- 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓕𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 -

Chapter 3: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

John stayed in Yoko's house that night. He slept in the guest room, where abstract paintings adorned the white walls, reminding him of how Paul would often attempt to paint such art. He smiled to himself as he lay there in bed, safe and warm underneath the clean white covers, his head trapped in a cloud of hazy smoke, which came from his cigarette. Yoko sat beside him, stroking his short brown hair. She was holding a glass of wine. "Oh, John, why'd you leave your family? Your home?"

John shook his head. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Yoko gazed at him longingly. "It isn't good to bottle up your feelings, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

Yoko coughed and stood up, letting go of John's hair. "I'm off to bed. If you're hungry, just help yourself with anything from the refrigerator, there's plenty of food there."

"Okay, goodbye and g'night, ocean child."

John turned his back the other way and closed his eyes. An hour passed and he still couldn't seem to sleep. He had to admit, he did miss Paul and the boys. There was a piano in the corner of the room, and he could still remember the way Paul would play around with the keys, blurting out words of nonsense, amusing little Ringo. Then good ol' George crossed his mind. His teenage son! Now this one was a real mystery. George was usually chattering away on the telephone day and night, telling odd jokes to Pattie. Most of the jokes were very suggestive, like "Oh, Pattie, I'm craving for some finger pie, do you mind if I come over?" or "I wish I was pushing your buttons, darling..."

George, George, George... what am I gonna do with that boy? John sighed. He never really knew what his son was up to in school; he just thought the lad studied, studied, took tests, and ran straight home. He was completely oblivious to the fact that George smoked Marlboros, cut classes and lost his virginity three weeks ago. 

After a few minutes of staring into space, he saw Yoko enter the room in nothing but a thin blue nightgown. Her hair was long, frazzled, ink black. She walked over and knelt beside him, then caressed his cheek. "You're still awake?" she whispered. 

John nodded. "What brings you back here?"

"Well, I wanted to give you this..."

She slowly inched closer, her eyes fixated on the smooth shape of his lips. They kissed for a short while. Yoko was enjoying it, but John could only imagine how angry Paul would be.

He came back home the next morning. Ringo greeted him with an affectionate hug, George smiled and waved, while Paul simply stood there, tapping his foot. "Well, aren't you going to have any breakfast? I made some buttered toast and baked beans."

John took his regular seat at the table and began wolfing down his food. "You're not gonna ask me where I stayed for the night?" he wondered aloud.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Fine, John, where did you stay?"

"At Yoko's." 

"Well, what can I expect from a man like you?" Paul chuckled sarcastically. 

"Oh boy, here comes another row..." George muttered, dabbing at his lips with a hankie. "Ringo, I think it's best if we leave now."

"But I haven't even finished my toast!" Ringo protested.

"You can eat it on the way, now hurry up!" 

George grabbed him by the collar and led him out the front door, slamming it shut like he always did. The angry couple were all alone once again. 

Paul sighed. "George smokes now, did you know that? I found a pack of Marlboros in his blazer."

"Good God." John dropped his fork. "I'll have to talk to him once he gets home."

"Yeah, you better..." Paul muttered. He was still upset about last night, but he tried to keep his cool. He didn't want to ruin this beautiful spring morning with another one of his hour-long tirades. "So, er... how's the food?"

"Oh, Paulie, enough with the small talk." John said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk out on you last night. You haven't gotten much sleep, I bet."

Paul chewed on his salad with a perfectly formed poker face. "Yeah, you're right... but tell me something, John, and I need you to be completely honest, understand?"

"Alright then, fire away."

"Did you ever, even once, sleep with Yoko?"

"No," John lied. "never did."