At the sight of Paul, the room grew silent. No one said a word. All you could hear were John's steps as he made his way to the door. I froze, not knowing what his reaction to seeing Paul was going to be. 

"Valiant Paul McCartney, I presume?" John asked, breaking the silence. 

"Sir Jasper Lennon, I presume?’ Paul responded. 

Paul extended his hand out and John shook it. I swear you could hear everyone start breathing again.

I knew that Valiant Paul and Sir Jasper were characters that John and Paul had played on a televised Christmas play early in their Beatles career. It was rather amusing they had both remembered and addressed themselves in this manner, but it brought a pleasant mood into the room. Their interaction was cordial, yet not very warm. 

As Paul walked in, I took notice that Linda had come with him. Paul smiled gently when he became aware of my presence. 

"Mirel...what a surprise seeing you here.." He said genuinely happy to see me. I walked over to him and gave him a big hug. It was apparent then that Paul was also drug-induced. 

"Not more of a surprise than seeing you!" I teased. "It's good to see you, Paul."

"Always a pleasure to see you, luv." Paul said before heading over to say hello to the others. 

I gave Linda a hug and gave her a look as if to say 'What's all this?'

She shot me another look knowingly and smiled. 

I looked over at Paul who was chatting with the guys. The official session of the night was over...not that it had been very productive, but I could hear Paul was disappointed he had missed it. He walked over to Ringo's drums and picked up his sticks. 

“Ah, okay,” John said, looking around for his guitar. “Maybe we’ll have a little jam.”

Any intent I had of leaving was completely forgotten after this turn of events. I did call my mother and quickly told her what was going on. 

"Paul as in McCartney?" she asked. 

"Yes. I'll tell you about it when I get home; I really don't want to miss this." I said. 

"You have fun and don't worry about Elise. I'll tell her you called." 

"Thanks mom." 

When I left the control room, I noticed everyone had taken their respective places. Paul on drums, John on guitar, Stevie on the electic piano, Linda was seated at the organ, Jesse on his six-string, and a guy who hadn't been there before was on bass. I strolled over to Harry who was setting up his microphone. 

"Should I be ofended that you didn't want to stay when I asked, but Paul McCartney stops by and you change your mind?" He teased. 

"Just a little." I joked. 

He smiled as he adjusted the microphone height so I could reach it. 

Paul was beating on the drums, while people were getting settled in. 

"If you can get the riffs, just so we can sing something...do you want a snort Steve? A toot? Its going round..." John asked Stevie as he made his way to the table where the drugs were set out. I sighed as I realized just how much drug use was going on around me. 

When John finally returned to his mic, he began singing some crazy lyrics in a bluesy style with Paul and the others serving as accompaniment. John eventually stopped to complain about tryiing a song everyone knew. 

"Somebody think of a friggin' song. I've done 'Aint that a Shame' in twenty studios on these jam sessions..."

Paul suggested 'Little Bitty Pretty One' while Harry chimed in with 'Do Ya Wanna Dance.' 

"We did 'Do Ya Wanna Dance' for three fuckin' sessions!" John responded. 

I looked over at Harry and he just shrugged his shoulders. John attempted singing Little Bitty Pretty One before getting frustrated after one line. 

"...see what I mean? I've forgotten all the words...if somebody knows a song that we all know, please say so, 'cause I've been screaming here for hours..." 

I looked around and since nobody looked like they had any ideas, I suggested 'Lucille.'

"Now see that? Is she the only one who's thinking right now?' John exclaimed. 

I could honestly say I was the only one who wasn't in a checmically altered state of mind. The attempt at Lucille was rather weak, however. Nobody could really get it together. Apart from a few harmonizing vocals from Paul and me, there wasn't much going on. We sang two choruses and a middle eight before some instrumental solos. The song was going nowhere and it finally stopped. John was complaining about his microphone and how nobody could get in the right key. At one point he looked over at Paul and rolled his eyes as if to directly complain about the others in the session. I didn't take offense to it really. I wasn't contributing anything other than backing vocals, but I did think John's gesture to Paul, was somewhat endearing. It was evidence that John missed the interaction and the connection he had with Paul and the other Beatles when they played. They understood each other and could just make it work. John was struggling with these musicians in the studio. They didn't understand what he wanted or expected. It was not to take away any credit from them individually...and maybe it was the drugs that were making this session disastrous when it came to musicanship, but cohesively, these guys were disappointing. The next attempt was the classic 'Stand by me' with John, Paul and Harry sharing vocals. The song eventually stopped due to technical problems with the microphones again and this time John also complained about the earphones. John became progressively irritable and called a break in the session. He poured another round of drinks for everyone. It became apparent to me that this jam session was going to be a let down--at least when it came to the music. Paul and John's interaction became more comfortable as the night progressed though. Blame it on the drugs or maybe it was the friendship they shared, but Paul and John didn't skip a beat- so positive was the encounter that John even invited Paul, Linda and the kids to join him tomorrow at his house in Santa Monica. You could tell Paul was thrilled and said he and the family would be there. 

