In My Life I Love You More

Chapter Four

   Josephina stared at her sister, alarmed at the fact Gabriella staring at her, almost like a statue, her face losing color so rapidly, the younger was half tempted to call an ambulance  until she suddenly her sister break her resolve.

"Josephina what the fuck?!" She got to her feet and put her hands on her hips.

   "Shit Gabby!" Josephina flinched at the volume and Gabriella took a breath.

   "John Lennon? How the hell did one of the most famous musicians on the planet....... How did you get to him before me?" Gabriella's face broke into a proud smile, "what a step up you've made." She nodded approvingly and Josephina bashfully looked down at her hands.

"So, you're not mad?" Josephina relaxed as her sister threw her arms around her, squeezing her.

  "Never baby sister, especially when you snagged such a famous number! John Lennon!" Gabriella and Josephina proceeded to squeal with delight, cut off by a groan of annoyance.

  "God, what's with the screeching, you girls got the dogs howling outside." Colt stood in the doorway, a fresh beer in his hand.

   "Is that another beer?" Josephina eyed him wearily.

"Yeah, Mom and Dad are gone, drinks are up for grabs. Look I was even feeling generous." He pulled two more beers from behind his back, handing them to his sisters.

  "Thanks." Gabriella popped the lid off with the edge of Josephina's dresser, ignoring her sister's cry outrage when she proceeded to open hers as well that way.

"Why was I hearing you two screaming about John Lennon?" Colt took a swing from his drink.

  "That's Josie's new man..." Gabriella purred, giggling as her sister buried her face in her hands and Colt choked on his beer.

"That true pussycat? You leaving one band for another? What're Valerie and Melody going to think?" Colt tsked, shaking his head mockingly and Josephina scowled.

"You knowing the names of the members of Josie and the Pussycats says more about you than it does about me, and your insult is than ruined." Josephina started matter fact crossing her arms, reviving in the scowl she earned.

"Whatever. Besides, I'm a little surprised, John Lennon? That's the last Beatle I'd picture you with." Colt shrugged and Josephina furrowed her brows.

"What're you talking about?"

"I always liked that George guy."

"Why?"

"Dude just looks like he's got it all figured out..." Colt nodded seriously  before turning on his heel and left the girls alone.

"God he's a weirdo." Gabriella took a swing of her drink.

"Yeah, but he's our weirdo." Josephina smiled fondly. Colt was a good brother beneath his Neanderthal ways and insults.

He had an opportunity for a football scholarship and instead of taking it, he chooses to stay home and help his father manage the farm during a severe drought. He was four years old when his mother died of kidney failure, six when his father remained Emilia, (Gabriella, and Josephina's mother), and seven with Gabriella was born.

Despite the seven-year difference, the twenty-nine year old acted like he was younger than his youngest sister.

Yoko's voice crackled through the receiver, her words weaving a tapestry of encouragement and expectation.

"It's good for you to see new places, John," she mused, her tone carrying across the wire with a hint of gentle insistence. "You should meet new people, make new friends while you're there. Good for the mind."

John reclined on the plush couch of his suite at the Stanford Hotel, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips as he absorbed Yoko's wisdom. "Yeah, I have. I've made a friend," he replied, a spark of anticipation igniting within him at the thought of Josephina. "Going to spend some time with them, explore the coastline."

Yoko's curiosity danced through the phone line. "Oh, good. What's his name?"

His name...

Bugger.

"Joe. Joe Black," he offered, hoping his improvisation would suffice.

"Have fun, but don't get into trouble with the authorities. I'll call you in a few days," Yoko chimed before abruptly ending the conversation, leaving John to wrestle with the lingering silence.

With a sigh, John replaced the receiver, his gaze settling on the distant glow of the Golden Gate Bridge outside his window. Yoko's words had cast a shadow over his evening, injecting a sour note into an otherwise perfect moment. He should have taken Josephina's number, he realized, but the fear of appearing desperate had held him back. After all, John Winston Lennon, leader of the Beatles, was not desperate.

Pouring himself a stiff drink, he mused over the fickleness of patience. It was a virtue, or so Mimi had always insisted during his tumultuous teenage years. Her voice echoed in his mind, stern and unwavering, as she admonished him for his youthful indiscretions.

Lying back on the bed, John draped an arm across his eyes, the weight of anticipation pressing down upon him. The moments between now and Josephina's call stretched out before him, an endless expanse of uncertainty and longing.

Patience, he reminded himself. Patience was a virtue he would need to summon in abundance as he navigated the tangled web of anticipation and desire that lay ahead.

This chapter is a little shorter, I just wanted to get it out of the way. Please comment and vote! 😉😊♥️