From Seeds to Flowers | John Deacon

Chapter 18

October 19, 1971

John And Thalia returned to Southampton around noon after spending the morning with Dottie and Ruth. Brian, Freddie, and Roger were waiting outside for the cab to arrive so they could all go out to lunch together.

As soon as the cab rolled up, John jumped out and dragged Thalia along with him.

"Thalia's pregnant!" John exclaimed, wanting to share this exciting news with his bandmates.

Freddie clapped a hand on Thalia's shoulder. "You've finally gained the courage to tell him! Congratulations!"

John looked at each of his bandmates before looking back at Thalia. "You told them already?"

Thalia shrugged. "Well, they figured it out, dear."

"It was pretty obvious," Brian said.

"Yeah," Roger added. "Even I figured it out."

Eager to change the subject, Thalia interjected, "So, let's go put our bags in the room and then we can go get some lunch."

"Can't argue with that," Roger said as he shooed John to the cab, where he dejectedly grabbed the bags.

Thalia attempted to take her bag from John, but he pulled it away from her.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "I'll handle these." He went into the hotel by himself to put the bags away.

"So... how'd it happen?" Freddie asked the question they were all wondering.

Thalia sighed. "A cousin said something at the funeral about my morning sickness. So no, I didn't have the courage to tell him, but I feel so much better now that he knows." She looks up at the tall hotel. "I was so scared this whole time, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about."

"Except for actually having a baby," Roger said, which prompted Brian to punch his arm.

"You're going to be a great mother," Freddie quickly chimed in. "And Deaky will also be a great father. You'll have a great baby, quite the wonderful family," he began to ramble.

The front doors of the hotel opened and out walked John, carrying nothing except for an appetite.

"Let's go eat," he called out to the group.

They all agreed and began walking to a cafe that Brian found yesterday. The group wasn't particularly chatty on the walk, despite being separated for a day. Thalia and John walked hand in hand, just a couple steps behind everyone else.

The cafe was in a humble little building, which was a stark contrast to the bright blue walls and eccentric furnishings on the inside. The group seated themselves around a rectangular table, with Brian sitting on the end in a wooden chair. Thalia found herself sitting in a metal chair painted red and Roger was sitting on a stool.

"I think it's a girl," Brian said to Thalia, who was to his right. "I just have a feeling that it will be."

"No," Roger butted in from the other end of the table. "It's definitely gonna be a boy."

Freddie listened in to the conversation and very matter of factly stated "Girl."

"It doesn't matter what you fools think. What about you, Thalia, what do you think it'll be?" Roger asked.

Thalia thought for a moment then shrugged. "I don't really care. I'll love it no matter what." 

"And Deaky?"

"I suppose I feel about the same way," John answered.

For the rest of the meal, John was unusually quiet. He would speak when someone talked to him, but would rarely join into the conversation on his own accords. Thalia took note of this. He seemed to be contemplating something. She thoughts that everything was okay between them, but her doubts had begun to return. Thalia quieted down as well for the rest of the meal.

By the time they were about halfway back to the hotel, John spoke up. He grabbed Thalia's hand. "Hey," he said to the band. "Why don't you guys go on ahead. We'll catch up later."

An array of "yeahs," "okays," and "sures," erupted from the other three men as they parted ways with the couple. The three of them knew that things would probably be a bit more strained between John and Thalia now that the news was out.

After Brian, Freddie, and Roger were a fair distance away, John started by simply saying "I love you. And even though we have only been dating for a few months, our relationship has escalated quite a bit as of late." He gestured towards Thalia's abdomen. "We might have gone a bit out of order, with the baby coming first and all, but I was wondering if you would perhaps consider getting married."

Thalia stared at John and blinked a couple of times. This wasn't how she ever had expected she'd be proposed to, but she understood the lack of roses, sunsets, doves, or whatever else could be involved in a proposal.

"I've just been thinking about it all day," he continued. "And-"

"Yes," Thalia interrupted. "Yeah, it's a bit soon, but we're also having a baby together, so let's do it. Let's get married."

"Really?" John asked with a smile.

Thalia laughed. "Were you expecting me to say no?"

"To be perfectly honest, I don't really know what I was expecting," John said as he wrapped his arm around Thalia's waist. "I think it's about time we headed back."

Thalia nodded in agreement and the couple made their way back to the hotel quickly, seeing as the sky had begun to turn gray and rain would surely start to fall soon.

~~~

Thanks for reading! Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter, even though nothing really happened until the end. I'm still trying to get back into the swing of writing so I apologize if this chapter isn't that great.

Anyways of you have any questions or suggestions don't be afraid to leave a comment.

Thanks for 4K reads! 😊