Temporary Secretary

Twenty-Three

2 months later back in London...

The phone rang, knocking me out of the daze I was currently in. I had been sitting at Paul's desk for hours, just staring at the papers in front of me. Paul had a lot of catching up to do after being gone in Scotland for so long. It was now the middle of January and the ground outside was sparsely covered with snow. 

"Hello, McCartney residence." 

The phone now in my hand, I tapped my pen lightly against the desk as Paul watched from the chair across the room where he had been organizing things and planning out the next month's ahead. His next album would be coming out in April, so he was busy planning appearances and arranging promotions and such.

"Hello, is Paul there?" A thick scouse accent spoke.

"He is. May I ask who is calling?"

"It's George. May I ask who is speaking?" 

"This is Amethyst. Here is Paul."

I beckoned him over to the desk.

"Who is it?" Paul mouthed to me.

"George." I mouthed back.

He quickly picked up the phone and halfheartedly sat on the edge of the desk. I put my pen down, running my hands over my make-up free face, tired from all of this catching up. Next time we go somewhere, I hope it isn't for as long. I decided to leave Paul to his call and go check on Stella and James. They were curled up on the couch napping away as the television played on in the background. I fixed the blanket that was around them and made my way to the kitchen, looking for a cup of tea.

_________________________________________________________________________

Paul spoke nothing of the phone call to me. Not throughout the rest of the afternoon, not during dinner, and not after. We tucked the children into bed and made our way to the bedroom we shared, shutting the door behind us. Paul removed his clothes, as did I, and we crawled into bed. I snuggled up to his chest, intertwining my legs with his and rested my arm across his stomach. He held me in his arms, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"I'm assuming you want to know about George on the phone, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe. It was George, you know? George Harrison."

"That's nice. What did he want?"

"Wanted me to come and see him at his house. Have dinner with him, Olivia, and Dhani."

"When will you be going?"

"By you, I hope you mean we."

"We? As in all of  us?"

"Well, of course."

"Well then, when are we going?"

"Friday evening."

"I'm looking forward to it."

I was getting sleepier by the second, which Paul took notice of.

"Get some sleep, beautiful. I love you."

"I love you too, Paul."

_________________________________________________________________

Friday evening came quicker than I thought it would. The kids were dressed nicely, as were Paul and I. I wore a royal blue dress with sleeves that came halfway down my arms. The dress tightened in at the waist, then flared out to reach my knees. I paired it with a pair of black heels, boosting my height several inches. My brown hair was straight as usual, but instead of the usual long eyelashes I adorned to special occasions, I wore the new black framed glasses that I had gotten this past week. Apparently, my vision was going bad, but I refused to believe it. Paul said my new glasses reminded him of the pair John Lennon used to have when they were teenagers. Our almost hour drive was almost complete and we began to pull up to the gates of Friar Park. The gate opened and in we went, down the long driveway that approached the front of the massive home. On the front steps stood George, holding a small child. Paul parked the car and we all got out, making our way up to George.

"George, mate! Great to see you!" Paul hugged George as best he could, trying not to squish the small child in his arms. 

James, being nervous, was holding onto my dress.

"This is Stella, James is there hiding behind Amethyst's skirt, and this," Paul said motioning to me, "is my lovely girlfriend Amethyst."

George cocked an eyebrow at Paul's introduction, but he shook it off quickly, inviting us all in.

"Olivia!" George called into the massive hallway.

"In the kitchen!" I heard a female voice respond, obviously Olivia.

The meal she cooked was fantastic and was eaten very quickly, might I add.

We now sat one of the living rooms, enjoying some wine and talking about old times.

Stella, James, and Dhani were playing in the room next door which could be seen through an archway.

"So, Paul, how is your music coming along?" George asked him.

"I have an album coming out around April, actually."

"That's great. I'll have to listen to it."

"I'll send you a copy before it gets released."

"Thanks, Paul."

"What about you, mate? Got anything new coming out?"

"Not soon...I have been working on some stuff though. Might take a break after this one to spend some more time with Dhani and Olivia."

Olivia smiled at his comment. She was such a nice person. We had talked a bit at dinner when Paul and George were catching up and she seemed wonderful.

Olivia checked her watch, noting that it was getting late.

"I've got to put Dhani to bed. It's 9 o'clock, so thirty minutes past his bedtime. Would you all like to stay the night? I know that drive back to London isn't a short one."

Paul looked at me indifferently, wanting to know my opinion.

"I'll go check on Stella and James, see how they are. I know we don't want grumpy kids on the way back."

I got up, placing my wine glass on the table in front of me, and proceeded to follow Olivia to the room next door. I felt a strange feeling as if I was being watched, but it wasn't a familiar pair of eyes looking at me.