From Me to You [Complete]

58

Nearing the end of the night, I think all of us kind of realize how sad it will be to say goodbye. I'm sitting on the stairs in the living room, leaning on the railing, as I was the last person to join the gathering and this room wasn't meant to hold eleven people. Ann, Joe and my dad are all sitting on the big couch that I sleep on, and Marc and Alice are on the smaller one. The chair across from me is occupied by Jean, while Robert, Michael and Andy are sitting on the floor. Robert distracts us from the boring parental conversation with a deck of cards. After a while my dad insists that Joe bring out his guitar, and he eventually agrees.

When he comes back inside with his guitar case, Jean stands and offers him the chair so he can have enough room to play comfortably. Joe thanks him, seeming a bit surprised. I see Jean consider for a second if he should sit down on the couch beside Ann where Joe left, but he wanders over to us on the floor and joins our game. Joe strums his guitar gently, allowing conversations to continue to flow. I like how comfortable this feels, especially when the tension was so bad earlier. Jean starts to win our card game and we all concede.

Companionably we come up with tunes for Joe to play, some of which he knows, and some he doesn't. I suggest Yellow Submarine, which gets everyone singing. I have no idea if I am in the right key, but it's all just for fun. Right after, my dad offers to play another Beatles tune, From Me to You. I look over at Michael in surprise, as Joe passes my dad the guitar. My dad can't possibly know what that song means to us, can he? As he imitates the harmonica to start the song and everyone laughs, I take a deep breath. Slowly, I join in as my dad sings the chorus. Michael's eyes are intense on me, and I wonder what he is thinking.

"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."

I realize suddenly how much this song is really about being in love. I look away from Michael, not sure how to process that. I am positive that Michael didn't mean he loved me when he wrote that on his letters. However, it's really sweet to think about him writing out this song title, knowing what the song is about. He must really like me. Everyone else enjoys the song, and I smile with my own little understanding. It must have just been a weird coincidence that my dad happened to know the chords to that particular song. My dad laughs off the applause at the end of the song, and passes back Joe's guitar. Joe makes a show about not being able to play as well as my dad, and I have to hold my head down not to laugh at how much he is fishing for approval. Luckily, at that moment Ann suggests a mellowed song for Joe to play that I don't know. He complies without a fuss.

My mom and Alice head out of the room first, both tired and headed to bed. This encourages the rest of us to start thinking about bed. Joe continues to strum on his guitar for a while, as Jean wishes us good night and heads to Robert's room. Marc encourages Robert to follow suit, although he and my dad don't seem ready to budge just yet. Ann lets me know she wants to go to bed, so I get up and go down the hall to change.

I check out my look in the mirror, undoing my hair and brushing it out to get rid of the tangles. I make sure my sunburn hasn't worsened or come back, and apply a bit of cream for my mother's sake. I have a feeling that I won't be staying in the cottage again tonight, so I slip my pyjamas over top of my clothes the same way I did last night. I smile a sad smile at my reflection, thinking about how this will be my last nighttime adventure for a while.

I head back to the living room, and see Joe packing up his guitar. Andy already left for the attic, and my dad pats me on the shoulder to say good night as he heads down the hall. Marc, maybe a little less observatory than his wife, accompanies Ann and Joe down the hall to Jean's room to bid them good night.

"And then there were two," Michael says, having not moved from his spot. I stand at the top of the stairs looking down at him. He stands and comes up the stairs to me. He glances down the hallway and obviously finds it empty since he pulls me toward him in a brief kiss. He pulls away and heads down the stairs. "Let me help you set this up," he says. I follow him as I realize Marc is coming back down the hall to check on us. We quickly make up the bed under Marc's supervision, although he makes a show of rinsing out beer bottles and doing a general kitchen tidy while we do it.

"Thanks," I say. Michael nods at me, his eyes intense on me again. He waves to his dad and heads to bed.

"Sleep well, Amanda," Marc says. "At least you will be sleeping in a real bed tomorrow night instead of on a couch!" He smiles as he leaves the room. I smile politely back, but it fades when he turns around. I am not that excited to go home. I have no idea what that will be like, or when I will see Michael again, or what is going to happen between us,if things will be the same, or go back to how they were before this week. I pull the covers back and curl up. I'm exhausted, but I try to keep my eyes open. After all, Michael is coming by soon. But my eyelids start to drift as the cottage quiets around me.