Esther, Be Tender With My Love

Two

When I woke back up, I was cushioned by the soft, feathery pillows on my bed and a fluffy blanket covering me up to my mid-chest. I was too scared to open my eyes. Maybe it was just a dream? But then again, I don't remember climbing into my bed?

The sound of three whispering voices told me I was in fact not dreaming.

"What do we do?" One of them asked.

"I don't know. I don't even know how or why we got here." The other replied.

"Guys, I think she's waking up."

I blinked a few times to try and clear up my vision. To my right stood the oldest looking of the three. He was tall and had long, shaggy brown hair covering his forehead with light brown eyes to match. As I looked at the other two, I noticed they looked strikingly similar. That's when I realized who they were.

"What the hell are the Bee Gees doing in my bedroom?" I asked. They shared a confused glance at each other.

Barry took a step towards me as he spoke, "You know us?" I nodded my head. Then I noticed that this wasn't just the Bee Gees. This was the Bee Gees from around 1968. What the hell kind of alternate universe is this?

"How did you guys get here?" I asked as I set up in my bed.

"We don't really know." Robin said. "The last thing I remember is us walking into the alley beside the studio and then just randomly appearing here." I looked at the other two as they nodded their heads in agreement.

"This has to be some weird fever dream. You're going insane Esther." I said to myslef as I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched myself. When I opened them back up, the boys were still there looking at me as if I was crazy. Well shit. I cleared my throat. "So you guys are from 1968?" They all nodded their heads.

"What year is it? This certainly doesn't look like our time." Maurice added.

"Umm. It's November 2nd of 2020." I replied. Their eyes widened.

"Oh bloody hell, Barry. What are we going to do?" Robin asked, beginning to freak out. Barry just shrugged his shoulders. He was breathing in and out deeply in order to remain calm. Awkward silence followed as they tried to come up with a plan. I stood up from the bed and walked over to each of the boys.

"So... you're Barry Gibb," I said, pointing at him. "You're Robin Gibb and you're Maurice Gibb." They confirmed by nodding their heads.

"And you are?" Asked Maurice as his eyes trailed up and down my body, checking me out.

"I'm Esther. Esther Ryan." I replied as I felt heat rise to my cheeks. Once again, awkward silence filled the room. I looked down at my feet.

The sound of the front door opening and my parents' voices echoed from downstairs. My eyes widened as I realized how big of trouble I could get in if they found out I had three unkown boys in my room without their knowing. The sound of light footsteps came pounding up the steps.

"Shit! Quick, get in my closet!" I whisper-yelled as I pushed the boys into my walk-in closet. My heart was racing in fear and I panicked when the door knob slowly began to turn. I pushed my back against the closet doors, trying to act naturally.

"How was school today Esther?" My mom asked with a smile on her face as she walked into my room.

I smiled back, trying to hide my panic. I could hear the boys shuffling around quietly in there and I prayed that she couldn't hear it. "Oh, it was just another day at school I suppose. I mean, the usual Devin, Jace, and Kyle bickering in O'Neill's class."

"Oh that's good. I'm making spaghetti for dinner."

"Oh yum! My favorite!" I faked excitement. "Where's dad?"

"He's watching the game in the living room." I nodded my head. "The spaghetti will be done in about thirty minutes."

"Okay. I'll be waiting in here." I chuckled nervously. She finally left, shutting my door on the way out and I let out a big sigh of relief. I turned back around and opened the closet door to let the boys out. Maurice whistled as he held up one of my lacy bras and swung it around his finger.

I gasped and whipped it out of his hand as fast as I could. I blushed as he chuckled. "Get out of there, you lot!" I grabbed Barry and Maurice's arms, pulling them out. Robin followed them. "That was a close one."

Sitting on my bed, I watched as they looked around my room. Robin was looking at my bookshelf, scanning the titles of dusty books that were held there. Barry was studying the Beatles posters and travel postcards on my wall while Maurice stood next to my desk with a fidget spinner in his hand. He seemed to be very entertained by it, flicking the sides hard to make it go faster. I laughed as he gave me a cheesy smile, still fascinated with the object.

"I like your book choices, Esther." Robin said as he pulled out a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

"Thanks." I replied back with a smile. Turning my attention to Barry, I watched as he looked through my record collection. What if he ran into their records? What would they do? I asked myself, beginning to panic. It was already too late to stop him as he pulled out their album Idea.

"What? We haven't even realeased this yet. How do you have this?" Barry asked, amazed. Robin and Maurice stopped what they were doing and walked over to see what their older brother was talking about. They all looked at me expectantly.

"Well, you see. Um..." I hesitated. "You guys recorded that in 1968. It became a hit and so did like all of your other records."

"Do you have any more?" Robin asked in excitement. I panicked a little bit. Should I be showing them this? Would it effect anything?

"I don't know if I should show you guys. I mean, you're probably going to find out eventually but.."

"It's okay. We understand." Barry mumbled in disappointment.

"If you guys are 100% certain that you want to know, then I'll show you." They all shared a glance and nodded to each other. They moved out of the way as I flipped through my records. I pulled out Main Course, Children of the World, and Spirits Having Flown and handed them to them. The studied the cover art and the song titles in amazement.

"Wow." Barry whispered. "This is really us?" He asked.

"Yeah. You guys are amazing. I think you are the best I've ever heard in my life. Together, you guys have made so many chart-smashing hits." I replied. They looked at me with so much pride, which made my heart melt. "I'm sorry, but can I hug you guys right now?" I asked sheepishly. They laughed and moved in closer, wrapping their arms around me in a group hug. It felt nice. I've always looked up to these three. Ever since I'd heard "Holiday" on their first official record, I fell in love with them. They had so much talent.

Our little heartfelt moment was interrupted when my mother yelled from up the stairs, "Es, food is ready!"

"Coming!" Turning back to the boys I asked, "are you guys hungry? I can sneak you some food after my parents go to bed." They shrugged and nodded their heads. "Okay, just don't break anything while I'm gone and please try to be quiet."