On Loving Paul [McLennon]

So We Meet Again

When John remembered how to breathe again, he took a deep breath. "Paul," he said. "Uh, I - uh - what are you doing here, mate?"

Paul laughed. "Well, good to see you, too, you cheeky bastard."

"Don't get me wrong, it's great to see you." John said. "It's just that... I didn't expect to see you, that's all. Uhm... Why don't you come on in? I'll make some tea and we can, erm, have a chat."

Paul nodded and stepped into the flat. He closed the door behind himself and followed John to the kitchen. "Are Yoko and Sean around?"

"No," John shook his head. "They're in California for the week."

"Oh, that's a shame," Paul frowned. "I was really hoping that I could meet Sean."

"Yeah," John said shortly as he began preparing the tea. "So, erm, you look good."

"Thank you," Paul smiled. "So do you."

They stood in silence after that as John made tea. Then they took their tea, went into the living room, and sat opposite each other. John sipped his tea. "How's Linda?"

"She's good,"

"And the girls?"

"Great,"

"That's good,"

"Yeah,"

The two of them, once again, fell into an awkward silence. The space between them was filled with tension that could have been cut with a knife and words that they both needed to say and hear that were still, after all these years, left unspoken.

~~~

Four years went by that Paul McCartney and John Lennon did not, once again, speak to one another. Paul released more albums and he began to think that maybe he could live his entire life without going back to John, just go on with Linda. John finished the books and put them in a box. On top of the books, he put a note inside that read Should I die before him, these go to Paul and Paul alone.

Paul picked up the phone, though, on November twenty third of 1980. He called John and let the phone ring for a long while....

But John didn't pick up the phone.