My dearest friends,
it's been a while!
We're so sorry we didn't invite you and
George earlier in our new home, but we
barely had the chance to unpack and
decorate everything.
After months of work we're finally free, our
house Al and I are ready for you.
We hope to see you soon!
Love,
Al and Anna
I smile as I fold the letter and return back to the garden.
"So wha' did it say then?" George asks not looking up from his book, a stern look on his face as if he is about to discover the secrets of life within the next line.
"It's Anna," I reply with a smile, "she's inviting us to their new house," I say as I take my seat back next to him.
It's a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining down on us, warming not only our bodies but our souls as well in the process.
"Their house," George repeats.
"Yes, their house," I say. I look over at him and wait for him to look up, when he finally does I let out an annoyed sigh and say, "They have been divorced for a year now. Time to move on big boy."
"Luna," George sighs equally annoyed back at me. "He's me brotha'."
"Well, and she's my sister."
"Great, so when Macca meets somebody new, I 'xpext ya will welcome 'er to the family and jus' accept 'er as replacement then."
"I will welcome her to the family and be smart enough to know that she is not replacing anyone but serves merely as a new addition. A new chapter if you will." I reply with a quick glance at the heavy book that now rests on his chest while he is busy shooting annoyed glances my way.
"So wha' d'you expect me to do then?" he asks.
"First of all, behave. And second of all just give him a chance won't you? He is such a nice person, you even said so yourself when he visited us."
"When 'e came into me house acting all friendly although Macca and Anna were already broken up ya mean?" he groans.
I sigh again. "I frankly don't care. We are going and that is final. Now let's find a day that works for us both." I grab my planer from the table next to me. When I open the calendar I realize that it's Anna's birthday in a week. "Oh, I found the perfect day."
A smile spreads across my face.
******
MR. & MRS. HARRISON
We see the sign as soon as we land.
"Ya think 'e wouldn't recognise us without the sign eh?" George jokes as we walk towards the driver.
"Welcome to New York," he says, "If you could follow me to the car."
He takes our luggage and we walk together to the car. Before getting in George stops and turns to me. I know what he is about to say before he even opens his mouth. "Posh." he mouths at me. I roll my eyes and force my smile away as I follow him into the car.
It's not a long drive. It's interesting to see a new side of the city. He takes us up streets I have never seen.
After about twenty minutes, the driver turns into a driveway infront of a huge gate. "Welcome back, Henry." A voice says from the machine to our left. George and I look at one another. Not even we have this kind of security at our home.
"Is Anna famous famous then?" George laughs.
"I think this is more for Al."
The Gate slowly opens and we drive through a huge front yard. The road is plastered with white gravel that matches the color of the grand Mansion it leads to. The door opens and I am only able to see a hint of red before I almost get swept off my feet and into the warm embrace of a hug. "Anna!" I laugh as I hug her back.
"Oh I love you so much," she cries into my shoulder. "I've missed you, move to New York already."
George let's out a dismissive sound at that. "Good ol' London for me, Anna." He smiles. "Ya know me."
Anna let's go of me and smiles back at him. She's wearing a blue dress that is flying loosely down to her ankles. The dress is moving with every step she takes, which makes it looks like the sky under the bright spring sun.
"Yes, I do," she says as she embraces him in a tight hug as well.
"Oh, you're here," A voice calls from inside the house. I look up and see Al walking towards us with a huge smile. He's wearing a half unbuttoned black shirt, revealing a few chains on his neck and black pants.
"Hey, Al," I say.
"Hello, my dear."
I hold out my hand for him to shake but he just laughs and hugs me. "We're family now eh?"
I laugh back as I hug him, "You're right."
He then turns to George. "I am so honoured to welcome you in my home," he says as they shake hands.
"Thank you for inviting us," George replies.
"Let's go inside," Anna takes my hand and leads us into a huge entrance with dark green walls and a beige stone floor. One can see their one reflection on the tiles. There are two pairs of stairs one on our right and one to our left, both lead to different parts of the upstairs rooms.
We walk through a massive door and reach the living room that looks so different than the grand entrance.
The beige tiles continue throughout the whole house but here they play a different part. The room is surrounded by windows that go from the floor to the ceiling. There is a gigantic U-Shaped couch in the middle with about a thousand pillows spread all across it. What catches my attention right away is a shelf full of awards. I step closer to examine them.
"We allowed ourselves to be a little bit of bigheaded there," Al laughs. "Those are all our awards. Sure most of them are mine but that's only because I have been in the industry a lot longer than Anna."
