Chapter 44: 2019

752 39 14
                                    


"No, No, No!" I screamed in frustration and loss. I had to get back!

I laid on the sheet covered bed and began to chant the date I had just come from: March 15, 1965, March 15, 1965, March 15, 1965. I did it over and over, nothing happened. I tried for an hour, and nothing. I tried a different date, again nothing. I must have laid there for hours, with no luck.

My stomach lurched and I ran to the bathroom, getting to the toilet just in time. After I was done I walked back into the bedroom, looking it over again. This time I noticed an envelope on the nightstand. As I reached for it, I saw it had my name written on it. I tore it open, it read:

My Dearest Anne,

I know that right now you are trying to get back to me in 1965. I hope you can succeed, but if you can't please take care of yourself. You have our baby to think of. There is food stocked in the refrigerator, please eat. There are clothes in the closet, if you need them. I very rarely use this house, so you won't be bothered.

When you vanished the day before our wedding, I was inconsolable. The only thing that got me through that was the thought of our baby. You and our baby were together. So please do what's best for the baby.

I was able to get your travel documents from the hotel you stayed at in Liverpool. They are in the nightstand drawer. There is also a credit card in your name, for any expenses you might have. Please use it. There is also a computer in the kitchen if you need to use it.

My personal phone number is at the top of this letter. If you need anything, please call me.

I love you, always have and always will!

Love,

Paul

I laid back on the bed and cried my eyes out. I knew he was right, I needed to take care of the baby, but all I wanted to do was lay on this bed and try to get back to him. I could probably lay there for days, but that didn't mean I would get back. So, I talked myself into going downstairs to the kitchen to get something to eat.

I opened the refrigerator and all of my favorite pregnancy foods were in there, the ones that I could stomach. That alone almost made me break down again, but I succeeded in holding it back. I got some food out and began to eat.

I opened up the computer and found the date. It was March 15, 2019. So time had gone on without me.

I then looked up Paul. Everything was still the same with him, and he'd never married. I was so mad at him, I almost called the number he had given. I'd wanted him to move on, but he obviously hadn't. At the same time, I understood. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to move on, either. The thought was enough to make my stomach clench. I had to get back to him, otherwise I wasn't sure what I would do.

Then I looked up George and John. They were both dead. We hadn't succeeded in either case. My tightly held emotions broke again, and I cried. Grieving for my friends but also for myself and Paul.

I stayed at the house for 2 more days, trying to travel back. It didn't happen. I was so frustrated and physically sick. I still had the morning sickness, but this was more than that. My life with Paul was so full of life and color, but without him everything seemed dull and gray.

Finally, on the third day, I made the harrowing decision that I needed to go back home to Austin, even if it was just for a little while. I would waste away into nothing if I stayed here, but I had the baby to think of now, and I couldn't do that.

I booked a flight using the computer and the credit card Paul had provided. The flight was for later that day, so I called a cab service to come pick me up. I gathered my few belongings, took one last longing look at the house. I silently prayed that I would somehow see it again, but only if I were able to be there with Paul.

Once I was settled into the cab, the cabbie asked "Paul McCartney's house, isn't it" I nodded, just hearing his name sent a wave a sadness over me. "How do you know him?" he continued.

"He's a very good friend." I needed to quickly change the subject because any more questions about Paul would surely result in a scene, so I said "I need to go to Heathrow, please" Thankfully he was quiet the rest of the ride to the airport.

It was strange being back in the future. All the cell phones and other technology. I had lived without it for so long, it was bizarre to me. Even in my slightly dazed state I noticed how people acted much differently now than they had when I was in the past. They were on the whole less polite, but also a lot less patient. It was just another thing to add to my very long list of things I missed from the past.

When my flight landed in Austin, I rented a car and drove to Sandy's house. It was the only place I had to go. I knocked on the door, nervous, as I wasn't even sure she or her parents lived there anymore. It had been almost 4 years since I'd seen them.

The door opened and there was Sandy. Her hair was shorter, but it was definitely her. "Anne!" she screamed and pulled me to her. I hung on to her, as she was the only comfort I'd had in days. "What happened? How did you get back?" she asked.

We sat down on her couch and I told her the whole story. Crying in the most painful parts. "There's one more thing Sandy. I'm pregnant" And I broke down completely.

Sandy hugged me and said. "Oh, I'm so sorry Anne. I don't know how hard this must be for you. I feel a little selfish being that I'm so happy to see you. I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too. I am glad to see you, but I'm selfish too because I wish I was still with Paul" After I had calmed down again, I tried my best to act like a normal friend. I had laid an awful lot at her feet, so I said. "Enough about me, how have you been?"

She has been doing wonderfully. She would graduate college this spring and she had a serious boyfriend. I was so happy for her, I almost forgot about my predicament for a moment. That was impossible to do because even the slight queasiness in my stomach reminded me that I was pregnant, and the pregnancy reminded me of the baby's father. I started to tear up again.

Sandy put her arms around me and asked. "So, what are you going to do, Anne?" She had always been a fixer and planner, and for the first time since being sent back to the future I felt a small sense of peace.

"I'm going to stay here and hopefully deliver a healthy baby. It's what Paul wants, and what I want too. If I can't ever have him again, at least I will have a part of him." I couldn't speak again for a moment as that thought was earth shattering, but when I could speak again I said "Speaking of the baby, I have an appointment in a few days to go see a gynecologist. Will you come with me?"

"Of course"

The appointment at the gynecologist was much different here than in England. They took blood, it would determine if there was anything wrong with the baby and also I could find out the sex if I wanted. I decided to find out. They also gave me a sonogram to determine the age of the pregnancy.

The sonogram was a wondrous thing, and I dearly wished Paul could have been there to see it. However, looking at the little bean on the sonogram screen was the best thing that could have happened at that time. It gave me the strength to go on. The baby was a part of Paul and me. I would do anything to protect it.


Somewhere In Time (A Beatles Fan Fiction)Where stories live. Discover now