The Arch of Love ~ Paul McCartney

10. Astronaut

St Mary's Hospital, 19 March '67, 2:25 PM

I was not fully convinced that John would keep our secret, but Paul assured me that he wouldn't blab. I hoped he was right. The fact that John hadn't pried for more information comforted me a bit. What he didn't know, he couldn't talk about. All John knew, was that Paul and I had been hooking up for over a month.

This was, of course, still enough to completely humiliate me to the world. If someone ever found out, I would probably lose my job and never find one again. It was simple; I could not deal with a scandal involving the Beatles. Especially not since I was under contract to treat one of the wives, every month.

Monitoring Mrs Starkey's pregnancy was a nice break from treating sick children, every now and then. It was her endless chatter about the most mundane things, however, that I could do without. It was the main reason I usually didn't deal with the mums. I just wasn't interested in the fact that baby Zak was now properly walking or the best place to buy diapers cloths.

Luckily I wasn't the only one who was getting sick of it. Nurse Foster, who I had now started to just call Grace, was walking back to the staffroom with me, after a particularly boring check-up.

'Why would Dr Andrews even want an extra check-up now that she's barely in her second term?' I wondered out loud, making sure that the pregnant lady wasn't accidently following us. But no, luckily we were alone aside from a young couple at the end of the hallway, but they were too far to hear us.

'High profile mother and all,' Grace explained. 'He wants to make sure the baby doesn't come out with an extra head. Not that we could do anything about that.'

I chuckled, picturing it. 'But honestly, why does she need monthly check-ups? My mum never went to the doctor's at all and I turned out alright.'

'Don't worry, I'm with you on this. The less I've got to see of her, the happier I'd be.' She said exactly what I was thinking.

'I mean, come on, can't she just shut up for one second?' I complained. I wasn't being completely fair, sure. But right now my ears were bleeding from an hour of pointless and uninteresting nattering, which I had to respond to with the uttermost interest too! My complaints were at least a little substantiated.

'Right? No wonder she's not even married to the hottest Beatle,' the nurse said as we walked into the staffroom, which was empty, thank goodness.

My breath hitched for a second. It was one thing to talk about the wife of Ringo Starr, but ranking the hotness of the bandmembers was a step too close for me.

Grace didn't seem to notice, as she continued. 'No, if she was married to Paul, I'd be a lot nicer. You never know when he might come along and I would like me a piece of that!' she mused as she poured both of us a cup of tea.

'Doesn't he have a girlfriend too?' I asked as I politely took the cup of tea. I was now looking for a way to get out of the staffroom. This conversation was just too much to take.

'That's what I mean. No real commitment just yet. I'm sure he doesn't mind to have a bit of fun.'

Those words were enough for me to choke on the sip of tea I had just taken. They were too close to the truth. Way too close.

'Don't you think?' she said calmly as she patted me on the back, clearly not paying attention to my facial expressions. 'Or would you rather have a piece of one of the others?'

'Hmm, I don't know. I might have to see them first,' I managed to push out, desperately trying to keep my voice emotionless. I did not want Grace to know that I had seen half of the Beatles this week. As far as she knew, I had only met Ringo in January when she did.

'Right you are. Oh, how I wish I could see them. They're not even recording that far away. If something happens, they might come to this hospital,' she continued, barely even listening to me. Honestly, who was this girl? President of the Beatles fan club? How did she manage to get signed on this case? Did she pay someone?

'You know, apparently he is having a girl on the side?' She didn't even wait for me to respond, but just continued with her endless natter. Frankly, she was worse than Mrs Starkey at this point.

'Who?' I wasn't even following her anymore. Okay, now I was the one who wasn't listening. Had I finished my tea yet? My shift had ended at noon. The only reason I was still here was because of the appointment. So I could go home. I tried to take larger sips of my tea without Grace noticing and without burning my tongue. It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

'Paul of course. The tabloids are saying he's got a girl coming over to his house every few days when his actress girlfriend is away,' she explained happily, not noticing my discomfort.

I chocked on my tea yet again. 'Imagine being that girl,' I said in between coughs. I had to get out of here. For my own safety and sanity, I had to get out of this conversation.

Also, yes, Archie, imagine being that girl. Great line, just perfect. You are honestly the stupidest girl I've ever met.

This sparked some enthusiasm from Grace, who apparently thought I was enjoying the conversation as much as she was. 'I know right?' she squeaked. 'Wouldn't you take any piece of him you can get? Even if it is as his mistress?'

There was that word again. Mistress. Because that is what I was, wasn't it? I was a cheap mistress to Paul, who was enjoying every single minute of it.

I couldn't imagine a conversation more painful than this one. Saying it was uncomfortable was the understatement of the year, and it was only March. No one wanted to hear these things about themselves. Especially if the other person didn't know it was you she was talking about.

What more was that apparently the tabloids had an inkling about me and Paul. This wasn't good news. This was bad. Again, I could not have a scandal involving the Beatles to my name. I would lose everything. Everything.

'Would it be worth it, though?' I spoke, verbalising my thoughts. It was a risky move, but asking this nurse, who I barely knew, was my best bet. I hadn't want to admit it, but there were some doubts. Maybe this Beatlemaniac of a nurse could help me.

She looked at me, clearly wondering where I was coming from. 'I think it would. Purely hypothetically, of course. I'm very much happy with my boyfriend, but if he wasn't in the picture, I wouldn't mind getting a bit of him. I mean, have you seen his arse?'

Yes, I have. It's even better in real life and naked.

I decided to push further. 'But what about this girl that the tabloids are talking about? If they ever discover her identity, it'll ruin her reputation. No guy would ever want to marry someone like that.' I took another sip from my tea, which was, thank goodness, now nearly finished. Just two more sips and I could excuse myself and leave this dreaded staffroom.

'Maybe.' She stopped and seemed to think for a bit, but then continued. 'Yeah, probably. It doesn't mind dreaming about it, though.'

I sighed, but played it off as being tired. I was wrong to think shecould help me. As John had said, it was a mess. He had said it wasn't my fault,but maybe it was. And whoever's fault it was, didn't matter. I had made my bedand I had to lie in it. There were definitely doubts in my mind and I wasalone. No one could help me. Not even Paul.