Revelations

"Soooo" Stella hopped up and grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge, tossing Hailey one as she returned.

"Soooo" Paul copied, smiling at her puppy dog enthusiasm.

"Dad"

"Stell"

"Stop it father, spit it out, all the gory details, Hailey and I are so over waiting" Stella pouted and made Hailey pout too by giving a little tilt of her head towards the old's.

Abigail made a decision to speak up, Paul was right. As much as it pained her to speak of it, she had to tell the lot, warts and all. If Stella got upset what was the problem, they would be jetting out of the country tomorrow anyway.

"Your father, Stella, was not your father when I spoke to him at first"

The girls hushed and leant forward as if a fairy-tale was being read before bed.

Paul grinned broadly remembering and leant back on the couch touching Abigail's hair as he did so, eliciting a minute shudder from her, but he felt it all the same.

The girls eyebrows shot up and would over and over as the story unfold. Abby was about to continue but Hailey then realised Abby had basically called Paul a liar.

"Mum, why? He's Paul f-ing McCartney"

Abigail smacked Hailey's knee at the near use of the cuss word and tried to move past the moment.

"They all did. Ok start of the story. I worked for your grandfather, Stella- Jim. I was very young, very green and apparently..." Abigail looked pointedly at Paul and he raised hands in surrender "Apparently, I was perceived to be a big blabber mouth"

"Hey!- " Paul interrupted.

"Blabber mouth, yes!" Abigail insisted, shaking a finger at Paul "I was not to be trusted hence, when my employer got ill, I had to call his sons Michael and James...... Ramone"

Stella opened her mouth then thought better of it, Paul Ramone had always been her dads alias ever since she was a little girl. To think that Abigail was sitting here speaking about that Ramone and not realising she had been speaking to one of the Beatles in the 60's was freaking huge.

"For weeks I was led on a merry chase, the boys were in the US for the first time -The Ed Sullivan Show, Hailey. Their M.O. to moi though was that they were selling knives, travelling knife salesmen, lord I was naive! And during this time I was conveying to Ramone his father's illness and recovery, by telephone, over all those weeks. Bill/ John was wonderful, Geo, being the only one with a name close to real and Manuel- Richard with his French hairdresser's accent" Abigail giggled at Richie's long-ago folly "Such blindness to their obvious amusement"

"You would have been livid if they were being so deceiving to you especially with pop's in hospital" Stella smacked her dad's leg waking him up from staring at Abigail.

"Ouch, Stel......" Paul turned facing the girl's expectant faces "You see, we were huge in Britain by then, if it got out that I was at me da's he would never have any peace at his home"

"So, you all led the poor girl down the garden path" Hailey wasn't speaking of her mum as such, just of that young girl back in '64.

"Yea, suppose we did" Paul rubbed his neck and felt rather flustered even though the time since was massive. "But she cottoned on to us and gave a right ear bashing, poor da when he knew she knew and was feeling like a mushroom... Well he was so upset for her. Abby, you felt like everyone knew but you-right"

"So...." Stella pressed, Abigail picked up from where Paul had paused.

"I fled" Abigail blushed red, realising suddenly that she fled numerous times "Nicked off back to Liverpool I did" She smoothed her hands down her jean clad legs multiple times resulting in Hailey catching her hands, stopping her mother's worrying habit.

"I came back one night, to fetch my things. Boy, did I pick the night to do that. Met John in the darkness by the front gate and your father when he came searching for John" Memories arose and washed over Abigail firstly. Then Paul's memory morphed in his minds eye. He could still see her, the first moment, the linking of voice and face.

"Jim wanted to 'adopt' me. Paul was happy, I was happy. Bill- John was elated..."

"No. Noooo. Stop. You mean..." Hailey picked up the signals and added them together "You, my mum, Abigail from the farm, you and John Lennon......."

"Pissed me off no end, actually" Paul smirked, then hugged Abigail close. "Abbs dated John for months, lived in my house for all those months as my 'sister'. I had a crush on the pretty girl my father hired as a cleaner and my best friend had for a girlfriend"

"So, you and John were like ...... tight, right?" Stella prompted "Like.... A couple, couple "

"We were in love. I loved him anyway" Abigail sighed and shook away the overwhelming, long buried feelings.

"He loved you too" Paul added in, making Abigail sigh at the complexity of it all.

"How come there are no pictures?" Hailey asked, confused "In the books. Books and books on the Beatles I never saw pictures of 'John Lennon accompanied by Abigail Grant' in one"

"Didn't you wonder where pages 16, 35 and 29 went Hailey" Abigail giggled and Hailey huffed in protest, crossing her arms over her chest and flopping back on the couch.

