• "Look luv, we’re having some days off at the end of September and I’d like us to spend them together. I thought we could go somewhere nice, just you and me, although Brian may be coming... I don’t know... Well, what do you say?"

I was speechless. Of course I wanted to go with John! To the end of the world if necessary!! I loved him so much. I started thinking. Well, alright, the university starts the first week of October so we can be here by then. Good! Oh, I’ll have to ring my parents! I’ll have to let hem know where I am! I rushed to John and hugged him. He took me in his arms.

• "Does that mean a ‘yes’?" I smiled and nodded. He kissed me. "Alright, be thinking of a nice place, luv, and let me know as soon as possible. We’ll be in London for a few more days, so when you decide ring Brian’s offices", he took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and gave it to me. It was a phone number. This time I kissed John. "Alright, let me take a taxi and let’s go to your flat".

And so we did, both in silence, holding hands. I didn’t let him go up to my flat in case all my roommates were there, so we said our goodbyes in the taxi. I went up and only found Tessa watching TV.

• "Where are the rest?" Tessa shrugged.
• "Edu still hasn’t arrived and Eli is in the pictures with some friends. Why?"
• "Oh, nothing", I said. I just wanted to talk to Edu and tell her everything. Maybe I couldn’t wait till she came back. I decided to have an early dinner and go to bed.

I was woken up the next day to a sound of loud voices outside my room. Edu was sleeping in the bed next to mine and also shook a little bit. I paid attention and noticed the voices were actually Tessa and Eli’s. I looked at my watch: 10.30, maybe time to get up.

When I went out of my room, Tessa and Eli were there. When they saw me, they suddenly stopped talking and looked at me in an unusual way. I looked at them back, wondering what was wrong with me that morning. They had a paper.

• "Morning", I said. They didn’t stop looking at me with a puzzled look in their faces but yet didn’t say anything. "What’s wrong, girls?" Eli finally spoke:
• "Vicky... Do you know the Beatles? I mean... Personally..."

My heart jumped. Oh, no! They had caught me. If I lied to them, they would be angry at me when they found out and maybe never speak to me again. But if I said the truth, would they believe me? And how on earth did they find out?

• "Why?" Tessa looked at me really angry this time and almost shouted:
• "Fuck, Vicky", she always used those kind of words. In that sense she reminded me very much of the Beatles, "we’ve seen you in the paper with John Lennon, of the Beatles!" and she threw the paper at me. I picked it up from the floor and saw the front page. There I was, with John, in the literary luncheon we had attended the day before. Edu got out from our room. The screams had probably waken her up. I couldn’t say a word. That was me and I was going out with John, there was nothing I could deny now.
• "Yes, I’m going out with John". I heard Tessa laugh sarcastically.
• "With John? You? A Spaniard? Fucking shit! I’m British and I came here specially from Brighton to see if I had any chance to meet them, and then a Spaniard is going out with one of them" She was really angry now. I was extremely nervous and my nervousness made me almost laugh when I thought what she would think when she heard that Edu was going out with another Beatle. Eli stood in between us.
• "Ok, ok, please, Tessa, calm down. Vicky, you should have told us", I looked at Edu. Then Edu spoke up and she said:
• "Alright, listen", said Edu. "We didn’t say anything because we didn’t want the papers to find out. Now that they’ve found out, yes, Vicky and I are dating John and George".

Tessa started laughing in hysterics. Eli was with her mouth wide open. Tessa went out from the house but Eli stayed.

• "My goodness!", she said, "you’re so lucky! Really, I’m mad about Paul" I looked at Edu. If only she knew. Paul was mad about Edu (no matter that he was going out with that Jane) "Do you know Paul?" I doubted whether to keep on telling her the truth or lie so as not to cause her a big shock.
• "Yes, we do, Eli. I was actually having lunch with him yesterday". Eli sat down on one of the chairs we had in the living room. When she recovered a little bit, she told me:
• "Could you...? I mean, would you, please...? You know... I’d like to meet him!"

The atmosphere was a little bit better now. I felt free now that everybody knew I was going out with John. Thank God the press didn’t know where I lived nor my address. Edu still remained in the shadows. So I told Eli:

• "Maybe we could do something about it, Eli, don’t worry. As soon as we can, we’ll introduce you to Paul!" Eli’s eyes brightened.
• "Oh, thank you, thank you!", she got up and went to the kitchen. I looked at Edu.
• "Now it’s out in the open", I told her. She nodded. We sat down on the sofa and I updated her with the latest news. I told her everything about the Rolling Stones and the idea John had had about going together on holidays. Edu was happy. George still hadn’t told he anything but I was sure he would do it. Then we both looked carefully at the paper, which was still in my hands. There I was, with John, in my beautiful dress. And John, so sexy, both near the counter fetching drinks.

