Thank God It's Christmas

Chapter 2- You're My Best Friend

December 22, 1986

Roger, a beautiful blond-haired man with intoxicating blue eyes, picked me up at exactly 9 in the morning, and drove me from my flat to Freddie's house: Garden Lodge, 1 Logan Place, Kensington, London. I enjoyed the ride in Rog's beautiful, sleek red convertible, and chatting with him as though we'd been friends for years.

When we arrived at Freddie's house, I was overwhelmed by its size and beauty. It looked like a mansion from a novel by Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. Roger opened the unlocked gate and strolled up the path to the door as I trailed behind, then knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, I was standing face to face with Freddie Mercury. How should I begin to describe him? He was not very tall at less than two meters, but his presence shone just like his deep brown eyes. He had black hair and a mustache above his smiling mouth, and defined cheekbones and dark eyebrows.

"So, who are you again? You look quite familiar..." he teased. "It doesn't ring a bell..."

"Miss Ella Burke. You may remember me from Wembley Stadium on July 12th."

"Yes, yes. I see that Roger brought you here. But as a matter of fact, all of us have been planning to see you this Christmas. Come in, Ella. I'm having a sort of spontaneous party," he said.

Roger took my hand and led me through the hall into the parlor. To my surprise, I noticed Brian May and John Deacon in the room, as well as a few other people I didn't recognize. My first reaction was to run up to them.

"Brian! Deaky! How wonderful to see you! Merry Christmas!"

John, a man with short, slightly fluffy, chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, laughed. "We've been expecting you. It's always great to see you." He wrapped his arms around me.

"Yeah." Brian looked at Roger, smiling. "I like this girl."

"She's sweet," added Roger. "And very kind and charming."

They really thought this about me? I had always been quiet and serious. No one had ever called me charming.

Freddie paraded in the room, holding hands with a blonde woman and another man with a mustache, whom he introduced as Mary Austin and Jim Hutton. I knew that Mary had been his girlfriend years before, but I hadn't ever heard about Jim. Some people had started to say that Freddie was gay, but he never talked about his sexual orientation with the media. I didn't want to further question it, so I made the assumption that Jim was either Freddie's partner or a very close friend.

I got the opportunity to chat with Mary and Jim, who had loads of questions for me, which I proudly answered as Freddie sat beside me and nodded. Before long, they too knew all about my personal life.

After about an hour of small talk and socialization, John Deacon suggested that we play a game. "How about charades?"

"We could play Scrabble," commented Roger.

"You can't play Scrabble with seven people, dear," replied John.

"Charades it is."

It was a strange experience. No young woman would ever imagine playing charades at Freddie Mercury's house. Before I'd met the Queen members, I couldn't have thought they'd been these fun, exuberant people I saw before me now. It was indeed hilarious to see Brian May acting as a penguin, or Roger Taylor as a mime.

After we were all tired of playing the game, we sat by Freddie's fireplace drinking wine and talking. It was actually my first experience with red wine, because my family preferred white wine. I found it much to my liking. We continued to talk, until Brian had to leave, "to be with his family." Soon after he left, everyone else started leaving until it was just me, Roger, and Freddie.

"That was so much fun, Fred," I said. "You sure know how to throw a party."

"That wasn't a party. Come to my place on Christmas Eve night and I will show you a party!" he laughed.

"You're inviting me to your house again?"

He tossed his hand in the air. "You're welcome any time. It's always a good time here."

"Freddie, I have a question. You didn't really properly introduce Jim and Mary to me. Is Jim your... boyfriend?"

He looked pretty embarrassed, but he smiled anyway. "Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I am bisexual, darling. I usually don't tell people about it. You know, the media tend to be jerks. About everything."

"I believe it. I didn't mean to embarrass you. And it's alright with me. I don't judge people on stuff like that."

He reached out to hold my hand. "Thank you, Ella. You're such a wonderful girl."

After a few minutes of talking, Roger and I bade farewell to Freddie. I checked my watch, which read 1:30. I'd spent over four hours at Fred's house, and had a ball. Definitely I hoped to see him again before the Christmas Eve party.