Laura eventually passed out and Dennis offered to take her home. Emma made plans to meet Dennis for dinner the next day. George then made his way to his bedroom. The last of the guests had left. Emma decided to stay and talk with John.
“Does somebody have a new crush?” John asked when he shut the door his bedroom.
“Who? Dennis?” Emma asked, climbing onto his bed. John nodded his head.
Emma smiled. “No. He is very cute, though.”
“Are you planning on spending the night?” John asked, an amused look on his face. Emma had pulled the blankets over her and was snuggling a pillow.
“Do you mind? I never get to spend any time with you.”
“I don’t mind, but this may look rather weird if someone were to walk in on us.”
Emma shrugged her shoulders. “I am so sick of what people may think.”
“Well, then, you can borrow one of me shirts. Wouldn’t want you to wrinkle that dress.”
Emma took a shirt of John's and went to change in the bathroom. When she came out, John was already under the covers. He pushed aside some of the blanket so she could crawl in. Then he turned off the lights.
“I always wondered if I could ever get you into bed,” John whispered.
Emma laughed and gave his a shove. “Sod off, Lennon.”
He laughed. “I try.”
“I’m glad we never got into a situation where we might have slept together.” Emma said.
“Me too,” John agreed, a bit surprised that he did.
“Until now,” Emma laughed. “But sleeping together, it would just ruin the relationship we have.”
“Yeah,” John agreed, poking Emma in the ribs. “It would be like sleeping with my sister, and that’s just wrong.”
Emma pushed him away. “Yes it is, you dirty old man.”
“I’m not old,” John pouted.
Emma sighed. “I’ve missed talking with you, John. Things have been so hectic, who has time to just sit and slow down?”
“Lets just forget about our lives for a moment and just enjoy now.”
“Now’s what I am trying to escape from.”
John didn’t like the way Emma was talking. “Are things all right with you, Em?” he asked.
“Yeah. They really are. You don’t have to worry about me. I am in need of a desperate holiday.” “I thought that was what you were on?”
“No, I mean going away to my dad’s cabin on Lake Manitoba, away from everything and everyone.”
“Everyone?” John asked. “Or just Paul?”
Damn, he knows me too well, Emma thought.
“You know, it’s okay if you still have feelings for him.” John said in a soothing tone.
Emma’s body went stiff and she sat up. “I need a glass of water.” She got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom where she shut the door and leaned on the sink. Taking a few deep breaths, she stood up and stared at her reflection in the mirror. “I thought I hid myself pretty well,” she muttered. “But who was I kidding? I can’t hide myself from John.” She sighed and turned on the water, splashing some on her face. Satisfied that she had gotten herself togther, she opened the bathroom door.
John had the lamp by his bed side turned on and he was sitting up.
Instead of getting back into bed, Emma walked over to the small couch that was in the room, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and curled herself into a comfortable position.
She looked over at John. “I hate the way you know me so well.”
He smiled. “No you don’t.”
He was right, she didn’t. “Am I that obvious?” she asked.
“About Paul? No. Just to me. And it’s not in your actions, Em. I just know you.”
Emma sighed for the millionth time that night. “I may still have feelings for him, but, I’m just not willing to put myself through that again.”
“Was it really as bad as you make it out to be?”
She started twisting the little fringes that were attached to the blanket. “What we had was amazing, but we broke up, I left for New York, Stuart died, and we all lost touch from one another. That was too much to handle and it took me forever to get over it all.”
“What has all that got to do with what you feel for Paul?"
“Can’t you see I am just making excuses so we can get off this topic?”
John shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll drop it. But I just want to say this, don’t totally sweep everything under the rug.”
“How’s Cyn?” Emma asked, pretending she hadn’t heard his last remark.
It was his turn to become aloof. “She’s fine.”
Emma couldn’t help asking. “Do you love her?”
John was taken aback by her question. “What?”
“It’s a simple question, John. Yes or no?”
He didn’t know what to say.
“I take it by your silence that you don’t know. She loves you, John. Very much. She doesn’t deserve this.”
John was quiet and Emma didn’t say anything, letting him think. After a few minutes, he spoke. “I do love her, Em,” he whispered, his voice shaky.
“When was the last time you told her that?”
He hung his head. She had made her point. “You sure do know how to make a guy feel bad, don’t you Jamesie?”
Emma smiled. “Jamesie? Never heard that one from yer mouth before.”
John shrugged.
“You know, you and Stuart were the first to ever call me Emmie.”
John’s eyebrow arched. “Really?”
Emma nodded her head. “Yeah, you were. Funny, I just thought of that now.”
“I think it was Stu, who first started. We just all followed..”
“Was your visit with him nice?” Emma asked.
John knew what she was talking about and he nodded his head. Just thinking about it got him choked up.
“It’s comforting, isn’t it?” she said. “Knowing that he is still with us.”
“Yeah. Still miss him, though.”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “It wasn’t fair, John.”
John got out of bed and sat down beside Emma. She laid her head down in his lap and he stroked her hair. That comforted her and her tears disappeared.
“Remember,” Emma reminisced, “that night, Stuart’s 21st birthday, when we got him really drunk, and he fell face first into that puddle right outside his flat?” Emma giggled.
John laughed. “Yeah. And he just got right back on his feet like nothing had happened. His face was covered in mud and blood was dripping from his nose.”
“Yes! We were laughing so hard at him that we had trouble ourselves getting up the stairs!”
“Oh,” John groaned. “I had forgotten all about that.”
Emma smiled. “You know, I don’t think I could come up with a bad memory spent with you two. We always managed to have fun.”
John thought for a moment. “You know, you’re right. I can’t think of any bad ones either.”
They sat an remained for a while, laughing so hard at some memories, they had tears streaming down their faces.
When Emma glanced at the clock, she saw that it read 5:30.
“I should maybe get back to my room before everyone gets up. We don’t need to start a rumor. I’ve had enough of those to last me a few years.”
John agreed and they got up from the couch.
“When will you be back in London?” he asked.
“Soon. I think Laura is getting sick of me,” she smiled. “I’m not sure how long I will stay there. We’ll just see what happens.” She went and grabbed her dress and shoes. “What will you be doing? Another album?”
John shook his head. “Not this year. Actually, I’ve signed on to do a movie for Dick Lester.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Really? What movie?”
“Um, it’s called How I Won The War. We’re shooting in Spain so I’ll be leaving for there soon.”
“Brilliant,” she beamed. “You were meant to act, you cheeky bastard.”
He laughed as she dashed into the bathroom to change and then came back out.
“Well, see ya Lennon,” she smiled.
“Soon, right Ms. James?”
She nodded her head. “Yes, Mr. Lennon. I’ll give you a ring when I get back to London.”
They hugged and said goodbye and then Emma slipped out of his room.

The sitting room was pitch dark and Emma fumbled around, trying to make her way to the door.
“Have fun last night?” a voice asked, scaring the hell out of Emma.
Her heart raced as she felt the wall for a light switch. When the room was illuminated, Emma saw Paul sitting on a sofa.