𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 | JOHN LENNON

015: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘭. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘰.

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳,
𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴

another rainy day in wales. men and women alike bundled in layers of coats to keep warm. paul mccartney had no idea how to pack. was it nice in london? usually not in september. he supposed he'd just pack for the cold for both him and stella.

he didn't have a lot of money at all, really. he was surprised when he realized how little he had. it didn't make sense to him at all. if he wasn't a beatle, how did he meet linda? how did he still have stella, but not mary? maybe there was a cutoff point for some of the beatles, but not all of them. while packing, he wondered what he would say to john. what that girl they talked about looked like, how even john could be dazzled by her.

stella wasn't even a month old when this all happened. in fact, she was born on about the same day as all this happened to him... he didn't even remember going to the hospital or the birth of stella. all he remembered was faintly waking up with a headache like no other. linda was off on a trip and stella was screaming her head off. it all confused him. why the beatles? why not the stones or even the beach boys? did it have to be the best band ever?

whatever the case, as it neared nighttime and stella became tired, paul swaddled her in a blanket and placed her in a picnic basket with a pillow in the bottom since she had no car seat. he wondered when john would arrive. he had a suitcase and a stella's diaper bag full of things to take.

paul didn't exactly write down where he was, but john wrote down the phone number they called so they could see where he was when they got there.

paul wished he could tell linda, but he knew she wouldn't believe him. so he only wrote a note saying he went on a little trip somewhere with stella and would be back soon, but he didn't know when. she wouldn't freak out. he did it with mary all the time.

his new house, or perhaps he'd owned it for ages, was beautiful. big. in the middle of a field. they had a cat, but since linda would be coming home in a day or two, he decided to leave it some food and plenty of water.

the house had an upstairs and downstairs, and even a furnished basement! their room was painted blue with white carpet. their bed was a bit small, but it was comfortable. in the first couple of days, he had no clue what was going on. he was in a brand new house with no wife, only one daughter and no clue where he was.

when paul went into town, everyone seemed to recognize him as just paul. not paul mccartney. nobody asked for any autographs. nobody asked for any pictures. nobody stopped him on the street.

he apparently owned a piano shop. he found this out on the second day when his supposed friend came over. paul asked if he would take him into town, so they took stella and went. paul saw a shop that said 'mccartney's pianos'. he was glad he chose a job he liked, then.

the house was cold at night. the heat didn't work very well. it reminded him of his days back in liverpool after his mom passed and it was his father paying the bills, barely scraping by. thankfully, paul got his start as a musician.

or so he thought? he was still very bewildered, trying to work his thoughts out while waiting. then the startling sound of the telephone ringing happened and paul rushed to the phone, praying it was john.

"paul! what's your address?"

thank god, paul smiled. "oh, it's-"

ringo's sudden voice came through the telephone, sillily speaking and laughing. "you've got a piano shop?"

"i guess," he considered, staring out the window. and then he told them the address, waiting for a response, but he wasn't confident they would find him if john was driving. he was the worst driver. "it's only about five minutes away, okay, john?"

john was listening, but he was also trying to steer charlie the right way. "okay, i'll tell charlie,"

"i thought you said you found a girl, john," paul watched as stella started to yawn, closing her eyes and trying to sleep.

john sighed. "i did, paul. she just has a boy name." he remarked. "are you bringing your baby?"

paul closed the top of the basket before answering, "yeah, i can't just leave her here," he murmured quietly, not wanting to awaken stella.

charlie whipped her head at john. "he has a baby? that's so cute!" paul heard over the phone. so it was a woman. she sounded very young.

he hoped he might be able to breastfeed her because she wouldn't take formula. thankfully, linda left behind a lot of breast milk in the freezer. he didn't know what it was at first, but quickly found out when he used it in his cereal.

"okay, paul, we'll be there shortly. stay put!" ringo breathily chortled. he didn't sound drunk, so that was good.

paul said goodbye, patiently waiting by the door on the couch. he was so ready to leave, they didn't even know. ringo would be nice to see. paul held the basket on his lap, gently rocking it back and forth. he really wished they weren't loud when they got there. he didn't want to have to take care of any more crying babies for the day.

and so, paul was left alone with his thoughts once again.
he was lonely. it was strange to admit. possibly the most famous musician of his time, and he was lonely. linda called every night, but it wasn't the same. she wasn't different, but paul was. he didn't like to say it, but fame changed him. and the worst part was, he couldn't tell anyone until john called. linda would think he was schizophrenic, his cat didn't seem to like him, and stella was only a newborn. he was so happy when john called.

then, just as he thought of him again, the sputtering sound of a car engine purring came into the driveway along with lights and two familiar faces in the seats. john and ringo!

paul carefully rushed to put down stella and open the door before they knocked on it. he set her down on the couch, tip-toeing to the door. john and ringo were just getting out of the car when he closed his house's door behind him to talk before they left.

john knew it. paul knew it. they had to hug. even though they'd seen one another since the band broke up, they knew they had to hug. even if it was only for a moment.
a twinkle of recognition was spotted in john's eye as the two converged together.

charlie couldn't believe what she was witnessing. three beatles meeting. together. for the first time in however long.

holy shit!

"it's been a while, huh?" john patted paul's back, slightly chuckling at how they both just knew. charlie got out of the car, standing by ringo. by then, the two separated and almost seemed to be checking one another out. they both looked each other up and down for a moment before john spoke again. "you look tired..." his face was different. older. but so did johns.

paul couldn't help but laugh. "nice to see you, too, asshole!"