A Cellarful of Dreams

Fish and Chips

September 11th 1967, 24 Chapel Street Belgravia, London,

"Lou ? Are you alright ? Do you need some help ?" Neil was knocking on the bathroom door.

Lou was catching her breath after throwing up the dinner she'd eaten the night before. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine...I'll be right out..."

She got up and flushed. She rinsed her mouth and washed her hands, before looking up at her reflection in the big mirror, wondering if she would find the strength to start living normally again. Without Brian, and without Paul, she felt as if her life was falling apart right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She opened the bathroom door with tears in her eyes. Neil was waiting for her, to join the others at 94 Baker Street, where the bus of the Magical Mystery Tour was waiting for them to start shooting the movie in countryside.

Lou gritted her teeth when she heard all the journalists asking them to get out of the building. "How many are they ?" she asked by closing all the living room windows.

"I don't know...at least thirty..." Neil sighed and took Lou's suitcase. "It's gonna be good for you, shooting the film...we'll all be together for a few days, we'll sleep on the bus at night and during the day we'll work...it'll take your mind off things."

Lou nodded as she looked down. "I hope so..." She took her purse and left the apartment.

As they left the building, the reporters rushed at them with a hundred of questions. "Is it true you're no longer with Paul McCartney ?" "How did you feel about Brian Epstein's death ?" "Is it true that he left everything to you ?"

Reporters and paparazzi were shoving Lou and Neil as they were trying to make their way to Neil's car. When they got to the car, Lou turned around and answered a few questions, confirming that she was no longer with Paul. On hearing this, the reporters asked a lot more questions. Lou got in the car quickly and closed the door.

"They're so indiscreet !" Neil groaned as he looked at the reporters through the window. "Are you ready to go ?" he asked with a small, comforting smile. Lou nodded with a slight smile.

When they arrived at the Apple offices, they went up to Lou's big office, where the boys, the actors, and a whole bunch of technicians were crowded together drinking tea, chatting, and smoking cigarettes. As she entered the office, Lou had a sudden urge to vomit from the cloud of smoke in the room. She ran to the bathroom near her office and vomited all of her stomach contents, which was almost nothing.

Ringo knocked on the door "knock knock...are you ok ?"

Lou nodded as she catched her breath. "Yes yes...can you open the windows in the office ?"

The boys opened the windows, and Lou came out of the bathroom.

"You've been sick a lot lately..." Neil crossed his arms.

Everyone was watching her worriedly. "No, I'm fine." Lou cleared her throat and walked over to the tea tray.

Everyone started talking again, creating a hubbub allowing Neil to speak so that only Lou could hear him. "How long have you been throwing up like that ?"

Paul, Mal and John joined the conversation.

"It's been about a week or so...I've been stirred up since Brian died... it's okay, don't worry, it'll pass." Lou smiled at them as she took a sip of tea.

Paul and John exchanged a worried look. "Are you sure you want to be Apple's chief executive ? Maybe it's too much work..." Paul looked very worried.

"No...no, it's an honor for me ! I'm very happy to have work, it'll take my mind off things." Lou smiled reassuringly. She took a look at her watch. "It's 8 a.m., maybe we should go, shouldn't we ?" She asked as she looked at Paul.