And Your Girl Can Sing

Chapter 49: I Feel Very Unintentionally Awkward (Dot, Dot, Dot)

"The van is that way, love," John said. I knew from his tone of voice he was nervous, trying to fill conversation, but at the last sentence his words faded into the evening air.

No one said anything. I unconsciously bit my lip, unsure of what to do, how to leave politely. Mimi was looking at me with an expression that could only be described as annoyance. "Erm... I'll leave you two to it, then," I squeaked, and turned around to go. John suddenly caught me by the arm. "Mimi, Cora'll take care of me," came rushing out of his mouth. I couldn't help but widen my eyes in alarm and stare at the brick which I was standing on as I thought, wrong choice, wrong choice.

"No, John, I don't think so," she sighed. "You'll take care of yourself, except of course, the one thing she can provide you." My eyes snapped back up to the woman in front of me, wearing a long black coat and brown shoes, her short, curled hair under a brown hat, and under that, seemingly cold eyes, staring into mine. The diss was more than I could take at that time, obviously implying many things amongst the assumption that that I couldn't do the job. I almost laughed, yes, that would have done it. One loud, incredulous, unfeminine belting laugh. The one thing I could provide I hadn't even provided yet.

Be nice and polite, be quiet, I heard in my head, but "I think I'm more than capable of making eggs or a sandwich, Mimi," was what happened instead. Suddenly alert at what I had done, I said abruptly, "Well you should say your goodbyes thank you bye Mimi," turned on my heel, and walked away. Breathing hard, I made my way back into the cavern and ran into Paul. "Where's the guitar—" he started, and then said resignedly, "I'll get it."

I caught his arm. "Mimi's out there."

He turned back, faster than I had. "Oh. Thanks." The time was ripe for an explanation. "She doesn't like me," Paul laughed in a whisper.

"Tell me about it," I said in response, leaning against one of the three black wooden walls. "She—"

"Shh."

"—She doesn't think I can provide for him like she can. Also? She only thinks I give John sex and nothing else."

Paul let loose a huge belt of laughter. I quieted him abruptly, grabbing at his arm, but a smile escaped my lips at my strange sentence. "And you know—you know—"

"Yeah I know. Still can't understand it. Oh well, you're not my bird."

"I just wish Mimi..."

"She's a lot." He sighed. "Well you know, I hate to say it but the woman has good intentions," Paul whispered. "She loves him, but to others it can be interpreted as pure rudeness." And with that, he gave me a small smile and apparently changed his mind, going round to retrieve his guitar himself.

***

"What did Mimi want?" I asked him during their first break. Drinks were flowing freely, more than usual, a sure sign that this was a special night, the last time the lads were playing in Liverpool for who knew how long.

"She's out of town for the weekend. Something came up with her family—she's catching the train tonight." John took my bottle out of my hand and took a swig. "Ta, one sip for luck, eh?"

"Mm." I turned to face the back alley of the club, still thinking about what she said. Under one outdoor lamp, flickering feebly, John had gone out for a cig and I had followed. "Cora, I'm really sorry about what she said. You know, she didn't mean it."

"I think not," I said, not looking at him. "She very well meant what she said."

I heard a shuddering sigh and abruptly turned around to see John with a pained expression on his face. "I—"