Yer Blues

Chapter Four

They found the Lord Mayor playing his cello in his usual spot. He didn't seem to acknowledge the Beatles when they crowded around him, watching him intently.

George felt horrible, having cried the entire night. His eyes were puffy and tired and he just felt like crawling off into a hole and never coming back out.

The Lord Mayor paused his playing for a moment and John took that as an opportunity. He rubbed his hands together and leaned down, speaking in a thick Scouse accent. "Keeps you busy, aye?"

"Indeed!" the Lord Mayor said in a creaking voice that was probably older than the hills. He began to move his bow toward the cello again to resume his playing, but John continued.

"Can we speak with you for a minute, Mayor?"

"What?" the Mayor asked in a voice that was neither annoyed nor enthusiastic.

"What can you tell us about the law?" Paul asked. "The one involving Blue Meanies and people . . . "

"Say that again," the Mayor said, craning his ear in their direction. Paul made a slightly annoyed sound in his throat and repeated it. "Ah, the law." He was silent again.

"Can you tell us about it?" Ringo asked. "Why was it passed anyway?"

"Why does it concern you?" the Mayor asked.

They all looked at George.

"Ah, I see," the Mayor said, scratching his chin. "He's fallen for one, has he?" They didn't say anything. "Well, tell him to stop falling."

"Why was it passed?" George asked, voice filling with anger.

The Mayor sighed and hummed to himself. "Because we got scared. We discovered that kissing a Blue Meanie would mean that you would turn into one yourself, and we didn't want that, so the law was passed. End of story."

"What if someone wanted to be a Blue Meanie?" George countered.

The Lord Mayor burst out laughing. He even started smacking his knee. Wiping a tear from his eye, he said, "I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to do that!" He then went into a laughing fit again.

George glared daggers at him, but the Mayor wasn't paying attention. Paul noticed George's look, however, and suddenly grew nervous. He grabbed George's arm and started to haul him away. "Um, well, Lord Mayor, we'd better get going."

The Mayor didn't say anything, just started playing his cello again.

* * *

"George, where are you going?" Ringo asked when he caught George sneaking out of their house.

"I need to go get some air," George replied. "I've been in here too long. Need to go look at the flowers and things."

"Mind if I come with you?" Ringo asked, walking toward him.

"Yes," George said without hesitation.

Ringo stopped and blinked. "Well, aren't you in a fine mood?"

"I am, thank you," George said and slipped out the door. He felt a little bad for being so short with Ringo, but he needed to get this done. He was sure he was doing the right thing.

He finally made it to Pattie's house and studied it for a few moments. Hmm. Two floors. Which room was Pattie's? The sun had set by this time and there were a few lights in the windows. He backed up a few paces and stood on the tips of his toes to see if he could see who was in the rooms on the second floor. The first window wasn't Pattie's because he could see someone else in there. He went to the second window with a light on and could see her writing something at her desk.