"I take it you'll be there too, Mirel? It would be so great to meet Elise...and the girls could have someone to play with." Paul looked over at me. 

Before I could say a word, John answered for me. "That'd be great! She's an amazing little girl. You'll love her." John boasted. 

I would lie if I said I didn't want to go and see this whole John-Paul thing play out; plus, it made me smile to hear John so proud of Elise. As for my personal thoughts of John right now? I still thought he had behaved like an asshole to me, but I made it a point to set that aside for now, in order to enjoy the company of Paul and Linda and have Elise meet them and their girls. Besides, there was no need to socialize with John tomorrow...there were more people I had an interest in hanging out with that John. So it was set- tomorrow Elise and I would head down to John's beach home. I quickly glanced over at May, who I saw smiling. I was sure it had nothing to do with me coming over tomorrow, but more with John inviting Paul. 

As the night drew to a close, I said a quick and general 'see you later' to everyone. This was mostly due to the fact that I didn't want to have any one on one time with John. Harry walked me to my car and as I sat in the drivers seat, ready to drive home, he opened the door and leaned in. 

"Wait...aren't your forgetting something?" He smirked as he leaned in for a goodnight kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mirel." he winked before closing the door. 

***

The next morning, I was awoken by a very cheerful little girl. Elise woke me up by jumping on the bed. 

"What a wonderful way to wake up mommy!" I said as I pulled her down to me, hugged her and gave her a kiss. She giggled and squirmed as I continued to kiss her. 

"Mommy...what are we going to do today?" She asked. "Are we going to the park?" 

"No. I have a much more fun adventure for today. We're going to go spend the day at your daddy's beach house." I smiled. 

"Yay!" she squealed excitedly. 

I heard laughter from the doorway. I hadn't noticed that my mom was standing there. 

"What time are you suppose to be there?" Mom asked. 

"Around noon." I said getting out of bed. 

"In that case, let's get you two some breakfast. Go on Elise, ask Grandpa to make his famous pancakes for breakfast." 

"Okay!" Elise said as she ran out the door yelling " Grandpa!! I want pancakes!" 

I smiled and looked over at me mom. 

"So..." she said trying to sound less excited than she really was. 

"Paul and Linda and the girls are also going to go!" I blurted out like a little girl. 

That was all it took for my mom to run towards me, yank me by the arm and throw us on the bed. "Tell me everything!" she squeeled. 

***

After an amazing pancake breakfast, I prepared a small bag with all the pool essentials for both Elise and myself. As I did so, I grew a little nervous...this was the first 'family gathering'- John, Elise, me...May...Harry...Ringo..and the McCartneys. It was a mixed family for sure...and I use the word family lightly. It would also be the first time Harry met Elise. I was a little anxious as to how that was going to go down. I mean I hadn't even told my mom about Harry and me...and I wasn't ready to tell anything to Elise. I mean she had just found out about John recently...adding another man into the mix was a little too soon. I figured I'd talk to Harry once I got there. 

Elise was so excited to be going and the fact that there would be other girls to play with had her smiling the entire trip to John's house. I made sure to be fashionably late since I didn't want to be the first to get there. When we arrived, Elise practically dragged me to the door. 

"Calm down...we're here." I laughed. 

May answered the door. She smiled when she saw Elise and introduced herself simply as 'May'. She politely smiled at me too and invited us in. 

"Everyone is already outside." She said as she closed the door. "You can leave your bag in here if you'd like or outside too if you prefer."

"Thank you May."

"Mommy...can I change into my bathing suit?" 

"In a second sweetheart...let's go say hello to everyone first." I smiled.

As Elise and I walked outside, I could hear familiar chatter. The voices of Paul and RIngo filled the air and then a bout of laughter interrupted them. There was a wise crack made by Harry to which John was about to retaliate but was cut short when he saw Elise walk through the door. 

"Why hello there. Fancy seeing you here." John smiled at Elise. The crowd of people had abruptly grown silent.

I suddenly felt Elise tense up. Her eyes widened as she looked around without saying a word. 

"Well go on Elise...say hello." I said nudging her, but she just stood still. I looked around and realized everyone who was there was blantly staring at her. She quickly turned around and grabbed my leg, her face pushed against it. . There were a few 'Awws' and small giggles at what was happening. I myself smiled and tried not to laugh at how adorable Elise was. She had grown shy around the crowd of people that were watching her. Apparently, everyone's curiosity to see John's daughter was a little too much for Elise. I gently picked her up and heard her sniff. 

