July 6th, 1957
I woke up on this absolute glorious day feeling more refreshed than ever.
I did not even have to click snooze once on my alarm clock by my bedside; a first in my entire 16 years of life.
Today was going to be a great day; I could feel it in my bones!
Plus, I dreamed the night before that today was going to be something special. And you always have to listen to the power of your dreams, right?
I jumped right out of my bed like a flash of lightning, excitement filling me and showered quickly.
After showering, I fixed my long brown hair the usual way, natural. The natural look was straight with a mix of curls here and there throughout my entire head. I was thanking God that my hair was super cooperative with me today, another first in my life!
My hair could have a mind of its own sometimes; it was almost frightening. But after praising my hair in the mirror, I ran back into my room and threw on my favorite dress that I carefully laid out the night before.
It was blue that I thought matched my eyes, so, it was my number one choice for obvious reasons. What if I happened to meet the love of my life today or even better, the prime minister! Or the Queen!
You never know what could happen in your life; so, you have to dress to impress on all occasions as I always say.
It was either this dress or it was one from the growing mountain of clothes on my floor that I have yet to sort out and wash. Oh the woes of being the laziest teenage girl in all of Liverpool.
I put on my makeup and raced downstairs to have a quick bite to eat before I headed over to Abby's house.
In my joyous stupor of thinking that I was having a fantastic day, I realized that I had overslept.
A lot.
It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I was supposed to meet Abby to go over to St. Peter's Church at 1:15. Hopefully she buys the "there was too much traffic" excuse, because there was no way I could make it on time at the rate I am going at this morning.
Or should I say, afternoon.
Since John and his band went on at 2, I had no time to waste! "Make haste, Cat, jeez!" I scolded myself aloud as I entered the kitchen, almost running into my dad who was standing by the doorway.
"Oh, good morning, dad." I greeted quietly, slightly shocked by his disheveled appearance.
Even though we live in the same house, I felt as though it had been weeks since I have last seen him.
And he did not look very good today, at all.
"Morning. Why are you so dressed up?" He asked looking me up and down with a look of slight pain in his eyes.
Blue had also been my mother's favorite color so I am sure that my appearance did not help with his coping. His coping that has been going on for too damn long.
"John has his first concert today with the Quarrymen at the church. Would you like to come, dad?" I asked with a glimmer of hope in my eyes, biting my lip.
But I already knew the answer; I really did not know why I even bothered asking him. I held this false hope that maybe just for one day we could go back to our normal life.
"No. I'm staying in today." He mumbled, turning away from me to look out the window above the sink.
"Like always." I whispered, making sure that he did not hear me.
But, secretly, I hope he did. I know that I should not be disappointed because that's my father for you, never wanting to do anything involving me and wanting to seclude himself day after day. Sigh.
"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then," I murmured softly to him, "I'll try to be back around 11 tonight, you don't have to wait up for me."
With a slight nod, he continued to stare out the window. I guess that was my cue to go.
With a sigh, I grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl, threw on my shoes and walked out the door, hopping on my bike to meet Abby at her house.
I really did miss the dad that I used to know.
Pedaling as fast as I could, I reached Abby's house in a record time of 5 minutes, making it there only a little bit after 1:20.
Not too bad, not too bad at all.
My legs may have hurt like hell, but it was better than the hell I could receive from Abby's infamous "where were you, I've been waiting" speech.
She always had a knack for being extremely impatient. Me showing up late, pretty much anywhere, was not an uncommon thing, so it pretty much my fault that she is as impatient as she is all the time.
"Just sign me up for the Tour de France, prime minister." I panted as I silently congratulated myself, throwing up my bike against Abby's white picket fence. I cringed as it made a loud clang against the white wood, hopefully causing no damage to it.
Beads of sweat had begun to form on my forehead that I quickly wiped away with the back of my hand; I did not realize how much I actually exerted myself.
With my legs slightly wobbling from my historic race through the streets of Liverpool, I knocked on Abby's front door. As I stood there waiting, I questioned myself about how I even made it here on a bike with a dress on in the first place. I continue to amaze myself on this great day!
Her door flew open not even 2 seconds after I had knocked. I looked up at her to see her standing in the doorway with a hand on her hip.
"Christ, Cat, I thought you would never show!" Abby scolded me, "But at least I did have the chance to have a nice cup of tea before your lazy arse decided to appear." She chuckled, turning to grab her purse off the hook by the side of the door.
My wonderful British friend for ya, who I might add, looked super elegant with her blonde hair in a loose bun and a flowing green dress that fit her frame perfectly. She always knew how to dress to impress.
