The next morning, Paul was on his sixth cup of tea. The pieces were finally starting to come together for the Rubber Soul record, so I'm sure the extra fuel was needed. However, I also felt he had me running back and forth because he wanted to see more of me.
His eyes twinkled over at me as I rushed over, serving him his latest cuppa.
"Gail, Gail, Gail. Always a pleasure to see your beautiful face. I never get tired of it!" he expressed with a flirtatious smirk.
George, who was standing behind him, guitar in tow, rolled his eyes in irritation, "This coming from the lad who couldn't even bloody look her in the eye a week ago..."
I couldn't help but giggle. Paul narrowed his eyes briefly at him but didn't respond.
Suddenly, Beatles arranger George Martin appeared alongside engineer Norman Smith.
Mr. Martin eyed me pleasantly, "Good morning to you, Gail! I'm sure the boys have been keeping you plenty busy..." he chuckled and shot a knowing glance at Paul.
Once again, I giggled, hiding the blush prominently forming on my face with my hands. Paul looked down and twiddled his thumbs, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"I trust you boys have been working very hard on the album..." Mr. Martin asserted, still smiling knowingly.
"Yes sir, we are!" George grinned and saluted his senior producer.
Mr. Martin shook his head and simpered, "Where are the other two?"
"Yes, pray tell, what shenanigans are Lennon and Starkey up to now?" Mr. Smith chimed in cynically.
"Who knows..." Paul mumbled dryly as he sipped his tea.
"I'M HERE!" John announced boisterously. "Top of the morning to you all! Normie, Georgie, other Georgie...and oh, look, if it ain't Paul and Abbie, looking as cutesy as ever!"
We all cast an uneasy glance at one another; he was in one of those moods, wasn't he?
Ringo followed closely behind, looking exhausted. He yawned softly, "Greetings, everyone..."
Rubbing his forehead in distress, Paul simply handed me the mug. "Gail, if you don't mind, dear, I think I'm gonna need just one more cuppa..."
***
If I needed someone to love
You're the one that I'd be thinking of
If I needed someone
If I had some more time to spend
Then I guess I'd be with you my friend
If I needed someone
Had you come some other day then
It might not have been like this
But you see now I'm too much in love
Carve your number on my wall and
Maybe you will get a call from me
If I needed someone
Aah, aah, aah, aah
If I had some more time to spend
Then I guess I'd be with you my friend
If I needed someoneThen I guess I'd be with you my friend
If I needed someone
Had you come some other day then
It might not have been like this
But you see now I'm too much in love
Carve your number on my wall and
Maybe you will get a call from me
If I needed someone
Aah, aah
The boys finished out George's new song with their incredible three-part harmony.
"That was real nice, boys..." Mr. Smith nodded in approval.
All of a sudden, John smirked and whispered something in George's ear. In reply, George rolled his eyes and arched his eyebrows together in amusement as he played the first chord of Every Little Thing.
My heart stopped in its tracks. How did John know that was my favorite Beatles song? He quickly walked over towards me and began to sing with his nasal, impassioned voice.
When I'm walking beside her
People tell me I'm lucky.
Yes, I know I'm a lucky guy.
I remember the first time
I was lonely without her.
Can't stop thinking about her now.
Without missing a beat, Paul followed suit with his amazing, pitch-perfect harmony for the chorus.
Every little thing she does
She does for me, yeah
And you know the things she does
She does for me, oooh
Then, both Paul and John sang the remaining verses simultaneously, flowing right into the main part.
When I'm with her I'm happy
Just to know that she loves me
Yes, I know that she loves me now
There is one thing I'm sure of
I will love her forever
For I know love will never die
Every little thing she does
She does for me, yeah
And you know the things she does
She does for me, oooh
Every little thing she does
She does for me, yeah
And you know the things she does
She does for me, oooh
Every little thing
Every little thing
At this point, my face was visibly red, though I tried my best to hide it. John was looking very self-assured as he looked over to me, his amber eyes sparkling luminously. Paul looked a tad bit annoyed but remained composed.
"Let's try to stick to the current album..." Mr. Martin said, a bemused grin on his face.
Next, they rehearsed the song Wait. I caught both John and Paul stealing sly glimpses at me as they sang and played. Paul, especially, was eyeing me up something fierce when he got to the line:
I feel as though
You ought to know
That I've been good
As good as I can be
And if you do
I'll trust in you
And know that you
Will wait for me
But if your heart breaks
Don't wait, turn me away
And if your heart's strong
Hold on, I won't delay
All of a sudden, Paul and John turned to each other, their bodies smoldering with passion, intensity and testosterone. It seemed as though one wanted the other to back off but neither of them were budging.
