Chapter 30

“Hey, Olivia, guess what?” Paul yelled excitedly as he ran up the stairs. I saw the look on his face and rolled my eyes. The last time he did this, he bought the farm.
“Uh oh,” I mumbled to myself as he walked over to me.
“Uh oh? What’s that’s supposed to mean?” I smiled as he kissed me, “Hello love,”
“Hey,” I greeted then continued, “Oh nothing really, it’s just--last time you did this, you bought a Dairy Farm,”
“Oh yes,” he laughed, “This is different—however, I thought you liked the farm?”
“I do, very much, I was just saying…” I told him and he smiled.
“Ok—then guess!” he said again.
“Did you buy something?” He thought for a moment.
“Err, not yet….thinking about it—we’re going somewhere if that helps,”
“Paul, I hate your guessing games—they’re impossible,” I whined and he laughed.
“Well, John’s come up with a fab idea,” he started, “We’re going to Greece on the 22nd,”
“Greece?” I asked somewhat confused and surprised.
“Yeah, Greece. John’s always thought that it would be fab to have an island—of our own! You know all four of us living together, different houses of course, on this island—our very own! We’d have a recording studio and entertainment complex and all that,” he paused taking an excited breath, “Come ‘ed love, what you think!?” I sat for a moment not saying anything.
“Well, going to Greece sounds fun, especially if it’s all of us, but, you’re really going to buy in island?”
“Yeah, it’ll be great!” he said motioning with his hands.
“What about this place, and the farm?”
“Well, we’d probably keep the farm and sell this,” he said looking around.
“How much does an island cost these days then?” I asked being sarcastic as if buying an island was normal. He grinned.
“It’s up for 90,000 pounds, I believe,” he answered, “But it has a lot. Besides the recording studio and entertainment area, there are four separate villas, in which, we’d all be living. You and I would have our own little island, love! Then beyond that, there’s housing for all our friends and staff. There are four ideal beaches and 16 acres of Olive Groves,” he informed me and I nodded slowly, “We’re going to go to Greece and check it out,” I still was hesitant on this.
“Paul, didn’t you tell me that Greece outlawed you guys? I mean, because of your long hair and rock’n’roll?”
“Yeah, but we talked with them, and they agreed that us being there might prop up the tourist industry, you know, and undermine some of the bad press they have been getting,”
“Hm,” was all I managed to say. The farm idea was out there, but—an island?
“What is it love? Something’s bothering you,” Paul said taking my hand. I shrugged and was honest.
“I’m not so sure about this—I mean, a farm—I can handle that, but to live on our own island? Isn’t that a bit out there?” He shrugged.
“I suppose people would say that, but, love, it would be like, living in Hawaii or something you know,—you’d be able to tan everyday! Think of that!” he smiled and I laughed a bit.
“I don’t know Paul,”
“Here, why don’t you at least come down with us, if anything for a relaxing vacation on the islands? If you really aren’t in to it, we’ll pass. Alright?”
“But what about you? You sound like you really want this,” he smiled.
“Ah Liv’, it doesn’t matter. I’d be fine without it,” he said, “As long as I still have you, I’ll live anywhere,” he finished kissing the top of my head. I smiled.
“Alright, I’ll come down and check it out,” I said.
“Fab,” Paul said standing up, “I’ll have to go set things up for next week then.”
“Why? Aren’t we leaving with the others?”
“No—you, me, John, Cyn, Julian, Mal, and Alistair are leaving the 22nd. George, Pattie, Ringo, and Neil, are all leaving the 21st.”
“Oh,” I said and Paul left the room to go to his little office and call whomever he had to call. This was going to be interesting….


“Love are you almost ready?” Paul asked from the bathroom, only an hour before we had to leave for the plane.
“Uh, yeah,” I mumbled to myself trying to pack the last few items I had. As I put my swimsuit in the bag the doorbell rang.
“That’s probably John, I’ll go get it,” Paul said leaving the bathroom and heading downstairs. I heard voices that confirmed it indeed was John, Cyn, and little Julian. Julian was almost 4 now, and speaking quite well. I heard him shout for Paul and smiled to myself. Paul was going to be a great dad.
“I think I’m all done,” I told Paul as he entered the room again smiling.
“Gear,” he said and kissed me, “This is going to be great!” he grabbed my bag along with his and we made our way downstairs to John and Cyn.
“Hi guys,” I greeted as I descended the stairs.
“Hey Liv’,” John smiled.
“’Ello Olivia,” Cyn said. Julian was outside playing in the yard waiting for us so we all scooted outside, where Mal and Alistair were waiting in the black vehicle.
“Alright, Jules come ‘ed,” John called. Julian giggled happily as he made his way to John, taking his hand. He turned back to me and smiled.
“Hi Auntie Liv’,” he said. John had told him a while ago that I was Auntie Liv’ and Paul was Uncle Paul. I smiled.
