But I'll Be Back Again

Chapter 29: Pip, pip, my friends.

He smiled more to himself and said, "It's funny ... I thought the same of your band when I saw you play; but I understand, you're right, sounds like a great opportunity," he said in a melancholic tone.

Ella arrived earlier than she expected, she said hello to Lizzy, and asked her for a handkerchief, "I had forgotten what kids are like?" She laughed, as she cleaned the berry stains in her sleeves.

"How did it go?" Her friend asked, handing her a napkin, she more interested in a new magazine, she wasn't supposed to be reading, it was the new ones that had arrived.

Ella took it from her hands, and fixed it so it looked brand new, and that a costumer would buy, "Better! The little girl is difficult to deal with, but the boy , he's 8 and such a little gentleman,"

"He helped you?"

"More like he was taking care of me, taking care of her sister;" she giggled, Ella knew she was never good with kids, she tended to treat them like people, and not being too cheesy, but she needed the money, she had to learn to take better care of them, "Henry, he'd tell me by memory what her sister needed, liked and had to do, adorable!"

Then the door opened, Paul went out looking a bit pensive, she saw that he had glanced at her quick, said goodbye to Mr. Epstein and left.

"Ugh! We have a problem I'm afraid," he said looking more to the distance, with hands in the pockets of his suit jacket, "Paul's quitting the Beatles,"

Later that day, just as Mr. Epstein said goodbye, and left her to close the store, Ella clearly saw his brother waiting across the street. Jeremy seeing the owner leave, he went to confront his sister.

There's a limit any human has, and this time his brother had crossed it. He went inside the store and said in a spiteful humour, "A clerk! Or what do you do in here exactly, Charlotte?" He said looking through the records, "do you dust this place?"

"Both I think, what do you want?" She answered in a way she had never done before, so she retracted, "I don't see what's bad in earning a bit more money, isn't that the whole idea of papa's business?" She said it shyly.

"At least when I hire you, you'd have experience," he laughed, "I can't believe you thought you could hide this from us!"

She bit her lower lip, then said, "I wasn't, but you never asked."

Jeremy got close to the desk and with open hand he hit it, to make Ella look at him, he knew loud and sudden sounds like that scared her, "You're supposed to tell us everything; you're not on a holiday here!"

Her lips trembled, with fear but also annoyance, "Well, you know I can't leave the country, that's something in your favour."

He smiled, "What are you talking about?" He faked a surprised tone, "What? Did you loose your passport or something?"

She didn't answer, because if she did she'd end up screaming at him and probably crying.

"Don't worry, Charlotte, I'll ask my men to look for it. I'm now working in London,  I'll return to Liverpool in 8 days, I'll call you," he said, took one of the lollipops on the desk and left.

That meant one thing in the mind of Ella, if he had lost his previous important job in Argentina, that'd mean only one thing, he was even more desperate to get her money.

During one of their evening presentations at the Cavern; Paul never tended to forget the lyrics, but this time he did. His bandmates had to cover for him. It wasn't in all their songs, and by almost the end of the presentation, feeling embarrassed, he did his best to not spoil it.

"I'm really tired," he said as they helped Pete to take the drums to the back of his van.

"At least after this we can go to a warm bed," George said between a sigh.

"Or girl," added John raising his eyebrows and doing a maniac laugh.

George laughed then added, "That's the only thing I don't miss from Hamburg, y'know, when you just want to rest and sleep with no sound, but we had to share rooms with others," he complain.

Paul stared at him for some seconds, then added, "Harrison, you're right, we're older, we can't go on like we were there." No one added something else, an awkward silence followed. "I mean, I think I might take a break," he said looking at the floor.

John narrowed his eyes

George exclaimed, "not again,"

"A break? Like a week break?" John asked, well knowing that, it wasn't at all his suggestion.

"Look at us! We're in out 20's, Are we going to do this all of our life? Going from pub to pub, exhausted, no money, and practically not a goal in our lives?"

John walked towards him, "Oh I have a goal right now, that is to punch you." He gave a bitter smile.

"Listen, I might have found a job, like an actual music job in France,"

Pete asked, something the others didn't dare to "You're leaving... the Beatles ?"

He turned to his left, not daring to look at them."Not right now, I went to talk to Brian-,"

John gave some steps away, and then returned, closer to his face, "You've already quitted didn't ye?"

He didn't have to answer, they understood.