Chapter 28: Birthday
11:38 AM, February 25, 1965
Delilah's POV
I turned my head and opened my eyes, wincing as the sunlight flashed across my face. The pain in my abdomen had subsided and the bleeding had stopped entirely yesterday morning. Sure, I was sad about losing the baby, but the worst was when the doctors told me I'd never be able to successfully have children.
I cried for a night before accepting the news. There was always a bright side, in my opinion. It just so happened that the bright side here was that John and I could have all the unprotected sex we wanted without having to worry about getting me impregnated a bunch of times.
I'd put the whole thing behind me and was slowly getting back to my normal self. The boys were all being an enormous help and I often found myself shooing them away because I felt like such a huge burden. And I'd also been recieving a bit of help from Jane, Maureen and Pattie; Paul, Ringo and George's girlfriends. The four of us met the night after my miscarriage. They came up to my room with flowers, cards and condolences and we'd immediately hit it off. And now for the last 2 days, we'd been planning for George's birthday.
I glanced at the clock and turned to a sleeping John, ruffling his hair.
"Johnny, wake up", I whispered.
He grunted and grabbed my hand, cradling it to his chest he peered at me with one eye through his hair.
"Helloo, wake up, sleepyhead!", I sang, smiling stupidly and retreating my hand to pull away the blankets.
"Hey!", he protested, sitting up and glaring at me playfully.
I shot him an impish grin and stuck my tongue out.
"Oh, you're gonna get it now", he replied mischeviously, lunging forward to grab me.
My eyes widened as he threw me to the bed and began tickling my sides. I giggled uncontrollably and begged him to stop between gasps for air. He ignored my pleas and continued up my ribs, finally coming to a stop as he pinned my arms above my head and looked into my eyes seriously. I tried to free my wrists from his grasp as he kissed me feverishly. His hands kept me anchored to the bed and I began squirming, wanting so badly to throw my arms around his neck and twirl his hair around my fingers.
"Johnny, please", I pouted when he drew back for breath.
"Nope", he shook his head and brushed my jaw with his lips before changing his course and nipping lightly at my neck.
I gasped and arched my back, hoping to cause some friction. He pulled my arms down to my sides as his mouth descended down my body.
"Hold still", he murmured against my collarbone, squeezing my legs with his own to keep me from moving.
I shivered at his touch and was about to complain again when he kissed my lips roughly and pulled away, leaving me stunned as he sprang up from the bed.
"Come on, Delilah. It's time to get dressed. We can't just lay around in bed all day, you know", he teased, winking at me as he disappeared down the hall.
I scowled and got up from the bed, crossing the room to pick out a dress. I scanned the closet rack, flipping through every dress while silently judging them in my head. After coming to terms with the fact that I didn't own any particularly fabulous dresses, I decided on a simple black number that fit me in all the right places and stopped just below my thigh.
"Lookit you, my little vixen", John whistled from the doorway, hair still wet from the shower.
I spun around dramatically and blew a kiss, sauntering over to him. I draped his tie around his neck and pecked him on the nose before promptly slipping past him to fix myself up in the bathroom.
George's POV
I was rudely awoken by John smacking me in the face with a pillow and snickering devilishly. When I opened my eyes to tell him to bugger off, I was met by the sight of John and Delilah, Paul and Jane, Ringo and Maureen, and my lovely Pattie. They were crowded around my bed in a tight sort of semi-circle with huge grins plastered to their faces. I smiled and they immediately launched into a pitch-perfect rendition of "Happy Birthday", complete with lovely harmonies. It sure was nice having friends who could sing, otherwise I'm sure I would've been cringing.
When they'd finished, Pattie rushed over to give me a cute little peck on the lips and tapped my nose. I squinted my eyes and shot everyone a cheeky grin, telling them to get out before they saw me in the buff. John cringed and whispered something to Delilah, lightly pushing her out the door as she giggled. The other couples followed suit until it was just Pattie and I.
She blushed and made for the door, stopping dead in her tracks when I grabbed her arm.
"You don't have to go", I winked, revealing what I hoped was a seductive smile.
She bit her lip and turned red as a tomato as I pulled her to the bed with me, holding onto her hips as she kissed me gently. Let's just say we stayed in bed for most of the morning and when we returned downstairs, our hair was a mess.
John's POV
We threw George a lovely birthday party. The whole downstairs of Paul's house was decorated with streamers, balloons and a large sign that read "Happy Birthday George". Personally, I thought it was a bit much; they were treating him like a baby. Then again, he was the youngest of us.
The day had gone by according to plan, save for earlier in the morning when Pattie had stayed up in George's room for a few hours. We'd all gone out to dinner with Eppy (our manager) and his idea of a happy birthday was to reward George with a day off from recording. Times were hectic, what with our newest album coming out in a few months and another to follow later that year.
We were at a grand restaurant and Delilah looked absolutely stunning, as always. Her shiny, dark hair flowed effortlessly down her back in a waterfall and the dress she wore accentuated her wonderful curves. I couldn't bring myself to look away.
"John, is something wrong?", she asked, raising an eyebrow and examining herself to see if she had dirt on her clothes.
"No, you're just so gorgeous", I replied flirtatiously, capturing her hand in mine and rubbing my thumb across her palm.
"How 'bout now?", she retorted, crossing her eyes and scrunching up her face as she stuck out her tongue.
"Still beautiful", I said, poking her cheek playfully.
"Easy, breezy, beautiful CoverGirl", she said in a mock-sultry tone, dramatically throwing her head back as she posed, sucking in her cheeks and pouting.
