the book shop > j.l < MID EDIT

twenty two

john
after an internal debate john concluded that he needed to talk to someone familiar with the feelings he was going through. and someone who would tell him the absolute truth and not sugarcoat anything.

mimi.

he'd never really got personal in his conversations with her. both of them had drifted quite the distance apart after his mother died. he'd shut her out, and now he knew it was time he started opening back up. after all, he was all that she had left.

"mimi?" john called out, walking out of his bedroom and going downstairs.

"in the kitchen john," she replied back.

he slowly walked into the kitchen to see his auntie sat at the dining room table with a cigarette in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

"can i- can i uh- talk to you about something?" he asked nervously.

her head looked up curiously as she put the newspaper down on the table in front of her. she nodded skeptically wondering why john was being weird.

"about what john?" she asked.

"an- uhm- a girl," he said embarrassedly.

mimi nodded again, "oh john you haven't gotten some girl pregnant have you?"

john shook his head furiously, "no no, nothing like that."

mimi smiled at him, realising it wasn't talking to her that made him nervous, but more the fact, talking about this girl.

"who is she?" mimi asked prompting john to start talking.

"her names penelope," he started avoiding mimi's eyes which were searching his face for any kind of expression, "i met her last weekend at a book shop."

mimi nodded as he continued, "i spent some time with her after our gig on friday, and i walked her home," mimi was surprised at this fact, john had never even mentioned a girls name around him before but she was aware of his behaviour with women. "then yesterday was her birthday and i went to see her at the book shop - she works there - and we spent the day and night together with paul and some of her friends, and mimi i has such a good time. i can't get her out of my head, and-and i'm scared."

the complete vulnerability mimi could see in john was something she'd not seen in him since his mother's funeral.

"i don't know what to do, i've never been in this kind of situation before, i've never felt like this," he lifted his head up to look at her for the first time since he started talking.

"how do you feel when you're around her?" mimi asked curiously.

"i get butterflies, and i can never take my eyes off of her. she's so different to anyone i've ever met before. she's kind, and smart, really smart. she's funny too, and she's so beautiful, i've never seen anyone so beautiful." mimi could almost cry at the fact he was opening up so much with her.

"oh john," she started, "if you're certain this is how you're feeling in such a short amount of time, do not let her slip between your fingers."

she looked away lighting another cigarette, "when i first met your uncle, john i was just like you, believe it or not. a rebel without a cause, and all that nonsense. i was always so angry, i met your uncle and he was so different to me, he was going places with his life, and he was so happy, i hated him for it. he chased me for so long no matter how much i gave him the cold shoulder, and then one day it stopped, and i realised how much i missed it. i realised how much i'd grown attached to him," she stopped for a moment to reminisce, "but he'd already met another girl. her name was susan or sally or something. and i saw them out together holding hands, and my heart broke. i hated myself for letting him go. but lo and behold a year or two later they broke up, and i truly believe it was fate that brought us back together. and from the day we met back up, neither one of us were seen apart again. i remember your mother saying, oh how in love you are, teasing. i always said i'd never fall in love, and he bounded into my life with no warning and changed everything."

she looked at john who stared at her intently listening to the love story, "john don't be afraid of your feelings, if you truly feel like it could go somewhere, let yourself have this happiness, i only spent two years apart from your uncle and i regretted letting him go every second of it. don't waste time john."

he nodded slowly. he'd not expected to hear that story, he expected her to tell him to stop being soft but he was much happier with this response.

"thank you mimi." he smiled, genuinely, she smiled a small smile back.

"well let's stop with this now, go and have a shower you stink," she laughed, he grinned beside her at the auntie he knew resurfaced.