~John's~
Friday came quickly that week. My birthday was a little over a week away, meaning Paul and I were suppose to get married then. I knew depending on how the meeting with the lawyer went, there was a possibility on postponing the wedding. I also knew I didn't want that.
"John!" Mimi called from the bottom of the stairs. "Comin' Mimi!" I yelled back. I put on my best dress shirt and tie. A black long sleeve and my Quarrybank tie. I ran down the stairs and sat down at the table. Mimi turned around and placed two cups of tea in front of us. "Are you prepared for the meeting? Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Mimi asked. I chuckled at her persistency. "I'm ready, don't worry. Paul and I will be just fine." I told her as I sipped at my tea. "You two seem like such an odd pair. Like a married couple." Mimi joked, but my heart stopped when she said married couple. "You look like you've seen a ghost, John." Mimi observed. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "All is well, Mim. Just a bit nervous for Paul, s'gonna be hard for him and all." I said, thinking of an excuse for my odd behaviour.
It wasn't completely untrue, I knew that this was going to be hard on Paul regardless of the outcome. "John, look at the time. You're going to be late meeting Paul, all because your lack of getting up on time." Mimi scolded me as she snatched my tea away. I looked at the clock and jumped up. "Bloody hell, you're right!" I grabbed my leather jacket and slipped on my boots. "Language, John Lennon!" Mimi called after me as I walked out the door. "Bye Mimi!" I called back.
It was a typical rainy day in Liverpool. I tried to shield my shirt and tie as much as possible with my leather jacket as I made my way over to my fiancées house. I didn't usually knock anymore, but I didn't want to sneak up on Paul on a day like this. I knocked a silly "secret" knock. The door flung open to reveal a small Mike. "John!" He jumped onto my leg. "Hello, son!" I laughed and hugged him back. Paul came down the stairs slowly, smiling at me. He wore a white dress shirt with a pink carnation on the chest. "Lovely flower." I winked. "Was always me Mum's favourite. She always insisted I wear on when dressin' up." Paul cooed as he looked around to make sure Gin wasn't watching, pulling me into the house and placing a light kiss on my lips. "You look handsome." I told him. "We best get goin' though." I added. Paul gave Mike a hug and sent him back into the sitting room, and Paul and I made our way to the lawyers office.
"Have ye heard from Stu?" Paul asked me as we walked. I handed him a cigarette and my lighter. "Nah, not since the other day. Probably busy plannin' the wedding, love." I told him. I wondered if Stu was going to attend mine and Paul's wedding. "Most likely, it's a hard thing t'do." Paul nodded in agreement as he puffed on his cigarette. "Are ye nervous?" I finally asked, noticing the long, drawn-out drags he had been taking on the cigarette. "A bit. I know we're not in any trouble, though. Just a bit stressful, y'know?" Paul admitted, throwing the cigarette out into a puddle. I thought I saw the sign for the lawyers office. I pulled my glasses out of my pocket and put them on. The sign read M. Edison, Attorney of Law. Paul was smiling at me. "I wish you'd wear your glasses more, you can barely see yer own reflection without 'em." Paul chuckled. "They just bug me face." I told him. "Should keep 'em on, though. Might need to read paperwork or somethin'." I shrugged as we approached the building. Paul took a deep breath. "Ready?" I asked. He nodded and brushed my hand lightly with his.
We entered the building and approached a young blonde woman sitting behind a desk. "Ah, you must be Mr. McCartney and Mr. Lennon. Right this way." She stood up and gestured for us to follow her. We entered a huge room made out of dark wood and deep velvet. It was not a typical sight for Liverpool. Paul and I both let our eyes wander before we heard a man's voice. "Lovely to finally meet you. I'm Maxwell Edison." The short man stuck out his hand. Paul shook first. "Paul McCartney, pleasure." He smiled. I shook his hand next. "John Lennon." I smiled awkwardly. "Please please, have a seat. I'm very glad you were able to make it." Maxwell began to say as we sat down in the two large chairs in front of his humungous desk. "Thank you for your help. We hope we aren't any trouble." Paul spoke shyly. I kept my eyes dancing back and forth between Maxwell and Paul. I was watching Paul for signs of him being too upset, or overwhelmed. "What do ye need from us today, Mr. Edison?" I asked, trying to sound more polite than my usual self. "I just need your perspective of the issue at hand, what you've suffered since then and of course what you would like to happen to Jim McCartney." As Maxwell stated Paul's fathers name, I watched his back stiffen.
"Go on," Maxwell sat back in his chair after clicking the record button on a small little tape machine. I looked at Paul curiously, waiting.
