You Really Got A Hold On Me

A Taste Of Honey

It had been two weeks or so since Paul had come round for tea at mine and met Dad properly and I think its safe to say that Dad has given me the thumbs up, in other words I had his approval. Which to be honest, was a huge relief for me because I don't know what I would have done if he didn't, I couldn't have possibly gone to back to sneaking around behind his back now that he knew about Paul - he would have been on the case straight away.

After that Paul had been coming round to mine and I going over to his. Dad became comfortable seeing Paul around the house and it felt natural now when Paul knocked on the door and Dad answered it, chatting to him a bit as he waited for me to come down and meet him. I was always welcome at the McCartney household too, Jim was always friendly, offering me a cuppa and chatting about this and that, asking how Dad was and such. He also mentioned that he would love to meet Dad and I promised him I would bring him over one day and they could meet whilst I hung out with Paul. Two fathers who were both bringing up kids on their own and without a wife around, no wonder they wanted to meet, I guessed they could use the company, and a friend, and who was I to deny them that?

As for Paul and I, Paul had promised to take me on another special date just as soon as he had the dough saved up. He said after a couple more shows with the boys he would have it. I found it so sweet of him that he was using the money he got from shows they played for a date for us and I tried to tell him that it was alright, that he didn't have to do that but he was insistent, as always. Speaking of the boys, the band had dispersed with the name 'The Quarrymen' altogether seeing as John was no longer at QuarryBank (he had left the school before we had met him). And slowly the skiffle craze that had infected Liverpool and had been largely active when I first met Paul, was dying down and rock and roll was all the rage now. The boys had started to move to electrical means, getting amps and electric guitars and all that jazz. It seemed like they were still searching for the right name but as I mentioned before, at the minute the only name they had was 'Johnny and the Moondogs'. It was common at this time for all groups to have a name like this - like 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows' and I think it was obviously felt that John was the natural leader and so it was his name that came first as it were. 

But anyway, back to the present day and it was Saturday morning. I had no plans yet for the day so I rose sleepily and made my way downstairs. Dad wasn't around so I figured he had gone to bed, Friday nights were always busy for him and I was sometimes surprised how he didn't fall asleep at the wheel, as a bus driver he didn't make much and the work was boring but he never once complained. When Mum had been around he had been the local milkman, delivering milk to all the houses in the surrounding areas and he was happy, always cheerful and whistling but I guess those days were behind us now as everything seemed a little bleaker without Mum around. 

I didn't want to wake Dad so I made my own breakfast in the kitchen, pouring some porridge oats into a pan and warming it on the hob. 

Then the gentle sound of the hob accompanied by the quiet closing of the cupboard door as I got my bowl out and tried to make as little noise as possible was suddenly interrupted by the loud ring of the telephone in the hall; The noise intruding on my quiet efforts like a barging bull in a china shop. I quickly ran to the phone to pick it up as soon as possible, in an attempt to restore the quite of the lower floor so as not to wake my sleeping father. I grabbed the receiver and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Michelle? It's me! Why are you whispering?"

"Shhhhh because Dad's sleeping" I hissed.

"Ohhh okay, sorry" she apologised, "I called because I want to tell you that John came round this morning and said he had a new idea for a song they should try out so we're going over to George's house and Paul said he's coming to pick you up so be decent" she laughed, I could almost see her winking at me from the other end of the phone.