Wait till I come back to your side
We'll forget the tears we've cried
Then, they quickly turned themselves back to me.
It's been a long time
Now I'm coming back home
I've been away now
Oh how, I've been alone
"Well, I think that went well!" Paul chirped, smiling smugly. He turned to me with a tender gaze, "How do you think it went, Gail?"
My eyes widened in slight panic. There seemed to be something deeper going on here, something I wasn't fully privy to. I wasn't sure why Paul was asking me this or how precisely he wanted me to answer. Suddenly, I felt all eyes on me.
"It...sounded good as always, Paul." I chuckled gently. "I don't know why my opinion matters..."
Paul beamed, "Nonsense! Of course your opinion matters! You're my girl..." He then stood up, strolled directly towards where I was standing and gave me a light peck on the lips.
In that moment, everything seemed to stop. I heard a couple shocked reactions; even Ringo, who was nearly falling asleep at his drums, perked up with a disoriented "Huh?"
This probably should've been the happiest moment of my life. However, instead, I found myself feeling conflicted. Is he being serious? Perhaps the excess caffeine was merely making him bold. Is he only making a show of his affections to get a rise out of John? Either way, I didn't really appreciate it. I didn't just want to be used as a pawn in their ploy.
Meanwhile, John's eyes narrowed but he didn't seem completely deterred.
Just then, Brian came bursting through the door in a frenzy. "Everyone, stop what you're doing! There's been a last-minute change of plans!"
"Those bloody beetle bugs finally caught onto us and want to sue?" John cracked.
Brian glared at him, "Not now, John! We've been invited to a fancy banquet downtown tomorrow night at 8. Dress fancy, bring your significant others, all that jazz..."
"Jazz, huh?" Paul peeked over at me with a playful smile. "Gail, would you like to formally be my 'jazz' for this event?"
George stifled a snicker.
My eyes widened again as I bit my lip in consideration. Of course there was a part of me that wanted nothing more than to be his date for the evening, but things were moving rather quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly for comfort.
When I looked up at him, however, I saw his soft, hazel eyes looking back at me. He was eagerly awaiting my response, and in a cute way, I might add. Drawn to his gaze, I suddenly saw no reason to say no...
"Yes," I stated affirmatively, my face slowly rising into a simper. "Yes, Paul, I would like that very much!"
At that, Paul's face gleamed with pride.
Brian lifted his finger frantically, as if he wanted to comment on what was happening, but then waved his hand dismissively.
"Whatever," he mumbled. "Remember! Tomorrow night at 8!" he hollered as he walked off.
***
As the long day dragged on, tensions didn't seem to dissipate. Though the boys continued to dutifully rehearse, their eyes never seemed to leave my direction.
"For I have got another girl, another girl..." Paul began to croon.
"Okay! Let's play another song! Which one? How about this one!?" John uttered loudly in an agitated tone.
You're going to lose that girl
You're going to lose that girl
If you don't take her out tonight
She's going to change her mind
And I will take her out tonight
And I will treat her kind
You're going to lose that girl
You're going to lose that girl
If you don't treat her right, my friend
You're going to find her gone
Cos I will treat her right, and then
You'll be the lonely one
You're going to lose that girl
You're going to lose that girl
I'll make a point
Of taking her away from you, yeah
The way you treat her what else can I do?
"Stay on the current album, John!" Mr. Smith ordered with a roll of the eyes.
"Oh, okay, fine!" John snapped. The tune then shifted gears on his guitar.
Well I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man...
"JOHN!" Mr. Smith barked.
I stood in the back, anxiously twiddling my fingers. It surprised me how everyone only seemed to have minuscule control over John. It was as if they were all scared to fully stand up to him.
"So, which songs have you liked the best so far, Abbie? Mine or Paul's?" John asked with a crafty smile, turning to me.
"Heh, yes Gail, let's hear it! Which one of us tickled your fancy more?" Paul baited, clearly enjoying where this was going.
"Let's hear it, Abbie!" John imitated.
"Yes, go on, let's hear it, Gail!" Paul repeated.
"Abbie, Gail, whoever you are, just answer the goddamned question so we can get on with this!" George snapped.
I eyed George for a brief second, "I - I kinda liked George's song..." I said in a low tone, tinged with guilt. It was technically true.
John loudly moaned in exasperation at this, while Paul simply shook his head and rolled his eyes with a stern smile.
"Come on, you guys don't give George enough of a chance!" I pointed out.
"Yeah!" George exclaimed in agreement.
Thinking it over a moment, I began to smirk. "You know, when you think about it, George over here has the hottest girlfriend while you two are hitting on the secretary..."
At that, George and Ringo howled with laughter. Even Mr. Martin and Mr. Smith raised their eyebrows and stifled laughs, glancing at each other. Meanwhile, Paul and John's expressions tightened, their faces burning with pique.
