When Paul met Sarah

Chapter 1

     It was 1968. Jane was history, well, recent history, but history just the same.
     Paul had a new girl on his arm, and was feeling much better these days, but something was nagging at him, but he ignored it.
    They had seen each other off and on since 1967, and their relationship was really heating up. Still, something ate at him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
     That was on his mind when he was walking down the street that day. As he walked, eyes down, head in the clouds..... He glanced up once, not really thinking, then....

     Oops!!

  "Oh I'm sorry luv! Didn't mean to run into you!"
"Oh that's ok, no harm do....." She looked up, and finally recognized this man who had just ran into her.

  "It's.....y...you! WOW, of all the people to run into!"

Paul chuckled as she shyly looked away.

"Are you ok? I didn't hurt you did I?" "Oh no, I'm fine." "Well, let me help you pick all this up."

  Paul reached down to help her pick up the books she was carrying, as she bent down as well.

"Oh, I see you're into Hercule Poirot!" "Yeah, I love Agatha Christie!" "So do I!" "Really? Well it looks like we have something in common!"

She smiled, as she tucked some of her long, dark hair behind her ear, as they both stood back up to look at each other.

"Well, I have to get going, but was nice running into you...." "Literally, right?" Laughed Paul.
"Yeah."

She turned to walk away... "Hey, I didn't catch your name.." "Oh, it's Sarah." "Ok Sarah, nice meeting you."

  *********

    Lindsey stood by the door of Abbey road studios, waiting for him, and he kissed her as he got up to her.

  "Well, let's get this over with..."

  What had started out an enjoyable experience was turning into a nightmare, as the Beatles came together once more to record.

   They smiled fake smiles, and went about trying to make another album.

  Lindsey respectfully held back, snapping pictures every now and then, as Yoko hung onto John like she thought she would lose him, going everywhere he went, even to the loo...

"What does she do, hold it for him?!" Said George, as he and Paul both shook their heads.

  Meanwhile.....

  Snapsnapsnap.......snapsnapsnap.....

"Excuse me Paul, don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, but is she gonna do that all day?!"

Paul glanced over his shoulder at Lindsey still snapping away, and smiled. Then turned back... "Yeah, probably.."

**********

Sarah finally got back to the flat she shared with her uncle, after a long walk to the library.

  She walked into her room, and set her books down, then walked back out into the living room where her uncle sat, beer in hand, already drunk, and it was only 2:00pm.

  "You're late! You were supposed to be here hours ago! You get busy and do that washing up, and when that's done, you can scrub that floor! Then you need to get my Dinner cooked! You hear me girl?!" "Yes uncle Bill, I hear you." "Did you just roll your eyes at me?!" "No uncle Bill, I..."

  Within seconds he was on her, grabbing a handful of hair at the base of her head.

"You do as you're told, and don't you ever roll your eyes at me, you got that you stupid girl?!"

"Yes uncle Bill." "Good, now get to work!" With that he threw her across the room.

  
   Later, when the washing up was done, floor scrubbed, dinner cooked, and washing up done all over again, she fell into her bed, and cried herself to sleep.

Her sleep was broken, waking up many times with nightmares. Then just lay there unable to sleep anymore.

   She thought about her life until now, how it had all been one big mess, that she wished she could get out of.

Life for Sarah had been hard. As the daughter of an Englishman, and an American mother, nobody seemed to like her, on both sides of the pond.

  Her father had died when she was young, and her mother recently died of a heart attack, her family back home in America seized the opportunity to send her away.

  Despite the fact that she was 22 years old, she had been treated like a child, and told for so long that she would never amount to anything, that by now she believed it, and never once tried to get out on her own.

   What was holding her back? Answer-- Fear! Fear that had been implanted in her at an early age. She knew that she needed to somehow break free.

  When her family wrote him, her uncle reluctantly took her in. He really didn't want the wretched girl, but the family insisted, so she went.  She had not been there long, when she realized what a horrible situation she had been forced into.

   A life of drudgery, and abuse was no life.

  The longer she lay there, the more she knew she had to get out of there. So, as her uncle lay passed out in a drunken stupor, she slipped out.

********

  Paul kissed Lindsey goodbye, as she boarded the plane bound for America.

Then got in his car to drive back home. As he drove he began to see someone walking alone, and as he passed her, he thought he recognized her, so he turned around.

  He stopped the car, and got out..

  "Sarah, is that you?"

She was sobbing uncontrollably, so all he could do was take the poor girl in his arms.

"It's alright, shhh... it's alright..." She began to calm down. "Now, you wanna tell me what the trouble is?" "My uncle, he's drunk again, h..hurt me, I...I couldn't take it anymore!"Then she dissolved into more tears, and Paul pulled her to him and held her once more.
 
"Alright, I can't leave you out here alone, come on, let's go." "Where are we going?"  "To my house."

Paul helped her into his car, and drove home.

Her story broke his heart, as she had told it over a cup of tea.

  She now lay fast asleep on his sofa. He sighed as he looked down at her. Then gently laying a blanket over her.

Although she didn't know it, Paul kissed her forehead just before he went into his own room to go to bed.

Paul knew two things, as he lay in bed that night....

He knew she needed him. And he knew that he couldn't marry Linda.