⇾𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐈𝐈

Chapter Sixty-Two: Lullaby

April 15, 1967

I looked at myself in the mirror. The swimsuit horrified me. I was huge. I quickly slipped a coverup over it as John appeared over my shoulder in the mirror. He walked past, but did a double take when he caught my sad expression in the mirror.

It was 11:30 and I'd managed to put off wearing the swimsuit for as long as I could, but people were bound to be showing up soon, so I didn't have a choice anymore.

"Something wrong, love?" John questioned, stopping in the doorway.

My lips twitched downward as I began to cry. He came over and put his arms around me. "I just want you to know that I really don't want to be crying right now," I said frustratedly, turning around and burying my head in his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked again, sounding sad.

"Nothing. It's silly."

"Oh, c'mon, you know you want to tell me," he said persuasively, running his hands along my back comfortingly.

I pulled away and looked down at my stomach. "John, I don't want to go swimming like this. I don't even like it when I am covered up," I said in between sniffles.

"But, why, love?" he asked. "You're so beautiful."

"I'm not," I said stubbornly.

"That's our babies in there," he said amusedly. "What if they want to have some fun in the pool with their mum?" He grinned crookedly when I smiled. "I'll tell you what," he said. "The others should start arriving soon. If you don't want to get in, you obviously don't have to. And if they say anything to you, I'll knock them into next week. Sound good?"

I giggled and reached up to wipe my eyes. "Okay, fine."

"Bedsides," he added. "Who cares? No one is going to comment on that because they'll be having a great time in the pool."

"You're right," I responded with a sigh. "I'm just overreacting!"

He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met," he assured me. "I'll make sure everyone knows that. I will do that each and every day if I need to. I promise."

"You will?"

"Well, of course I will," he responded with a wide grin before leaning down to kiss me again, this time on the lips. "Now, what good have you got cooking downstairs? It smells delicious." He smiled happily.

~~~

Around me, Ringo, Paul, George, and John all laughed. I hadn't caught whatever was so funny, but the sounds of everyone being happy was like music to my ears.

We were all outside on the deck. The sun had just begun to leave the sky dark and the stars were beginning to pop up here and there. Maureen and Ringo were sitting next to John and I on our outdoor sofa, facing the glass between us and the living room so that they could keep an eye on Zak where he was curled up asleep on the couch. Boots was laying at the child's feet, also fast asleep on top of the blanket that was tucked around Zak's body.

Across from us, Paul and Jane were sitting on one of the loveseats, and George and Pattie were on the other. In between the two fixtures was a chair that Brian had found himself sitting in.

John's arms were wrapped around me, his hands resting on the sides of my stomach lovingly. I wasn't sure what the others were talking about now, and I wasn't sure John knew either, because he completely averted his attention to me. I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to get the babies to kick again, so he could feel it again. They were usually pretty active when I was sitting still, so I figured they'd jab at him eventually, so I waited patiently.