In Your Atmosphere (Paul McCartney/Beatles Fanfiction)

Chapter 4 - Do You Want to Know a Secret

Marisol was halfway underneath the bed in search of Lucy's missing sandal when the dogs stampeded out of the bedroom and down the stairs to bark madly at the front door. Over the fracas she heard her sister trying to shush them. Margo was staying in Sussex for the week with the twins while her husband was away on assignment. Operation Distract Marisol From Thinking About Dan was well underway.

With the sandal in her hand, Marisol wiggled out from under the bed. Lucy was busy trying to remove the other one. "Come here, you."

"No!" Lucy shook her head of white blonde curls and scampered out of the room.

"Luce! Look, they're exactly like my sandals! Look how pretty," Marisol sprinted into the hallway after her niece.

"Mar, there's a band here for you!" her sister yelled from the foyer.

What the heck did she just say?

With the perfect timing of toddlers, Lucy tripped in her single shoe and sprawled on her tummy, wailing like a grieving Italian.

Marisol scooped her up with one arm and headed for the stairs. "You're fine. Let's go see Mommy."

She was halfway down the stairs when she saw him. She sucked in a quick breath and reached for the banister with her free hand.

Paul stood in the foyer next to Margo with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, taking in the commotion with a half smile. Lucy's twin sister Sophie toddled around his feet in pursuit of Lily's tail while Ramsay pawed anxiously at a spot near the front door. When Paul raised his head and saw her descending the stairs with Lucy under one arm, his face lit up in a wide, open smile that set her pulse racing.

It had been almost a week since the day at the beach and Marisol had begun to doubt she would hear from him again. She'd played his album a dozen times, lying on the floor of the sitting room with her head directly beneath the speaker. She knew practically every word, every inflection of their voices. Lying in bed at night, headachy with unshed tears, she'd replayed that afternoon in the garden, fantasizing about would have happened if she'd accepted Paul's invitation to London. He was a new favorite tonic when the ache in her heart got the best of her, better than a bubble bath and a bottle of Chablis.

Now the object of her fantasy stood at her grandmother's front door, tall and lean and boyishly handsome, with that infectious grin. She felt herself smiling back at him.

At the bottom of the stairs she set her wriggling, wailing niece on the parquet floor. "Lucy, please. You're hurting Lily's ears."

Lucy hiccuped and sank her tiny hands into Lily's thick black fur. "Ahhh doggie." The tears vanished.

"Hello again," Paul said.

Marisol blew out a breath that lifted her bangs from her forehead. "You didn't know the circus was in town, did you?"

"I never could resist a good circus," Paul said with a shrug.

Margo held open the front door, giving a clear view of the van parked in the courtyard, washed clean of lipstick. Neil and a group of young men loitered nearby, stretching their legs and smoking.

"I'm going to say hi to Nelly and see if the guys want to come in." Margo stepped outside with the dogs and a toddler on her heels. "Luce, please don't ride the dog," she said as the door swung closed.

"Who's that?" Sophie reached for Marisol's hand, looking up at Paul suspiciously.

"I'm Paul," he said. "I'm Mari's friend."

Sophie still looked suspicious.

"She has the same expression as you, any road," Paul said.

Marisol swung her niece onto her hip and dropped a kiss on her satiny cheek. "So this is a surprise."