Gnik Nus

Chapter 25

It was approaching the time that we would be leaving for the concert. I wanted to have a shower and wash my hair so it was nice and fresh. This meant getting into the bedroom to get my things, however Kylie had locked herself in there. I feared if I disturbed her then she would be even angrier with me (again, for a reason I had no idea) but I needed to get in there. I gingerly knocked on the door and I heard a 'come in' from the other side. I opened the door to find Kylie standing in front of the mirror on the closet, combing her hands through her hair. She had changed clothes and now had on a pair of the new pantyhose we bought underneath a shift dress.
"Oh, hey," she said when she saw me, "Can you believe I already have a ladder in my stockings? How annoying!"
"I'm just getting my stuff, I'm having a shower," I explained.
"Of course!" she responded. She smiled and me and sauntered past me and out the door. Talk about a complete mood change.

I took a shower, taking too long as I was washing my hair, pondering my thoughts and stroking my tummy. It was only after someone knocked on the door and told me to hurry up that I got out. I dried off, wrapped my hair in a towel and chucked my dressing gown on and exited the bathroom. In the living area, Jenny was debating with Ben about whether Jack should be allowed to come (Jenny was worried he'd be trampled; Ben thought he'd have the time of his life). All of a sudden, the front door to the apartment burst open and in marched Neil Aspinall, the personal assistant to The Beatles. He stopped short when he saw all of us. He gave me a fright and I jumped a little.
"I'm sorry, Brian, I tried to stop him," huffed Mal behind him.
"What's this?" Neil asked, looking around at us all. I was still in my dressing gown with a towel on my head and I protectively crossed my arms over my stomach.
"Brian!" Peter called. A few moments later, Brian came walking into the living area to see what the matter was. He stopped hesitantly when he saw Neil in the doorway shadowed by Mal's bulky frame.
"I tried to stop him," Mal again explained now that Brian was actually here.
"Neil," Brian said in a falsely pleasantly surprised voice, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"I-uh..." Neil could not seem to formulate a sentence as he looked around at us, astonished. Mal shook his head and squeezed past Neil into the apartment. He came over and gave me a side hug, which I eagerly returned. Mal hadn't been around in a while and it was good to see him.
"Everything okay?" he whispered to me and I nodded in return.
I noticed that Neil, still in shock, was watching the exchange with confusion.
"You've been telling me this whole time that you are doing renovations and no one can come over," Neil huffed. "Now I see that is false."

"Well, it was an easier cover story than the truth," Brian sighed.
"Who are these people?"
"Everyone, this is Neil Aspinall, he's the boys' personal assistant."
"We've met," I said, a hint of malice in my voice. I wasn't very fond of Neil.
"Are you the know-it-all who came to the recording session?" Neil asked incredulously.
"I take offense to that moniker, but yes," I confirmed.
"I was there too," Peter said, "And Kylie and Adam."
"You never did tell me who they were after they came to the studio," Neil carried on.
"Well, I couldn't," Brian snapped.
"Mal seems to know who they are."
"That's because he was there when they happened."
Neil, who was being very bitter, looked utterly confused at this. He again looked around at us all. I guess at this moment he saw the beds in the living room for his look of confusion turned to one of concern.

"It's a good thing you're here, actually," Brian said, "We needed another escort for this lot."
"Escort?" Neil echoed.
"Yes, I mentioned I was bringing some special guests to the show tonight, didn't I?"
"Uh, yes, yes you did."
"Well, this is them."
Brian then introduced each of us quickly but you could tell Neil wasn't going to remember any of our names. He wasn't going to make friends out of any of us. But, we had to be cordial with him as he was in the employ of Brian and the boys and he was going to help shepherd us to and from the concert. He was clearly thrilled to be given such an important task.
"Why can't Alistair help?" I asked Brian quietly, trying not to show my disdain. We had met Alistair before, and I actually liked him. Something about Neil rubbed me the wrong way.
"Alistair is busy," Brian responded, ending the conversation.