Chapter 4
I spent the rest of the evening with John. He introduced me to a few people and I talked with others that Emma had already met. It was amazing how one's social life could change with the right connections. Earlier that night, other than Paul and George, no one had even taken a second look at me and now that I had John with me, everyone was open to conversations.
I had to admit, I had a pretty good time from then on. My time at the piano had been a small setback, but with John's help, I managed to forget about my broken heart for at leat a few hours. By three in the morning, I was all partied out, but more so, sleep deprived. John noticed and offered to take me home.
"Are you sure you're alright to drive?" I questioned. I had seen John with a drink in his hand all night.
He chuckled a little and leaned close to me. "I'll tell you a secret. This is probably my third drink of the night." He smiled.
"What?" I asked confused. "But you-"
"I knew you'd need a ride home...so I planned accordingly." He winked.
"Smart thinking, but I can call a cab."
John laughed. "Come off it, luv. I promise I am not as bad of a driver as Paul claims."
We let the boys know we were leaving and Paul offered me a room to stay in so I wouldn't have to leave so late.
"Thanks Paul, but I can't. I have Charlie waiting for me." I said.
"Who is Charlie?" John asked.
"Charlie is a dog I am taking care of. I have to get home to take him out." I answered.
So we left and I was relieved my memory served me right. I had paid extra attention tonight when Mal had driven to Paul's house and I was able to direct John to my flat. I was honestly not very impressed and unfortunately had to agree with Paul's claim about John's driving. When we got there, John accompanied me to take out Charlie and then walked back inside. As I was taking th least off Charlie, the phone rang. I looked over at John with a look of concern.
"Who would be calling this late?" I asked with worry as I picked up the phone.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Mirel! Where have you been?" I heard Emma's voice on the line. "Are you OK?"
"Yes." I said, but before I could continue, she started talking again.
"I've been calling all night! I got this bad feeling earlier tonight concerning you and so I called and you never picked up. I was worried! What happened to you tonight? Are you sure you're OK?"
"I am fine. I went to a party tonight."
"With who?"
I looked over at John and covered the receiver. "It's my sister." He nodded and smiled. "Just give me a minute." I said.
"Sure." He said and started walking around the living room. He went straight to the bookcase at the other end of the room and I took advantage of the distance between us to inform Emma of what was going on. I turned around and talked softly into the receiver.
"There was a party at Paul's house. I was invited."
"Oh. Everything OK?"
"Yeah I'll tell you about it later. John's here."
"OHHH!" She said laughing. "Well no wonder you can't talk."
"Exactly. But tell me..." I said lowering my voice to a whisper. "What do they know about your personal life? I don't want to screw anything up." I said, looking back at John who now had a book in his hand and was reading the back of it.
"Ummm...not much. They know I'm a student, but not that I study medicine. They don't know anything about my dating life...uhh...they know that I have a sister, but not that we're twins. Come to think of it, they don't know too much about me. Usually when we've talked it has been about their work or current events....that kind of thing." Emma finished
"Well that makes it easier."
"I'm glad to know you are OK; I'll call you tomorrow to see how it went."
"Okay...we'll talk later today. Love you."
I said goodbye to Emma and then turned towards John.
"Everything OK with your sister then?" John asked noticing I was off the phone.
"Uh huh." I said as I headed towards the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"No thanks, luv." He responded. "So, I see you do a lot of reading. You have a pretty nice library set up here."
"I read when I have the chance." I said. I was rather thankful that I had read about half the books that Emma had on her bookshelf while I was in college. At least I could hold my own on discussing them if I had to.
"I noticed you have A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift. How did you like it? I've been trying to get a copy of it so I can read it, but haven't had the chance yet." John said.
"The allegories he uses for the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and the Church of England with the three sons are amazing. His views on Christianity are very interesting. It is a good read." I answered. I was grateful I had read this book my last year in college and was able to give my opinion of it to John. "If you'd like, you can borrow my copy..."