The rest of the day went by more or less normally. Tessa didn’t speak to me for ages but I didn’t care. Edu and Eli still remained friendly, and Edu in particular was the one I mattered. I phoned my parents in Spain. I told them everything. They knew I was going out with John, but now I had to tell them he was somehow famous in England and that we were both going together somewhere, maybe Spain, we still didn’t know. My parents weren’t very happy with all this. But they didn’t know John. They would meet him one day and then they’d realise he was like a God sent to me.

I also phoned the university department to see when the classes started. As I had guessed, they started the first week of October, but didn’t know the exact day yet. Well, then it was up to them, I would go with John and wouldn’t come back until he got tired of the place.

Thinking about the place where we could go I thought of Spain. But then I realised we both had already been to Spain so maybe now we could go somewhere different. Germany? No, the Germans were really square and cold... France!!! Yes, definitely!! I had been told France was the most romantic place in the world and I was crazy and head over heels in love with John, so France was the place. I rushed to the phone and phoned Brian. I couldn’t put through to John, they were recording at Abbey Road Studios, but Brian told me he would tell John. As happy as a sand boy I couldn’t wait for Edu to come home (she had started searching for jobs and spent most of the day out in London), so I prepared myself a quick dinner and went straight to bed.

The next day I was woken up by a ringing phone. Nobody took it and it kept on ringing for ages. I suddenly heard Tessa yelling from her bedroom:

• "TAKE THAT BLOODY PHONE ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!"

That girl was becoming a bit of a pain in the ass. She was really angry at me because I was going out with John. She was jealous. I decided to ignore her. I went to the phone and picked up the receiver:

• "Hello!"
• "HI, luv, this is John here! How is my little child doing, eh?" I smiled to the phone for a few seconds before realising John couldn’t see me.
• "Fine, John, and you?"
• "Oh, I’m very well, thank you, luv. Hey, listen! Brian told me something about old little France... Is that the place where you fancy going for you holidays, hon?"
• "Well, yeah, I think it’s a romantic place and never before I’ve been there. But I’m open to other choices if you prefer a different place. What do you say?"
• "Oh, no, no, France is perfect! Yes, luv, we’ll go there. But, bad news, luv, Brian will be coming too. He says a few days only so don’t give him a hard time, right?", there was a little pause on the other line and then John said: "I’ll do it for you! Hee! Hee!", Oh he was impossible. I loved him. "Alright, Monday, right, luv? Be prepared, I’ll go for you at 12.00. The plane leaves at 1.30. I’ve got a surprise for you. Love you", and then hung up. I wanted to tell him that my roommates had found out about us and that I had been in the papers. But that was Ok. It was nothing that couldn’t wait.

The following days were busy ones. Eli didn’t stop asking me where she could meet Paul, and I didn’t know yet. If the Beatles had holidays, Paul would be probably going somewhere, but I promised her to tell her as soon as I knew. And Edu gave me a big surprise. She was going with George to America. I was at a short of words when she told me.

• "To America?" She smiled.
• "Yes, George and his brother Peter are going to visit their sister Louise who lives there and my George has invited me along. I’m going, Vicky, I love him"
• "Yeah, I know but... What about the search of a job?"
• "Oh, that can wait, Vicky, George has money. The Beatles are doing really well now and are earning money in big amounts. He’s paying me everything". Well, that was right but I didn’t think it was a good idea. I told her. "Oh, that’s what you think, then? You’re going with John to France but I can’t go to America with George! That’s alright then! With friends like you who needs enemies" and with that she got up and walked away. I stopped her before it was too late. I didn’t want an argument with my best friend. I grabbed her arm.
• "Hey, hey! Wait a minute! What’s wrong with you? I was just commenting, of course I'm glad you’re going with George!" Then I saw Edu with her eyes full of tears. I got scared. "What’s wrong, Edu? Edu!!! Tell me this minute!" She sobbed a little.
• "I phoned home yesterday. My granddad is really ill. He’s in hospital. They don’t know if he will last long. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll have to go back to Spain".

• "Edu, I’m sure everything will be alright in the end. Think positive. Now go with George, enjoy yourself, and if the worst happens, then we’ll think of something. Don’t worry!", she smiled at me. We hugged again.

Finally the day arrived. George came for Edu quite early in the morning because their flight was longer so I said my goodbye to Edu in bed. We hugged each other.

• "Take care, Edu. See you in a couple of weeks". George didn’t come up. With two Beatles fans living with us and with a strong character like Tessa, it was impossible. As soon as Edu had walked out of the door I got up and started checking that I had everything. Yes, everything was Ok and if I needed something else, I might buy it there. Oh, I was overwhelmed with excitement. I had never been to France and I was going with the man I loved. I was really happy. Tessa and Eli were still sleeping when John rang the intercom. I looked out from the window and saw a big black limousine outside. I felt breathless. A limousine!! My God! That was too much. We would draw people’s attention going like that around London. Well, I’d rather not say anything to the girls, so I whispered a soft goodbye, they turned in their beds, and I silently closed their bedroom door.