Apparently everyone else at the table had been watching because they suddenly burst out laughing. Delilah jumped and looked at them, bewildered. I snickered as she beamed, standing up and bowing.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week", she said grandiosely, blowing kisses and wiping fake tears from her eyes.
I shook my head and cracked a wide smile as she took her seat again, everyone settling down and returning to their separate conversations.
"You really are something else, you know that?", I chuckled affectionately, walking my fingers up her arm.
"I could say the same for you, Mr. Lennon", she replied smoothly, flashing me a cheeky grin as her hand edged up my thigh.
Paul's POV
I was really ecstatic to see Delilah back to her old self. And I was nearly over her. I'd found love in a redheaded actress named Jane. Whenever I was with her, my thoughts would wander away from Delilah and that made me happy. Though I'd been pining for the girl for nearly ten years, I knew we just weren't meant to be. The way John looked at her and the way she looked at him; God, we all knew they were soulmates. One couldn't live without the other.
Jane had brought me something I needed desperately; love. Delilah loved me, just not in the way I wanted her to. And I wasn't totally sure that what I felt for Jane was love just yet. I had strong feelings for her and they blossomed into something new everyday. I would just wait it out. See where life took me.
As for Geo and Rings, well they were just as happy as the rest of us. On the set of our first film, George had met Pattie, who was a model. She was the sweetest girl I'd ever met and George just adored her. She had straight blonde hair, doe eyes and pouty lips that revealed a child-like gap between her teeth when she smiled.
Ringo had met Mo before we even became known as the Beatles and they'd gotten married a few weeks ago. She was pregnant and had become extremely close with Delilah since the miscarriage. Maureen had dark eyes with the longest lashes I'd ever seen, her pin straight, dark brown hair ended at her shoulders and she had a wonderful sense of humor.
Jane's fiery red hair was cut just down to her chest and her blue eyes sparkled. She had the most wonderful red lips and always smelled like apples. We'd met in 1963 when she conducted an interview with the Beatles. I'd been blinded by my love for Delilah at the time and had only been with Jane since about a week after John and Delilah got back together.
The evening had gone by perfectly. We'd all chipped in and bought George a new guitar and a sitar, plus we were due to leave for the Bahamas the next day for filming.
We'd gone to a club and no one had recognized us, then we went back to my house for cake and drinks. Of course, we all knew Delilah had a slight problem when she was around alcohol (she'd never admit to it, though), and John had to restrain her.
"Delilah, honey, you know that's not a good idea", John's warning voice captured my attention as I sipped at my beer in the living room with Jane.
I peered across the room to find Delilah's outstretched hand snaked around a massive bottle of whiskey and vaguely wondered whose brilliant idea it was to bring it. Jane looked at me and raised her eyebrows, cocking her head to the side in confusion.
Delilah grinned sheepishly and looked down, blushing as she meandered to the kitchen with John's hand on her lower back as they went off to talk. George suppressed an amused chortle and Ringo scratched at his chin, trying to hold back a smile. Pattie and Maureen had the same expression as Jane.
"Delilah...has a bit of a problem when the alcohol starts to flow", I explained, shrugging my shoulders.
"You mean she's a drunk?", Pattie half-whispered, half-gasped in her innocent voice.
"Erm, not exactly. She won't actually start drinking unless someone else brings it out first", George said, throwing back the last of his rum and coke.
"But when it comes out, she can pack it away like no one I've ever seen", Ringo added, his eyes wide as saucers as he smiled nervously.
"Maybe that's why she had the miscarriage", Jane commented quietly, glancing around at us to see our reactions.
"No. She didn't drink once while she was pregnant", I snapped, suddenly feeling defensive.
"Alright, alright. It was just a suggestion", Jane threw her hands in the air.
The room grew much too quiet and it felt as though it were about to get real awkward real fast, but John and Delilah came to the rescue.
"Wanna play a drinking game?", Delilah suggested eagerly, looking around the room to see who was in as John kept a hold on her waist to keep her from getting into too much trouble.
George, Ringo, Pattie and I glanced at each other and stood up, following Delilah as she stumbled down to the basement with John holding her elbow. Once we'd gotten everyone settled down on the various bean bag chairs, large pillows and the one loveseat, Delilah explained the rules of the game to us.
Since Mo, Pattie, Jane and Ringo would have to go home, Ringo sat back on the sidelines. We offered to let Pattie and Jane join in, but Pattie blushed profusely and muttered a "No, thank you", and Jane just shook her head. So it was just me, Delilah, George and John. We'd race to see who could down 5 shots in the least amount of time. The loser would be eliminated. I was the first to be kicked out and soon enough, just John and Delilah were left.
"I bet my money on Delilah", George slurred, poking me in the arm.
"How much?", I asked.
"10 pounds", he stated clearly, smirking. Everyone knew John was going to lose, but I shook George's hand anyway; the bet was on.
"Three, two, one, go!", Mo called enthusiastically.
Delilah had already polished off two of the drinks before John had moved on to his second one. In no time at all, she had all of her glasses lined upside down in front of her, her arms raised in a victory stance as she beamed drunkenly.
I sighed and handed George the money. I looked down to scratch my neck when I heard a loud thump. My head snapped up to find Delilah, pressed against the floor, out cold. John sighed and scooped her into his arms, staggering up the stairs unsteadily.
"Night, everyone", he called over his shoulder tiredly as he disappeared through the door.
"I suppose it's about time we get you girls home", Ringo said, glancing at his watch. It was nearly midnight and a fatigue I hadn't been aware of before washed over me.
Once everyone had said goodnight and gone home, I wandered upstairs and smiled to myself as I drifted off.
