�Bob we�re just friends��
�I know that you�re like a sister to me! I just can�t go to this party all by me lonesome.�
�And you couldn�t find some other girl to take with you?�
�Well�I sort o� forgot about it up �till today��Please say you�ll go.�
�Oh fine�but I can�t be there all night. I promised Christine I�d run lines with her.�
�Thanks Em! You�re the greatest! You really are!� he said, grinning triumphantly. �I�ll pick you up at 6:30�
He gave her one last thankful grin and ran off to his car.
�Alright, see you then Bobby.�
Emily Hayden shook her head with a laugh; it was just like him to be daft enough to forget about something like the Actor�s Guild Ball. Anyroad, she still couldn�t figure out how he�d gotten tickets in the first place. The Ball was a black tie event held in the heart of London�s theater district. It was of course open only to those involved with acting or theater and there were only two ways to get tickets: by getting invited or by having connections with someone who was. The guest list consisted of all the big names in the business; the most renowned directors, the most brilliant producers, and of course the best actors in London. Even of a few of the stars of the silver screen turned out for the party, turning the sidewalk in front of the ballroom into a sea of glittering flash bulbs. Bob certainly wasn�t a prominent actor and, to the best of Emily�s knowledge, didn�t know anyone who was.
She headed back into the theater where the crew was still dismantling the set from their rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet. She grabbed her coat and script and headed out to where her own car was parked.
�What in the world am I going to wear?� She said to herself as she slid into the driver�s seat.
Three hours later Emily was putting the finishing touches on her long hair. She had finally decided on wearing the burgundy dress she had worn to her sister Susan�s wedding last fall. At 6:45, just when she was beginning to wonder where he could be, Bob Connors appeared at he door of her flat in a black suit and tie.
�Wow Em, you look bloody gorgeous!� he said, his eyes wide.
�Thank you,� she replied with a dramatic flip of her hair, �You clean up pretty well too.�
At about 5� 6� and curvy with a pleasant face and big green eyes, she was, admittedly, quite pretty. Her hair though was what she considered her best feature. Auburn-brown and manageably wavy it fell about half way down her back. Ordinarily she kept it pulled off of her face for convenience sake but tonight she had left it mostly down, twisted off on one side with one of her mother�s combs.
�Bob, how did you get tickets to The Ball anyway?� she inquired a bit later as they drove to the event.
�Ah, well, I know some people, �s all.� He said trying to sound off-hand but shifting a bit uneasily.
�Like who?� she persisted.
�It�s not like you�d really believe me if I told ya.�
�Try me, Bobby.� She said now all the more intrigued as to who this mystery friend of his could be.
�Richard Starkey.�
�Hold up, the Richard Starkey? As in Ringo Starr? As in The Beatles?� she asked incredulously.
�Spot on.� He replied with a rather proud smirk.
�Are you serious?� she said turning to face him, her eyes widening; he nodded, still grinning. �How in the world do you know the bloody Beatles?!?!?!?!?�
�One Beatle,� he corrected her, �I�ve never met the other three. I used to live up in the �Pool ya know. Me dad worked in the hospital there for years before we moved to the city. I met Ritch there one day after school; he was there for pneumonia or somethin�. He was my age and we got to be friends. We kept in touch after I moved and a few weeks ago he rang me up saying he had some extra tickets to the Ball and I could have �em if I wanted �em. He�s a bit of an actor too ya know, was even before he was a drummer. He�s done some theater here and there and a movie or two, but being a Beatle and all they invited him just because.�
�He�s gonna be there?� Emily said, suddenly a bit apprehensive. She wasn�t shy but she didn�t fancy the idea of having to rub elbows with a Beatle.
�Yeah, o� course he is. Don�t worry though, Ritch is a great guy. Real nice, not all that bright, but nice and real modest.�
�He�ll be alone, right? No one�uh�else is going to be there?�
�Na, the other guys won�t come�at least I don�t suppose they will. They aren�t actors so far as I know.� He paused and then added, �Why? You afraid you�d swoon if you met the famous Lennon and McCartney?� he smirked. Emily glared at him. The conversation went no further, however, because they had arrived at the ballroom where the event was to be held.
Bob got out of the car first and offered her his arm; she took it, trying not to laugh. She was going to a ball with Bob Connors, her childhood neighbor. As they walked towards the doors of the building Emily looked about and saw, as had been predicted, quite a few camera wielding reporters. Some wrote notes, others fiddled with various pieces of equipment; all looked as though they had been there for quite some time as they shivered in the frigid September air.
�Tickets please.�
�Right, tickets���er, I have �em here somewhere�� Bob fervently searched his pockets as the attendant looked at them skeptically, as though he seriously doubted whether two young people such as them would have any reason to have tickets to this ball.
A moment later he found the tickets in his wallet and they were allowed past, if somewhat reluctantly.
The ballroom was decorated as splendidly as one would expect for such an occasion; fall leaves adorned the tables and candelabras along with dimmed chandeliers sent a pleasant glow about the room.
"Wow, what a place, eh Em?"
"Yeah, it's just beautiful.�
"Well, we're sitting with Ritch I think. So we�d better-"
"Hey! Bobby!! Over here!!" someone shouted, cutting Bob off mid-sentence.
Emily turned to see a man bounding over to them from across the room, earning himself many disapproving stares from the other guests. He had a mess of long, dark brown hair that fell down over his ears and almost into his bright blue eyes. She immediately recognized him as none other than Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
�Ritchie!� Bob cried, clapping his old friend on the back, �It�s been too long, mate!�
�Aye, it�s been ages! So, how ya been?� Ringo said as he led them away from the maitre�d who was glaring icily in their direction.
�I�ve been good, not as good as you I expect, but good. Oh, and, this is me friend Emily Hayden.� Bob said indicating to Emily, who smiled shyly and added,
�Just Em is fine.�
�Well Miss Hayden it�s very nice to meet ya.� Said the drummer with a wide and rather goofy smile.
Nancy felt herself go pink. Admittedly, Ringo wasn�t the best looking guy and she was far too old to be one of those �Beatlemaniacs� In fact, she was probably around the same age as the �fab four� herself. But�meeting a Beatle was something, no matter who you were.
Just then someone put an arm on Ringo�s shoulder, making him jump.
�So ya were just gonna forget about me back there, were ya Ring?�
�Bloody hell! Ya just scared the life out of me, I hope ya know!� he said whipping around to face the newcomer who was now grinning broadly.
Ringo shook his head,
�This is me mate John��but you�ll know that I don�t doubt,� he grinned, �He got roped into this thing for that film he did a little while back. �How I Won the War� , ya know. John, this is Bobby Connors.�
�Yeah. Your theater mate, right?� he shook Bob�s hand, �And just who might this be?