First things first, I had to find a place to stay. The obvious choice was the Britannia Adelpi Hotel, so that's where I headed.
As I approached the front desk, the same man I had spoken with earlier looked up at me. Although he tried to hide it from me, I caught him rolling his eyes.
"And how may I help you now, ma'am?" he asked sarcastically.
I stopped myself from coming back at him with a nasty retort "I would like a room, please," I said as nicely as I could manage.
"And would that be a single or double room?"
"A single room please"
"Padded or non-padded?" I heard him say under his breath. "How long will you be staying?" he asked quickly after his muffled comment.
Although I had heard his first comment, I decided to act like I hadn't. "I'm not really sure," I said realizing that I really wasn't. How did I know how long I was going to be here? I had to tell the man something though. "Um, at least a week. So, yeah a week," I finally replied.
"So you would like a single room from 31st August to 6th September?" I nodded in affirmation. "Your room number is 212," He said crisply, handing me the key.
I paid, signed the register and made my way up to my room. The room wasn't the nicest, but what did I expect? The guy at the front counter probably knew about the shabbiness of the room, and just had to put me in it. It was clean, though, and the bed was soft, so what did it matter?
I sat down on the comfortable chair provided, and wondered what to do with myself. I looked down at my dress and noticed it was a little rumpled. That wouldn't do at all! Besides being tousled looking, it was the only clothing I had with me. I needed more than one change of clothes. Besides, I wanted to wear this dress when I "met" Paul. It was the dress he had recognized in 2001. I knew I had to wear it.
My only solution was to first buy new clothes and then get the dress I was wearing pressed and ready to wear by tonight.
I remembered passing a clothing shop on my way to and from the jewelry shop. With a purse full of money, I left the hotel and headed in the direction of the clothing shop.
When I entered the shop, I saw two women talking by the cash register. I assumed that one of them was the shopkeeper, and while she was busy with the customer I browsed the clothing racks. I found a couple dresses to try on, and I made my way over to the now saleslady.
"Is there a dressing room where I can try these on?" I asked. The clerk turned, looking startled.
"I'm sorry dear, I didn't see you there. Yes we have a dressing room right over here," she said pointing to a door.
I tried on the two dresses I had on in my hand. They both fit well, but I decided to get only one. I wasn't sure what styles were popular, and I didn't want to waste money on dresses that I wouldn't wear again. The one I chose was polyester with a tie in the front; it was a sunny yellow and the color went well with my skin tone. Another thing I needed was a change of underwear, but the store didn't carry the underwear I was used to wearing. Can you say granny panties? It was better than nothing so I picked up a pair. The store also sold cosmetics, so I bought some, and a brush. I did not want Paul to see me as my natural self the first time he met me; he probably wouldn't even look twice at me.
I paid for my purchases and went back to the hotel. I went to my room and changed into my new dress.
Getting my dress pressed was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I dreaded having to ask the rude guy up front how to get it done, so I decided to wander the hotel looking for other employees.
I simply walked out of my hotel room and ran into a woman dressed in a maids uniform. She was quite obliging and said she could have my dress pressed and ready by six that evening. I thanked her and walked back to my room.
The next several hours were spent twiddling my thumbs. I had not had the forethought to buy a book, so I was stuck reading the few pamphlets the hotel had provided. There was not even a T.V. in the room; what did people do without television? I knew that they had T.V. at this time, but how did one live with only two or three channels to pick from? Well, they were probably a lot less lazy than people from 2001.
After 4 hours of nothing, I still had three hours until John and Cyn were to pick me up. Those three hours were made up of meticulously getting ready. I washed my hair, and had to wait while it dried. Were hairdryers even invented yet? I hoped so; otherwise my hair would surely look horrible most of the time. I opened the hotel window and let the breeze slowly dry my hair.
My hair was just done drying when there was a sharp knock at my door. It was the maid with my dress, pressed and ready thirty minutes before scheduled.
With forty-five minutes left, I was ready. For the next half hour, I paced, frequently pausing to check my appearance in the mirror.
With fifteen minutes left until the appointed time, I went down to the lobby to meet Cyn and John.
Luckily, the rude man from behind the desk had been replaced; I breathed a sigh of relief at that one.
I stared attentively through the lobby windows to the street beyond, willing Cyn and John to arrive. My mind tricks must have worked because two minutes after I arrived in the lobby, I saw a car pull up and Cyn stepped out.
I walked hurriedly outside and greeted Cyn.
"Hi. Thanks for picking me up,"
"No problem. I'm really glad you're coming; I've told everyone about you. They're all so excited to meet an American," she said.
"I'm excited to meet all of your friends," I replied politely, thinking about one friend in particular.
"Come on, Cyn. Let's go!" called an anxious man from the car; I assumed this was the infamous John Lennon.
Cyn just laughed "He's a bit impatient, don't mind him. Well if you're ready, then we should be going," she said as she walked to the car and got in the front.
I assumed I was to sit in the back, so I opened the door and stepped inside. As soon as I entered the dark car, I sensed someone seated near me.
I looked to my right and my eyes met those of a young James Paul McCartney.