"Okay, okay, okay I might be just a tad late but better late than ever, am I right?" I playfully said as I gave her a big smile, lightly hitting her arm, "Plus did I mention the traffic? It was terrible, absolutely terrible. You would not even believe it."
"Oh shut up, you came here on a bike." She laughed as she pointed to my bike against the fence. I should have known she would not have bought that excuse; she is too observant.
"And by the way wow, you look as though you're ready to meet the Queen! Who's the lucky boy? Lennon I suppose?" She teased as she raised her eyebrows, giving me "the look."
"The look" was a thing Abby always did that inherently said, "you know what I'm talking about." I have always hated it because she could always manipulate information out of me that I did not know I even knew about. This time, though, I did not know what she was talking about at all.
"Pshh, can a girl look nice for a change? Plus, I really think this dress brings out my eyes, don't you think?" I said, bringing my hands up to under my chin and blinking rapidly, most likely obviously failing to look cute.
"Christ! Lennon is right when he says you're one of the strangest girls in Liverpool!" She laughed throwing her head back, "Let's leave before you blink out an eyeball!"
"Hey Abs, with the amount you're using Jesus' name in vain, you won't be able to even enter the church grounds! You're on the way to hell my friend!" I joked, imitating our 8th year religion teacher who always reminded us to never use the good Lord's name in vain.
We always hated that man.
"Well, I'll meet ya down there, we can sight see together and maybe do a little shopping." She winked, pointing her finger at me.
With a hearty laugh from both of us, we hopped on our bikes and we were finally on our way to the church.
When we arrived at the church grounds, it seemed as though the entire city of Liverpool decided to show up. People were getting out of their cars, walking with their families, or they were like us, and rode their bikes with smiles gracing their faces as they walked to the entrance of the church.
As we set our bikes down against the wall, I could not help but wonder about how excited or, dare I say, nervous John must be for this performance.
There were so many people eagerly awaiting good music and entertainment. He had to be losing his wits in some sort of way.
Even though he has the biggest ego in all of England and pretended to be invincible, he could actually act like a normal human sometimes and show feelings, believe it or not.
I searched through the crowd for familiar faces when we walked in through the church entrance along with the crowd of people. I stopped looking around when I spotted John's mother standing by one of the tents, looking beautiful as always.
Julia Lennon has always been one of my favorite people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was so easy-going and fun to talk to, not to mention a caring and devoted mother; even with the craziness she and John went through when he was a child.
Grabbing onto Abby's arm to make sure she didn't get lost in the crowd, we started to head over to her. The crowd seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as time passed by, and I was starting to get pretty nervous.
In reality, I grabbed onto her arm so I did not have a panic attack. I have always disliked big crowds ever since I got lost at a carnival Blackpool had back when I was child. I always felt as though I was trapped, like I could never find my way out of it.
It was an irrational fear, really, but I could never seem to get it out of my mind.
When we reached Julia, we were both greeted with a big, enveloping hug. "My, you two look mighty swell today!" She smiled, looking us up and down, "And Catherine Taylor, dare I say that dress brings out your beautiful eyes and figure. Don't let my John see you in that." She winked as she twirled me around with her left hand.
Abby turned to me to give me a look as if to say, "See?" I elbowed her in the arm, rolling my eyes because I knew exactly what she was thinking.
In my defense, I did tell her that my dress brought out my eyes, didn't I?
"Why thank you, Julia!" I thanked her, giving her a big smile, "But in all seriousness, you look even better than I do!"
"And me too! You don't look a day over 20!" Abby chimed in.
"Oh, you two youngsters tug at my heartstrings." She said, putting a hand over her heart.
Abby and I both giggled at her gesture because she was exactly like John.
I loved her ever since John introduced me to her last year. In the short passage of time that I have know her, she grew to be the perfect mother John could ever ask for and a mother figure to me.
Of course, I do not think that Mimi was overly in love with their interaction, but I believe it is only because Mimi would absolutely hate to lose John again to her sister.
Through it all, I was so overjoyed when I heard that he and his mum were finally spending time together again. It was something he had always wanted.
"You girls came just in time, the Quarrymen are just about to go on!" Julia excitedly clapped, pointing to the stage where the boys were standing.
In disbelief, I looked up at the clock on top of the church to see that it read 1:55.
"Wow, we really were cutting it close." I whispered with wide eyes, looking at Abby.
"Ya think!" She scoffed, throwing her hands up.
