Chapter 2
By eleven in the morning, the next day, Cynthia was doing her last minute packing. Julian was off at a neighbor friend's house and John managed to get some time off to see Cynthia go off on her holiday. John, dressed, was lying on their bed, staring at the ceiling while Cynthia was rushing around the house, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. When Cynthia came back to their bedroom, John decided to ask a question out of curious wonder.
"Cyn? Did you have any affairs outside of our marriage?"
Cynthia stopped what she was doing, she was surprised that John asked that kind of question. But then again, a couple of months ago, John confessed that he had many affairs during their entire relationship, before and after their marriage.
"Hell no, I did not have any affairs. There had been many flirtations, but none to jeopardize our marriage," responded Cynthia.
John felt pleased, and he knew too well that she was telling the truth. He flashed back into their early relationship, when it was young, innocent and pure. He was really in love with her and he was extremely possessive, because she was his golden prize and he was proud to show her off, careful about having other fingerprints that are not his own onto her. Also, he knew that she was telling the truth about flirtations, for she, only a few months back, flirted with friend Billy J. Kramer at their "Magical Mystery Tour" party, all really because he was making a pass at Patti Harrison, the wife of his friend and fellow band mate, George. Those old feelings of possessiveness came back to him that night, for he was angry, but then so was she- he was going after her good friend- how dare he? But now, there's this complicated situation that he's in: his growing feelings for that weird artist, Yoko Ono.
All of the sudden, John jerked up in response of a sudden closing of a suitcase - Cynthia has just finished packing and Les Anthony, their chauffer, was here to take her to the airport.
"Okay sweetheart, I'm off! Take care of Julian and yourself, and remember, Julian is allowed to stay with Dot in case you decided to come home late, and there's some cold cuts and some leftovers that you can easily heat up in the stove," said Cynthia, telling John what he should know while she's gone. John stayed where he was, on the bed, he could hear Cynthia rumbling on about Julian and food.
Cynthia realized that John wasn't following her, but didn't stop to ask questions; she was in enough hurry as it is. Dot and Julian were waiting for her at the front door while Les Anthony came and went to load their Rolls Royce with her suitcases.
"Okay, I'm off," said Cynthia, making sure she has her house keys and knowing that her plane ticket was in safe hands by Jenny, "Goodbye my sweetheart, be a good boy and I will bring you a surprise when I get back, okay?" Cynthia went down to Julian's level and the boy went into his mother's arms.
"I'm going to miss you Mummy," said Julian
"I'm going to miss you too, Julian," said Cynthia, releasing him from her arms and kissed his nose.
Cynthia stood up to hug Dot, who wished her a great time.
"Good bye!" said Cynthia
"Good bye!" said Julian and Dot at the same time, waving madly.
Cynthia went down the walkway to the Rolls Royce where Les Anthony was waiting for her with the door open. Cynthia climbed in and Les Anthony shut the door after her. He came around to the driver's seat and drove off. Cynthia waved her final goodbyes to her son and housekeeper; her husband didn't even bother seeing her off.
John lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and hearing the commotion downstairs. He could hear the Rolls Royce leaving with his wife in it. A few minutes later, the phone rang, interrupting his confused thoughts. It was Paul McCartney.
"John? We need you over here at Abbey Road- we need to discuss a few songs," explained Paul
"Okay, I'll be right over," assured John.
John got up and went to Abbey Road. He thought that his unsure feelings for Yoko can wait later.
For the next coming days, John was really busy, recording with the Beatles, trying to promote their record company, Apple, signing new artists, trying to tell with money and the death of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, and taking care of Julian with Dot's help while Cynthia was away. During the hectic schedule, John was still thinking about Yoko.
On the eve of Cynthia's return, he thought that it was now or never with Yoko Ono. He needed to know for sure if these feelings for Yoko were either real or just a fluke. But he didn't want to face her alone, so he went to the phone, calling his childhood friend, Pete Shotton.
"Hello?" answered Beth, Pete's wife.
"Hi Beth, this is John, is Pete there?" asked John.
"Oh hi John, just a second," Beth told him, putting down the phone down.
John could hear Beth calling out her husband, telling him the John's on the other line.
"Hello?" Pete's voice responded, a bit out of breath
"Hey Pete, what do you have planned for this evening?" asked John
"Well, not much, just spend some time with my wife and my son, why?"
"Well, Cyn's out on a holiday with Jenny and Alex, and Julian is going to spend the night at Dot's home, so I will have the house to myself, so I was wondering that I could invite you and another friend over," explained John.
Pete was silent for a minute, obviously thinking his plans over. "Well, I don't see why not," said Pete. "I'll be over around six PM."
"Perfect, see you then!"
After Pete and John hung up, John picked up his address book and found Yoko's number. He took a deep breath and picked up the phone. He thought that it will be best if Pete was around to make him feel more comfortable around Yoko.
"Hello?" answered a voice.
John froze.
"Hello?" said the voice again... Yoko
"Hi, um, this is John Lennon, from the Beatles... we met at that art gallery nearly a year ago?" John stammered.
"Ah yes, John Lennon, I remember- how may I help you?"
"Well, I'm holding a small, very small, gathering, and I was hoping that you can come over. I mean, you were gracious enough to send me a copy of your book, 'Grapefruit', and you have been over a few times, so I thought that you can come over and just talk," explained John.
Silence.
"Hello?" John quickly asked, so that she wouldn't hang up on what could've been a prank call.
"I'm still here, I'm just thinking about it, and I suppose that I can come over. My husband and daughter are in France, so I will be lonely," said Yoko
"Oh, perfect, because my wife is on her way to Greece and my son is going to spend the night at our housekeeper's home- he often goes there anyway, so it's not a too big of deal," said John.
"All right, I'll come, what time do you want me to be there?" asked Yoko
"Around six?"
"That's fine."
"Okay, great, see you then!" said John
"Bye," said Yoko, hanging up.
Whew! John thought as he hung up the phone. Well, that didn't go as bad as I expected, did it? Maybe it will help! John thought to himself. Well I guess it's time to tell Dot that Julian will be spending the night at her house...
[Next Chapter]
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