The Gift of Girls

Chapter Nine: John

Another day, another disastrous date.

I won't lie though - I thought of at least fourteen ways this date could have gone wrong. Luckily for me, none of them happened. The morning of the band's second dates was chaotic to say the least. There was so much shouting and dashing about; I felt like I'd been whisked up in a hurricane of confusion! Paul and Ringo were the only ones making an actual fuss. George and I just sat back and watched, feeling sorry for ourselves.

"Can you believe this, John?" George asked me. He had baby Serenity balanced on his knees and was trying to spoon yogurt into her little, heart-shaped mouth - but most of the yogurt smeared all over her face rather than in it.

"What? The mess you're making?" I replied airily.

George rolled his eyes and dabbed at Serenity's face with a flannel. She squealed and protested noisily, but allowed George to get most of the mess off of her dribbly chin.

"You're a little mucky pup, Reeny," George said as he set the mucky flannel down. Then he turned to me, "No, I meant the way Paul and Ringo are acting. It's like they've got massive bees in their bonnets."

"Must have been the honey I smeared in there earlier," I joked.

George wasn't amused. He'd been unusually cranky lately. His frown had become a permanent feature on his face and there was never even a glimpse of a smile on his lips anymore. The only time he seemed genuinely happy was when Serenity was around. He fussed over her like no one's business. Maybe she acted as a distraction from the dramas of his real life?

"Sorry," I said apologetically. "I understand what you mean, though. Paul has been especially irritating lately. He spent over an hour in the bathroom - and he dumped an entire bottle of cologne on himself. He smells like a bloody perfume factory!"  

George wrinkled his nose. "I know. Yuck."

"Yuck," I echoed.

"Uck," said Serenity, thrusting a sticky fist in her mouth.

George's lips crinkled into a small smile, but it disappeared in a hurry. He sighed heavily.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked.

"I just remembered that I have a date as well."

"You don't sound overly enthusiastic about it."

George shrugged. "Gina just isn't my type."

"Then don't go out with her!"

"I don't want to upset you guys... I know how much these girls mean to you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. George was willing to sacrifice his happiness (as well as his time) just so he wouldn't get the rest of us upset? I always knew George was a very generous person, but I never thought he'd be that generous. Up until that point, I'd been planning to tell him that I was considering letting Jodie go. Yet after hearing George's reason for going through with his unfortunate dates...

I didn't have the heart to say anything.

All I could do right now was smile wanly, pat him on the arm, jump to my feet and dash off to my date at Jodie's house. Jodie - and her hoard of furry friends.

* * * *

Jodie pounced and flung the door open before I could knock on the door.

"Hi John," she cried, smiling broadly.

"Hey Jodie," I replied. I peered past her, trying to catch a glimpse of a long furry tail or scampering paws.