Winter Queen (Roger Taylor fanfic)

15. ...she explained her issues

In the second half of November, the album was finally done, Queen gave many interviews, were preparing a tour. Josie was preparing mentally on the Christmas at her parents.

They all had the most lovely dinner at Freddie's place and Roger walked with her to her place, through the beautiful, snowy London streets.

"The time before Christmas is always so beautiful." she said, while admiring the neighborough's decorated windows.

"Do I hear a but?"

"You want some tea?" She asked and he agreed.

Marge was at home, they chatted with her for a moment, but then took the tea cups to Josie's room. They sat on her bed and sipped the tea.

"How do you celebrate Christmas in Czechoslovakia?" he asked. He already recognized the tiny signs, when she bristled up about his choice of words. She never said so, but was bothered, that everyone subconsciously associated her with her homeland. He didn't quite understand that, but blamed himself for doing it again.

"There are many traditions, most of them is just about who's gonna die and who's gonna marry. You eat carp on the twenty fourth, you give presents the same evening. And that's it."

"Your parents celebrate it that way?" he asked carefully. "How would you like to celebrate Christmas?"

"Beautifully." she replied and he smiled.

"That means?"

"What's outside, the atmosphere. The lights, candles, good food, love, closeness, looking forward to something."

"You never really talk about your parents."

She moved around, so she could wrap herself in a blanket, but really she just wanted some time to answer that.

"We have some differences lately. It's quite simple actually. My parents are waiting for the end of Eastern block and want to go back there. I'm waiting for me not to be considered an immigrant from wild east. My parents want czech traditions, Czech. I just want the freedom. In Czechoslovakia..." she paused and sipped her tea. "Well, my parents remember the first republic before he war, they grew up there, even they were just kids. What I remember is Czechoslovakia with its political trials, Czechoslovakia where you have to keep your mouth carefully shut at school, so you wouldn't say something that the party wouldn' t like.

I'd love to Czechoslovakia had it's freedom, I'd like to visit it again. But most of all, I want my home here. I don't want to be a soviet union refugee, criminalized."

"Come on, you can't listen to the group of jerks."

Josie got up and grabbed yesterday's paper from the desk. Whole front page of The Sun was about the immigrants from eastern block, their lack of education, high percentage of criminality among them, about the necessity to tighten up the rules to grant them asylum, about repatriation of those who commited crime.

"That's Sun, Jo, that's the worst gutter. Nobody really thinks so." Roger objected. She shrugged.

"I want to live in a free world, as a free person. I should be worried to cross the street on the red light, they want to return me back there. You all live free. You'll just go to America. I need and official invitation."

"You do?" He was surprised.

"Yes, I asked about it. And even then, I couldn't go with you, I need a proof that I have a job there or an American, with whom I'll stay."

"We can always give you some for appearance's sake job."

"You could. But that's my point. For the western world I'm suspected to be a spy, for the eastern I'm a traitor."

"Come on, it's not that serious."

She was quiet, watched the darkness behind her window a thought about it.

"I know. But I can't go back now, that's for sure. And I'm tired of being a foreigner. Do you know how many times people started screaming around me, so I could understand them better? I know, I still have an accent, but to be honest, my written English is better than of most of those people."

"You're here for a short time. Even Freddie had a hard time, people teased him and he visited british schools in India since he was little. English isn't really a second language for him. And you speak four languages. Don't worry about such jerks."

She smiled at him.

"I know, you're right. I don't worry much about them, not really. But all of this, it just leads to those misunderstandings with my parents. They came here, they are educated and they have inferior jobs. They live in a tiny flat, where often is no warm water or the heating is broken. They read those articles. And then they hold against me, that I want your citizenship, I want to be one of you. The blame me I'm not a patriot, that I don't stand behind my country and that I don't want to go back."

"You parents should understand you have your own life. They can go back, but you don't have to. Travelling will be easier and easier."

"You futurist." she smiled.

"You don't have to bude futurist, it's clear as a day."