Gnik Nus

Chapter 26

The day had finally arrived when we would be moving to a bigger place. Well, actually to a house and not an apartment. It was bittersweet leaving our first home, where we had so many memories (good and bad), but we were craving the extra space, especially with two more family members on the way. George, Paul, Ringo and Mal were helping us move (John and Cynthia were on holiday in Switzerland). Our new home was located at 24 Chapel Street, Belgravia: a five-storey townhouse in an affluent area of London. As soon as we pulled up out the front, something was jogged in my memory. I had a feeling I had seen this house before. I deduced that I'd perhaps seen it in a photograph in the future.

The house contained five bedrooms, a massive upgrade from the two we previously had to make do with. And another important change was that now everyone had actual beds instead of just a mattress on the floor. Divvying up the bedrooms was a surprisingly quick decision. Brian got his own bedroom, of course, and the rest of us paired up. Kylie and I paired up in a split second, and Adam and Ben were quick to claim each other as roommates. Ethel and Jenny naturally chose one another, which left Peter and Jack in the remaining room. The basement contained the garage, a bedroom and a living area; a space I assumed was designed for household staff. Brian allocated this level to Kylie and me so that we would have more space when our babies came and, I presume, to keep crying babies away from other members of the household in the middle of the night. The entry level contained the kitchen and dining room. The first level contained a sitting room and Brian's office. The second level contained two bedrooms, the front one belonging to Brian and the rear one Ethel and Jenny. The top floor was boy land – the front bedroom claimed by Adam and Ben.

Kylie and I were fine to keep the bed we were previously sleeping in, which was once Ethel's. Brian purchased six new single beds for the others. It took all of that Saturday to get settled in and unpacked. It was strange having so much space and not living on top of each other although, now, we literally were living on top of each other on different levels of the house. No one would let Kylie or me carry anything heavy, so we were left with light menial tasks such as rearranging cushions on couches and finding cupboard space for towels and sheets. At one moment, the two of us were decorating the aforementioned sitting room on the first floor. Brian was in his office on the same floor. We could hear a conversation happening in there.
"I should be able to fit it in next Thursday," I could hear Brian saying. "Paul and Jane will be on holiday but the other boys will come I'm sure."
"I'll have to clear it with Mo," Ringo responded. "Would you mind being best man?"
"Of course I'll do it, Ringo."
I glanced at Kylie to see what her reaction was going to be. Of course, I knew this was coming any day now. As the history books go, Ringo and Maureen get married in February 1965.
"Are they getting married?" she whispered to me.
"Yes," I responded.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, did I need to? You and Ringo aren't involved anymore."
"I'd still like to know."
"I didn't know if it was still going to happen. I don't know how much of history we've changed just by being here."
"What're you two talking about?" Ringo stuck his head in curiously.
"Nothing," snapped Kylie as she went about fluffing cushions. Ringo gave me a quizzical look but I just shook my head at him.

A few of us went back to the old apartment to do some final cleaning. I was vacuuming and mopping the bathroom when I made a discovery. As I cleaned behind the toilet, I found a condom wrapper. Thoughts rushed through my mind. Who had used it? Certainly not Ben and I, that's for sure. I suppose Kylie and Adam could have, but if it was recent why would they bother when she was already pregnant? The likeliest possibility was the act that had happened in this very room. I couldn't recall whether George had used one or not, but if he did that would explain why there was a wrapper in the bathroom. The thought then crossed my mind that perhaps we had successfully used one. That would rule out George as a possibility of being the father of my child.