Through Chrissie's eyes

Families

After the recordings, the boys went back to the common routine of doing shows in bars and colleges. Whether they wanted to or not, they didn't get an agent right away what made them feel discouraged a little, and seeing Queen sad and disheartened, made me sad too. (And wondering if they weren't hungry.) So Brian and I had the idea of having a dinner party at home for everyone. Since there were many of us, we asked each of us to contribute as best as they could, so each one brought something, which made the dinner table full all night long.

One thing that some of us had in common was that we were teachers. Me and Brian were teaching and Veronica was still in her second year of college. As we told our experiences, Veronica was deciding what methods to use as a teacher.

"You know there are days when it's gratifying to see curious children asking interesting questions," Brian was telling us "but there are days that are unbearable, a real chaos ..."

"My students are younger than Brian's," I said. "The bad side is how much energy they have to spend, they make me exhausted at times."

"Before they give you a nasty nickname," Brian protested, "that goes against the natural order of things, I'm an adult and a teacher, I shouldn't be bullied."

"At least your height scares them, doesn't it?" John shrugged.

"Not always," Bri sighed, "they invented to call me Professor Poodle, and on top of that they threw little balls of paper into my hair."

"Cruel ..." Veronica said, a little astonished.

No matter how much we wanted, no one laughed at his nickname.

"And what wikk you do? Get a haircut?" John asked, but he doubted it.

"No, I'm not going to change my hair because of some uneducated kids, it's the way my hair is, willing or not," my boyfriend said decisively, and I kissed his cheek, showing my pride.

"And he used to hate that hair, didn't he?" laughed Veronica.

We left the subject there and we ended up talking about other things, as the time passed, suddenly the boys were all sitting on the couch. I paused a little to notice the scene, Roger and Freddie laughed at something that the singer said, Brian chattered intellectually and John nodded, commenting here and there. It was incredible to see them onstage, but here, talking as friends and brothers, it was comforting, almost palpable the bond of friendship they had. I ran into the bedroom and picked up Brian's camera, a gift he'd gotten from his father when he was still a teenager. Only I was allowed to use it, and taking advantage of my privileges, I took a picture of Queen on my couch without them noticing. I mean, Brian noticed a second later.

"Did you take a picture of us?" he said, a little astonished.

"You had to let us know beforehand to pose," Freddie pointed out.

"Oh no, I thought I'd be perfect if I caught that moment, you were so natural," I said.

In the end, they didn't think it was bad. The band continued rehearsing as usual and Brian and I were getting them home. There were busier days, and quieter days, when they preferred to go home and rest for a while. I noticed that on one of those days, only Brian and Roger came to our apartment, the drummer wanted to come in, but Brian grabbed his arm and kept him from doing it. I was worried that they were fighting, or something, but they went back to a normal conversation. Rog laughed and looked at Brian with amazement, who looked scared, embarrassed and excited, managing to be all three at the same time. Curiosity made me want to know what they were talking about, so I realized I was already gossiping. I left the window immediately, and sat on the couch waiting for them to finish. Before the boys came in, the phone rang and I got up to answer.

"Hello?" I waited "oh, Mrs. May, to what do I owe the honor? Ah yes, he arrived but ... he can't speak at the moment, of course, really? I mean ... Thank you, it's wonderful! Yes, I tell him. Goodbye."

Brian and Roger finally came in and I tried to hold my curiosity and forget about their conversation.

"Hi Chrissie," Roger said first.

"Hi," I said, then turned to my boyfriend. "Bri, you won't believe who called. Your mother invited us to go to Hampton, she said they're going to pay for the bus tickets."

"Wow ..." Brian mused, "I haven't seen my parents for some time ..."

"Yeah, your mom told me that," I said. "I saw them when they spent Christmas here, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but ..." my boyfriend sighed rather apprehensively, "I feel bad about having to accept their help."

"Ah Bri, you're an only child, don't worry about your parents spoiling you a little," Roger urged, "ah, since you're going to Hampton ..."

He finished whispering in Brian's ear, it made my suspicion from a little earlier come back.

"What are you two up to?" I ended up letting go.

"Nothing ..." Brian looked innocent, but the blushing cheeks didn't convince me much.

"Best friends' thing" Roger said, smiling in that mischievous way.

I ignored that and figured it was all about the drummer's dating a lot of girls. Anyway, when the weekend came, the band decided to give Brian a little break (and consequently everyone was also free) and he and I went to Hampton. During the trip, I thought of when I had met my in-laws for the first time, Mrs. Ruth was a sweet woman, her love and pride of her son overflowed, Mr. Harold was serious, intelligent and focused (Brian had got this from him), always in a formal way, which made me nicknamed him Sir Harold. When he found out, he liked it and I always called him that.

"What if my father asks about the band?" "Brian was still afraid of it "you know he doesn't like it so much that I play it, almost professionally now."

"Try not to bring the subject up, change the subject, start talking about school and Astrophysics," I suggested, finding one idea worse than the other.

"I'll try," my boyfriend finally agreed.

When we arrived, the Mays welcomed us with every affection that corresponded to their longing for us.

"You have to come to see us more often Brian" his mother said, half-angry.

"You know ... We're still in financial trouble," my poor Bri justified.

"I assure you that he has worked hard" I helped him to get out of that trick situation !and it's because of the work that we aren't having time to come here."

"Are you both working?" Sir Harold has manifested himself "this is excellent! Both teachers."

"Yeah, Dad, both teachers," Bri emphasized the ocupation.

We had a relatively quiet lunch, with no one mentioning any band. Brian didn't wait for this, and he quickly called me out, and it felt like we were running away.

He knew well the beach that marked the edge of the city, I knew the stories of when he was a kid and came with his parents there. We walked hand in hand on the seashore, with the wind flapping our rebellious hair. We sat down a bit to enjoy the view, looking at that vastness, easily forgetting the problems, feeling sure that everything would work out.

Brian looked at me and I noticed, I turned to him.

"What's it?" I asked with a smile, delighted by the way he looked at me.

He didn't answer right away. His gaze was fixed on me, full of tenderness, but worried about something that I didn't know what it was, I almost saw his mind working on a million possibilities ...

"I love you," Brian said at last.

"I love you too," I leaned over to kiss him.

It sounded cheesy and cliché, but I always had to remind myself that all of that was real when moments like this happened. Deep in my heart, I was sure it was real. Whatever it was that Brian was worried about, only he and Roger apparently knew, he had forgotten this secret problem a bit so we could enjoy that moment together. I wouldn't press him to tell, I knew he would tell me eventually.