Chapter 1
The week before Emma left to Munich, she showed me around London. I accompanied her to where her office was one morning so I'd know how to get to Albemarle Street. While she was at work, I took the time to explore some of London; after all, this would be my home for the next 6 months and as Emma, I would be expected to know how to get around. I scoped out the restaurants that were close by. I figured I'd be eating lunch from time to time in one of them. Emma's friends from school knew she would be going to Germany, so I only needed to pose as Emma while I was at her work. I didn't think it would be too difficult. Emma was creating a guide for me to follow while she was gone. She said working as Brian's assistant wasn't all that difficult. Most of what he asked her to do was repetitive...so she knew exactly what I would be doing. She said she'd make a list of important names and phone numbers so I'd have that handy. Emma told me she also worked as a filter for Brian's phone calls. Between Emma's notes and my common knowledge of what an assistant is supposed to do, I didn't worry much. I was a little more concerned about portraying Emma...it had been years since I had spent much time with her, the longest being our one week vacation in Spain. When we were younger, it was a lot easier because I saw her every day and knew her mannerisms, knew her style, knew how she thought, but now that we had spent so much time apart and taken up such different lives, it was a bit harder...but not impossible.
I studied her all that week and realized my sister hadn't changed that much. She still had her same laugh, her same quirky ways of doing things...her habits when she got nervous or when she thought something was funny.
The day before she left, Emma handed me a notebook filled with notes.
"You'd think I was flying up to the moon with the amount of notes you have in this thing." I said flipping through the pages.
"Don't knock it...it will come in handy...trust me." she winked.
"I'll take a look at it this weekend." I said as I put the notebook down on the coffee table.
"I hate to leave you here by yourself." Emma said. "The whole point of you coming to England was so we could spend time together."
"Don't feel bad...I'm looking forward to living in England and being you for a while...Lord knows I'd like Mirel to disappear...at least for a little." I finished.
"Don't say that." Emma said as she came towards me and gave me a hug.
"Hey...I'm fine." I reassured her. "It'll just be nice to step into someone else's life for a change and ignore all the bad stuff that is happening in my own."
"I don't want to leave you feeling like this."
"Relax...I just get into these sulking moments every once in a while." I lied.
Ever since Nick called off the wedding, I had found myself unhappy and depressed. It was easier to deal with it with Emma because she always knew how to make me laugh, but the truth was that I was still not over Nick and everything that had happened between us was still so fresh. I had silently cried myself to sleep every night since I had gotten to England, making sure Emma did not hear me. Memories of Nick flooded my mind and the pain of what he had done to me lived in my heart.
The next morning, Emma left to Munich.
"I'll call you as soon as I get settled in so you know where you can reach me, ok?' She asked as she said goodbye.
"Sure...don't worry about me. Go and learn great things...remember our world depends on you...future Dr. Sherlin." I smiled as I hugged her.
The emptiness of Emma's flat reflected the emptiness I felt. I didn't go out that Saturday. I stayed in the apartment...messed about with my guitar for a couple of hours...flipped through the TV channels not really watching anything in particular...and slept...sleep was the only thing that took the pain I felt away...so I tried to sleep as much as I could. Sunday wasn't much different from Saturday, except I received a call from Emma telling me she had arrived safe in Munich. It was Sunday evening and the only thing I had eaten all weekend was a bowl of cereal. I forced myself to have another just to keep my strength, but the truth was that I had lost my appetite. It was strange, usually whenever I got depressed, food was what consoled me, so I would binge...but I had never gone through such a heartbreak that my stomach tied itself into knots-until now. I walked into Emma's room and looked into her closet to see what I would be wearing tomorrow morning. Her style and mine were very different, so I opted for a combination of the two, pulling a skirt from her closet and a top from mine. I skimmed through the notes Emma had left me, but I quickly got bored reading where to find things, where to file things, where to mail things, etc. I called it an early night; tomorrow I wanted to wake up early and try to forget about Mirel's life to focus on Emma's.
The next morning, I took the subway to the office and had no problem finding it. I had caught up on some specifics of the office while I rode the subway. I now knew a little bit more of my boss: what to call him, what time he got in each morning, how he took his tea, what time he went to lunch, what time he left the office...
I got to the office about fifteen minutes before Brian was supposed to get there. I looked around and realized there wasn't much to the office....I spotted my desk almost as soon as I walked in. I sat down and looked around. I got myself organized and pulled out the notebook Emma had left for me-just as a reference. I started worrying about someone realizing I wasn't Emma. Emma had told me Brian knew she had a sister, but the fact that we were twins never came up. I just hoped that I could convince him that I was her.
Not long after, I saw the door open and my eyes widened as I realized who it was.
"Good morning Emma."
"Good Morning." I managed to say as it registered that the Brian Emma had been talking about was "The Brian"...the one who managed the Beatles. I couldn't believe she had left out that small detail!
"Emma...I just received the news that Henry Tyler passed away last night from a heart attack." Brian said a bit rushed as he took off his coat and hung it up. "Please send some flowers to this address." he continued as he handed me a piece of paper. ..."and please call Mal to tell him what happened and ask him to let the boys know."
"Uh...the boys?" I questioned.
