And Your Girl Can Sing

Chapter 25: A Day In The Life, Except I'm Not Dating John

It had been two weeks with this arrangement and everything seemed to be working out fine, much to my surprise. When I had first gone back to the Kaiserkeller, I had ridden with Paul, who came to get me. I had explained everything in advance to Mila and Anna. I supposed that Mila had been softened by Anna's news about art school that losing me was a softer loss in comparison.

    "Stay safe," Anna whispered in my ear as she hugged me. I looked over her shoulder at James Paul McCartney glancing around at the decorations on the cafe walls and smiled at his back. "I know I'll be safe."

    During the ride back, it was a quiet atmosphere. Paul and I chatted about the band for a few minutes, and I realized that this was the first time he and I were together, alone, for an extended period of time. I glanced out of the window when the conversation lulled, taking in the Hamburg scenery.

"I've got something to tell you," he said.

"Oh?" My heart skipped two beats, unsure of what he was going to say. A million possibilities flew through my mind and he demolished all of them by saying, "Stu's quit the band."

"What?" I felt my heart rise in my throat and caught my shocked reflection in the mirror, my open mouth elongating my face.

"Yeah, I know," Paul said, looking ahead of him as he twisted the steering wheel slightly. I thought I saw a glimmer of a smile on his face. "Now we don't have a bassist."

I didn't say anything.

"Cora?"

"What do you want me to say?" I said quietly.

"Would you like to be our bassist?"

A tremor of shock ran through me. I slowly turned to look at him. "Me?"

"Sure, love, I mean in the time being until I learn it. It's too late for me to start fumbling around with the bass on stage making mistakes all over the place—" I thought I could a murmur of Stu from him but I wasn't sure "—but we could do with you until I get a hold of it."

My shock faded; obviously Paul wasn't going to just give me the position, it was a temporary one, just a convenient coincidence. I stared out the window with mixed feelings.

    "Cora?" I heard my name being said softly.

    "Hmm?" I slowly looked back to Paul. We were driving in the late afternoon; the sun was streaming through his window, illuminating his face with orange light. The whole thing was strangely ironic, a sepia tinged Paul. I was used to seeing Sepia Paul in photos, not in real life. He seemed so real at that moment.

    "Yer all right, you know that?" he said, looking ahead at the road, smiling a little. "Yer all right. I'm looking forwards to tonight."

    "Paul, you made a rhyme," I said quietly, smiling.

    That statement from Paul was his way of saying sorry and I basked in it for that moment.

    When we got out of the car and I heard the car door slam, my heart was beating a mile a minute. I was back in old territory that I did not leave good wishes with. But the boys were sweet: George, my old friend, Pete, the same as ever, smiling but not saying much, Paul bouncing around helping me and John... John was the same but different, making sarcastic remarks and showing me my room, disappearing right after, leaving me with Paul, who sat on my bed and demanded to know everything about working in a cafe. I took a glance at his baby face and grinned, the awkwardness melting away as I told him stories of waitressing.