On Loving Paul [McLennon]

And So I Sing the Song of Love For Julia

George collapsed on his bed on the night of July sixth and sighed heavily, what he had seen between John and Paul that morning weighing down on his mind.

He stood up and through off his shoes, shirt, and pants and threw on his pajama shirt and pants. He went down the hall to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then returned to his room, turned off the lamp, crawled beneath the covers.

Closing his eyes and sighing heavily once more, George tried to shake away everything that was bothering him. He certainly had a lot to think about. The fact that Paul, one of his best friends, had been beaten by his father who knows how many times before and George had no clue. Paul and his brother moving in with John. His two best friends in the whole world were most likely dating.

He shook the thoughts away viciously and squeezed his eyes shut, desperate for sleep to come and take him away.

Nine days later, Paul now doing much better, John and Paul got up, got dressed, and headed out for a walk. They stopped in the backyard where Mimi and Julia - John's mother - were lounging in lounge chairs and Mike was sitting in the grass reading a book.

"We're going for a walk," John informed the two women.

"Be back in time for lunch," Mimi said.

"Or they could come round to my house for lunch," Julia suggested. "What do you say, boys? That is, if it's alright with you, Mimi."

"Fine by me," Mimi said.

"Sounds fun," Paul nodded. "John?"

"We'll be there at noon," John stated.

Then, the two of them set off at a decent pace though still somewhat slow seeing as Paul's back had been torn up pretty badly and he was still in quite a bit of pain, especially now that he was being weaned off of the pain medications.

They walked on the pavement holding hands, fingers laced together tightly. It was a great day. A brilliant day. A fantastic day!!

Until noon when they went to have lunch with Julia and she wasn't there....

And they waited....

And waited....

And waited....

And waited....

And waited....

And waited....

Then at two in the afternoon, Bobby - Julia's husband, John's step dad, and the father of Julia's two daughters and John's half sisters - answered the phone. It was a call from Mimi who was phoning from the hospital........

........Julia was dead.

Paul sat beside John on the sitting room of Julia's and Bobby's house three days later. Mike was in the room and he walked over to John.

"Everything is going to be alright, John." Said the twelve year old. "She wouldn't want you to be sad and depressed. She'd want you to go on with your life, because that's what life does. Overall, life goes on, even when one life stops." And without another word, he turned on his heel and left the room.

Paul shook his head and couldn't hide a small chuckle. "That's what I said to him when our mum died," he stated. "Word for word."

John merely nodded slowly.

"I'm here for you," Paul said. "You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Paulie." John slung an arm across Paul's shoulders. "You're..." He sighed heavily. "You're my best mate."