"It all started after me Mum passed away. Dad got on the drink hard, started resenting me and me brother Michael. He told me he was moving us to Scotland, and I utterly refused." Paul paused to take a breath. "Take your time" Maxwell reassured him. I placed my hand on his thigh secretively to calm him, remind him I was there. "He lost it. He beat me worse than ever before, broke a few of me ribs and smashed a dinner chair over my head leaving me with a concussion. I was in he hospital for a couple of weeks, missed out on a lot of school. Thankfully me Auntie Gin from London took Michael and I in, and I suppose that's it until we got home from Hamburg." Paul's voice became shaky and weak sounding. Maxwell nodded. "What happened when you arrived back in Liverpool from Hamburg?" He asked us. Paul looked at me, I assumed he wanted me to answer.
"Jim showed up at their home on Forthlin Road. Started demandin' his kids and home back. Paul basically just told him to get the fu- I'm sorry, can swear on record now can I?" I chucked a bit. "Paul told him to leave and never come back. Paul and I took his younger brother Mike to school, y'know, and went our separate ways. Jim followed me, began t'blame me for Paul goin' stroppy on him and he stabbed me in the back with a pocket knife." I told Maxwell, trying to sound as calm as possible to keep Paul composed. "Horrible. Absolutely disgusting. I am sorry this happened to you, boys." Maxwell apologized, lighting a very fancy cigar. "Do you think the consequences of Jim McCartney's actions should be those of the fullest extent of the law?" Maxwell asked. It took me a moment to process what he had said, it seemed like a lot. I looked at Paul, awaiting his response. "I do." Paul nodded. "What about yourself, Mr. Lennon?" I nodded.
"Good. Because what you might not realize, is what he did to both of you is attempted murder. He can go to jail for the rest of his natural life if we go about this trial correctly, boys." Maxwell told us, quite proudly. He stopped the recording. "We will move forward with the trial with you, sir." Paul announced, rather happy with his decision. I nodded in agreement. "Wonderful. I will get it all prepared and contact Jim's lawyer. I will contact you personally when we have our first court date." Maxwell said as he stood up, extending his hand. We both stood up to shake his hand. "Thank you, sir." I said. We were escorted back out of the office by the small woman. I lit up a cigarette for myself and Paul as we exited.
"That man gets things done quickly, doesn't he?" I laughed a bit as I handed Paul the cigarette. Paul chucked and nodded. "Are ye okay?" I asked as the rain began to pick up. "Yeah. Much less than I expected." Paul half smiled as he spoke. "I don't wanna burst your bubble, but I think it's the trial that will be most difficult." I admitted, taking a long drag off my cigarette. "We'll do it together and it'll be grand." Paul smiled and took my hand for a moment. "HEY!" We heard a yell behind us. Paul jumped 50ft in the air as he spun around. A sopping wet George and Ritchie approached us. "What are you lads doin' all dressed up?" Ritchie asked. "Had the meeting with the lawyer." Paul answered, almost too quietly under the heavy rain. "Bloody hell, have ye been outside all mornin'?!" I asked, laughing at their wet-dog appearance. They both chuckled. "Just moved out of me parent's place to stay with Ritchie. Gotta be an adult and all, me Dad says. Old enough to run away to Hamburg, old enough to live on me own." George explained, flashing his big teeth. Paul smiled widely, I could tell he missed George. "Practice tomorrow? Whaddya say boys?" I asked, bumping Paul with my elbow. "Yeah! C'mon over t'mine and Geo's." Ritchie suggested. "We best go before we catch the bloody plague out here, though. See ye tomorrow!" Ritchie said.
The boys turned around and waved, running back down the street toward Ritchie's flat. I laughed at the sight. Paul remained rather quiet as we continued walking in the cold rain. "Paul?" I said, nudging his side lightly. "We're gonna have to postpone the wedding, aren't we?" He said, sadness washed over his face. I sighed. "We might have to. Trust me, m'love, I don't want to." I said as we walked up to the door of his home. "Maybe we should get a flat... Like, our own." Paul said as he stepped inside the door, me close behind. "I'd love that. Let's aim to get married before the year is out, though." I kissed him finally when the door was closed. "Mike?" Paul said quite loudly, trying to find out if his brother had made it to school. No answer. "Gin?" Followed shortly after. I kicked my shoes off and undid my tie. "I feel like we did a bunch of shit today, I'm just exhausted." I mumbled as I stretched. "C'mon, lets go lie down in me room." Paul grabbed my hand and brought me up to his bedroom. He opened the door like a gentleman, lifting the covers and crawling in against the wall. I lied down beside him and pulled him into my arms. "Wanna tell me what's goin' through that pretty little mind of your's?" I asked, almost feeling how fast his train of thought was on my chest.
"No, love. I just want.... I just want to be here. With you. Y'know?" Paul said softly, nuzzling his face into my neck and getting comfortable. He was most obviously worn out mentally and emotionally. "I understand, m'love." I smiled to myself and placed a kiss on the top of his head.
Things were looking up.