"Thank you for pointing that out, Al," Anna says. "I'm sure the very first thing they would have noticed would have been the uneven number of awards we two have."
I smile at them. "You've earned these, it's not bigheaded at all of you to give them a honourable place in your home."
"Exactly what I said!" Al cries and shoots me a sheepish smile. "I knew you would understand me."
"Hey," George says pointing at the huge windows. "Is' a beautiful garden ya 'ave there."
"Oh yeah, let's all go outside. We prepared some snacks and drinks there for you."
We all step outside into the garden and I know immediately what is going through George's head. This looks like paradise.
There is a small pond that is surrounded by flowers. Right next to it there is a round table full with colourful drinks and neatly laid snacks. We walk over to the table and all sit down.
"Your garden is absolutely gorgeous." I say while I take a sip of my drink.
"It's nothing compared to yours but we are working very hard on it." Anna says.
"Yes, your garden was a huge inspiration." Al adds.
"Thank you that's very kind of you." George smiles.
We sit back and fall into a deep conversation almost immediately. We share stories about found memories that we have, fill each other in about all the things that happened ever since we last saw each other. When the sun is slowly going down Anna turns to me. "Let me show you your bedroom so you can change for tonight."
I nod at her, realising I almost forgot about her birthday party tonight. We will be staying for a whole week, I think to myself as I follow her through the garden, there will be enough time to talk more.
We walk into the the living room, through the massive door and then take the staircase on the left.
"Here are the guest rooms and the library." Anna explains while we walk through the long corridor. "On the right side of this floor we have our bedroom and a home cinema. Al loves watching our movies in there."
"This is quite a mansion." I admit.
"He wanted something even bigger and more extravagant. I had to stop him."
"I mean this is all very big and all but you still managed to make it look very cosy and homey."
"Thank you," she says. "I was nervous about how you would like it here to be completely honest."
"Anna, how could I ever dislike something you love so much?"
"And George?" Anna asks. "What does he think of it all?"
"He needs time."
"Well he has the rest of our lives," Anna grins at me and I grin right back. "Here you go," she opens a door and leads me into a big bedroom that is surrounded by big windows that have a wonderful view into the garden as well.
"Perfect," I sigh.
"As I said, you can get ready here in peace until tonight. If you need anything, please ask me."
"Will do," I reply. "Are you excited about tonight?"
"Oh yes!" she exclaims. "Everybody will be there. This will either be a disaster or a perfect night, there's no in-between with these guys."
"It will be a perfect night," I walk over to her and take her hand. "How are you feeling though?"
"Oh," she says softly. "Well everything has been so stressful, I'm definitely relieved it's all over now. I feel so peaceful in this house, so lucky I get to wake up next to Al every morning. Everything lately has been so perfect, I'm afraid to go to sleep because what if one day I wake up and all of this has been a dream?"
"Why is it so hard for you to just feel happy?"
"I don't know," she sighs. "Maybe a small part of me feels I do not deserve it."
"Nonsense," I say strictly. "Absolute nonsense. You deserve all of this and so much more. You're the kindest, sweetest, most genuine person I know."
"Thank you, I will make sure to tell George you think I'm your number one."
I laugh at that. "Although I never said that, I'm pretty sure he knows."
"Have I told you I love you lately?" she asks as she hugs me.
"Yes," I reply, "just this morning."
"One can never say it too many times."
"I know," I nod as we let go of each other. "And I love you."
She smiles at me sweetly. "I will leave you alone so you can change now."
"Okay." I wait until she is gone and then walk over to my suitcase that the staff brought upstairs for me. I take my black dress out. I bought this together with Anna when we were in Paris. It ends on my tights and has stars all over it. The arms are see through and crested with little bright moons. Just when I am dressed and ready to move on to my jewellery, I hear a soft knock on my door.
"Luna,"George says as he slowly opens the door.
"Yes, come in." I say.
He walks in and sits down on the bed, his eyes looking over to the garden through the window on his left. "Is' beautiful 'ere," he admits.
"It is," I smile while putting on my silver moon belt, "You sure took your sweet time down in the garden with Al."
"We 'ad a bit of a talk is all." he says.
"What did you talk about."
"This and that."
"I see," I smile at him through my mirror and he looks down smiling as well. "So Anna is in good hands then?"
"Yea," he says softly, "I trust 'im."
"Finally," I sigh. "Now get ready, your shirt is in the brown suitcase over there."
We get ready in silence. He puts his long hair up in a half bun and puts on his floral white shirt with his brown pants I love so much. He takes his necklace out of my jewelry box and puts that on top of his shirt. It's brown and has the Hindi sign for Hare Krishna on it. He smiles contently at his reflection. "M' ready."
