keep it professional - r. taylor

28

~June 1985~

Losing someone is difficult. Losing someone you love is even harder. And I had to go through both, all alone.

Roger, and Queen in general, had become a back thought of my mind. Don't get me wrong, I still loved all of them, but over time, it just became difficult to keep up with them. Freddie hardly ever called, and when I called him, Paul frequently answered the phone, saying that Freddie was too busy to ever speak with me. Brian and John were busy being fathers to some of the most adorable children I had ever seen. Plus, if I ever wanted to hang out with them, Roger was bound to join them.

Roger Taylor. After that one night, we barely spoke. The only time we did, we were discussing who was taking what when I moved out. I tried my best to talk to him, wanting to see if we could work things out. But every time I did, Roger would completely shut down and announce that he had somewhere he magically remembered he had to be.

I still did love him. Even after everything. But after a few years, those feelings begin to dissolve out and you begin to forget the person. Every so often, I would see a poster announcing their upcoming tour, or see their music video play on the telly. Most of the time, I would quickly change the channel or keep walking down the street. I figured that if I watched them, or heard them, for too long, I would begin to regret my decision. But I had to keep looking forward, not backwards.

Reid kept me busy, for the most part. He had given me a large promotion, which gave me a brand new office with my own staff to control. I felt extremely out of place, but I got used to it over time. I was even able to get my own secretary, one that I actually needed. His name was Oliver, and he and I clicked the moment he stepped into the office. Every morning, he would give me a quick debriefing on what I needed to do for the day, and then would debrief me on what he did with himself the night before. For the most part, this little rundown would make me feel sad and old, seeing that I no longer had the energy to go from club to club like him. But every so often, he would take me with him, and I would feel alive again.

Outside of work, I had my hands full with taking care of Madeline, Kathleen and Harry's daughter. She was adorable, having her father's eyes and her mother's smile. From the moment she entered the world, I knew I would love her. And that I did. Kathleen had figured out that her long-time dream was to become a nurse, to which she needed to head back to school. So, while she was back at uni, and Harry was stuck at work, I spent time with Madeline, spoiling her anyway I could. We loved baking desserts together, or heading down to the shops to try on clothes. She never failed to make me laugh, especially when she got into a giggle fit.

But life was good. Better than I had expected. That was, until everything drastically changed.

Since it was the weekend, I decided to catch up on some chores for the day. I had a date later tonight, all set up by Oliver, so I thought it would be better that I got it done today rather than while I was exhausted tomorrow. First up was the pile of dishes that had accumulated in my sink. I always seemed to be on the run, not having enough time to wash my dish before heading out.

Pulling the radio out, I tuned it to the pop station to have some kind of music playing in the background while I worked. When I adjusted the volume, I heard a song begin to fade out, and the radio announcer's voice fade in. "Hope everyone enjoyed that song, courtesy of Wham. Wake Me Up is a personal favorite of mine. Next up, we have Queen singing Radio Ga Ga. And here's some hot gossip for all the listeners. I heard just this morning that they have officially added their names to the line up for Live Aid, the upcoming charity event for the famine in Africa. Make sure to donate what you can! Anyways, again, this is Queen..."

As the man's voice faded, the upbeat tempo came over the radio. My hands were covered in soap and water, rendering them useless to change the channel. I mean, listening to one Queen song wouldn't be too horrid. Besides, this was one of their recent ones that I actually enjoyed.