No More Lonely Nights - A Fan Fiction

No More Lonely Nights - Chapter One

28 February 1962.

Liverpool, England.

ALLIE: I turned sixteen today. Sixteen. I can hardly believe that I have finally reached that golden age that all girls dream about, the big 1-6. It honestly feels no different than 15 to me, but maybe the importance of this age will show itself after some time.

Today wasn’t a big deal though, really. I didn’t want my parents to make a fuss over me being sixteen, especially since my mother is so caught up in the details of my sister’s upcoming wedding. My father stays far too busy at RAF Alconbury over in Cambridgeshire to really care, so I tend to get overlooked on such occasions.

It’s only fair to start this story by telling you exactly who I am and where I came from, I suppose, so here you are. My name is Alexandra Elizabeth Morgan, but I prefer to be called Allie, please. I’m American (born in Florida) but my father has been stationed in the UK for two years now, at RAF Alconbury, as mentioned above. However, we live in Liverpool, a good one and a half hours away from his base. My mother insisted on living here, as she said she was tired of living on Air Force bases and being isolated from society. My father comes home on the weekends, but otherwise, it is rare I see him (he did come home tonight for my birthday even though it’s a Wednesday). I have an older sister, Marion, who is back in America at the University of New York studying education. She’s the one getting married, and I think my mother is relieved Marion got away from England and found a husband from the good old U S of A (Andy Johnson- all-American boy from Illinois studying law. My parents are thrilled, I’ll tell you). We’ve lived all over the US and the world- Florida, Germany, Mississippi, Japan, Spain, Texas, Utah, Guam, and Alaska- prior to living here. We’ve been in the UK the longest, mainly because my father likes the base (he’s a General of the Air Force now). My mother wants to leave or send me away to avoid me getting too tangled up with the British males here in Liverpool, but my father won’t let her do as much. I for one am in no hurry to return to the States. I’ve fallen in love with England. It’s an amazing country filled with amazing people. Or perhaps that is simply my hopeless romantic side kicking in. Who can say.

I think you’ll be able to gain a good understanding of my parents from reading the above, but in case not, let me spell it out a little clearer for you. My father is Anthony Morgan, General of the Air Force; my mother is Stella Morgan (nee Schneider), homemaker. It’s always seemed to me that my parents were a highly unlikely match- my father is outgoing and friendly, though absorbed in his job, while my mother is high-strung and pushy and at times utterly provoking. They’ve been married for twenty-three years in March, though, so I guess they’re not so different after all. Marion, my sister, is twenty-one and a thorn in my side, let me tell you. She is the most self-absorbed, egotistical, vain creature ever placed on planet Earth. I honestly don’t see how that poor boy she has roped into marrying her will survive (I met Andy last summer when he came over to Liverpool- he was very nice, quiet, and reserved, unlike Queen Loudmouth). But if he was dumb enough to ask her, I take it there is chemistry between them. I just hope it lasts.

Tonight should be amazing, as I’m going to this joint in town called the Cavern Club with three schoolmates- Mary, Eloise, and Lucy. There’s a band that plays there that Lucy insists I must see in honor of my sixteenth birthday, so I agreed to go with them and see for myself how great this band is. Lucy said they’re called the Beatles- as it BEAT, not like the bugs- and they’re four lads from here in Liverpool who’ve apparently known each other a bit from school and got together in the late 1950s to form a skiffle band. Or at least, two of them knew each other from school. I can’t keep details straight. The girls say they are the hot ticket in the local music scene now and my curiosity has been raised. Mother threw a fit when I asked to go but Father intervened and said yes, so it’s off to find out in about two hours. Lucy kept raving about one of the boys in particular and how dreamy he is- I think she said his name was Paul, but I’m not sure. Lucy can sometimes have decent taste in the male sex but sometimes not so I’ll make up my mind once I see all four of them in person tonight