked this one," Janice handed Molly a card.

Molly laughed. She dropped all of her cards and grinned triumphantly. Both Janice and I fell back, groaning.

"That's the fourth bleeding game," I muttered, "You're a champ, Molly."

Molly beamed, "That's what happens when you grow up with two younger siblings."

I began to shuffle the cards just as the door clicked. All three of us became on alert. The doors never locked well, and the people inside of the hotel were less than trustworthy. I was ready to defend Molly and Janice when Ellen stepped in.

Her face was lit up like a Christmas tree. One hand was hidden behind her back as she beamed at us. She shut the door behind her and said, "I've got some wonderful news for you girls."

We waited for her to continue. All of us eagerly watched her, our eyes unblinking and our fists clenched in the carpet below. A thousand ideas ran through my mind, ranging from a new record to a certain producer going out of business. The news Ellen had in mind was even better than I could have imagined. 

"You're done recording with Mister Beckham," Ellen said.

All three of us cheered without realizing we had interrupted her. Ellen patiently waited for our tiny celebration to be over. We only stopped when we noticed her waiting. 

"And," Ellen's smile grew wider, "You have this."

She pulled a record from behind her back. It was small, the size that usually worked only for singles. It was in a red paper sleeve. In the middle, the title was shown in cursive handwriting.

When I Loved

Revolution

"Your very first single!" Ellen was practically giddy, "It'll be on the shelves in a fortnight."

Molly leaped up and took the record from her. She pulled it from the sleeve and inspected it, "That's us! Bloody hell, that's us!"

"It's us!" I exclaimed.

I jumped up behind her and peered over her shoulder. Our name and our song were actually on a record. People were going to hear it and buy it and love it. On the bottom, in tiny golden letters, it had the credits. In addition to the producer and the band, it had the song writing credits as McCartney-Mackenzie-Hallieford. For that song, Molly and I had written the lyrics while Janice had helped with the chords. It was the perfect beginning of The Revolution to come. 

"This is bloody amazing!" I exclaimed, "We actually have our own record!"

Janice took the record from Molly and examined it, "Can we play it?"

"We don't have a player, I'm afraid," Ellen replied, "But that is your copy, you can play it as soon as you get home."

The phone began to ring, but none of us paid any attention. Molly, Janice, and I all crowded around that record. It was hard to believe that our voices, our music, was on that thin slice of black vinyl. Those bumps and ridges formed to produce what we created. We had made that, and I couldn't have been prouder than that moment. 

"I can't believe we have a record," I muttered, "Our very first single."

Ellen placed one hand on my shoulder and the other on Janice's, "You girls are amazing, and, in time, the world will see it too."

I released the record and surged forward to hug Ellen's waist. Molly and Janice soon joined me until we were all squeezing the life out of our manager. It had become a sort of tradition for all three of us to hug Ellen every time something important happened. She had begun to expect it so she could keep herself from falling backward. Sometimes, we managed to get a one up on her.

"Elly, you're the greatest of them all," Molly said.

"Here here," I stated, "The best manager anyone could ever ask for."

Ellen patted out backs, "Thank you."

"We should be thanking you."

"Um, Amelia?" Peter's small voice came from the bedside table.

I released Ellen to turn to him, "What?"

"Your brother's on the phone."

"You're going to have to be more specific, I have two."

"Um, both?"

I lifted an eyebrow. Paul and I had mended our relationship with Michael, and it shouldn't surprise me that they were together. Except for the fact that Paul was supposed to be in Scotland while Michael was back home in Liverpool.

"Am I talking to Paul or Mikey?" I asked as soon as I put the phone to my ear.

"Paul, but Mikey's right next to me," Paul replied, "Who was the chap that answered the phone?"

"Ellen's secretary Peter. Say, what're you doing? I thought you were in Scotland."

I could almost hear Paul shrug, "Tour ended yesterday, decided to come home. We all got sick of the cramped van. Ringo got sick for real, but he's alright, just a bit of a cold. Brian didn't want the rest of us catching it."

"He's visiting me while Dad's on a business trip," Michael said.

His voice sounded a bit more distant than Paul's, but not incoherent.

"Hey, Mikey, how are things at home?" I asked.

"Boring," Michael replied, "Wish I could've gone to London with you, or Scotland with Paulie."

"You wouldn't like it here. Our producer's a bloody bastard, and it's raining."

It had only started raining an hour or two before. Every other day the skies had been bright blue. Even as I spoke to them, I could hear the light patter of raindrops on the window.

"What'd you mean your producer's a bastard?" Paul asked.

I shrugged, "Said we couldn't play because we're girls. Bloody git, if you ask me, but Ellen and I set him straight. We've got our first single, too!"

"Bravo, Lia, I knew you girls could do it!"

"What's it called?" Michael asked.

"When I Loved. It'll be on the shelves in a fortnight."

Paul chuckled, "Bet Eppy's store'll have it. We'll go down and buy a few copies."

"Can't be the biggest fans without owning the records," Michael stated.

I laughed, "You lads are the best."

I've heard stories of people who had the worst siblings. It made me even more grateful for the ones I had. Paul, Michael, and I had our fair share of fights, but we always came out all right in the end. I always knew, if there were anyone in this world I could trust no matter what, it was them.

"Melly, come on, celebratory dinner!" Molly exclaimed.

I grinned, "Got to go, duty calls."

"Bye, Lia!"

I hung up and hurried off after the rest of my group. That night, we all ate delicious food and Ellen even let us have a few drinks. We celebrated the very first single of the revolution. It was the first step in the adventure before us. There was a great big world out there, and, soon, every corner of it would know our names. 

(Photo-Amelia, 1963. Taken by Michael McCartney.)