I shook my head with a laugh and turned my attention back to the stage. I noticed that John was standing with his band, looking a little anxious and puffing a cigarette. I was staring at the back of his head, studying his Elvis-like hair, until he suddenly spun around and locked eyes with me.
His sudden movement shocked me; it was like he knew that I was looking at him.
To cover up my shock and embarrassment of boring holes into his skull, I winked at him and gave him a thumbs up to encourage him and try to make him feel less nervous.
Even if the whole crowd did boo him, he would always have a fan in me. He smiled at me brightly and winked back, visibly relaxing.
Just at that moment, the clock rang, indicating it was finally 2. John looked back at his band and gave an incoherent yell to them, pumping them up as they grabbed their instruments.
Whatever he said, it looked as though he really got their spirits high.
The Quarrymen gathered themselves together and ran up on stage to begin a performance I will never forget.
"'Ello everybody! Ya all look bored to me," John joked as he squinted into the crowd, "Oh wait, that's cause you are and you were just waitin' for us to come on, weren't ya?"
I stifled a laughed at John's attempt to make the crowd laugh, which he achieved with hollers from the crowd.
That was John for you.
With a countdown from 3, the Quarrymen began to perform their first number, "Maggie Mae."
His voice soared through the air like a bird and was extremely pleasing to the ears. If only Elvis was hear to see this!
"As much as Lennon gets on my nerves, I must admit that he has the loveliest voice." Abby admitted to me, pointing to him as he swayed along to the music.
"Told you!" I smiled looking back up at John, moving my body to the song.
John and I locked eyes again as he performed. I took our random, or purely intentional eye contact as a cue to give him a charismatic holler from the crowd as he continued to rock out as he grinned wildly.
When the song ended, everybody cheered and clapped. The consensus from the crowd was unanimous, they were really good.
Julia was the loudest of them all, cheering on her son that seemed to have stolen the hearts of every female there. Even Abby of all people looked a little hooked on the Lennon affect that swept across the crowd.
John shouted out a big thank you to his new fans and continued on with the show by playing "Come Go with Me" by the Del-Vikings.
"Yes, my favorite!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands out. In my happiness, I accidentally slammed someone in the face with my right hand. And it was a hard punch, too. Just my luck.
"Quite a punch you have there, luv." Said a quite handsome young man, with big brown eyes and matching dark brown hair styled much like John's was.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry, how stupid of me," I said worriedly, putting my hands out, "I didn't even realize you there!" I bit my lip, hoping that I did not give this poor bloke a black eye over my excidedness over a song.
"It's okay, it's not every day I get whacked in the head by a bird like you," He charmed with a wink, "The names James Paul McCartney, but you can call me Paul and you are?" Paul greeted, sticking out his hand.
"Not every day I almost knock out a total knock out like you," I blushed, sticking out my hand.
Was I flirting?
"My name is Catherine Elizabeth Taylor, but my friends call me Cat." I took his outstretched hand and shook it gently.
"Cat," He smiled, testing my name and not letting go of my hand, "I am very pleased to meet you."
We continued to shake hands, smiling at each other stupidly until we realized what we were doing and let go.
I blushed wildly and stared at my hand, which seemed to be burning from our contact. He chuckled softly and took a step back from me, looking up at the stage. He then turned back to me, with a soft smile. "You look… stunning I might say, have we met before?" "Thank you, that's very nice of you to say," I blushed, again, looking at Abby for help, "And no, I don't think we have."
"Then I'm very happy I chose to come here today." Paul said, looking at me with a big smile.
I softly smiled at him and looked at Abby again. She had put a hand up to her head and pretended to faint as if she were in the presence of Elvis, aka, her one true love. She then initiated for me to continue on…from the ground…just why.
"So…" I began looking back at him, having no idea what to say.
Then, out of the blue, Ivan Vaughn, John's old mate from school appeared, saving me from a potential awkward conversation.
"'Ello Cat! It's nice to see your pretty face again," He smiled, giving me a quick hug, "This here's Paul. I brought him here to take a look at the band and to meet ya guys," He said pointing to the stage, "This lad's got a lot of talent, I'm hoping that John could let him in the band, ya see?"
"Oh hello Paul, it's so nice to make your acquaintance again so soon!" I laughed, "And this here's Abby, my best friend."
"'Ello, handsome." Abby winked, shaking his outstretched hand.
I quickly elbowed her and laughed a little to fill the silence that followed her comment.
"Yeah…So, nice weather we're having?" I shot a look back at Abby, who shrugged it off and started to giggle.