When I went down, John hugged me and kissed me softly. I entered the limousine. I had never been in one before and it was fantastic. It had everything inside, even a bar with drinks. The seats were covered in velvet and I felt really happy there with John. The limo drove us smoothly to the airport and from there we took a plane to France.

Another limo whispered us to the elegant George V hotel in France. John smiled at me every time he saw my puzzled face. I couldn’t believe it! That was too much for me! Oh, Edu was right when she said the Beatles were doing great! John must be earning a lot of money! (I still didn’t know how much money we would eventually have). We were even escorted to a beautiful suite in the hotel.

Once inside the room, my amazement grew and grew. The bath was made of marble and it was complete with gold taps. The suite was incredibly huge and the bed was big enough for four people to sleep. Once we left the bags on the floor and John tipped the page-boy, he hugged me and pushed me violently to the bed. I giggled. He then came to me and started kissing me all over my face and my neck. I also kissed his lovely face and even lifted his fringe to kiss his rarely seen forefront. John had a spot in the middle of the front, but it was hidden by his ever-lengthen fringe. I loved kissing him there, in his spot. I kissed every spot on his face, not only that, but also another one he had on the left side of his face, near the sideburn. I told him a million times that I loved him and he whispered my name in my ear thousands of times. He made love to me softly, both swinging to the rhythm of the love we were making. We both tossed and turned in the bed, together, with John inside me, kissing me whilst making love to me. We finally came together, with John kissing me in the mouth.

• "I love you", he told me when we both had finished.
• "I love you too", I told him smiling. Then we kissed again.

Downstairs, the hotel had a restaurant where we ate the finest foods on the menu. Caviar, and those sort of things. I could have never imagined that I would be living this. There were some of the best days in my life. I had a great great time with John there in Paris. In the mornings, we wandered the romantic streets of Paris hand in hand. We visited lots of places. John being an artist, we visited the Louvre where he told me things about all those painters I didn’t know. We also went to Montmatre, we walked along the embankment.

John spent also a lot of money on me. I refused, I didn’t need anything but John insisted. He said he loved me and had money to spend. No matter if I wanted it or not, he bought me things. I loved clothes, that was another one of my hobbies apart from music. So once we were walking along a street full of shops and I happened to see some items of clothes I commented I liked. John grabbed my hand and walked in. He bought me a chic grey coat, wonderful, that I still have. I was not very keen on wearing hats, but John was. He loved wearing them so he also bought me a white fur hat that he said, it was perfect for my hair colour. Since I loved wearing skirts, he bought me a leather one (I must admit it was lovely), and finally he bought me a bottle of Channel No 5. That was too much and that night I thanked John in the way only a woman can thank a man.

Then one day, when we got back to the hotel from one of those romantic strolls we did, the receptionist stopped us.

• "Eh, Mr. Lennon", he said. John stopped short and approached reception. I followed him. "I’ve got this message for you, sir. A lovely girl gave it to me this afternoon".

Mmm! A lovely girl? Who on earth could that be? I was dying of curiosity. An old lover of John? One of his earliest girlfriends? Jealousy was creeping all over me. I looked at John. He was white and rarely at a loss of words. He looked at the paper and didn’t say a thing.

• "John, what’s the matter?" he looked at me but seemed not to see me. He seemed to look through me as though I wasn’t there. I felt hurt. I took the paper but John didn’t let me catch it. He finally reacted.
• "It’s... it’s an old friend, luv... You don’t know her" I was feeling really bad by then. John was once again hiding something from me, I could see it. I started feeling angry at the same time and the tears were forming in my eyes. If I kept on standing there, I would end up crying and I didn’t feel like John seeing me crying. I started walking towards the lifts without saying another word, but John seemed to jump suddenly into life. He came to me and grabbed my arm: "I’m sorry, luv... it’s just that... Uau!!! What a surprise! It’s Astrid! Luv, Astrid! Stu’s girlfriend, my old friend from Hamburg. She’s staying here in Paris with a girl friend, in a bedsit or something. I have to see her!" He went running to the phone in reception and dialled a number. Astrid... And who on earth was that Astrid??!! And why did John show so much interest in her? Stuart’s girlfriend... Yes, Stuart was John’s best friend, I knew that, but I never knew anything about an Astrid. That was too much for one day. I felt so jealous at that point that I was about to take a flight but directly to Spain. John came to me. "That’s gonna be great, luv. You’re gonna meet her! She’s gear, she’s... I have no words. I’ve arranged a meeting for Friday. We’ll meet them at her place". But I couldn’t share the joy. I was going to meet a girl I didn’t know but that John showed a lot of interest in. I had never seen John so hooked on a girl before, nor even on me. Ok, Vicky, calm down. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill, Astrid is only a friend. An old friend, says John. Let’s wait and see what happens.

