You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

I Read The News Today.....Oh Boy!

April 1970

Brian's POV

I hurried down the stairs but was careful not to stumble.   I gripped my camera to my chest; afraid to drop it.  Laughter stirred up the stairwell and I smiled to myself.  I entered the backroom of the shop to see Susan erupt in giggles.  She was sitting on a pile of floor rugs in the back part of the shop and was leaned up against Roger.  Both of them wore huge smiles and I wondered what had made them laugh.   They liked to share jokes and crack each other up.  Susan looked good.  I loved her black skirt and textured stockings.  She had nice legs and her outfit showed them off.  I should compliment her.  

"Susan - you look nice today.  Great stockings!"   She looked up at me and smiled.  Susan was easy going and always looked happy.  She was nice to be around.  I was glad she had come by to visit.  I did miss seeing her.  I wanted to ask to take her picture and was interrupted when Freddie came around from the other side of the store.  

"Another sale darlings....things are going well!"  Freddie exclaimed and rubbed his hands together.  He leaned on one leg and put his hands against his back.  A smiled crawled across his mouth and he looked like the Cheshire Cat.  The shop was doing well and he was smug about its success.

"Fred....sit down by Rog so I can get a picture of you all," I asked and gestured with my hand towards the rug pile.  Freddie stepped forward and perched himself on the edge.  He leaned in towards Roger.  

"Now here is a great photo with beautiful people," Roger stated as I pressed the button for the shot.  This will be a great photo as they all look lovely.  I hope that I can develop and print this in my father's home studio.  I want to blow it up and print a copy with just Roger.  He wore all black today and looks amazing.  His hair and fair skin against the ebony are gorgeous.   I smiled to myself at the thought and placed my camera on the stair step.  Freddie got up and moved back to the front of the store.  Roger stood up and held his hand out to Susan.  She lifted herself up using his arm and looked up at me.  "Can I get a copy of the photo Brian?"

"Of course.  I will let you know when I get the prints."  Susan smiled and headed towards the store front.  I heard her say goodbye and the shop door jingled as she walked out.  Roger had moved to the front window and fiddled with the radio dial.  Sound filled the room and static irritated our ears while he switched stations.  A station blared to life and he adjusted the volume.  The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun" was ending and I sighed at having missed it.  The DJ came on to speak.  

"That was The Beatles and I am sure you all have heard the bad news.  The Beatles' press agent has confirmed that The Beatles have broken up.  Its a sad day in music folks.  I am going to be playing some more of their music shortly.  Before that, here is the other news for today..."

I couldn't believe what I heard.  I actually felt sick to my stomach and wanted to sit down.  I stumbled over to the rug pile and planted myself.  I turned to look at Roger.  He was stunned by the news and his mouth hung open in shock.  He switched the radio off and walked towards me and sat down; bumping my leg.  His eyes were sad and I had to stop myself from reaching for his hand.  I heard the shop door lock click and saw Freddie lean into the door frame.  He turned the OPEN sign around and walked towards us.  His face had a weird expression and he wandered over to the stairs and sat on a step.  He looked at us both and I thought for a moment he might cry.  His mouth quivered a bit.   He just sighed.   

"Well... fuck!  That is the end of an era!  I guess the 60's really are over!"  Freddie finished his thoughts and hung his head.  I didn't know what to say.  I was still trying to process what we heard.  I looked at Roger and we exchanged sad expressions.  

"I closed the shop for the day.  Let's get drunk.  Shit!"  Freddie mumbled these words as he stood up and climbed the stairs.  Roger followed and I reached for my camera as I headed up.  

I reached the landing and entered the apartment.  Freddie was flopped down on one of the couches and Roger moved to sit next to him.  I had a thought and walked into the bedroom.  I pulled the cord for my turntable out of the wall and brought it into the living room.  I found a plug and then returned to my room and pulled all of my Beatles albums from my collection.  Roger and Freddie watched me as I placed Sgt. Pepper on the player and reached for the needle arm.

"Play them in order," Freddie requested quietly.  I smiled a bit and put Pepper back in its sleeve.  I found Please Please Me and started the album.   I turned around and looked at Freddie and Roger.

"Well she was just seventeen...you know what I mean....."

"Hmm...there we are!" Freddie sighed and a thin smile formed on his face.  He leaned back on the couch.   I walked into the kitchen and found the opened bottle of whisky.  We didn't have many glasses so I just pulled the cap from the bottle and took a drink.  It burned against my throat going down but it helped settle my mood.  I walked over to Roger and handed him the bottle.  He nodded at me and moved it to his mouth for a drink.  He winced at the burn and wiped his lips.  Freddie grabbed the bottle and took a large swig.  Freddie never made a face when drinking and I wondered how he managed the burn so well.  I moved to sit next to Roger and we began moving the bottle between us until it was empty.  Sadly, there was another bottle in the kitchen and Roger soon retrieved it as we continued to get wrecked. 

A while later and Revolver is playing

"I will tell you what happened!  They let those fucking bitches interfere with their band and its all this" Freddie slurred a bit in his explanation.  He was trying to offer his opinion about the cause of The Beatles breakup.  Roger and I listened intently.  We had all become serious in our drunken talk and could not stop talking about The Beatles.  After a lengthy discussion about the music and their status in the world, we had moved on to why they split up.

"I don't know Fred.  I heard a lot about their business problems.  It could be related to that."  I had seen a newspaper article about problems with Apple and their management.  I could imagine this would cause some real issues.  

"Maybe it was a lot of things.  Shit!  I just know I am really stunned at it all.  It seems so hard to keep a band together and they seemed like they had it figured out.  I don't know....it's just sad." Roger added to our conversation.  

"Well I will say this and you both hear me out," Freddie replied and waited for our attention.  "There is a lesson here for us as a band.  We want to make it.  I know we all would like to see our group be a success.  I believe we have the talent and the will.  We have put the band on the back burner since before Christmas.  It's time to get back on track.  We need to rehearse and try to get some bookings.  And we need to find a fucking bassist.  I want someone who is really part of us and not some half interested player.  He is out there.....lets find him."  Freddie finished his speech and Roger and I smiled.  Roger raised an invisible glass in his hand and motioned for us to follow.  I laughed and raised my own hand, forming a cup.  Freddie grabbed the bottle and we all raised our arms high.

"To the band and to brotherhood!" Roger shouted. 

"Here...here!" I replied. 

We all started laughing a bit and fell back into the couch.  We were really drunk and I felt loose and free.  It had been a while since I drank this much.  The couch shifted and I watched as Freddie got up and started moving around. He was half dancing and pretended to be holding a microphone.  He began belting out Tomorrow Never Knows and swaying around. I was watching him when I felt Roger put his hand on top of mine.  I spread my fingers and he laced our fingers together.   I was too drunk to care about Freddie and relished the contact with him.  I turned and gave him a sloppy smile.   He smiled back and his mouth seemed mushy.  It was cute.  I leaned towards him and realized we were headed for a kiss.  Some semblance of sanity left in me put my hand down on the couch and prevented me from reaching his lips.  I heard a soft giggle.  I looked up and saw Freddie watching us.

"Oh.....just fucking kiss him already!"