"It's absolutely beautiful out, Cat," Ivan chuckled, smiling knowingly, "But listen, do ya think you could take Paul to meet John with me after the show? I think he'll listen to ya more than me when I ask him to, ya know..." Ivan admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"Of course!" I agreed, "A person with a lot of talent goes a long way in the music business from what I heard." I shrugged, joking around.
Both Paul and Ivan laughed at my comment, smiling at me. The cute boy thinks I'm funny! Score!
"Gear, thanks, luv! It means a lot." Paul grinned at me. "Anytime, Paul." I sincerely smiled back, butterflies starting to form in my stomach.
He stared into my eyes for a moment till I broke away and looked back at John who had just finished the song.
"Yeah, lads!" Abby and I shouted, cheering them on as they stood on stage taking it all in.
The applause from the crowd was thunderous, indicating that they absolutely loved it. There was a photographer taking pictures of the crowd and of the band, which was very cool, because that means that we would get to cherish these memories for years to come!
John was onstage bowing up a storm, taking in all the adoration he was receiving.
"Come on lads," I nodded towards the church, "Let's go in there, that's where they'll all meet after the show. You can meet them there!"
Abby, Ivan, Paul and I walked into the church after saying goodbye to Julia who was practically weeping from pure joy. I took them to the room where the band had left their belongings.
We all sat down on the few chairs that were there and struck up a conversation until John came barreling in with the band close behind shouting, "We fuckin' did it, boys!"
"That was a lotta fun, we really showed them how to do it!" Pete Shotton shouted with glee, doing a little happy dance, "Even Elvis would be impressed!" He swung his hips around.
I laughed out loud at his little dance, causing John to turn his attention to the group and I sitting near the window.
"Ey there ya are, beaut," John greeted, picking me up and twirling me around, "What did ya think of us?" He looked at me with over exaggerated puppy dog eyes, trying to get, I suppose, the best possible answer out of me.
"Stop that, Lennon!" I giggled, "You guys were obviously amazing!" "Still our number one fan, eh?" John wiggled his eyebrows.
"Your number one on the list! No one else could ever beat you." I smiled, holding up my pointer finger.
"I knew it all along!" He boasted, turning his attention to Abby, "'Ello Abigail, you're lookin' alright today," He teased, "Tryin' to get on my good side now, eh?"
Abby rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I hope that I'm never on what you call a 'good side' of yours, Lennon."
"Your day will come, my child, and you will love it," He bowed mockingly to her. "Ivan, how are ya, ya swine?" He greeted him, turning his attention away from Abby and patting him on his back.
"Mighty fine, Lennon," Ivan said, "You performed well today.
"Ay, thanks mate," John thanked him, "Who the hell is this scrawny lad?" He acknowledged Paul, finally turning his attention to him.
"This here's Paul McCartney. He's a mate of mine from school." Ivan said, motioning to Paul.
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, right? Or can I not trust ya?" John walked over to Paul, "I'm John." He said, putting his hand out.
Paul reached out his hand to John's and shook it. "I'm Paul." He greeted with a smile.
"He can play, John," I blurted in, "And pretty well from what I've heard."
"Oh really now?" John asked, looking at me, "Well, don't just stand there with that dumb look on your face Paulie boy, show the lot what ya got."
Paul looked at me for a moment and I nodded my head, encouraging him to do it. With that, Paul took off his guitar that was slung across his back, put his fingers on the frets and began to play "Twenty Flight Rock."
"Oh I've got a girl with a record machine…" Paul began to sing.
Wow, he is good, I thought, intrigued by his voice and the way his fingers moved gracefully across the guitar.
Everyone else in the room seemed to be in the same boat as me; they seemed entranced by him. I looked over at John and held back a giggle.
In his eyes you could tell that he was really impressed, but he was trying really hard no to show it. That big ego of his always had to get in the way.
When Paul finished out the song with a strong clang of a chord on the guitar, we all applauded, except for John of course, who seemed to be lost in thought.
Paul stood there waiting for John's reaction, shifting his feet under his hard gaze.
"Well, I thought it was brilliant, Paul." I smiled, breaking the silence.
"Thanks, luv," He grinned back, "I'd hoped you'd say that."
This boy's charm is off the charts, I could not handle it! He could sing, play guitar, plus he was incredibly cute, what else could this boy do that I did not know about?
"What do you think, John?" I asked him, inclining my head towards him, hoping that I could at least inspire him to say something.
"How old are ya?" John inquired, using his "authoritative" voice, something he only used when he was trying to act all high and mighty.
"15." Paul replied, putting his guitar on his back again.
"When?"
"Last month." Paul itched his ear, looking very nervous.
