The Nearest To My Heart -John Lennon Fan Fiction - Paul McCartney Fan Fiction - Beatles Fan Fiction

Chapter Twenty Four - Fish N' Chip Paper

Ringo sat at the kitchen table, eating cornflakes and sipping tea. The radio was turned down low, providing a background noise for him. He enjoyed these moments of relative quiet, which were becoming rare these days as The Beatles continued their ascent to the toppermost of the poppermost. 

He unfolded yesterday's newspaper. The headline read, "Romance for Beatle George?" However, the article relied solely on the writer's point of view with quotes from Annette, and George's side of the story was missing.

Ringo was thinking about the show from last night. He was surprised by the negative reaction that the fans had towards The Debutantes. The audience was enjoying themselves at first, but then they started booing the girl group. Ringo found this odd because the fans had liked the group before George was linked to Annette in that Daily Mail article. 

After Paul escorted Charlie off the stage, the fans kept booing and chanting phrases like "leave George alone" which eventually turned into "We want The Beatles!" The audience was eagerly waiting for The Beatles to perform as the show was titled "Brian Epstein Presents The Beatles Christmas Show." However, George was upset with the backlash and refused to come out on stage.

Ringo understood George's anger. George proceed with the performance only after he spoke with Annette. Throughout the entire half-hour set, he remained sullen and didn't budge from his position on stage.

(----)

 Paul was staring at Brian, who was seated behind his desk. "John did something daft. He brought Cyn to the show. Although Cyn is John's wife, Charlie is his," Paul paused, uncertain about what may be going on between John and Charlie. "Charlie could have publicly given John a dressing down in front of Cyn. I don't think he'll do it again tonight," said Paul as he took a long drag from his cigarette."

Brian let out a deep sigh and expressed his uncertainty, "I am not sure about John's reaction. He can be quite unpredictable at times."

Paul leaned forward, tapped the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray, and tucked it into the corner of his mouth. He picked up the Daily Mail newspaper from a couple of days ago from Brian's desk.

When Paul was letting the Beatles' popularity go to his head, he remembered his father Jim's advice that "today's news is tomorrow's fish and chip paper, son."

Romance for Beatle George? Unlike the wisps of smoke from Paul's cigarette, this headline wouldn't disappear into the air. "I thought they were going to riot," he said, placing the newspaper on the desk. "I don't know if it'll be much better for the girls tonight. We should do something." Paul took several drags off his cigarette. "We should perform a number with them," he proposed, thinking it was a fantastic idea.

Brian nervously fiddled with the newspaper, deep in thought. He had an idea, but it didn't involve the Beatles performing with the Debutantes. While Brian knew that the Debutantes were a fantastic group, he didn't think that sharing the stage with them would benefit the Beatles in any way. In fact, he believed that it might even make the situation worse.

He stubbed out his cigarette before leaning forward. "We could do a cover of an old tune on short notice. It would warm up the fans for them."

Brian was hesitant to share his decision. "It would be best if they didn't complete the final show dates." Brian swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat. "Only two dates remain, today and tomorrow. I cannot have a repeat of what happened last night."

"There won't be a repeat of last night," argued Paul.

"What if it is?" Brian didn't want to displease Paul. He wanted to ensure the last two dates of the show went smoothly.

"It won't," Paul replied firmly. Brian nervously tapped his knee. Paul softened his demeanor. He put on his best charming smile to ease Brian's worry with the appearance of affability. "You're over thinking it, man." He patted Brian's arm.

Brian stopped tapping his knee as he was easily charmed by the boys. Paul, knew this about the Beatles homosexual, quickly stood up from the chair. He grabbed his overcoat and draped it over his arm. "I'll speak with Charlie. We'll come up with something," Paul said with a grin as he showed himself out of the office.

Brian deflated behind his desk and let the newspaper slip from his fingers onto his lap, and then to the floor.

(----)

As Cynthia was making breakfast, John was staring at their nine-month-old son, Julian, who was sitting in his highchair. John found it challenging to connect with his son, as he was too preoccupied with his career as a Beatle. He didn't think of Julian as an individual and he didn't know him well. When John was at home, he didn't want to take care of his son. John picked up the Daily Mirror and hid behind it to avoid Julian's gaze.

"Two more shows," said Cynthia, attempting to engage in small talk with her inattentive husband. She noticed that John was unusually quiet this morning, which was out of character for her usually witty spouse. John pretended to read the newspaper, shuffling the pages around. Cynthia continued, "I feel terrible for those girls. They were booed off the stage."

John closed his eyes for a moment, grateful that the newspaper covered his face. He felt guilty about taking Cynthia to the show. Although he wanted to hurt Charlie, he had acted impulsively and was now regretting his decision. "Well, it's done now. I'm sure they're okay," he replied casually, but was actually thinking about Charlie.

John felt relieved that the ordeal was over and he was pretty sure that Charlie was okay. However, he was disappointed with Charlie's lack of a reaction when she met Cynthia. He wanted to know why Charlie seemed so detached, but he was afraid of the answer. While John was lost in thought, Cynthia finished preparing breakfast and placed a full plate in front of him. He hadn't even noticed it until he put the newspaper aside.

(----)

"It's nothing to worry about," said Howard, but he looked troubled. "Were you there?" Charlie asked sarcastically, staring out of the hotel room window. "They didn't want us out there," she turned to face Howard.

Howard nervously wiped his sweaty forehead, trying to appear confident but failing miserably. "They'll get over it," he said, hoping to reassure the girls.

"I don't think they will," Charlie replied curtly, crossing her arms. She had come all the way to England to succeed and was determined to make it happen. She looked at Annette, knowing that her friend was feeling terrible about the negative reaction to the Debutantes. Annette was sensitive, and being disliked for her relationship with George was hurting her deeply.

"We have a contract to honor and that's what we're going to do," he replied firmly, stuffing his damp handkerchief into the pocket of his button-down shirt.

"What we're going to do?" Charlie raised an eyebrow. "We are the ones who have to go out there and perform," she motioned to Annette and Wanda. "You just stand there and watch, like you did last night," she stated accusingly, unable to express her hurt to John and taking it out on Howard.

Howard's eyes widened as he asked defensively, "What did you expect me to do?" He wondered if Charlie's opinion was shared by Annette and Wanda.

Before Charlie had a chance to respond, there was a knock on the door. Annette greeted George, who sensed the tension and didn't enter the hotel room.

Annette swiftly grabbed her trench coat and handbag before leaving with George.

"It wouldn't be right to back out," said Howard.

"The audience is going to drown out our singing with their booing," Charlie argued.

"We won't know that until tonight," Wanda stated firmly and effectively ended the tense conversation. Howard immediately left. Charlie declined Wanda's invite to go sightseeing.

Charlie sat in an armchair in front of the window. Her self-imposed solitude didn't last long because of a knock at the door. When she opened the door, Charlie hadn't thought about who'd be on the other side. She was annoyed and oddly amused by this person showing up.