"Thanks Emma...I'll take you up on that It has been on my reading list for some time. I noticed you have an interest in science and medicine too." John commented.
"Yes. You can say that." I said trying to avoid THAT conversation. When it came to those subjects, Emma was the one who really had something to say about it.
"Its kind of a rare thing..." John started.
"What is?"
"It's a rare combination...someone who likes math and science and at the same time has a liking and talent for the arts. Usually it is one or the other."
I smiled uneasily. If John only knew that this combination that was so rare was actually nonexistent. John was seeing a combination of Emma and me and it was true...we complimented each other in the areas the other lacked.
"You play guitar too?" John raised an eyebrow as he spotted my guitar propped up against the corner of the room.
"Well...a piano is too hard to travel with." I joked.
He laughed and walked over to it. "May I?"
"Sure." I said. The thought of John Lennon ever playing my guitar was a little far-fetched, but then again, I had just played on Paul McCartney's piano earlier tonight, so anything was possible apparently.
John sat down on the couch and I made myself comfortable on the opposite end.
"Can I ask you something?" John started as he strummed softly on the guitar.
"Sure."
"Why were you singing that song tonight up at Paul's house?" he said as he looked at me.
I sighed before answering. "I guess that is the type of song a broken heart inspires one to sing."
John waited a second to ask me the most dreaded question. "So what happened?"
I had been trying to avoid this question, but now that it was out in the open I had to answer it.
"I was about to get married a few months ago to a guy I had dated for nearly 7 years. A couple of weeks before the wedding, he called it off...with no real explanation. So yeah...that is pretty much what happened." I answered.
"I'm sorry to hear that luv. I didn't even know you were dating anyone, let alone planning on getting married." He said as he stopped playing the guitar.
"We kept it kind of private..." I said trying to give a reason as to why he had never heard of Emma's engagement. "I just don't understand how someone can say 'It's not you, it's me.' You know? That is the lamest excuse in the book." I said to John.
He thought about it for a minute. "Well..."
"Wait...you think that is a valid reason?"
"Emma...I can't say anything for this guy, but I will tell you this...Cynthia hasn't done anything wrong. She is caring and loving...she does everything to try to please me...so it is not anything she does or doesn't do...in the end, it does feel like 'It's not her, it's me'. I am the problem in the relationship. I am the one that doesn't seem to be satisfied with what she does and gives...and any guy would be a fool to not be grateful to have a girl like Cyn, but..." he started to trail off. "But at least this guys was honest with you...he didn't cheat, he didn't lie...he was honest and didn't drag you into a marriage in which you wake up years later and realize you have nothing in common with the person you married...I guess his biggest mistake was waiting so long to tell you."
I thought about what John was telling me. I had never thought about it that way...and I could tell that John was talking from personal experience with his own wife. It was something that I would have to think about at another time, but John's words somehow made the hurt I felt over what had happened a little bit easier to deal with. The pain and heartbreak was still there, but hearing the other perspective was comforting. I hadn't seen Nick or given him the time of day after he called off the wedding, so in a way it was a bit of closure to hear John's words.
"It's just hard....because regardless of everything, the pain is still there and my heart is still broken." I said softly.
John didn't say anything. Instead he started strumming on the guitar and I recognized the notes as Jimmy Buffet's "What becomes of the broken hearted." John didn't sing...there was no need for lyrics...the melody was enough to say everything that was going on in our hearts...we were both heartbroken in our own way. I closed my eyes and listened to him play. I don't remember John finishing the song. The next thing I knew, I felt John by my side.
"Let's get you to bed Emma."
I opened my eyes slightly to see such a tender look in his eyes, but my eyes were just too heavy to keep them open. I vaguely remember John picking me up and telling me to hold on to his neck. I placed my head against his chest as he carried me into one of the rooms and laid me on the bed. He took off my shoes and pulled the cover from the other side of the bed over me. I tried opening my eyes again.
"Sleep luv." John said as he brushed some hair away from my face and left the room.