"You look beautiful," I say.
"Hey, 's me line." he hugs me from behind and then walks to the door, "I will check wha' they do in the garden."
"Don't patronize the staff!" I exclaim as the door falls shut.
"I would never!" he shouts from behind the door.
I put on a bit of make up, get into my boots and walk downstairs as well. Partly to stop George from changing the whole organization. And partly because now that I'm ready I can help out and make sure everything is perfect for Anna.
My breath is catched in my throat when I open the massive door and am faced with the beauty of the decoration. The sinking sun dipped the sky in the most beautiful pink that harmonizes so greatly with the pink roses that seem to be everywhere. On the tables, on the back of the chairs, flung around the trees. Soft lights are shining from candles that are lid in glasses hung on branches. They move gently with every small warm wind that flies through the table cloths and my dress. Moving everything for a split second before leaving it to the absolute peacefulness again. I heave a deep sigh. It's moments like this, I think to myself, that make this life so special.
George appears next to me. "I jus' got off the phone with Frank," he whispers, "everything is ready."
I smile at him. "Perfect," I whisper back.
"Oh, you're down already," Al walks towards us. He is wearing a baby blue suit with a white shirt. "You look absolutely gorgeous my darling," he says as he takes my hand and kisses it. George rolls his eyes behind him and I can't help but smile.
"Thank you," I reply blushing faintly.
He looks at the garden. "No," he shouts at the staff, "The candles in the yellow glasses belong on the floor." he lets go of my hand. "Excuse me," he says as he walks out toward the staff.
"You know," I say, "it wouldn't hurt you to be more of a gentleman some times."
"Am' a liverpoolian," he says, "we're no' posh."
"Sadly." I let out an exaggerated sigh just to annoy him some more.
"There you are," a soft voice behind us calls. I turn around again and am face to face with Anna this time. Her hair is falling loosely over her golden dress. Around her waist she put a golden belt that is the same as mine but has little suns instead of moons all around it.
"Wow," I breathe out.
"You look absolutely gorgeous my darling," George says with a fake New York accent and takes Anna's hand in his own.
She laughs at him. "Thank you, Geo." She then turns to me and her smile widens.
"You look so beautiful!" we say at the same time and errupt in laughter.
"Ya truly do share one brain cell don't ya." George sighs at us while we just stand there and laugh.
"Oh," Anna says surprised when she looks over to the garden. "It looks so much better than I imagined."
Just when she is about to walk outside the door rings. "My first guests!" she cries as she runs to the door like a child eager to greet its friends. She returns a few minutes later with Ringo in one arm and Barbara in the other. We hug each other.
"Richie," George sighs as he hugs him. "How ya doin ol' friend?"
"Ta' Geo," Ringo replies, "Ya been good as well?"
"Ya know me," George takes Ringo's hand in his own. "Come let's sit." They leave us behind and walk outside towards one of the tables.
I laugh at Barbara. "Come my love, I will lead you to the table. You can't expect anything from these boys." She laughs back at me as we walk outside. Shortly after, Al joins us all and sits down next to the guys. They fall into deep conversation right away. The door rings again and Anna runs back inside shouting at the staff to not touch the door.
"I feel like the only grown up." Barbara shakes her head jokingly.
"You definitely are." I nod.
John is the next guest to arrive. "No Yoko then?" George says as soon as he is close enough to us.
"M' afraid so." John replies with a cheeky smile.
"Bummer," George says as he stands up to hug him. "Didn't 'xpect ya to actually come, Lenny."
"Why would ya be 'xpecting me at all Hassa?" John asks. "M' not ya guest. I came 'ere for me good pal Al Pacino ya 'now."
"S' that so?" George asks. "I thought we were 'ere to celebrate Anna's birthday."
"Yes, and to see me good ol' pal." John says.
It's my turn to roll my eyes. "I'm afraid you two don't even share one brain cell."
"Well if it isn't me friend." John says ignoring my words. He walks towards Al and shakes his hand enthusiastically.
"I'm so very glad to have you all in my home." Al says oblivious to the mockery of the boys.
"Yes and wha' a home that is," John says looking at George and Ringo, "Quite posh innit?"
"Has to be," George replies, "Is' Hollywood 'nd all."
The door rings again and we hear Anna's voice from inside shouting that nobody is allowed to open the door because she will do so herself.
"So 'ow does it feel to live with a child?" John laughs.
Al laughs back. "It's a great contrary to my serious mind."