I did not really understand why age really mattered in this type of situation. He had talent, so why did he have to play a game of 20 questions?
"Hmm, okay well tick tock, we've gotta go." John huffed, turning his back to Paul, "We gotta another gig in a few, and I bet you gotta another place to be. Come back when you're older and really know how to play." John uttered over his shoulder, completely dissing Paul.
"Let's go." Ivan quietly said, pulling Paul behind him to walk out the door. I watched as Paul left, with his head hanging low.
He looked up at me one last time, sadness written in his eyes. I gave him a soft smile and a wave before he exited through the door.
I could not let John's brash decision lie; he only said those things because he knew Paul had talent!
I scoffed at John, making sure he heard me, and glared at him when he turned around to look at me. "Cat, what's wrong?" John inquired, taking a step towards me.
But I turned away before he could offer any explanation and ran out the door, hoping that I could catch up to Paul and Ivan to explain John's impaired judgment.
"Paul! Ivan!" I shouted, "Wait up!"
Both of them stopped walking and turned towards me at the sound of my voice. "Please," I panted, catching up to them, "Don't listen to that boy, Paul," I explained, "He knows you're good but he won't admit it because of his big fat ego." I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head, thinking back to John's comments towards Paul.
"S'okay, Cat, It's not the end of the world, ya know?" Paul shrugged, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"But it is if you don't join the band!" I interjected, "The sky will in fact fall if you're not a Quarrymen man!"
"A Quarrymen man?" Paul laughed, looking at me with amused eyes.
"Yes, a Quarrymen man," I grinned, "But do not worry you're pretty little mind McCartney, I'll convince him, you'll see!" I spun on my heel and began to run back to the church at a fast pace, "You just wait and see!"
I shouted one last time over my shoulder, speeding away as fast as my legs could take me.
If Lennon does not listen to me and accept Paul into the band, I will make his life a living hell until he does.
Paul McCartney deserves a chance.
A Few Hours Later
"I can not believe you!" I yelled at John while we were walking back home after the band's last gig at the church.
Abby had left before we did, so I had the chance to yell at Lennon without the bias from her.
"You need to let Paul in the band, John. Do it or else."
"Or else what, pussy Cat?" He teased, "You'll hit me? Glare at me? I can handle ya you know."
Okay, I may not be the most imitating girl around, but John must admit that I do have a powerful glare from time to time.
"Let him in the band. You owe it to him," I crossed my arms over my chest, "You were really rude to him back there. I'm disappointed in you, John Winston Lennon, that is not how you treat people you've just met." I told him, looking off into the distance to avoid his eyes.
"Oh sod off, I was not that terrible to him," He said, poking my arm a little, "You only want him in the band so band cause you think he's easy on the eyes." He poked my arm again.
I ignored him and continued to look away.
"Right?" He said, "Cat, you still with me?" He waved his hand in front of my eyes, trying to get my attention.
I remained silent. "Catherine Elizabeth Taylor," He groaned, "Answer me, please, just say anything. One syllable would suffice."
I knew that my silent treatment was working; I could tell he was getting impatient. The 5 year old trapped in his 17 year old body was making himself known.
"Fine," He confessed, throwing up his hands, "You win, McCartney's in the band, now will ya talk to me?"
"Really?!" I happily responded, clapping my hands together. It worked! The silent treatment always works.
"Oh, now ya talk to me," John joked, "It's only cause you got what ya wanted." He stuck his tongue out at me and knocked my shoulder with his.
"It doesn't even matter, it's in the past now!" I laughed, pushing him back.
I could not wait for Paul to find out! It would surely lift his spirits deadened by John's lack of judgment.
"Okay but listen, he'll truly be in the band on one condition." John stated.
"Yes?" I asked, turning back to him.
"Ya gotta come to every one of our shows from here on out, no ifs, ands or buts." He pointed his finger upwards, "Plus no googly eyes at Paul when I'm around. I really don't wanna be seein' any of that." He smirked.
"Oh, stop it!" I said, hitting him in the arm, "But, you have got yourself a deal, Lennon."
I shook hands with him, signing off on our deal. Walking off together into the late afternoon, joking and laughing, we pushed back our previous conversation to the back of our minds. What we did not know, though, was just how important our little deal would be to the rest of our lives.
Pretty corny ending, I know lol! But heres chapter 3 for you! It turned out to be very long so I can't really tell how good it will be, so that os up to you to decide :p But anyways, thank you soooo much to everyone who reads this and pleaseee review, it makes my day a little brighter! Haha I hope you are enjoying this story!