I Learnt To Love In Liverpool | George Harrison ✅

♥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲-𝐎𝐧𝐞 ♥

9th October 1975

Emeraude's POV

"Answer the phone, Nance!" I called from the kitchen, my arms covered in flour up to the elbow. Nancy sighed and put her pencil down. She got down from the breakfast bar and went to get the phone, which was in the hallway.

"Hello?" She asked the person on the other end. "No, she's busy right now... who is this?... oh, hi, Uncle John... I'm nine, now... I can get her for you, don't go anywhere." I heard Nancy coming back to the kitchen, her slippered footsteps echoing through the rooms as she walked through them.

"Uncle John, huh?" I asked when I heard her approach me.

She hummed in reply, "he said it's important."

"Alright, thanks, Nance." I wondered what John would want - he hardly ever called, and when he did it was usually to ask George if he would play on a new track. I washed my hands quickly and then put a tea towel over the bowl with the dough in it, leaving my bread dough to rise.

"John?" I said by way of a greeting as soon as I picked up the phone.

"Hey, Em." John sounded different; more happy, somehow. "Nancy's grown up, hasn't she? The last time I spoke to her, she was -"

"Seven." I answered, "that was two years ago. You haven't rung since then, what do you want?"

"Oh come on, Em," John replied, sounding disappointed, "don't be like that... how are my boys?"

"They're not your boys, and you know it." I answered bitterly, "don't ever think that they are, or refer to them as that." I paused, "you've never given them anything -"

"I gave them life -"

"No!" I snapped, feeling my head begin to ache because of how stressful dealing with John was, "I gave them life. You've given them nothing."

John sighed, "whatever, Em, I didn't call to fight -"

"Then what did you call for!? Because it seems like you only ring me and George when you want something, and I'm sick of it."

"Yoko's had a baby." He answered suddenly, but in a monotone voice. I was silent.

I knew that John and Yoko had been trying for a baby for about six years, and that they had lost several in that time. I knew how happy John would be now that he had the chance to be a dad for real, but a small part of me wondered how long it would last.

"Em?" John asked after a minute or so, "did you hear what I said? Yoko's had a baby - I've got a little boy, Em. We've called him Sean."

"T-that's..." I coughed slightly, clearing my throat and gathering my thoughts. "That's great, John. That's really amazing, I'm happy for you." Are you going to abandon that son, too?

I bit my tongue, physically restraining myself from adding my snide remark onto the end of my sentence.

"That's good, Em, I'm really glad that you're happy about it." John sounded like he felt awkward. I wondered why.

"Yeah," I deadpanned, "congratulations to you both, I'm sure you're -"

"Ah, come on, Emeraude," John said, a slight Scouse twang to his words. For a split second, I could almost imagine that we were the two teenage best friends back in Liverpool; him in Woolton and me in Allerton. "Don't be like that."

"I'm not," I answered, "I'm happy for you... I'm just wondering how long it will be before you abandon this baby as well -"

John sighed, "I didn't call to fight with you, Emeraude, I called because I wanted to ask if Dhani and Julian would come over for a bit."

"What?" I asked incredulously, practically having to pick myself up from the floor. "You want my two sons - an eleven year old and a twelve year old - to embark on a ten hour flight to New York?"

"Our sons," John corrected, "and I want them to meet their brother -"

"Sean is no more their brother than Yoko's daughter is their sister!" I hissed.

John sighed again. "A'right, Em, a'right... don't send them over, then. Like you said, they're your sons, so -" He sounded defeated. I imagined him hanging his head in resignation.

"Mine and George's." I answered him, malice in my tone. "Not yours." I hung up the phone and took a deep breath before I took my hand off of the receiver and then turned, practically jumping out of my skin when I saw Nancy standing there.

"Who's Sean?" She asked.

"Um -"

"What did Uncle John want?"

"He -"

"Is he coming to visit soon?"

It had been five years since any of the children had last seen John in person, but they all still missed him dearly. It hurt me that he didn't care enough to call them every once in a while; particularly Julian and Dhani. He should at least make the effort to call them every few weeks, or -

"Did Auntie Yoko like her birthday card?"

I sighed, going over to Nancy and kneeling down so I could talk to her. "Nancy, she isn't your auntie - you know that. I didn't ask about the birthday card. Sean is Uncle John's new baby, and he was ringing to tell us about him and to ask if Julian and Dhani would go over and meet the new baby."

Dhani, in a complete 360 from his usual behaviour, had told Nancy that he and Julian weren't really George's sons about two years ago. I had been furious with him for it at the time, but with hindsight, I supposed that she needed to know.

We weren't going to tell Jack yet, since he was still only five and a little young to understand the concept of adoption and biological children.

"Is he coming over here if Dhani and Jules aren't going to him?"

"No, dear." I paused, straightening out the cardigan that she was wearing, "and... they're not not going to New York to meet Sean, it's that I have to talk to your dad about it first - and I don't really want to send them on such a long trip by themselves -"

"So are we going to New York?" Nancy asked, her excitement very quickly growing until she was clenching her fists in anticipation.

"I have to talk to daddy." I repeated sternly, "but if he's okay with it, then maybe -"

Nancy squealed and ran off upstairs, quite possibly to pack her bag for a trip that may or may not have been happening.

I sighed and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of my dress. I hoped that she didn't get her hopes up, because I knew that George didn't particularly enjoy long flights, and he would be even less eager to take Julian and Dhani over to see Yoko and John. Whilst he had previously worked with John on musical projects, he loathed Yoko, and I knew that the thought of spending a few days in her company would be one that would fill him with dread.

I went to go and check on my bread dough, my head aching from the conversation that I had just had with John, and the thought of the conversation that I knew was to come with George, Dhani and Julian.