All the Lonely People by Jen Marie Hawkins

Author:Jen Marie Hawkins [Hawkins, Jen Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945654794
Publisher: Owl Hollow Press, LLC

Chapter 31

: Eleanor Rigby :

WE MAKE THE mile-long walk to St. Peter’s as the clouds finally give way to the evening sun.

An occasional passing car whooshes through the remaining rain puddles. When we turn onto Church Road, I point to a red brick building next to the church.

“That’s it right there. The place where John met Paul.”

We both stop and stare. Me, in reverence; him, far away in his own thoughts.

I wonder if he feels the impact of the history and the mythology of the Beatles the way I do. Seeing this place, knowing what began in this very location, sends sentimental chills racing over my skin.

“I know you aren’t really a fan, but what if John and Paul had never met, and the Beatles never existed? Like in that movie where lightning sends the guy to a parallel universe where the Beatles were never a thing?” His featherweight gaze lands on me, and I continue. “If there had been no Quarrymen, there would’ve been no Beatles. It’s hard to imagine a past, or even a future, where the Beatles never existed. At least for me. That’s why I love them so much. They changed everything.”

He considers this for a few moments. Quiet. Reflective.

“Scientists can’t rule out the possibility of a multiverse. But we can only live in one at a time, as far as we know. I don’t think it’s reasonable to consider the absence of things that’ve already happened—here, in this one. Everything happens for a reason, right? You can’t undo it once it’s done, so there’s no use even trying to imagine an alternative present unless you have the ability to travel to one.”

I know he’s talking about the Beatles, but when I apply that to the reason we’re standing right here, right now… it’s uncomfortable. Damp air and unwelcome logic hang thick around us.

He says quietly, “You all right?”

It’s stunning, the way he picks up on my emotions, for someone who barely knows me.

I nod. “It’s just that I came here for an alternative present.” We start walking again. “But the best case scenario is a conversation with a ghost.”

I don’t tell him how much I’m hoping Pop is still alive. That he will somehow warp from some parallel universe and come back to me. Or that I will leave this present and go to one where he’s still alive.

I would give up everything to have Pop back.

We walk until we reach the graveyard gate. A roof rises above the brick pedestals separating it from the sidewalk, and it’s outlined in black. Two white flowers are etched into the point below the pitch. The sun has made its debut, only to begin a descent toward the horizon.

“I need to find the tombstone before sunset.”

“Why sunset?” Henry asks.

“It was sunset in the dream.”

“Ah.”

I finally meet his eyes. They’re sea-glass green in the warm evening light.

“I have to go alone.”

He bites his bottom lip and nods. “So it was just you, then. In the dream.”

“Well, yeah. Me and Pop.

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