“Hey Julian, are you excited for the trip?” I asked and his eyes grew big as he jumped up and down.
“Am I ever!” he said and I laughed. He was so adorable. We all piled into the car and drove to the airport. The flight wasn’t bad, as far as length goes, but it was pretty boring. Cyn and I talked while John slept and Paul played with Julian. Before long we were in sunny Athens, Greece.
“Oh it’s so beautiful here,” Paul said looking around. I had to agree.
“Yeah, it really is,” I said as he took my hand in one, and his bag in the other. I smiled as I looked at Paul--he fit right in. He was wearing a linen blue top, which flared at the sleeves and went down well past his hips. It had little white India looking designs across the bottom and he wore his white pants he purchased in Mexico. John matched pretty well except for an odd necklace he wore. It had three big white plastic circles going down in a line, with big yellow flowers in them.
“So where do we go from here?” Cyn asked.
“Well, we hired a yacht, the M.V. Arvi, so they should be here to pick us up,” Mal informed us.
“We’ll go to the port and just wait I suppose,” John added, “George and Ring are going to meet us there,” We took a cab and got dropped off at the port in where we would be picked up and driven to the island of Leslo. Paul and I sat side by side, Julian on his lap, on a bench; George, Pattie, Ringo, and Neil already there. We all said our hellos.
“Hey mates, how was the flight?” George asked as we all sat down.
“Fine, boring,” John complained.
“Nothing new then,” Ringo laughed, accompanied by the others.
“What do you think so far?” Paul asked putting his arm around me. I shrugged.
“It’s warm and gorgeous—that’s for sure,” I said turning to smile at him.
“Remember, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want. If you really would rather stay at Cavendish Ave, then let me know.” I nodded.
“I will, don’t worry,” I assured him. We all sat quiet and just relaxed as we waited hours for the yacht, in which, it didn’t arrive.
“What the hell’s going on here? He should be here by now,” John said standing up and looking at his watch, “What time did you say he was to come?” he turned to Mal.
“5 o’clock,” he answered looking down at his watch that read, 7:25.
“Well, I think he’s a bit late,” Paul chimed in.
“No shit Paul,” John said. Paul frowned.
“I’m hungry,” Julian told Paul.
“The little one’s hungry, and I’m a bit famished me self,” he told the others.
“Yeah, I could go for something to eat too,” George stated.
“Let’s go find some food,,” Mal suggested standing up.
“What about our boat then?” John asked.
“What if he comes and we aren’t here,” I said agreeing with John. Paul looked over at me, then back at the others.
“They’re right, you guys go, we’ll stay here,” Paul offered.
“You sure?” Mal asked.
“Positive,”
“What would you lads—and laddess, like?” Neil asked.
“Ah, John’ll know,” Paul said and they nodded.
“Come ‘ed Julian, we’re going to go get something for your tummy,” Cyn said and Julian hopped off Paul’s lap and joined the others.
“Paul and Olivia want to be alone, to do naughty stuff,” John said snickering. George laughed. Paul shook his head.
“Sod off John,” he called in a sing song voice. It was quite peaceful with them gone and I leaned my head on Paul’s shoulder, watching the sun change colors, ready to set. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Paul spoke,
“This is so perfect,” he commented, “Being here with you,”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said and kissed him. I heard someone clear their throat and Paul and I pulled away from each other. There was a little Greek man watching us.
“Can I help you?” Paul asked somewhat annoyed.
“Ah, yes, well, are you in group that is waiting for yacht? M.V. Arvi?” he asked in the best English he could. Paul sat up a little straighter and nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right—what’s up?”
“The captain phoned us and said he is stuck near Crete in high wind,” the man said. I looked at Paul as he breathed out.
“Bloody hell,” he said, “Does he know when he’ll be here?”
“Couple days,”
“A couple days!?” The man nodded.
“I’m sorry sir,”
“It’s not your fault,” Paul said sympathetically, “Thanks for letting us know,”
“You are welcome,” the man nodded again, “Stop by tomorrow and we will have it updated,”
“Alright, ta,” Paul said and the man walked away.
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
“Stay in a hotel here, I suppose,”
“What are you on about?” John asked from behind us.
“Oh hey mate,” Paul said, “The yacht is stuck in high winds near Crete—won’t be here for a couple days,”
“Ah shit,” John mumbled taking a bite of a sandwich. Neil handed Paul and I ours.
“Ta,” Paul said nodding.
“Thanks,” I said.
“We better start looking for hotels then,” Alistair said.
“Are we going to get nabbed?” Cyn asked.
“Nah, we haven’t checked out yet, you could stay where we did,” Ringo suggested.
“Good thinking,” Paul said. We finished eating and set out to find shelter for the next couple days. We did luckily find more rooms where George, Pattie, Ringo, and Neil were staying, without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Mal, Paul, John, and Neil, went to check things out the next day and were informed that the Yacht would not be in till the 25th, so we hung out in Athens for the next two days. After they returned we all headed out to eat lunch in a little nearby village.
