keep it professional - r. taylor

21

~November 1976~

Time was passing by quickly. Cool occasional breezes turned into harsh, freezing storms that lasted throughout the night. Despite hating the actual cold, this was my favorite type of weather. The one where I could cuddle up with a blanket, a cup of hot tea, and watch some television until I drifted off to sleep.

Roger and I had continued to see each other. He had finally taken me on a proper date a week or two after we initially got together. He took us to this up-scale, fancy restaurant in the downtown area, one which I was not dressed properly for. Usually, one any kind of first date, I'm a nervous wreck, wracking my brain to come up with some kind of question or topic that would keep the conversation going. But with Roger, it was all natural. Nothing seemed too forced.

We still hadn't told the rest of the band about us. At first, it was to make sure we didn't make a huge announcement, and then loathe each other immensely the next week. But after a few weeks, we had completely forgotten about the whole thing, and now can't find a time or way to do it. Hopefully, Freddie will pick up on some of the signals and then go blabbing to the rest of the group.

With the end of November nearing, my birthday had come up on me unexpectedly. I was too wrapped up with work and visiting the boys every so often in the recording studio. But it was finally here, and I didn't give two shits about it.

I was never the biggest birthday person. When everyone's focused attention was primarily set on me, I didn't know how to handle it. Like, how am I supposed to react while everyone is singing to me? Sway along to the music?

Stepping into the office, I was nervous to walk to my desk to see what kind of spectacle Paul had left for me this year. Last year, he had bought me a bunch of balloons and left a small cake for me that he had picked up on his way to work. Even though my initial reaction was to be mortified, I thanked him and shared the cake on our lunch break.

Luckily, he must've forgotten this year because there was no trace of any birthday memorabilia located anywhere in our office. "Morning!" he said, looking up from the large stack of papers on his desk.

"Morning." And with that, I went on with my day, same as usual. At lunch, I decided to treat myself to something as a celebratory gift. There was a nice cafe near our building, so I popped inside for a latte, sandwich, and a pastry to enjoy later. The food was delicious, as always, and I made my way back to work.

At about 5:00, Reid popped his head inside to check up on us. "Oh, I almost forgot. Elizabeth, can you lock everything up tonight? I've got to head out kind of early to meet up with Elton." Casually meeting up with Elton John, that's completely normal.

"Uh, sure?"

"Great! All you've got to do is turn off all the lights and lock the main door. I'll leave the keys for everything on my desk."

"Sounds good!"

"Thanks again!"

As soon as he was out of earshot, I turned towards Paul and asked, "How did you manage to get yourself out of that, and how did I end up with it?"

"Well, when he asked me earlier, I told him that I actually already had plans over at Freddie's tonight. Plus, I know how much of a sweetheart you are and how you would probably do something nice like this voluntarily."

"Glad that's what I'm known for." And one by one, all my co-workers began to head out. Paul was last to leave, wishing me good luck with the incredibly difficult task of locking up after everyone. On my way out, I began to think of what I wanted to do for dinner. There was this amazing fish and chips place down the road from my house that I seemed to go to every weekend. It has gotten to such a bad point that the workers already know my name and order when I walk in.