⇾ 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐈

Chapter Seventy-One: Congratulations Cupcakes

May 28, 1964

Right as I was pulling the casserole out of the oven, we heard the first knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" said John, jumping up from his seat at the island where he was stealing cherry tomatoes out of the salad I'd made.

"And stop eating the food!" I called as he scurried towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah," he said as he disappeared. A moment later, I heard him shout, "Paul!"

"I brought cupcakes!" I heard Paul chanting. I sat the casserole on the counter and took the oven mitt I had over my hand off, reaching next to me to get the piece of aluminum foil I'd taken out to cover it until everyone was here to keep it warm.

"So, we've heard the news," he said when I came into view. He was, in fact, holding a container of cupcakes. Jane was next to him with a wide smile on her face. "So we brought world-class congratulations cupcakes, made by moi!"

I laughed. Paul stepped in the door and John closed it behind him.

"But, really, you two," he said with a little eye roll and a smile. "Congratulations."

"Say it louder for the people in the back," I remarked. "What'd Paulie just say?"

"Don't make Paulie take it back," he threatened jokingly, coming over to wrap me in a brotherly hug.

"Thanks, Paul," I said when he pulled away. "You can sit those on the counter."

"Something smells good," he commented when he went to sit them down.

"Oi?" asked John as he and Jane came and joined us in the kitchen. "Don't I get anything?" He lifted up my left hand with a toothy smile. "I put that there!"

"Oh, yes," said Paul, coming back over to John and putting his hands on his shoulders. "Congrats to Mr. Lennon." He sat down on one of the stools at the counter. "You know," he continued. "I remember years and years ago when you insisted that you'd never get married. Now, look where we are!"

John couldn't hide the fact that his cheeks tinged pink at the comment. "Look where we are," he mumbled.

"So, I hear it was pretty abrupt?" asked Paul.

John and I looked at one another. "Unexpected," John said.

"It was unexpected for you? How do you reckon that one out?"

"She was mad at me," he admitted.

Paul grinned crookedly. "Let me get this straight. She was mad at you, so your next step was to as her to marry you."

He shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Not sure how," Paul retaliated.

There was another knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" yelled John and Paul in exact unison. Then, they caught one another's eye and then raced towards the door to make sure they reached it first, Paul's stool spinning from him abrupt departure.

Jane and I looked at one another with an amused expression, and Paul made it to the door first, turning to John with a triumphant look before opening it. On the other side of the door was Brian.

"Good evening, Eppy!" greeted Paul.

"I thought I was at John's house," I heard Brian say jokingly. "Why am I looking at Paul?"

"Because John was too slow!" Paul answered, giving a smug smile before following John and Brian back into the kitchen.

Brian came over to pull me into a hug. "Glad to see you're not about to pass out on me this time," he said teasingly.

John and I laughed. "So, I guess that wasn't a dream, then?"

He pulled away and shook his head. "No, it most certainly was not."

I shrugged. "I was tired."

"Oh, yes, love. We could see that," John said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"What's that?" asked Paul curiously.

"Brian drove us home from the airport the other day. Poor Donna looked like she was about to die from exhaustion," John explained, giving me a childish smile.

An amused smile broke out on Paul's face as he sat himself back down in the stool he'd been in a minute ago. "Is that so?" he asked.

I blushed. "Maybe it is."

"Brian, look at my congratulations cupcakes!" Paul said, taking the unwanted attention off of me. He was a prick sometimes, but he really knew when to stop.

I sat down on the arm of the couch.

"Spectacular cupcakes, Paul," Brian said, sitting down in a stool next to him.

"Aren't they?" It appeared Paul had never been more proud of anything in his entire life.

"You really like those cupcakes, don'tcha, Paul?" I asked coolly, fully intent on making him mad.

"Yes, I do," he responded.

"He really does," added Jane with a roll of her eyes, speaking up for the first time since her and Paul had arrived.

"Well," I said, keeping my eyes trained on him. I saw him swallow nervously, but he tried real hard to hide it. "What if I told you I don't like them?"

He raised his eyebrows challengingly. "I would force-feed them to you," he retaliated.

I caught a grin on John's face. He leaned against the doorway, perhaps waiting for the next person to arrive.

"Yeah?" I asked. "I'd like to see you try."

Paul wrinkled his nose and opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes flicked over quickly towards Brian as if he had just remembered he was here, and he let whatever he was going to say die in his throat.

No one said anything for a moment and no one moved until there was another knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" yelled John, glaring sarcastically at Paul before scurrying off.

"Your cupcakes are great, Paul," I said. "I was just teasing."

He frowned, but nodded. "I figured as much."

George and Pattie joined us in the living room, but when John went to close the door, he caught sight of something and just stood there, waiting for a moment. Everyone eyed him curiously, but when Ringo and Maureen stumbled inside, looking like they'd just run a mile, we returned our gaze to one another.

"Look at the congratulations cupcakes!" Paul's words were the first thing that came out of anyone's mouths.

"They're beautiful, Paul," said George, shaking his head in disbelief.