Outside Looking In - Bohemian Rhapsody

Three - Killer Queens

"Please tell your father it's nice to meet him," Freddie told Mary. Her father was deaf and communicated using sign language, Mary translating for the others.

"I have."

"Then thank him for the lovely birthday cake."

"I have."

"Hmm." Freddie lowered his voice, then said with a grin, "Then tell him his daughter's an epic shag."

Mary's smile fell. "Freddie, he can read lips."

Freddie's smile also fell and he looked up to see Mary's father staring at him from across the table, not smiling now either.

"Oi!" Diana cried from next to Mary when Roger reached his fork over to her unfinished slice of birthday cake.  "Hands off!"

"Mary, I can't tell you how long I have waited for Farrokh to bring home a girl," Mrs. Bulsara said, smiling widely.

"Farrokh?" repeated Mary, the others now just as confused.

"Did Farrokh not tell you he was born in Zanzibar?"

"No, he didn't." Now all eyes were on Freddie, who suddenly looked like he wished to be anywhere but there.

"I used to know a girl from Zanzibar," said Roger.

"Of course you did." Diana rolled her eyes.

"I thought Freddie was born in London," said John.

"Oh he was, at the age of eighteen," teased Kash.

"Shut up," sighed Freddie.

"Ah, siblings," Di chuckled knowingly. "Are you and Freddie close?" she asked Kash.

"Fairly." Kash nodded. "Though not as close as you and Brian. Freddie spent nine years away at boarding school, so we didn't spend a lot of our childhood together."

"I'll be right back-"

"Mum!" Freddie cried when his mother disappeared, utterly embarrassed when she returned and started passing around an album full of photos of his childhood.

"Our family is Indian Parsi," she explained.

"A thousand years ago, the Parsis fled from India to Persia to escape Muslim persecution," Mr. Bulsara told them.

"Really?" cried Brian. "That's terrible. So why did you leave Zanzibar?"

"We didn't leave, we were chased out with just the clothes on our backs."

"Oh, that's awful." 

Mrs. Bulsara passed him a stack of photographs.  "Freddie tells us you're a scientist."

"Astrophysics, actually."

"Oh. And you dear?" Mrs. Bulsara asked Di. 

"I'm an actress. Well, I went to school for acting."

"That's so cool!" cried Kash.  "You done anything on screen?"

"Thank you! And not yet, but you'll be the first to know if I do."

"And he's a dentist." John pointed across the table to Roger.

"I was never a dentist," said Rog.

"He's a dentist," confirmed John, he and Brian nodding in agreement.

"And how long have you two been together?" Mrs. Bulsara asked Roger and Diana from where she was sitting across from them.

Brian's head shot up from looking at the photos of young Freddie. Now everyone had fallen silent in their varying conversations and all eyes were on them.