John and Ringo, 2001

After George’s memorial service, John Lennon and Ringo Starr sat outside the Harrison household smoking a cigarette.

- Ello, Ring…- John sat next to Ringo, who greeted as he raised his arm.

- How you been, Johnny?

- Good, really…- John stretched his legs, looking at the barren trees of winter. – I guess I’m not very happy as we speak, but in general, I’m doing fine.

Ringo chuckled. –Two lonely ex-bee-atles, right?

John grinned and nodded as he took a long drag from his ciggie. They just stared silently at the garden.

- I, ehm…- John spoke again. –I’m sorry I wasn’t there at Mo’s service, Ring…

- That’s all right…- Ringo sighed. –I wondered if you’d come, though…

John felt ashamed. – I was in the middle of therapy, Ring… I…- He shook his head and looked down. –I dunno. George passing away from cancer is sad and all, but it was a sickness, you know. He was ill…

Ringo stepped on his simmering cigarette butt. –You still think of Paul, hey?

John sighed. –Yeh…

- I do as well, from time to time… especially after Mo, you know… I thought about what she put up with, and all…

- Jane couldn’t take the heat. –John offered. – I always thought Jane was cute and all, but Paul really needed someone who could roll in the dirt or have a character strong enough to stand by him…

- I always knew it wouldn’t last. –Ringo shook his head. –But I never expected Paul to…- he trailed off. Thirty-one years had passed, and the pain was still fresh. Even fresher now that little Georgie Beatle was gone as well.

- I’ve always wondered…- John closed his eyes and leaned back on the wooden bench with a huff. – Just how much of his depression was caused by me…

- By you? - Ringo took his glasses off and cleaned his eye with his right hand. –By all of us, you mean…

- I really luved the guy, mate…- John pressed his lips. – Jane told me later that he was all buggered because he thought that he had lost his best mate… It turns out he never lost me, but we all lost him.

- For a while there, Johnny, we all lost you. We were really glad to see you came back to yer senses… It’s only bad that Paul couldn’t hold out a bit longer to see it.

Brief silence.

- Where were you? - John turned to look at Ringo. –You know, when you heard the news?

Ringo chuckled and a sad giggle left his chest. – I was in the bog, literally… I had the radio on outside the window of the shower, and I heard it on the five o’clock…- He looked at John. –And you?

- Watching telly with Yoko…- He shrugged. –It was about two years before I went back with Cyn, I think… It sort of brougt me around, in a sense... But God, did I feel bad.

- 1970, luv…- Ringo pulled out another cigarette. –Fresh out of Beatle camp.- He chuckled and shook his head as he took the cigarette to his lips. –Cor, man, he was 28 bloody years old… He could have still done so much... I can't figure out why he gave up like that. It wasn't like Paul, you know...

- You can't blame Jane too much, you know...- John leaned back. -How was she to know he would cut his bloody throat?

The drummer assented silently. -Yeh... I spent years blaming her for it all, but... Well, he wasn't easy. She must have felt like shit, as well... She did luv him after all.

John nodded in silence. –We were lucky, Ring… You, George and I had a second chance, thanks to him… I mean…- he took his glasses off. –I got Cyn, Jules and Sean, you patched up with your sons, George and Pat finally got to adopt instead of tearing themselves up over fertility issues…

- Yeah…- Ringo pressed his lips. He looked up and raised his hand to the sky with a grin. - Thanks, Paul… See you someday…

- See you someday? - John sneered.

Ringo smiled. –Do you believe in life after death, Johnny?

John smirked, his aged face showing wrinkles of wisdom under his traditional and ancient round granny glasses. – I dunno about that, Ring… Do you?

Ringo looked up into the sky. –I dunno… I hope there IS, you know…- He sighed a long and painful sigh. –Brian, Paul, Mo… Now George…- He smiled and closed his eyes. –It’s sort of encouraging to think they’ll be waiting fer you somewhere…

- That’s true, yeh…- John nodded.

Another long silence overtook them.

John suddenly put his hand on Ringo’s shoulder. – Good to know you’re still around…

Ringo smiled and put his hand on John’s arm. –You too, Johnny…

And the two friends spent the evening reminiscing. They missed George, but at least they had had the chance to say goodbye. With Paul, it had been so sudden and tragic, it was a shock they would never recover from. But they were thankful to him. He had shown them the way.

- Johnny!!- Jules Lennon called after his son, who ran in the garden. John smiled proudly from the two seater bench he shared with Ringo. The drummer giggled. –He’s precious… How old is he, then?

- Hell be six next month…- John huffed.

- Strange…- Ringo scratched his head. –Ever thought we’d be grandparents, John?

- I never did, no…- John smiled. –Not when I was young, anylord…

John remembered all the afternoons Paul had spent in his house, playing with Julian as a child, longing to someday have a child of his own, something which was sadly never accomplished. The ultimate sacrifice; give it all up so the bitter friend can learn to appreciate what he had. John now loved his sons and his grandson more than life itself. He appreciated his wife, now as old as he was, enduring the pace of life by his side. Despite what may have seemed before, he realized how blessed he was… How blessed they had all been, even Paul, who had not been able to hold on.

He smiled, and felt the warmth of the sun heat up his now older bones. He and Ringo knew… They needed no reassuring, for this time, they had done things right.

The end.

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