So Friday finally came. John ordered a taxi and we were whisked off towards Astrid’s bedsit. We rang the intercom and it buzzed. The door opened and we went up. We rang the doorbell and a very very beautiful blond girl opened the door. She had shoulder-length hair and a fringe that only hid half of her forefront. She was dressed entirely in black that highlighted her beautiful white skin and her blonde hair. John’s expression changed completely. I had never seen John like that before. He hugged Astrid and lifted her up from the floor. They swung together for a while until he finally put her again on the floor.

• "Astrid, you look lovely. Bloody Hell, you’re smashing! As usual", said John. Astrid smiled and then looked at me. I was behind John and didn’t show much interest in showing up.
• "IS she your new girl, Lennon?", she asked John but looking at me. John then turned to me and took one of my hands. He pushed me to the front and kissed me. Thank God! I was beginning to think he had forgotten me! John then nodded. "What about Cyn?"
• "It’s a long story. We’ll talk about that later, right? Ok, Astrid, this is Vicky. Vicky, my lovely friend Astrid" I was to shake hands with her but she came and kissed me on the cheek.
• "I love your hair", was the first thing she told me. "Do you like Jean Coucteau?", she asked. Never in my life had I heard that Jean character. "You know, the Exi... That’s Ok. Black is a beautiful colour. You’ve got good taste, Lennon", she told John.
• "I know, that’s why I always fancied you". That hurt. That really hurt. I felt so miserable, refused in front of that girl, that I wanted to go home. I didn’t know what I was doing there. Astrid seemed to know John’s sense of humour and she only laughed it off. But I was hurt, so hurt that Astrid noticed it and told me.
• "Don’t take that too seriously, Vicky. You’ll have to get used to John". John had heard that and came to me. He kissed me and whispered in my ear:
• "Only joking, luv. You know I love you". But something was not right. I could feel John felt something special for that Astrid. Suddenly, a brunette girl turned up at the door. Astrid introduced her to us as Martina, her friend. Yeah, both were German. And I hadn’t wanted to go to Germany! Aagh!

So, the four of us went out on the town. Astrid and John didn’t stop talking and going together everywhere. John held me by the hand, but I felt like an outsider. They didn’t stop talking about their old days in Hamburg or something and Martina and me were left to amuse themselves with whatever came to our minds.

We stayed all night in the meat market in Montmatre and Astrid and John kept on chatting. I couldn’t say I had a great time, but they obviously had. It was quite late and Astrid suggested going back to his place. We accepted. There we drank (specially John) a lot more until we were all exhausted. I wanted to go to the hotel but Astrid said:

• "There’s no way you can go to the hotel now. It’s very late. No taxis will stop. I suggest you should stay here"

But where? The place was actually only a room and there was only one bed. There wasn’t even a sofa! I was not very used to those kinds of things. John probably was, all those years in Hamburg, but I wasn’t. Before I could even reply John fell into bed. Martina and Astrid followed him. I didn’t move, but John got up, went for me and dragged me into bed with them. So we were the four of us together in bed. Thankfully, nothing happened. It was totally non sexual. We were (well, or should I say, they were) so far gone that they all just flaked out on the bed. John was on the outside, the three women in the middle, me next to John, of course, and slept for hours.

The next day, when we woke up, Astrid and Martina had gone. We found a note on the bedside table. John took it and read it for himself. I wanted to know what the note said:

• "What?", I asked him.
• "They’ve gone, luv. We’d better go back to the hotel".

So John wrote them another note back saying our goodbyes and we went to the hotel only to find that Brian had arrived. Fortunately, he only stayed for a couple of days, and so John and I could resume our love. With the interval of Astrid, of course. John never told me, but I was sure John felt something for Astrid. So, since I didn’t ask him anything abbot the Astrid thing, the rest of our holidays were special again. We were both very much in love and I still couldn’t imagine that day in October 1963 how famous the Beatles would become world-wide and how everything would change for us both.

So it was finally time for us to go home. On the plane, and in the back of the chauffeur-driven limousine that was driving us home, John and I discussed our future.

• "I think", said John, "it’s time we lived together, don’t you think, luv?"

- "I would love to, John", I said, "specially now that my roommates have found out about us"" John was hugging me and suddenly got away from me.

• "Have they?" I nodded.
• "So, more specially now, luv. Imagine, you and me together, in our own home, no Paul blocking the way, no nosy roommates..."
• "That’s Ok, John." He kissed me. "I love you", he kissed my nose.
• "I love you too, little child". By the time we reached my flat I had decided to go and live with John.