Brian looked up at me a bit confused. "Yes...you know...Paul, George, John...Ringo? Are you okay?"
"Uh....yes...I'm sorry...the news just caught me off guard. I'll call Mal right away." I said.
"No...forgive me..." Brian said sympathetically.
"No, it's okay...I'll send the flowers and call Mal." I said as I walked back to my desk.
After sending the flowers, I looked at Emma's notebook in hopes she had included Mal's name and number on her important people list. It turns out she had and I made a quick phone call to let him know what was happening.
"Mal Evans?"
"Yes..."
"It's Emma Sherlin..."
"Oh Emma...how are you? I didn't recognize your voice."
"I'm afraid I have some bad news..." I said.
Mal told me he would let the boys know of the passing of Henry and asked me to let him know when and where the services would be.
My heart went out to the family and friends of Henry. I would have to let Emma know the next time I talked with her.
The entire morning was consumed with me making phone calls to find out information about the services and relaying that to a list of people Brian had given me that I didn't even have time to think about where I was and who I was working for. By lunch time, I was worn out.
"Emma, why don't you take the afternoon off. I don't think I'll be coming back to the office anyway. If you'd like I can have Alistair pick you up this evening to go the wake."
"Yes please." I said having no clue how to get to the address that had been given to me.
"Okay, I'll let him know. I'm having lunch with him in a few minutes. I'll tell him to pick you up at 5. I'd like for us to get there a bit early if possible. "
"Okay. Thank you Brian."
"Thank you Emma for all of your help." he smiled as we both walked out of the office. "I'll see you later tonight, then." he said as he made his way down the street while I headed to the subway station.
Sitting on the subway, I thought about the entire morning; so much had happened in such little time. I never thought I'd wake up this morning to such a bitter sweet first day at work. The excitement I had felt when I realized who exactly I was working for was quickly overshadowed by the news of the death of Henry Tyler; even though I never knew him, the idea that this man was somebody's son, somebody's husband...somebody father...it tore me up inside. When I got home, I took a quick shower and rushed to get get ready. I pulled out a black knee length skirt and looked through Emma's closet for a black top. I grabbed a pair of black heals and put on a little make up. I called Emma hoping she could give me some insights on how to handle myself tonight.
"Mirel! How was your first day at work?"
"Why didn't you tell me the Brian you were talking about was Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles."
"I thought it'd be a nice surprise...you've been so depressed lately...I was planning on setting up a meeting...making it seem random, but when you suggested you take over my job...well that plan fell through!" she laughed. "So how was your first day? Did Brian notice anything? Tell me!" she asked excitedly.
"Well...it wasn't that great of a day, actually..." I started as I explained about the news Brian had said this morning.
"Oh I'm so sorry to hear about Henry. I am sure Brian is pretty upset. I didn't know him personally, but he called Brian often and they were working together on some deal."
"Yes...I am going to get picked up by Alistair in a few minutes to go to the service. Who is he?" I asked Emma.
"He's Brian's personal assistant and-"
"I thought you were his assistant..." I interrupted.
"Well technically I'm his secretary...but assistant sounds like a better part time job, right?"
"True...anyway...you were saying?"
"Well he's like the Mr. Fixit for the Beatles...anything that they need taken care of, Alistair is there."
The rest of the conversation consisted of Emma telling me about her first day of training. She was very excited about the internship, telling me what a great opportunity it was and how much she would learn.
Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. Was it 5 pm already?
"Emma, I got to go...I think Alistair is at the door." I whispered into the phone.
"Okay...call me later. I love you."
I opened the door to find a quirky looking man with glasses.
"Hi Emma...are you ready?" he asked.
Hi....yes...let me just get my purse." I said as I grabbed the purse off the kitchen table and rushed out.
We arrived at a the house of who I assumed to be his now widow a little past 5:30pm. There were a few cars parked along the street, but no media that I could tell. I walked in and saw Brian in the entryway. He introduced me to a some people. I realized the viewing of the body was inevitable..it was out of respect that I accompanied Brian. I don't know if it was the events of that day, but I looked down at Henry and I let out a gasp...the man laying there lifeless had a shocking resemblance to Nick! Henry looked a bit older and more mature, but when I looked down, I couldn't help but notice an air of similarity to Nick. I put my hand over my mouth to try and conceal my shock, but I was starting to feel enclosed, having trouble breathing. I needed to get some air.
"Are you okay Emma?" Brian asked noticing my discomfort.
"I'm sorry...I just need to get some air. Will you excuse me?" I said to Brian as I quickly went to the back door that led to a small garden.
I steadied myself with one hand as I placed it against the side of the house.
"Oh my God, Mirel...you need to get a hold of yourself...now you're starting to see Nick...here." I told myself quietly as I tried to catch my breath, I started taking in long breaths to bring my heartbeat down. I closed my eyes and concentrated on calming myself down, but just when I had managed to regain control, I heard a very familiar voice, a voice I had heard on the radio countless times, in interviews... except this time it was directed at me.
"Emma? You alright, luv?"
I looked up to find John Lennon looking over at me.
Needless to say, the effort I had made to bring my heartbeat down went out the window. I felt my heart start racing and I think I may have forgotten to breathe.