⇾ 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐈

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Ballad of John and Donna (Johnna, If You Will)

May 7, 1964

I was finally feeling more myself. Two days on the boat had finally begun to pay off. It finally felt normal to walk around and the outlandish fear of sinking was diminishing slowly. It was noon and I hadn't thrown up once in at least sixteen hours, which was definitely a record.

"Donna, c'mon!" John was splashing around in the ocean, gesturing for me to join him. To his left, George surfaced. We had stopped sailing for a few hours so we could all go swimming. Pattie had gone off to get something inside and I was the only one not in, so that brought all the attention on me. They both called out for me in perfect unison.

I'd taken off my promise and engagement rings to go swimming, not wanting to lose it to the ocean. I was still wearing my necklace John had given me what felt like centuries ago, which was strangely waterproof and has been through many pools and showers since I'd gotten it. It went with me everywhere and always had.

"I'll catch you!" John yelled.

"I can't just climb in?" I asked him.

"Oh, come on!" said George. "Where's the fun in that?"

I frowned.

"Don't you trust me?" asked John, spinning in a circle with his head leaning backward.

"Of course I don't," I said teasingly. "Last time I did, you decided to keep me all for yourself!"

"What're you doing?" he asked teasingly.

"I dunno," I responded innocently. "You tell me."

"George, help me get her," he said and I laughed, moving to get away from them as quickly as I could.

The two began to climb up onto the boat. George managed to catch me first and held onto me tightly as I squirmed in an attempt to make a getaway as he waited for John. John caught up and bent down to pick me up off the ground.

"John," I squeaked, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly. He carried me over to where he and George had been jumping off the deck into the water.

"Ready?" he asked me as he stopped on the edge.

"For?" I asked, knowing very well what he was about to do.

"Hold your breath," he responded, not even giving me a mere two seconds before jumping off the boat.

He let go of me finally, but only after we'd already hit the water. I resurfaced, gasping for air and coughing up water. "I'm gonna kill you," I said to John, who had just come up next to me and was laughing as he wiped some water from his eyes.

"If ye kill 'im, ye won't get to marry him!" We looked up to see George watching us from the railing next to where we'd just jumped from, laughing almost as hysterically as John was.

"Now, that'll teach you to always trust me!"

"I dunno," I spluttered. "It's done quite the opposite. Besides, that was pretty fun."

John laughed, wiping some water from his face.

"Pattie!" I said as she came into view. "I did it, so now you've got to!"

She laughed, an uncertain look on her face.

"Oh, yes," added John in a high-pitched, mocking voice. "You've got to."

I frowned at him and splashed a little bit of water into his face again. In response, he pushed me down under the water with a wicked smile. When I resurfaced, spitting water out of my mouth, I shouted, "You better, or George'll push you."

She looked at George with an almost expectant look. George shrugged. "Maybe I will."

Without a word, Pattie walked over to George and shoved him lightly, and he went toppling into the water with a little yelp, just narrowly missing John and me.

"Fuckin' hell," laughed John when George popped back up. "I just got the water out of my eyes."

Pattie finally jumped in after us. It was a wonder we didn't accidentally drown ourselves because we were laughing so hard.

~~~

"Are you having a good time?" John asked me hours later when the sun was beginning to set and we were huddled together under a towel, eating on some desert that our cook had made. We didn't really know what it was, but it was delicious.

Around us, the crew and Pattie and George were sitting around on the deck, having a chat. George had a guitar in his hands, tuning it carefully so he could play something. Everyone was so nice to all of us and they were easy to get along with. They also didn't know who any of us were, which was just the icing on the cake.

"Of course I'm having a good time," I responded. "Bloody hell, this is hands-down the best vacation I've ever been on," I added with a laugh.

"Yeah?" he said, his face lifting up joyously.

"Of course it is! Just think, John," I said, my voice dropping low and my cheeks turning pink. "We're gonna get married."

We hadn't really had time to talk too much about that fact since he'd proposed. We'd spent the night after celebrating, and then had up and went to live on a boat for three weeks straight after.

The corners of his mouth curled upward and he arms around me tightened. A breeze scuttled by and I shivered. "Yeah, we are," he replied, his voice sounding like a child's on Christmas morning. It was full of unmistakable excitement and curiosity. "You're gonna be my wife. You'll have to keep me in line forever."

I giggled, taking another bite of what I was eating. "Yes, I will."

"And I wouldn't want anyone else keeping me in line," he quipped. "I love you so, so much," he said, kissing me on the forehead.

George began to pick out a pattern on his guitar, leading through a series of chords without saying anything...at first. "And here, folks," he began. "We are watching John and Donna, Johnna, if you will! They're very much in love and are getting married soon. They've been together forever and they've never passed up the opportunity to let anyone around them know that they love each other," he droned. John and I looked up at him with a look that said, "seriously?" He laughed and then turned his attention it Pattie.

"And this is Pattie Boyd," he said. "She is my girlfriend and she's very beautiful..."

John and I tuned George out, wanting nothing more than for it to just be us. I couldn't believe I was looking straight into the eyes of the man I was going to marry. I had had a slight suspicion the morning we left for Hawaii that his 'surprise' had at least something to do with our future. I'd thought of a proposal, but tried not to believe it, wanting to keep it a surprise for myself, which it definitely was. Nothing had ever come as such a surprise as that had. It may not have been how he planned it, but it was the perfect way for it to have happened. I wouldn't have asked for anything else.