A Day In The Life ||The Beatles

Chapter 9

Emma felt crowded and hot, surrounded by a room full of people. "Do you mind if we step out for a bit?" George stood up from the couch and offered her a hand. Emma took it and got up. She meet Mick's eyes across the room, he was talking to Paul and a girl she didn't recognize.

"Hey!" Emma recognized the voice. She froze. A moment paused and she turned around, seeing John across the room, with a pretty girl on his arm. Lily? His long time girlfriend. He waved to her, whispering something into Lily's ear.

"They look happy," she waved back. John made his way towards them, a huge grin on his lips.

"They do now. But an hour ago John was as miserable as can be," George said. Emma didn't ask any questions. "I'll be outside having a smoke."

"Emma," John said. He managed a small chuckle and they looked at each other for a second, trying to figure out if they should hug or shake hands or kiss on the cheek? What was an appropriate way to greet your ex?

"John," she cleared her throat. She hadn't seen him since that day she'd left to London. And seeing him, here, in front of her brought a lot of memories from the past. Good ones. Bad ones. For a moment Emma let herself wonder what would have happened if they had never broken up. If she had never broken his heart. "You and Lily make a great couple."

"So do the two of you," he said. Emma realized the moment for them to hug, or shake hands had passed. She stood frozen on the stop, growing cold. What exactly did he mean?

"What? I'm not..."

"Oh come on, Emma," John tilted his head slightly, studying her. He knew her too well, even despite the years they'd gone without seeing each other. "You and Geo."

Emma wished her face expressed shock as much as she felt. "I don't know what you mean, John."

"It's not a secret I stole you from him," John let out a sigh. "But that's all in the past. And the two of you deserve to be happy."

She said nothing.

"You two kids have my blessing," and then, he hugged her. But she was stiff and it took her a moment to wrap her arms around him and hug him back. He said goodbye and walked back to Lily as Emma watched.

And then, because she couldn't stand there for eternity, she began to walk out. It took her a moment to appreciate the fact that she was stepping away from a party to meet a Beatle. As much as she tried to tell herself that this was good ole George, she knew it wasn't. It was apparent in his sharpened features, in the way he held himself, the way he moved. The man before her had found the confidence he had lacked as a child.

As soon as she escaped the warmth of Mick's apartment, goosebumps began to develop on Emma flesh, but she did her best to ignore it. Instead she focused on trying to find George outside. She found him leaning on a wall, a cigarette on his mouth.

His posture tensed as he noticed her gaze on him, before he slipped his hand back in his pocket. It reappeared holding his carton of cigarettes. "Would you like one?" He asked her politely, offering the carton to her. Eyeing it for just a moment, she shook her head. "Still don't smoke, huh?" He put away his cigarettes once again before blowing out a lungful of smoke.

"You always were a bit afraid to try anything," he said quietly, peering out into the distance.

"That's not true!" Emma protested. Quickly, he looked back at her, eyes trained on her face as he seemed to search for something.

"No?"

"No! I wasn't afraid, I simply knew better." She crossed her arms tightly, trying to make the gesture seem defiant when really it was just because she was freezing. George's eyes lingered on the movement for only a moment before rolling to the side.

"And the rest of us are just fools," he muttered.

"You said it, not me." That had the opposite affect on George than she expected. His lips quirked up in a smile. Then he began slipping off his coat; she watched wide eyed as he dangled it on a finger and held it out to her. She didn't bother protesting; she quickly accepted it, throwing it over her slim shoulders.

"Maybe the rest of us just knows what we want," he told her quietly as she huddled under the thick fur coat.

Her eyes fell closed as she wrapped the coat tighter around her. "Why are you doing this?"

"I could ask you the same."

What was she supposed to say to that? She was already feeling extremely embarrassed and being put on the spot didn't help. More than anything, she wished she had just stayed at home. What had she expected when she came to the party? That her and George would just start up like old times?

With a defeated sigh, she finally said, "I guess I just wanted to see you again."

George was quiet for a moment before asking, "Why did you never call me?" His voice was laced with hurt, an emotion he had kept hidden until then.

"It hurt to not call you," Emma slowly said. "But I thought it would hurt more if I did."

"It's been 8 years, Emma."

"I know, George. I just hoped... Never mind." At that moment, it felt as if George wasn't cooperating with her. With every reply, every glance, Emma got the impression she was fighting a losing battle. So with a shake of her head, she turned to head back inside.

"Don't," she heard George say sharply, with more passion than he's had all night. Emma felt herself being tugged back by the coat on her back; as she turned around, she found herself just a step away from George, his frame towering over hers. "You don't just get to leave again."

Neither of them were sure how it happened. George would later swear up and down that he didn't intend to kiss her just yet. But something pulled them together, and they fell into each other. It wasn't dramatic or heated; but they found sweetness in each other's lips and a feeling they hadn't shared in years.

And this time, there was no baggage. There was no guilt, no regret. Just George and Emma, like it always should have been.

They pulled away, cheeks flushed and eyes wandering. George tugged at her playfully. "I couldn't let you take my coat."

The front door opened and out came Ringo and his girlfriend (whose name Emma didn't know) followed by John and Lilly.

"What I wouldn't do for a nice cup of tea," Lily said. To Emma she turned. "Do you know of any good places? John is no help."

"Are we waiting for Paul? I saw him talking to that girl, Fleur." Ringo said.

John smiled at this. "Let's give him five minutes and then we leave, yeah? He worships the ground she walks on."

Five minutes later, as John had predicated, Paul walked out with a girl. She had a shy smile, though she was dressed in a lavish dress. They started to walk, down the street towards the diner Emma worked at. She had been shackled by regret's she'd made in the past and though the past couldn't be changed, Emma had held on.

She was free now. And the future was her's to take.