The Things That I Know || George Michael

twenty-seven - no judgement

Note: this chapter contains mention of suicide and poor mental health.

• • •

"Hello again, George." The warm welcome of his therapist, Julie, instantly makes George feel a little more at ease. "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Well," George sighs, settling himself down in his chair. "It's been a bit of a mad week, to say the least."

"Would you like to talk about it with me today?" Julie asks. "Because if it helps you, then that's the most important thing, of course."

"It's kind of relevant anyway," George explains. "My husband and I had a meeting with my son's school during the week. I don't remember if I mentioned it last time, but basically, our son was getting bullied by a girl in his class. About having two fathers."

"Oh, the poor thing," Julie frowns, jotting down what George has said in case it's important in future conversation. "So what was the outcome of this meeting?"

"Do you want the short version, or the long version?" George challenges, choosing to make light of the topic rather than take it too seriously. "Because if you want this therapy session to be kept short, I wouldn't go for the long version."

"Whichever is comfortable for you, George." Julie offers a sincere smile, to encourage her patient to talk as much as he would like to.

"Okay, well ... " He crosses one leg over the other, to make himself comfortable, ready to tell the story. "To keep it as simple as possible, this girl in my son's class was bullying him because he has two fathers. But what we found out, is that it was her mother feeding her these negative opinions. So her mother is a psychopath — and I don't say that lightly — and she attacked me during the meeting, and got escorted out by security. This girl's dad was at the meeting too. He told us he'd split with the mum because they were arguing all the time. So there was a lot of stuff going on at home. Anyway, his views on the LGBT community are the complete opposite to his missus' views. But here's where it really gets crazy."

"What could possibly be more hectic than that?" Julie asks playfully.

"This girl's dad was sent to prison back in the eighties because him and his mates attacked my husband and I when we were still seeing each other in secret. It was all over the news at the time. It was a homophobic attack."

"Wow," Julie acknowledges. "It's a small world, isn't it?"

"You can say that again," George chuckles. "I was apprehensive about talking to him once I found out who he was. But he seems to have changed for the better since he got put in prison."

"At least he learned from his mistakes," Julie comments. "But I assume the attack back in the eighties must have had a big affect on you and your husband."

"Oh, of course," George agrees. "Um, it's a bit of a touchy subject really. But I was knocked unconscious for a good few hours. Levi was unconscious for about four days." He hesitates a moment, unsure if he feels comfortable with discussing such a sensitive topic. With a shaky exhalation, he decides to go ahead, his voice softened. "I woke up and my ex-girlfriend was there waiting for me. She didn't even know Levi existed at the time. And nobody knew it was a homophobic attack either. We made it seem as if it was just a regular attack. The wait for Levi to wake up was agony, honestly." His expression mellows, as he recalls the vivid memories of those four long days. "Deep down, I knew he was going to be alright ... but the longer he was unconscious, the less hope I had. Part of me did think I could lose him. And that would have destroyed me. B-But—But I didn't. And I'm so fortunate for it."

"It sounds absolutely horrific," Julie utters. "Your sexuality seems to be a source of great pain for you. Or, at least, it used to be."

"It was worse back then," George divulges. "When I was still closeted. It was the eighties — HIV was rampant, and people were closed-minded. There was less freedom back then. I'd already hidden my sexuality for almost a decade by the time I did start coming out to people. It was a very difficult time."