“We should ride down to the country,” Paul suggested.
“Hey, that’s a good idea,” John stated.
“We could take a taxi down there,” George said.
“Would you set that up for us?” Paul asked Neil.
“Of course,” he replied leaving the room. Minutes later he returned, “Good news, we have a couple American Taxis and a convoy of a Mercedes waiting for us,”
“Great,” Pattie said standing up. We all moved outside and got into the different cars. Paul, me, and Neil took one of the taxis. Neil sat up front, while Paul and I shared the back.
“Do you smell something?” Paul asked me. I sniffed.
“Yeah, actually, it smells like something is burning,”
“I thought so too,” he said turning around and looking out the back, “Holy shit!” he yelled. Neil whipped around as well as my self.
“Oh my gosh! The taxi is on fire!” I screamed seeing the flames burning up the back of the car.
“Pull over!” Paul shouted to the driver who did so right away when he saw the fire. Neil quickly jumped out of the front seat and Paul dragged me out the back with him. The others were ahead, us the last in line, so they probably had no clue to what had happened.
“Shit!” Paul said as the driver apologized to us.
“What the hell happened?” Neil asked him.
“Heat, too much,” he replied as we all stood and watched the burning taxi. I had my hand on my heart the whole time.
“Are you alright love?” Paul asked putting his arms around me and kissing my forehead.
“Yeah, just a little freaked out,” I said staring at the car in flames. He leaned down and kissed me on the mouth.
“It’s alright,” he said squeezing me tighter. Neil paid the guy what we owed for that little distance.
“Guess we’ll just walk back to the village,” Neil said raising his eyebrows.
“Hell, in this heat?” Paul asked pulling on his soaked shirt.
“What else is there to do?”
“True,” Paul said and we all turned around and headed back towards the town. We were only walking about five or ten minutes when a car pulled up next to us.
“What the hell are you fools doing?” John asked as he rolled down the window.
“See that burning taxi over there?” Paul pointed and John looked over making a face, “Yeah, that’s ours.”
“Well, come ‘ed, we’ll fit you lads in,” John said opening the door. Paul squeezed in and I sat on his lap. Neil was able to fit into the other car and the drivers took us out to the country. The next day we spent doing more sightseeing, as Neil and Mal kept the authorities aware of our timetable so we weren’t attacked. However, on one nice peaceful tour, we rounded the corner only to be face to face with hundreds of photographers. We decided that was enough and headed back to the hotel for the night. Paul, George, and I stayed in and they strummed away on their guitars and just relaxed. John, Ringo, and the others on the other hand, went out shopping for instruments, attracting a huge crowd of fans and sightseers. The next day the yacht came to pick us up, apologizing immensely for the delay. The yacht was enormous and had its own personal chef along with two personal stewards. Ringo, accompanied by Neil, decided to skip the islands and return to London from Athens. Maureen, at home, was pregnant again and was due any day now, so Ringo didn’t want to be away for long. The rest of us boarded the yacht.

The first few days were spent swimming, sun bathing, and (all but Paul, me, Pattie, Cyn, and Julian), taking LSD. From there we headed off to Leslo to investigate the island, where we were to build our commune. We spent a whole day walking about the island, the boys talking of where they would put the recording studio and who would live on which island. The next day John instructed Alistair he was to go back to London and purchase it for them. I could see how much Paul was into this idea, and couldn’t bring myself to tell him no, so I said living here would be fine. However, deep down, I still wasn’t sure. We all continued touring the island and just having fun while Alistair was buying the island for us back at home. There was a little catch though…Export controls meant The Beatles would have to buy special export dollars and then apply to the government for permission to spend them. Alistair had eventually gotten clearance from this, but by that time, The Beatles were no longer interested in the island and informed Alistair that he was to sell the property dollars back to the government. So much for that idea—but it worked out for me, considering I wasn’t too keen on living there anyway. George, Pattie, and Mal flew to Los Angeles on the 29th, but Paul, myself, John, Cyn, and Julian, stayed until the 31st, arriving home to London. George and Pattie eventually returned and The Beatles got back to working, recording ‘Your Mother Should Know’ a very nice song written by Paul. On August 24, Paul convinced me to accompany him, John, Cyn, George, and Pattie, to a lecture by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton. I wasn’t really impressed—meditation and all that was never something I could get into, however, we had a private audience with the Maharishi afterwards and arranged to attend his seminar which was going to be held in Bangor that next weekend. Again, Paul begged me to join him, saying he more than wanted to go, but wouldn’t if I didn’t come. As much as I wasn’t into this stuff, I didn’t want to be away from Paul and I looked at it as another cool little vacation spot. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure how much into this Paul was, he seemed rather skeptical of it all and a little disinterested at times, but nevertheless we began our journey out to Banger on August 25. Unfortunately, our trip was to be shortened on that of August 27, 1967, due to some earth shattering news………

Chapter 31