The Luckycharm -A Brian May fanfiction- English

Set-list, lights and...Miami Beach!

       Sanremo - 3rd February 1984
            Il Capriccio Restaurant
                 About 8:30 p.m.

Brian P.O.

"No, no, no!" Roger exclaims, he's nervous to the nth degree.

Some restaurant customers impatiently turn towards us for a few seconds, seconds that to me seem like hours since I'm a reserved and discreet man.

"Rog, are you crazy? What do you scream like a mad man?" I reply softly, I don't want Queen to continue to create a spectacle even when they are not on stage "Freddie decided in this way and what can we do about it? We are not his nanny"

"We are not his nanny but we are the ones who have busting their ass out for over ten years to carry on the band. I stay behind that bloody drum more than five hours a day, every day, my fingers almost don't feel like it anymore in the evening and what he want to do? He wants to be a solo singer! He wants to try new sensations, he wants to experiment!" he still curses, his tone of voice that still doesn't seem to want to lower himself.

"Oh Rog, this is not the time to talk about it"
"Oh no, no Brian, this is the right time, now we have to talk about it, now that we're sitting on this table, you, John and I have to talk about it now"
"Ok, let's talk about it now" I agree with him, maybe I can get him to calm down "The waiter is coming: he takes the orders and then we talk about it, ok?"
"Ok" he only answers me.

Roger takes the usual crumpled pack of Marlboro out the pocket of his trousers, takes out a cigarette, he lights it and starts to smoke more nervous than a hysterical.

I sigh, maybe I could even exhale anger as well as air, and then I turn to the other side. Freddie and Jim Beach are sitting at a table far away from ours, they're chatting thickly and sometimes they turn in our direction, I'm fully convinced that they're talking about us in this moment.

It all started last year in Munich, during the recording of The Works: Freddie recorded with another band a completely his own solo album in the downtimes and this new album will be published at the end of this year. Roger, John and I have been disappointed because of this, it's true that we have always known about this fact from the beginning, but we felt superfluous, we felt like broken toys that are thrown into the garbage without much compliment because now they're useless. We've been talking about it for months now, Roger, John and I on one side and Freddie and Paul, Paul Prenter, on the other side, we're two factions that every day clash to the sound of cruel looks and evil jokes.

"Paul luckily didn't came here to Sanremo with us. I find him in front of me everywhere in Munich, he's unbearable!" I think to myself, seeing the waiter coming to our table "He really has a bad influence on Freddie. It's true that Jim talks with Freddie every day, he tries to reason with him, but... but he's stubborn, I know him, he doesn't change his mind so easily"

The idea of dining at this Sanremo waterfront restaurant was a Jim Beach's idea, he was baptized by Freddie as Miami Beach for almost ten years now. Miami believed that we would be able to sit on the same table and talk like civilized people in a neutral place, but Freddie immediately cleared things up: "I don't sit at the same table wit them, I have to stay in the car with Brian from the hotel to the Ariston theatre and it's just enough for me!" he exclaimed angrily while we were in the limousine to reach the restaurant. And I was next to him! I can't stand this, my pride, my self-love can't stand it.

"Are you ready to order, sir?" the waiter asks to us.
"Yes we are" John replies "I would like a sea bass with citrus fruits" he orders, it's the first time I've heard him speaking since we sat down here.
"And for you, sir?" the waiter asks to Roger.
"I..." he sighs, his thoughts now are very far from the dinner.