LMPYITP: The Random Passages

Chapter 104 - Version 2

            Time passed.

I went to Thanksgiving back home by myself while Liam stayed in London. It was much easier this way.

December finally came.

We celebrated a birthday but not a wedding.

Serge's birthday party was fun and people didn't hound us as much I expected about the date of our wedding.

Liam and I spent Christmas with my family. He bitched a lot because he could pretty much only smoke when we were at the hotel as I told him to try not to smoke in front of my family. They knew he smoked but I knew it bothered some of them to see it. The rental car was nonsmoking also and he was losing his shit.

He got so worked up he decided to try chewing tobacco.

"What the fuck do I do with it?" He asked.

"How should I know?" I replied.

"Ya said your old man uses this shit." He reminded me. "How the fuck does he do it?"

"I don't know, I guess just take a bit of it and stuff it into your bottom lip."

He took a chunk of it out of its can, held his bottom lip open, and tucked it inside. "Now what?" He asked his voice a bit garbled from the tobacco.

"I guess you just spit every so often when it's time." I replied. I didn't understand the mechanics.

He stood there rubbing his lip. Then he grimaced and spit the plug into the cup he had. "Fuck that!" He yelled as he stuck his finger in his lip to get it all out.

Later, we met up with my cousins and sister and went to some bar in town. Liam was happy because he could smoke on the patio.

We went home a couple days later.

The days went by faster and faster and before I knew it, it was my last night before I left for Manchester.

Liam and I lay in bed together and I could tell Liam was doing his best not to let on how distraught he was.

He lay on his side pressed against me, burying his nose in the back of my head.

"Liam? What are you doing?" I asked as I heard him sniffing.

"Remindin' myself what you smell like." He replied as he continued to sniff. "That lavender stuff you've got is fuckin' top."

"Oh for Heaven's sake!" I said as I pushed him away gently. "I'll leave you a bottle of my body wash."

We went to bed shortly after that. Liam fidgeted and fussed quietly the whole night.

The following morning, it was time to head North.

"When ya comin' home?" Liam asked as the driver loaded the last of my things.

"I'm not sure." I replied.

"But-"

"Liam. We'll sort this out later, okay?"

"Yeah." He sighed.

We kissed good bye and he held on for as long as he could.

He didn't go with me to Manchester which was probably a good thing.

I rented a fully furnished two-bedroom flat in Didsbury. My roommate was a girl in my program.

"Hi." She said when I got there. "I'm Lauren. You must be Jules."

"I am." I replied.

"This is going to sound really odd but do you know who Liam Gallagher is?" She asked as we settled in.

"Yeah." I told her.

"Well he's engaged to an American girl who has the same name as you and she kinda looks like you as well."

"Interesting." I said.

"You're not her, are you?" She asked.

"If I was, do you really think I'd be in school right now?"

She giggled. "Probably not."

Lauren and I settled into school pretty easily and became friends. She was from Manchester and so was her boyfriend.

"Jules, this is Jeremy." She said as she introduced us when were out at the pub one night.

"Everyone calls me, Jez." He said as he extended his hand for me to shake it.

"Hi." I replied as I shook it.

He smiled then turned to the guy standing next to me. "And this is me roommate, Fin." He said.

"Hi." I said to this Fin.

He had light brown hair and dark eyes. And a cute smile as well.

"Hi." He replied with that lovely grin.

We all got drinks and found a table. After a bit, Lauren and Jez left to go talk to someone, leaving me and Fin alone.

"So 'Fin'." I began. "Is that short for something? Like dolphin, tail fin, paraffin." I grinned a little.

He smiled back. "No." He replied. "It's actually short for Finbarr. Me mam's Irish."

"Oh." I replied.

"Yeah. Well she was actually born in Manchester like me but her parents come over from Ireland. My granddad even taught me some Gaelic."

"Really? That's cool. Say something."

He said a sentence and I melted even though I couldn't understand a single word.

"What'd you say?" I asked.

"Google it." He told me.

I chuckled. "You're gonna have to write it down so I know how to spell it."

"Okay." He grabbed the pen they brought us for the bill and a napkin and began writing on it.

Just then, Jez and Lauren came back.

"C'mon!" Lauren yelled as she pulled me out of my seat. "Let's go dance!"

The four of us headed to the dancefloor and spent a good couple hours out on it.

"Oi, Jules!" Fin called as we left the bar.

I turned around to look at him.

"Don't forget to Google it." He said with a wink as he handed me a folded piece of paper.

"Okay." I replied.

We all headed home together. The boys' flat was just up the road from ours.

Once I got in bed, I pulled my phone out and googled a translator. I typed in the sentence Fin wrote down and felt my heart skip a beat as I read the translation.

You're the prettiest bird I've ever seen.