Above Us Only Sky (Paul McCartney/Beatles Fan Fiction)

Chapter 41 - Guaranteed to Raise a Smile

It was Marisol's first English spring, and the beauty of London charmed her. From the abundance of parks and green spaces to the cute little pastel cottages around Notting Hill, the city was awash with cherry blossom. When the days turned warmer and the trees burst into blooms, the parks and gardens turned vibrant green and the sun shone, London was irresistible.

Paul had spent the winter hard at work in the studio, often staying later than the others to lay down the bass. At home in St. John's Wood, Marisol had worked nearly as hard on her book.

Many cold afternoons were spent in the little office at the top of the house, with Kim Moon sitting at a table next to her, bringing Marisol's characters to life with her sketches while their baby daughters played happily side by side with dolls and stuffed animals and dogs and kittens. Especially kittens.

In late March, Paul had come home in the wee hours with Michael Nesmith in tow and awakened Marisol with the happy news that Thisbe was in labor. The three of them had spent the rest of the night drinking tea and watching the blessed event, while the two men puffed endlessly on what Paul referred to as jazz woodbines.

"Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses," Paul kept saying. "Isn't this marvelous?"

"What are we going to do with all these cats?" Marisol kept saying.

Michael Nesmith reminded them that Paul need only step outside the gate with an armful of kittens and teenage wanna-be pet owners from all over England would fight to be the ones to own a McCartney kitten.

So that was the plan, when the kittens were big enough to leave their mother they'd be adopted out to the most responsible of the fans. Meanwhile, Mandy and Melody and their mums spent many happy afternoons watching the little fur babies grow.

Marisol and Kim worked together on the book as much as possible, whenever Keith was away or when she managed to get away from him. Kim always seemed pleased to be away from him, and a little adrift. She seemed happier when she was lost in her own world with a blank page and a table littered with art supplies. When Keith was on tour they'd sometimes meet at the Moon family's new place in the country.

Keith and Kim hadn't had much luck in London with neighbors and landlords. Keith played his music too loud, had parties at all hours and generally wrecked the place. At last they moved into a big house in the country, where Keith could be as much of a nutter as he liked without the neighbors complaining.

On an afternoon in mid-May, Marisol showed up early in the afternoon at Kim's to find party guests scattered around from the night before. Everyone was waking up and making tracks to the local for a pie and a pint. The Golden Grove was conveniently located 100 yards away at the end of the drive. Kim and Marisol rode bicycles, while Keith transported the rest of the group in a milk float with a sofa inside. It looked like a living room on wheels.

Keith and Kim were treated like family at their local pub, even going behind the bar to help themselves on occasion. The weather was unusually warm and everyone was happy. Kim was the perfect hostess, making sure no one's glass stayed empty for long. Other than throwing peanuts everywhere, Keith behaved reasonably well. He was everyone's friend--generous and jovial and up for anything. It seemed only Kim had to deal with his darker side.

Keith soon left for a session, taking most of the guests back to London with him, and eventually only Marisol and Kim and a shortish dark-haired friend of Keith's remained at the pub. The friend's name was Mac, and he was introduced as the keyboardist for the Faces. All of Keith's and Kim's friends seemed to be in the music business, but it was the same for Marisol. Sometimes it seemed she hardly knew anyone who wasn't famous.