Razzmatazz (Beatles Fan Fiction)

2

Four months earlier

Ruby stared down at the small blue velour covered box, wondering why she didn’t feel anything. All the women in the romance novels she read always screamed in joy, flung their arms around his neck, laughing, or burst in to tears - but Ruby, she didn’t really feel anything.

It wasn’t all that unexpected really. She’d known he’d been up to something. She’d suspected, but not quite dared to think...

‘Aren’t you going to say anything?’ Billy asked earnestly.

Ruby smiled. ‘It’s lovely.’

‘I didn’t ask what you thought about it.’

It was really quite lovely. A simple gold band with a square shaped small diamond solitaire, sitting in a royal blue ring box. It wouldn’t be a greatly expensive one, but Ruby would bet it still cost Billy a few weeks worth of wages. It was pretty without being too ostentatious  - he’d got it spot on, just Ruby’s style.

Ruby gave a half shrug. ‘Sure, why not?’

‘Why not?’ Billy snapped the box lid shut, irritably and got to his feet. ‘Don’t be too enthusiastic, Ruby. Lets just forget it then.’

‘Oh, no, Billy, I’m sorry,’ she stood up too, putting her hands over his. ‘I was... surprised that was all. Ask me again.’

‘No, forget about it.’

‘Please, Billy, I’m sorry...’

He gave an exaggerated sigh, but then looked down at her and smiled. Dropping onto one knee, he looked back up at her and opened the ring box, held out in front of him. ‘Ruby Hendry, will you marry me?’

‘Yes!’ she said straight away. ‘Yes, of course I will.’

                                                                                ***

Three months earlier

‘Here’s another from pop hit-makers, The Beatles!’ announced the radio, as a familiar harmonica and ‘da da da’s’ began to play in the background. ‘If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, Just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me to you!’

Ruby sighed as she spun the diamond engagement ring on the surface of the kitchen table. She should really stop taking it off and playing with it. She’d already scratched and scuffed the stone. She’d lose it and then Billy would be furious.

She slipped it back on her finger and studied it. It looked... strange on her hand. Not like a real engagement ring at all. It all felt pretend. It hadn’t quite sunk in that in a few months time she’d be Mrs William Fletcher.

The pan of vegetables bubbled on the stove. Ruby rose from the table to stir it.

Her mother had actually broken down in tears when she’d told her on the phone she was getting married. Her mother! Ruby couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her cry. Perhaps there wasn’t one.

‘I got lips that long to kiss you, and keep you satisfied...’  The Beatles continued. She could pick out John’s voice from the vocals. In a way he sounded just like he always had, but in other ways he was totally different. When she saw them in the paper or on Mrs. Jones’s telly, it was hard to think he was him, her John.

If things had been different, if they’d just... well, there wasn’t much point about thinking about the what ifs.

If things had been different, then John wouldn’t be on the radio right now; and Ruby wouldn’t be living here. She’d still be in Liverpool, probably living in some horrible little house, trying to scrape together a couple of pennies for the electric meter, fighting with John every night, who would drift from job to job...