𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧

7 - You've Moved On, Haven't You?

June 1961

Lewis stopped asking about John, and she was pretty sure it was the shagging that had shut him up. He seemed to be entirely satisfied with their relationship, now that he could be sure Fiona's devotion lay in no one else except himself. It didn't seem like an entirely healthy way to go about things, trusting good sex as confirmation of her fidelity... but frankly, if it meant they could move on, that Lewis could stop obsessing over John, then she was glad of it.

She'd been getting tired of having to deny her feelings for John, feelings she sometimes wasn't sure were entirely gone. Each time Lewis questioned her, she grew a little less uncertain that whatever thoughts she used to have about John were totally behind her. But she didn't want to think about whatever was left after all she'd been through; she just wanted to move on. She wanted to only feel for Lewis, she had to only feel for Lewis, and so she did.

And now that this period of uncertainty in her relationship with Lewis seemed to have passed, things were looking up. Lewis' opinion of John seemed to have improved as Lewis' trust of Fiona rebuilt itself. She spent most 'early' nights at Astrid's showing him just how much she wanted him, and to her relief he'd relaxed a bit more with the idea of her staying in the Top Ten attic with the boys on the weekends.

Things were getting better for all of them; the Beatles' audience appeared to grow every night as they continued to draw in all kinds of people, everyone from club regulars to random drunks off the streets. Their energy was unmatched compared to any other club on the Reeperbahn, so much so that some of the other bands with residencies would stop in on their breaks to watch the boys do what they did best. They were finally starting to get the recognition they deserved. And instead of letting the attention go to their head, they only let it feed their energy more and more.

Fiona herself had gotten an afternoon job waitressing at a nearby café, around the corner from the Reeperbahn. She'd quit her London job, a decision she'd thought hard about for a good two weeks, ultimately deciding that because she would be staying in Hamburg for an indefinite period it wouldn't make sense to keep her manager back in London waiting.

This gig may not have been quite as clean, and she'd needed Astrid's translations to negotiate her terms with her new manager – but it was money. And, she had to admit, it certainly wasn't boring. Most of the clientele she encountered came staggering in the door all hours of the afternoon, most of them having gotten smashed the night before and gone the rest of the night without sleeping. But they were harmless, and fine to engage with during the day. She was just glad she didn't have to deal with the night customers. This was one of many reasons why she liked her hours – she was able to see the boys play every night, and then have a bit of a lie-in the next day before doing it all over again.

Lewis had submitted several news pieces he'd written to the newspaper office back home in London, none of which he'd let Fiona read, as usual making her and the rest of the world wait to see his writing in print before they saw it at all. He'd also gotten a job bartending, something Fiona didn't believe when he'd first told her. Not only did it require long hours and his continual presence in the Top Ten during the boys' shows, but it was so not Lewis. Maybe there was another side of him she hadn't become acquainted with yet. But if he was willing to go with her, who was she to question him? He was settling into Hamburg, he was working to build a life here, and that was enough for her.

And when she'd first told him she'd wanted to stay in Hamburg even after the boys went back at the end of their residency, he'd been very much on board with that as well. Though it was subtle, she'd noticed his eyes light up, likely because he knew it meant John Lennon would once again be an ocean away.

She had to admit, John's absence would certainly take a weight off her chest too. Yes, they'd gotten on all right since they'd all arrived back in Germany, but there was something she sensed in John that she just couldn't put her finger on. There was still something that wasn't being said – and she was running out of time to say it – because on July 2nd the boys would be back across an ocean, unsure if or when they'd ever be back here again.