"Do you want to go inside?" I asked softly. 

I heard a muffled 'yes' as her face was now pushed against my chest. "Okay let's go" I said heading towards the door.

"Alright ladies and gents...nothing to see here...go back to what you were doing and let my poor child be!" John said loudly to the crowd. "Go on now...you insensitive dopes...not every Lennon is such a shameless fool as I " John teased as he got the crowd back into the atmosphere. 

I sat Elise on the couch and saw her face was read and her eyes puffy. 

"What's wrong?" I asked as she wiped her eyes with the back of her arm. 

She sniffed, but didn't say anything. I was trying very hard not to laugh at how cute she was acting. 

"Elise?" What''s wrong sweetie." 

"Everyone out there was looking at me." She finally answered. 

I had to admit there were quite a bit of people gathered in the yard and the second we had walked out, everyone had fell silent and looked at us. 

"And nobody said anything." She continued. 

"Your daddy said something to you." I responded. 

She was quiet. 

I chuckled. "Now are you going to tell me your daddy didn't say anything to you?" I looked at her. 

She pouted. "I didn't understand what he said to me." 

I had to think back to what John had said...

"Sweetie, he just meant he was happy to see you here." I said trying to avoid having to explain sarcasm to her. 

"Well why didn't he just say that?" She whined. 

"We do talk kind of funny, don't we?" I heard Paul's voice behind me. 

Elise looked at Paul curiously.

"Hi. I'm Paul. I'm a friend of you dad...and mum." he said kneeling next to me. 

"Hi. I'm Elise."

"That's a beautiful name." 

"Thanks...my mom picked it out. And you say it mom, not mum." Elise corrected Paul. 

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Elise!" I said trying to stifle a laugh. Paul was laughing softly too. 

"What did I do? You always correct me when I say something wrong." She responded innocently. 

"Elise, Paul didn't s--" but Paul put his hand on my arm and gave me a wink. 

"So how is it that you say it?" he asked looking at Elise. 

"Mmmmooooommmm." Elise repeated slowly opening her little mouth and looking straight at Paul. "You try it." 

"Mmmuuuuuuummm." Paul said imitating her. 

"No." Elise giggled. "Mmmmoooooommmm" she repeated. 

"Mmmuuuuuu-" Paul began, but Elise quickly put her hands on his cheeks and pressed them together, " ...ooooooommmm" Paul finished. 

"That's how you say it!" she squeeled with delight. 

I was laughing at such a tender moment Elise and Paul were sharing. 

"Thanks Teacher." Paul said getting up and winking at her. "I'll see you outside." Paul said as he headed out the door. 

"I like Paul. He's nice..." Elise smiled. 

"So are you ready to head back outside?" I asked

"Can I change into my bathing suit?"

"Will you say hello to everyone afterwards?" 

Elise nodded a yes. 

"Okay, c'mon, let's get you changed. 

***

The next few hours were rather enjoyable. Elise, Heather, Mary and even little Stella were playing in the yard. Heather was the ring leader of them all, making them laugh while she chased them around. During that time, Paul got up a few times to play with them. He would pick each of the girls, including Elise, and twirl them around, hang them upside down, even throw them up in the air. The girls would giggle with delight. John, on the other hand would yell out a comment of two from across the yard to Elise about trying to get away from the other girls or to catch up to them. The difference in behavior towards children between Paul and John was still very apparent. 

It was nice to see everyone together...I must admit I was extremey excited to see Paul and John talking as old friends do. There were times I had to actively stop myself from staring hoping nobody had noticed. Unfortunately for me, Harry had also been staring at me. 

"Boo." he interrupted my gaze. 

"Oh...sorry...it's just so exciting to see those two commuicating like civilized people. It's hard to believe all those attacks on each other ever took place." I commented. 

"I'm glad to see them both enjoying themselves too, but I didn't come here to talk about them...I'm here to talk about us. What's going on? You've hardly spoken to me since you got here and I feel like you've been trying to avoid me."

"It's not that Harry...it's just that I am not ready for Elise to see me with you...as...well you know...a love interest." 

"I understand Mirel and I support that, but that doesn't mean we have to act like complete strangers, does it?" 

"I guess not. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you Harry." 

"Look, I understand about your daughter...I know it's been a lot for her to take in with John being her father and all...so believe me, I am not trying to add on anything more to her plate, but I still want to have a relationship with you...even if it is just of friends when we're in front of her..I promise I'll behave." He smiled. 

"Okay....let's be friends." I laughed and gave him a hug.