I was enjoying this too much. I probably took it a step too far, but the looks on their faces were priceless. Besides, they were messing with me all day; it was time for me to bite back.
John, of course, wasn't going to take this laying down. He scoffed, "Well, excuse me for trying to make the secretary feel special! Anyway, you know you're flattered by it so don't even start..." he gulped down his water stormily.
"The flattery probably ended a long time ago, Johnny, you're making her uncomfortable!" George remarked soberly, reeling back from his laughter.
"Stay out of this, Harrison!" John berated.
"I think we all need a break!" Mr. Martin finally suggested.
"See, this is why I avoided hanging out with you boys for so long..." I pointed out as I stormed off, feeling a strange blend of both mirth and irritation.
***
A few hours passed and I could tell from my office that the moods in the studio were beginning to stabilize. The boys, still practicing, were sounding more like their usual goofy, carefree selves. Though I didn't want to serve as a distraction as I was doing before, I opted to briefly check up on them.
Upon my arrival, Paul immediately noticed me and his body stiffened. He looked me in the eye apologetically. I bit my lip, hoping he was receiving the same message from my guilty gaze. I looked around for John but he was nowhere to be found.
"He went home," Mr. Smith elucidated, reading my mind. "Said he needed to run home and get something. Seemed pretty urgent..."
I nodded, though confused. Not wanting to disturb the current flow and peace of the session, I decided to quietly step back into my office.
***
When I came back out, as opposed to much earlier, the studio was empty and quiet. I took a deep breath, releasing all the tension that had been building up inside me all day. As always, however, my reprieve was not meant to last long...
I felt a light tap on my shoulder, causing me to jump and yelp in a girlish manner. I heard John chuckle.
"Sorry, love, didn't mean to startle you." I turned around to see his face, grinning boyishly as ever. Though my outward stare was vacant, my nerves were already racing.
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I...kinda lost me cool there earlier but hopefully this will make up for it some. I wrote you something..." he pulled out a few ripped pages from his jacket pocket and handed them to me. "I was going to show it to you this morning but then I realized I forgot them. Don't show the others!" he lightly patted me on the arm with a wink and then scampered off.
Hesitantly, I opened up the folded pages. What unfolded before me was a bunch of John's scribbles and doodles, each dated with dates from the past week or so. On the back of one page, signed with today's date, I spotted my name and proceeded to read what it said.
"That Abbie Greene.
I love her hair, her grace, her freckled face.
I think I love that Abbie Green.
Though at times she is quite mean.
I don't have much choice but to fall.
That Abbie ain't too shabby, all in all."
My heart raced and my face went hot as I saw that most of the entries had some mention of me (oftentimes, referring to me as 'me Gail'). I even saw a rough sketch of me in my beret. Suddenly, I felt a certain flutter in my stomach that I couldn't identify.
I questioned if all this was real and truly meant something or if he was just screwing with me again. I thought all these childish quarrels with Paul had been a game to him. After all, both Paul and John were known to bring each other's egos and competitive streaks out. Could it be something deeper than that?
I bit my lip, deep in thought. John is undeniably good-looking but I only see him as a friend. Besides, he has a wife. And a kid. It was hard enough trying to navigate Paul and Jane's situation. And I truly am besotted with Paul. When he drops the arrogant act, we actually have a heart-felt connection.
As I stood there, mulling everything over, I didn't notice Mr. Martin coming up to me from behind.
"Uh, Miss Greene?" he started.
Once again, I jumped with a yelp, making sure I hid the ripped pages behind my back as I turned to acknowledge him.
"Hi, Mr. Martin!" I greeted with a high-pitched voice.
Mr. Martin chuckled and shook his head, "Please, call me George. I just came over here to apologize on behalf of the boys today. I don't know what's gotten into them. We've had many a bird come to and from this studio, but I've never seen them act quite like this before..."
I smiled nervously, "Oh, it's quite alright. It's not the worst treatment I've ever gotten..."
Mr. Martin beamed in return, "Well, I know they mean you no harm. It's just, when they're moody, they have a penchant for saying things they don't necessarily mean, and I don't want you to take it to heart. Trust me, at the end of the day, they're all cuckoo bananas about you..."
"I can see that..." I nodded anxiously, the torn out pages burning through my palms.
***
NOTE: So, another slightly disjointed chapter, but still pretty juicy right? ;) And before anyone says anything, yes, John was that corny. Have you seen those early love letters he wrote to Cynthia? Excuse me while I cry... Anyway, if you've made it this far, I congratulate you, as it only gets better from here on out. Thank you for all the reads, votes and comments! Love you all! Cheers! ♥♥♥