The Love You Make

Mr. Moonlight

August 17th, 1960
The venue in Hamburg was bigger than any the band had played before. The owner was gracious enough to show it to them and let them stay at his flat after their first performance at the club. After the night the owner showed the band around an old cinema.
"John. Why's he showing us a bloody cinema?" whispered Paul.

"I don't have the faintest idea. Just give him a minute."

"Alright boys!" the owner exclaimed with a heavy German accent, leading them to a small room behind the screen. "Here you will be staying!"

The band looked at the room in horror. It was filthy. There were two bunk beds against the concrete as bare as the walls surrounding them. Upon entry it was seen and that the room was in close proximity to the bathroom. Silence ensued. There was nothing to say about the atrocity that laid before them. All they did was politely thank the owner and move their instruments in.
"So? Cozy innit??" remarked George.

"I suggest we situate sleeping arrangements now to avoid any confusion later on. That being said-"

With that, John hops onto the top bunk of the bed, shaking Paul who sat on the bunk below it.
Paul startled added "I guess I'll take this one."

George and Pete took the other bunks and Stuart, last to pick, would sleep on the floor.
It took some getting used to, especially getting up in the middle of the night and seeing old German ladies by the sinks. One particular night there was a heavy draft and the room was freezing. The band slept on bare beds and didn't have money for anything warm.
"Paul." John whispered.

"Paul." He tried again.

Paul turned around in his bunk and faced up looking at John, who was leaning over the edge of his own bunk to look down.
"Yes?"

"You want to go for a walk?"

"A walk? Are you insane? Do you know how late it is?"

"Listen, keep your voice down, it's going to be cold outside anyway plus it reeks in here."

"Alright, what's to lose."

Moving quietly as to not make a noise, John and Paul put their shoes on and shuffle outside the room. The cinema was completely empty and gave off an eerie feeling that somehow seemed comforting at this time of the night. The two boys made their way through the aisles of the theatre caressing the seats as they went. John opened a back door and led them through to the street. They stood outside the cinema somewhere in the back, where they could hear the traffic yet not see it. John took his hand and put it in his pocket to pull out a cigarette and light it. Paul watched as the smoke John exhaled spread through the air in tendrils of gray.
"What do you think Paul?"

"About what?"

"This place."

"Oh Hamburg, well i guess it's pret-"

"No, I mean now. Right here."

John nodded his head at the moon whose light illuminated their faces. The crickets chirping reminded them of home.
"Um. It's calm. The wind died down a bit. It's a nice night."

"Indeed it is" John then reached out to Paul and took his hand in his own, humming a tune under his breath. Paul looked at their hands and then at John but said nothing. He just gazed at the puffs of smoke slowly fading out into the air.