Wildfire ~ George Harrison

Chapter 11: Loverboy needs love advice

The Saturday after my chat with Kathleen about George, she was out all day. And I was bored out of my mind. I thought George and the others were out for the day, possibly to play a concert or something, so I was on my own. What did I used to do when I was on my own?

My stomach gave me something to do, luckily. A loud rumble shook me up and forced me to bundle myself in a thick coat and the woollen scarf that my grandmother had gifted me two Christmas's ago. With the temperatures dropping by the day, it promised to be another cold winter. I really hoped it wouldn't be as bad as last year.

I bought myself some fish and chips from the chip shop George and I had been to when we went for our midnight walk. I contemplated whether or not to eat in at the chip shop, but then decided against it. Though I felt like all my friends had left me alone on a Saturday afternoon, I didn't want the people in the chip shop thinking the same. I felt sorry enough for myself as it was, I didn't need their pity and judgement to add to it.

When I came back to the flat, Mrs Goldberg, our elderly, downstairs neighbour, held the door open for me. We made small talk about the weather and then she retreated back into her flat where she loudly greeted her cat. I never said my neighbours made any sense.

I raced up the four flights of stairs in my hurry to eat my lovely chips. I didn't eat them often, but when I did, I always looked forward to the warm potatoes. However, when I arrived, completely out of breath, on the fourth floor, I could not find my keys. I put the paper bag containing my treasured food down and searched every single pocket I had on me. The keys weren't there. They must still be on the peg next to the door!

What should I do now? We had no spare key lying under the doormat or anything. There was no way in. I made a list in my mind of things I could do.

1. Eat my chips outside and go for a long walk until Kathleen came home.

2. Go to my parents and pretend it's a scheduled visit all along.

3. Go to one of my friends for a surprise visit.

4. Knock on George's door and hope he's home and willing to let me in.

Option one would be a definite no. The temperature drop of the last few days made it nearly impossible to be outside for longer than twenty minutes. On top of that, I wasn't going to be one of those people that ate fish and chips in a park. I had done it once with George, but that was only because I was with George. I wasn't going to do it again.

Number two didn't seem appealing to me either. I hadn't been to my parents in a while and a visit was probably overdue, but I had no desire to bridge the gap between visits now. Besides, I couldn't even imagine the disdain my mother would have for my chosen form of lunch. She'd probably throw it out before I could even think of asking for a plate. I knew my parents meant well, but a visit to them today was the last thing I wanted to do.

I crossed out the third option as soon as I thought about it. Who would I go to? The two friends from school I was still in contact with, Aggie and Eliza, both lived a good half an hour walking away. Besides, both were married with Aggie being six months pregnant. If I would show up on either's doorstep, I would just confirm what a failure I really was. Still, this probably was my only option if option four would proof to fail.

I had no clue if George was home and I didn't know the others well enough to justify staying in their flat until my roommate came back from wherever she was. But right now, it seemed like the only option I could have peace with. I would feel desperately uncomfortable if George wasn't home, but one of his flatmates was, but at least I would have a place to eat my chips without freezing my hands off. It seemed like the only thing to do right now.