⇾ 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Best in All the (Liverpool) Land!

January 5, 1962

"Donna, Donna!"

I looked up from the homework I was doing and turned my desk chair around, looking at Trixie, and then following the sound of four synchronized voices yelling up and hurling rocks at my window. I stood up and walked over skeptically, half expecting to see them in the aftermath of some alcohol binge or bar fight they'd gotten into. Instead, Paul was waving around a 45" single, and John had a newspaper clutched in his hand.

I wrenched the window open and leaned down to yell back, a rock only narrowly missing the side of my face. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"Let us in!" yelled George.

"Why—?"

"Just do it!" added John, beaming.

I looked at Trixie incredulously.

"It's fucking cold out here," said Paul. "Let us in!"

We laughed. "Be down in a moment."

"Thank you, my Juliet!" called John and they turned to run towards my porch.

"What—?" began Trixie as we went to make our way downstairs.

"No idea," I responded.

~~~

"Look, look, look!"

John tossed the paper down onto the kitchen table and Trixie and I scanned it over.

The paper began with a big picture of Paul, John, George, and Pete, with the words "Beatles Top Poll!" written across the top.

I looked at John's beaming face. "Top?" I asked with a smirk.

He flipped through some of the pages and stopped on another page that read "MERSEY BEAT POPULARITY POLL."

"Look!" George said excitedly. "Number one: The Beatles! That's us!"

I laughed. "Yes, it is."

"Aaand," said Paul. I turned around to him. He waved the single before us.

"What's that, then?" implored Trixie.

"Glad ye asked, love," he said. "It's—." He cleared just throat, taking on the voice of a radio announcer. "'My Bonnie,' by Tony Sheridan and the Beatles!"

I nodded. "When'd that come about, then."

John leaned back against the table, grinning at me. "In Hamburg. Did I never mention it?"

I laughed. "I'm afraid you didn't." I paused. "Are we just gonna look at it, or are you going to let us hear it?"

Paul giggled like a school girl and followed me over to our turntable. He carefully sat the disc down and dropped the needle, changing the speed to 45rpm.

I sat down on a chair next to it and John placed himself on the arm of it. We all began to laugh merrily when the music began to play.

"Donna, listen! Can you hear it?" He cupped his hand around his ear jokingly. "I hear...John Lennon!"

I laughed as he jumped up and began to sing along with the song, Paul joining in and the two dancing around together like fools.

"You hear those drums?" cried Paul. "That's you!" He pointed to a grinning Pete.

"And that guitar?" added John. "Is that George Harrison?"

George laughed.

"Bring back my Bonnie to meee," ended Paul and John in harmony, back together and arms outstretched, emphasizing the last note. We all clapped, laughing.