Tomorrow Never Knows - Chapter Twenty Nine
Authors: lovely_rita_mm, jenny_wren28, & pennylane_fic
Starring: The Beatles and Maggie Sue
Rating: M for language, implied sex (though none of it is explicit) & implied drug use. Characters used in this story are either our creation, or are historically-based (ie, The Beatles).
Disclaimer: We don't own any of the Beatles, this obviously never happened, and is a complete work of fiction.
"Are you going to tell me what happened with Jane?" Maggie decided there was no point to easing into the subject.
"Nosy little thing, aren't you?" Paul smiled at her.
"Come on, I know you're dying to tell me, so we can dissect every detail."
"You've got to stop confusing me with a bird," Paul laughed and shook his head.
"Spill!"
"Okay, okay! Where shall I start?"
"At the beginning."
"All right, then. It all started in Liverpool on June 18, 1942..."
Maggie smacked Paul on the arm. "Not that far back!"
Paul grinned.
"Jane!" Maggie commanded with a smile.
"Right, so things were going okay between us. Not great, but all right. Until Jane started talking about her next film project, and how she wanted to get home before too long, because she'd gotten a letter from her agent offering her something she really wanted to take. I said I didn't know if I wanted her to take another project just now…"
"You didn't! Paul!"
"I was being honest!"
"You know how important acting is to Jane."
"I'd hoped I was important to her too. I dunno, I guess I just felt like we should be focusing on our relationship right now, and her going off to shoot a film all the way over in America would not be helpful with that."
"Okay, I guess you've got a point."
"She didn't think so. So then we had an argument where she accused me of not wanting to let her have career, and I couldn't really deny it." Paul shrugged and looked over at Maggie, waiting for another rebuke. When it didn't come, he continued, "And then we got onto the subject of kids. I'm ready for them. I want a wife and a family in the next few years. She feels like her career is going well and doesn't even want to think about kids yet. Maybe not ever."
Maggie remained silent, knowing she couldn't really add anything to what Paul had said. She still felt strongly that women had the right to a career of their choosing and to not be pressured into kids, but clearly the problem here was that Paul and Jane were just not on the same page. They didn't want the same things out of life. Maybe they never would.
"Anyway, it was all just arguing, and we didn't settle anything. Jane was so furious she couldn't even look at me by the end. I guess I deserved it. I'm sure you would agree with Jane's take on things."
"To a point," Maggie admitted.
"I'm a northern man, I can't help wanting traditional things."
"So is John, but he's learned to adapt."
"I guess he's a better man than I." Paul was unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
"Honestly Paul, I don't think the problem is so much your attitudes towards women working, as it is that you and Jane just don't want the same things at the same time."
"You're probably giving me more credit than I deserve."
"Well, of course I am," Maggie smiled.
"I don't really have a problem with a woman working, you know. It's just..."
"You don't want your woman working?"
"I guess. My life is chaotic enough. Coordinating two people's busy careers is just beyond me right now."
"I understand." She paused hesitantly, but then decided to go for it. "There's also the issue of all the women you have on the side. Does Jane know about any of them?"
Paul smiled thinly. "I doubt she's completely in the dark."
"You know you're going to have to stop all that, right? Either way you go, you can't keep that up. Once you get serious with Jane, or whomever you settle down with for that matter, you just can't. It's not fair."
"What if I can't do that? If it's too hard?"
Maggie smirked at Paul.
"Dirty Maggie Mae! Perhaps I should have used the word difficult?" Paul wagged his finger at Maggie, and she gave him her best angelic look.
"Maybe it wouldn't be so DIFFICULT if you were with the right woman."
Paul considered that for a minute. "Maybe," he said finally.
"How did you and Jane leave things?"
"She said she thought it was better if we had our own rooms while we were here, and that she might go home earlier than later. Also that I had a lot of thinking to do, and that once I had thought about things, we could talk when we got back to London. She didn't want to do any more talking 'til then."
"I guess Ringo and Mo leaving early gave her the out she wanted."
"Yep."
"And have you been thinking?"
"Yes, but I haven't come to any conclusions. I guess I need more time."
"Well, we've got nothing but that here."
"True."
Paul started picking out the tune of Blackbird again.
"New song?" Maggie asked.
"Do you recognize it?"