"Stella those two photo albums in the closet, the green and brown ones, Abbs is in those. France and at home"

"So you two weren't ever-" Stella was fascinated, first she never knew that dad had a 'sister', granddad never mentioned her nor anyone else. And second they seemed more cosy than mere 'friends or siblings'.

Abigail suddenly felt fragile, her shoulders slumped and she was awash, lost to memories but she made herself rally, raising her head high and pressing on "Your dad and I had moments, fate pushed us apart, your granddad bless his soul had another relapse, and then Paris..."

"Paris, I never knew you went to Paris!" Hailey looked even more confused and hurt that she didn't even know her mother after all this time, such secrets she had carried.

"How do you think I had all those sketches, honey. I was in Paris with the lads in the suites, sketched the boys, the monuments, the moments" Abigail tugged on Paul's arm for him to proceed. "I can't, they'll hate me"

The girls shook their heads "It's history Abigail, nothing to hurt us now" Stella offered sweetly but Abigail got up and headed off to the window hoping the freedom of the wind would stop her heart beating so erratically.

"John stuffed up. Big time. You know the stories, it was crazy and so were we. And when he did, your mum here ran, she was gone for hours, she was. I punched John a good few times and when Mal said he spotted your mum rushing back past the hotel in another direction I followed"

"Wait up. You duffed John up? Did you hurt him?!" Abigail swivelled around and stared into Paul, he sheepishly ducked his head from her.

"Yea a bit. Maybe.... a lot" Paul groaned out.

"Paul! You shouldn't have hurt John!" Abigail berated and the girls giggled at the comical scene in front of them.

"Mum, it was years ago" Hailey countered trying to stop her mum from launching admonishment on contrite looking Paul.

"Told ya. She loved him"

"I loved you too" Abigail's hand flew to her mouth, even the utterance of the words holding her fearful like she was that innocent girl sitting at the kitchen table in Cavendish Road, even though the two of them were very much different people to the one's in the room now.

Paul jumped up and reached for Abigail bringing her into his arms "I know you did. I loved you. You knew that... In the end"

"Well why wasn't there a happy ever after" Stella watched the two hug and hold each other she was upset for her own mum but she knew her mother ultimately wanted her father happy.

"I ran, A-gain!" Abigail guided Paul around the coffee table and they stood over the two girls "Your dad wanted us to be something. I wished we could be something. I wanted but...."

"But for ages Abb's had been portrayed as my sister...  and Johns girlfriend" Paul sat back down holding Abigail's hand like a lifeline "Here I was, trying to make her my girl. Not seeing the traps. Brian went ballistic when I said I wanted to date Abigail, and he was right, I guess. If the press had caught wind that a very single and available Abigail had been living with single Paul for months alone it would have been, for want of a better word, messy"

"The world knew me as his sister, all those girls, all those little innocent 10-year-old girls saw me as that, then to be love interest. It was impossible." Abigail frowned for Paul to stop when he dragged her close and kissed her forehead lightly.

"They don't mind Abbs" Paul looked at Hailey and Stella and sure enough they assured them they didn't.

"So, you loved them both?" Stella worried for her dad's heart.

"The hole was dug and, like Alice In Wonderland, I fell in. Hanging around your dad would turn my head to his charms whether or not we said we were fake brother and sister" Abby sighed "Unfortunately the order of my hearts love just went toward John first. I won't ever apologise that I loved John and I won't ever apologise that I loved your father.... ever "

Stella still grimaced but Paul was consciously chuffed to know he had, had her. She had felt the same way, she had felt the same about him.

"So yes, the answer is a resounding unequivocal yes, I loved them both, Stella, but your dad was, for so long, in my daily life we just had to exist as brother and sister" Abigail held Paul firm for support not wanting Stella to hate her now for the horrible person she was in the past "We, no I, stopped it before it had a chance to start with your dad. For Jim, for Paul and John, all the lads- the band, for the fans, even for Brian, I left. It was all a big mess, and again, I ran, but further this time, a lot further"

"The meat in a Beatle sandwich" Hailey smirked, quite proud of her mum's 'achievements'.

"The ice-cream in the ice-cream sandwich. I love those things" Stella laughed, looking at her dad she was beginning to see the old him before her mum was sick, the smile on his face wasn't forced now. His eyes twinkled bright with light.

"The rose between two thorns" Paul touted proud of his romantic equalling of the girls.

"Oh save us" Stella happily groaned the words out as Abigail looped an arm around him.

Paul leaned back not believing she was in his arms after all this time, he wasn't going to let her go, somehow he would win her again.

Abigail turned from watching the girls make fake gagging sounds and actions to stare at Paul, they were so close. The distance between them was now easy to cross.

Sweet kisses pressed upon lips and cheeks as the girls settled down quietly across from them. Winding one hand around her back holding her close, the other in her hair and his eyes gazed into hers then they were embracing, space and time between, forgotten.

Somewhere a door closed softly.