Hey Jude

Max awoke to the loud ringing next to his head. Sun shined just over the building across the street and onto his eyes. The ringing continued just above his head, playing louder.

“One hell of a rude awakening,” he muttered to himself, seating himself up from the couch and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He never used his bed anymore. The couch was much easier to get to after a night of drinking, and was more comfortable anyway. His head throbbed in pain with the remainder of last night’s drinking spree. He grasped his head and hissed, wanting to rest his head on the dirty pillow but his ringing phone taking away any ounce of sleep left in him.

He glanced at the clock. 11:46 AM. Not too bad. Usually he’d get up at around one, his shift at the cab company starting at two. One last ring and he grabbed the receiver, mumbling a drunken, “Hello?”

“So it wasn’t jus’ an illusion, then,” spoke the man on the other line. Max’s eyes widened and his mouth slowly curved up to a smile. I know that accent.

“Judey- boy!” he exclaimed, standing up quickly and almost stumbling over. Luckily, he grabbed the couch arm in time to keep his balance. “How, what, but…” he stuttered, trying to put together a decent sentence. Jude just laughed a calm laugh. He could just imagine the grin on his face.

“Surprised?”

“Yeah!” Max exclaimed, pushing himself up from the couch arm and placing his free hand to clutch his messy hair. “Why are you calling?”

“What, I can’t just call me mate to check what’s going on?”

“You've never called, Romeo,” he retorted back sarcastically. “What do you mean it’s not an illusion? What?”

There was a pause on the other line. “It’s nothing. You jus’ sounded drunk is all.”

“That’s a surprise to you?” They both laughed together. He missed his laughter.

“Nah,” the Brit replied. “Just, there was this thing that happen’d to me yesterday while I was at the pub.”

Max froze for a second, then slowly seating himself and reclining into the couch as he asked, “What happened?”

“It was weird.” Jude’s voice was almost a whisper. “It was like…I could hear you. And see you through this mirror I sat in front of.”

Oh my god, he thought, as he continued listening to Jude’s story.

“You were singin’. Tellin’ me to go fetch Lucy. But…” he stopped again, his voice laced with sadness and hurt.

He just couldn’t bear hearing his friend so depressed. “Luce…she’s not gone, you know.”

“Really?!” Jude asked excitedly. He started laughing and Max could just picture the man with the phone in hand, pacing around happily as he laughed to himself. “That’s just…amazing! Fantastic! Is she okay? Where is she? What the fuck happened back there?”

“Calm down,” Max laughed. “She’s fine. Still off fighting with the revolution though. I’ve lost track of her since, but I know she’s just fine. Some prick though it would get people’s attention if they blew the shit out of their building. It worked, but Lucy didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Good, good,” he muttered. Even with the good news, Max could tell Jude was still upset about her still being involved with such destructive people. “At least I can finally breathe easy. And now I’ve got even more of a reason to get going.”

“Going where?”

His sigh was almost inaudible, but nonetheless, it was happy. “I’m comin' home, Max.”

Max froze as the words came through the receiver. Before long, a grin made its way onto face. He started to laugh as well, but as he jumped up from his seat, he banged his shin against the small table placed in front of the couch, cursing softly before starting to laugh again. After so long and after seeing bloodshed that no man should ever have to see, he felt he could really smile.

“Dude, that’s great! When are you coming back to New York?”

“I’m at the docks already, mate,” he said, happiness also heard in his voice. “I went to immigrant services and got a passport and everything. It’ll take me about five or six days to get down there.”

“Great! I mean, can’t wait! Uh…” He began pacing and waving his arms around like a mad man, his head buzzing with millions of thoughts again. “I-I-It’s awesome! God, I haven’t seen you in so long, Jude.”

“I know, what with the war and all,” he replied. The comment brought a sort of awkward silence between the two and Max’s happiness began to dwindle. “D’you think…you’d mind…not telling Lucy?”

“That you’re coming back? Why not?”

“Just ‘cause, well,” he started. Another pause. “Well, I want to make it a surprise for her.”

The man chuckled and stood akimbo. Cute little romantic Jude.

Dammit, stop calling him cute and adorable and stupid shit like that, he scolded himself, despite a part of him liking giving pet names to Jude. He couldn’t deny that part, as much as he wanted to.

“Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll pick you up when you get here. And don’t even bother arguing back. I’ve got a cab and I’d rather pick up my best bud than some skank off the street during my shift.”

“You sure about that?” Jude joked.

Max just fell back into the couch. He really did miss their joking around. “I’m too good for them. I’m an army man now, I’ve got standards.”

“Since when have you had standards?”

“Kindly shut the fuck up, sir.” The both of them laughed like the old friends they were. “Anyway. See you in five or six days.”

“See you then, mate,” he replied. “Oh, and Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks,” he added. Just the gesture itself almost made Max’s heart warm itself as a small grin made its way on his face.

“No problem, man.” And with that he hung up the phone and sighed.

Jude’s coming home.

But before he could relax, the phone rang once more. He reached over to pick it up and answered, “Hello?”

“Maxy! Been wondering when you’d get off the damn phone.”

“Sadie!” He smiled again. He never thought he’d hear from the now famous singer ever again. “What’s happening?”

“You’re invited to our little rendezvous on our record label’s roof.”

He couldn’t tell at that moment, but the luster in his eyes began to come back, and the sun shined onto his face, shining against his dark hair and brightening it like it used to. He grabbed his jaw and rested his chin on his hand. His facial hair was still there though.

“Sweet, I’ll be there! When is this little shindig?”

“Six days from now.”

His mind began to work like clockwork. He knew he promised Jude that he wouldn’t tell Lucy, but this would be way more of a surprise than she, or he, would have expected.

“I can work with that. Mind if I invite a guest?”

“Sure, sweet pea, whoever you want. No police though,” she laughed.

“Agreed," he replied, laughing as well. "One more thing, Sadie? Ask Prudence to invite Lucy.”

“Well, can’t you do it yourself?”

He chuckled a devious little laugh before replying, “I’d be breaking a promise I made to someone. It’s a surprise, okay? Please, Sadie?”

“Alright, alright, no need to beg, Maxy. See you there, sweet pea.”

Max hung up the phone again, chucking softly to himself. This would get interesting.