"I do."
"Do you like it?" Paul fished for a hint.
"I do. You should finish it."
"Might do. Might do."
"John said you had written a love song too."
"Why Don't We Do It In the Road?" Paul grinned mischievously.
"No, not that one, there was another one," Maggie laughed.
"Would you like to hear it?"
"I would."
"All right then." Paul strummed a few notes and began to sing in a mellow voice:
"Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to I will
It's for Linda! Maggie thought happily to herself.
For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same
Or for the idea of Linda, Maggie amended.
Love you forever, and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart
No, definitely for Linda.
And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you
To me ah, you know I will
I will
Whether it was for Linda or Jane or for some unnamed love Paul thought might be out there, it was a beautiful song, and Maggie was glad Paul had written it.
* * *
"Congratulations, mates!" It was Neil, who had burst into the dining room full of news from England.
"Neil! Good to have you back!" John greeted him.
"What are you congratulating us for?" Paul asked.
"Your Sgt Pepper album just won four Grammys!"
"Which ones?" George was curious even though Sgt Pepper had really been Paul and John's show, and like Ringo he sometimes felt if he deserved an award for Sgt Pepper, it would be for Most Improved Chess Game.
"Album of the Year, Album Cover, Sound Engineering, and Best Contemporary Album," Maggie said automatically. Neil looked stunned, and Maggie winced, realizing that she'd just goofed by knowing something she shouldn't have known. "I mean, that's just a guess," she added, hoping it would be enough to cover up her gaffe. Surely someone had known what categories they'd been nominated in...
"A good one," Neil said. "You're right on all counts."
"Oh," John said. "Well, that's nice." He grinned at Maggie, who was still blushing furiously.
Paul was thrilled, as Sgt Pepper had been his baby, and everyone was happy that Geoff Emerick had gotten an award for his sound engineering work on the album. It was well deserved. The mood amongst the group was high. Champagne was found, and many toasts were made. George was also in a good mood because he'd gotten confirmation that his song, "The Inner Light" was going to be released as the B-side to "Lady Madonna" in just a few days. He felt something in him relax and unlock, and late that night, when everyone else was in bed, he sat out by the pool and finished the song that had been plaguing him for the last two years.
* * *
The next morning George noted with relief that Maggie was the only one up for breakfast. He'd been hoping to find her alone.
"Hey, do you have some time free after breakfast?"
"What's up? Sitar lesson? Or did you want to force me to meditate with you?" Maggie smiled.
"I finished a song. Would you listen?"
"Are you kidding? Of course! Let's go?"
"Don't you want to finish your breakfast?"
"I'll just take it with me!" Maggie grabbed the bread and a piece of fruit and as she got up, a servant whisked her plate away. "Where to?"
"Where are you and Paul always sneaking off to?"
"Oh, you want to see our secret hiding spot, do you? Do you know the secret password?"
"New Beatles Song," George said dryly.
"That'll do! Come on!" Maggie gestured with a grin.
Once they were settled in the sheltered spot by the river, George self-consciously strummed his guitar. "I'm still not sure about some of it, so don't judge it too harshly," he said.
"Don't worry so much. I'm sure it will be great!" Maggie encouraged. Would it be Piggies, she wondered. Or Savoy Truffle? Neither of those songs were that personal, and George seemed unusually uncomfortable.
"All right then. I played a bit of it for you the day you came back from the future. But I didn't quite know what to do about it, and it didn't have words. I got the idea for the lyrics from a magazine I brought with me, and I finally finished the song last night." He looked at Maggie, and she nodded her approval.
He cleared his throat and sang:
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look from the wings at the play you are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
Oh, it was the version from Anthology 3, Maggie breathed to herself. She loved the White Album version, but there was something about the acoustic rendition that was striking. She also loved the original last verse of the song. She wondered why he would change it. Maggie heaped as much praise and encouragement on George as she could, and he grinned and blushed, but seemed to absorb it eagerly. It appeared as if things between her and George were okay once again. She was glad their friendship was strong enough to withstand the ups and downs of life, or at least of life in India.
George was pleased that Maggie liked his new song. Even if she didn't get some things about him, George thought, she got this. It was enough.
A/N: Thanks for reading! The next update will hopefully be next Sunday! We love comments, so please tell us what you think!