Next to join us is Mick and Bianca Jagger. "Ello my glorious boys." he exclaims as he practically runs into John's arms.
"And 'ello Mister Pacino, sir." he says as he hugs him. "Ya looking oddly starstruck."
"That's just your imagination buddy." John says.
"Take it from 'im'," George chimes in, "he knows all 'bout imagination."
"So I've 'eard," Mick smiles.
We all sit down at the table that was not meant for so many people all at once but that doesn't stop us. More and more guests arrive at the garden, all flashed my the beauty of this place right away. A smile dancing on their lips as their reunite with dear friends or get to make new ones. There is a constant background noice of content conversations as I sit back and take it all in.
My eyes search for Anna, it doesn't take them long to find her. She is shining in her golden dress amid the soft light of the thousand candles surrounding us. She looks happy. Truly happy.
"Excuse me ma'am," a staff member bows down next to me and whispers in my ear. "I am told at the gate that your special guests have arrived."
"Oh marvelous!" I say. "Thank you, I will be there in a moment." I quickly get up and go over to George who is deep into a conversation with Marlon Brando and Al. "Will you excuse us gentleman." I say as I take him softly by his arm.
"Are they 'ere?" George whispers.
I nod at him and he walk over to a table and takes an empty glass. "May I have your attention please." He shouts clicking the glass with a spoon. One by one the conversation dies down until the only sound is coming from the pond. "Me beautiful wife and I 'ave a lil' birthday gift for the wonderful Anna. If ya all could go back to yer seats now, that would be splendid." he says the last bit in an American accent which makes everybody laugh as they comply. Anna of course does not do so, she walks straight towards us, "Are you crazy?" she asks in disbelief. "Your mere presence is gift enough for me."
"I kno' but ya should still sit down luv," George says and so she does finally.
We walk inside and through the massive door where our gift is already waiting for us. He's wearing a neat black tuxedo and a hat. "Hello, my friends," he greets us warmly.
George shakes his hand "Thank ya so much for coming, sir."
"It's a pleasure, really." he says softly as he shakes my hand as well. "Thank you for thinking of me."
"If ya all could follow me then," George says towards everybody. "The staff will help ya carry everythin' inside."
We lead the way and hold the door until everybody is in the living room. And then we walk out into the garden together. Hushed excitement fills the tables as we walk past them. "Is that?-", "It can't be-" I smile as we walk towards the corner George had reserved for us. When I turn around I see that Anna stood up, her eyes wide and her mouth open in shock.
"Ladies and gents'," George announces. "Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, are with us today to celebrate this beautiful night."
Frank immediately takes the microphone a staff member brings him. "I want to wish the lady of the night a very happy birthday. And I'm afraid I have to keep talking for a bit more until my friends have set up everything." The crowd laughs at that.
I quickly make my way over to Anna who already has tears in her eyes. "You're mad." she says as she hugs us.
"What a beautiful and unusual location this is," Frank says, "When my friend Mister Harrison called me up and asked me to play here last week, I was unsure if it would work. We still aren't sure it will, but I will be damned if I don't at least try." We all clap. "By the way I see a lot of great musicians in the crowd, I would be honored to share this metaphorical stage with you. Please feel free to join me during any time this night." One of the violin players walks over to him and whispers something in his ear. "I am told we are ready. So let's begin, shall we?"
The orchestra erupts into the first song, which is New York. Anna gasps as realization hits her that the Frank Sinatra is playing in her garden, at her birthday, for her.
I smile contently. "I would say this surprise was a sucess." I whisper towards George who is hugging me from behind and slowly moving to the music.
"Absolutely." he whispers back.
Frank plays a few more songs until Al finally gets up and whispers something in his ear. Frank nods at him and announces. "Now as a special request of my dear friend, I will ask the Orchestra to play a truly beautiful song."
As he talks to the orchestra, Al walks over to our table. "Can I have this dance?" he asks.
The Orchestra starts playing La Vie En Rose as Al and Anna walk hand in hand into the center and start to slow dance. I hold my hand to my chest as happiness overfills my heart.
I saw many things in my life but nothing will ever be as perfect as dreams coming true I think to myself as George lets go of me and takes my hand in his own. "Will you give me the honor of this dance my lady?" he asks.
"No need for a fake accent," I smile softly, "I am in love with the liverpoolian inside of you."
He laughs gently, my favorite sound, as we too walk to the center and start to dance.
And when Anna's wet eyes meet mine under this night sky, while Frank's hoarse voice is singing a soft tune, right at this moment, life is as perfect as it can get.