The next morning I woke up and looked around. I was in Emma's bed. For a second I was a bit confused but then I remembered John carrying me in. I stretched and got up. I was still wearing the dress I had from last night and I tugged it down before walking into the living room. I saw John asleep on the couch. He was sprawled out, resting his head on one of the cushions. His shoes were on the floor and next to them was Charlie. I smiled at the sight. I quickly went into my room to grab some clothes and then walked back into Emma's room to take a shower. I put on a pair of jeans and a black top. I brushed out my hair and slipped it into a pony tail before heading back out to the living room. John was still asleep and although I didn't want to wake him, my stomach had been grumbling for the last ten minutes. I decided to make french toast that morning. In the middle of me cooking breakfast, I heard Charlie's collar shake and turned around to look over at him. John was stretching as he got up from the couch.
"Good morning luv."
"Good morning."
"Did you sleep alright?"
"Yes." I answered. "Thank you for taking me to the bedroom, but you should have grabbed the other room instead of sleeping on the couch."
"Don't worry about it....it wasn't half bad...I've slept on worse things." He winked. "So what are you making us for breakfast?" He said as he came into the kitchen to take a peak.
"French toast and eggs." I replied. "But before you can eat, I need you to do me a favor...please?" I said batting my eyelashes.
"What is it?" He laughed.
"Can you take out Charlie?" I asked.
"You do realize I am not a dog person.. cats on the other hand...now those are independent beings...none of this having to take them out for walks."
"Well just your luck...I am a dog person...and either you take Charlie out or our breakfast is going to get burned.
"Fine...I'll be right back." John said as he reluctantly took the leash and walked Charlie outside.
John and I had breakfast that morning and it was so nice. Ever since Emma had gone to her internship, I had eaten breakfast by myself and most meals for that fact. It was nice to have someone to converse with. John and I talked about the party last night and their upcoming tour. He told me he wasn't very excited about doing it because their music suffered a lot when they were on tour, but he understood it was something that needed to be done.
After I had cleared the table and done the dishes, John and I both walked back into the living room. John put on his shoes and grabbed his coat.
"Thanks for breakfast Emma...it's been a while since I've had a home cooked meal...it's been a long time since I've had breakfast." He laughed.
"Sure." I smiled. "Any time."
John started hesitantly heading towards the door. "Don't forget to take the book." I said as I spotted the book he had picked out from the bookshelf last night. I walked over to him and handed it to him.
"Oh yeah....thanks!" He smiled. "So ummm....what will you be doing today?" John asked a bit timidly which surprised me. John didn't seem like the timid type.
"I don't know...probably take Charlie to the park or something. Nothing exciting."
I waited for John to ask me if I wanted to hang out with him today, but instead I got a " Oh." from him.
He stayed there without opening the door. I could feel he didn't wanting to leave, but he had been the one to grab all his things and take the initiative to leave.
"What about you? What are you going to do?" I finally asked to break the tension that was beginning to fill the room.
"I have to go to Blackpool...meet Cynthia there...she's staying with her mum."
"Oh." I replied. I had hoped my response didn't sound as disappointed as I felt. I had half heartedly expected John to ask me to spend the day with him after his hesitation to leave, but apparently that wouldn't be happening. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." I said trying to smile.
"Yeah..." he said sounding not at all convincing. "I should head out then..." He said finally opening the door. "Thanks for everything...letting me crash here...breakfast...the book."
"No problem...have a safe trip." I said as he took a few steps out the door.
"You uh...have fun with the dog." He said.
I nodded. "I will."
I saw John head towards his car before I closed the door. I leaned against the closed door and sighed. "Have fun with the dog." I repeated John's statement. "That is what my life consists of now...hanging out with the dog. Back to reality Mirel..." I said to myself.
Charlie walked towards me and sat next to my feet. I knelt beside him. "What am I going to do when I have to give you back on Monday?" I asked him as I patted his head. He nuzzled against me. "I won't even have you to hang out with...what a sad sad life I lead..." I got up and grabbed the leash. "Well, let me enjoy you while you're here...let's go to the park."