Baby May

A Forgotten but Familiar Face

"I was kidnapped," She finishes his sentence this time.

Jim pulls her into a hug and Alyssia lets tears drip down her face, "I saw the news when Brian and Anita found you and rang them, but that was the last I really spoke with them. What are you doing here?"

"I'm in Ireland for the European Figure Skating Championships. I don't have to skate today and this place caught my eye when I was looking for something to do."

"Oh, of course, you went to the Olympics and got a medal didn't you?" He watched to Winter Games that year and remembers seeing her.

"Yes, silver at the 2006 Winter Olympics."

"Impressive. Are you in Ireland by yourself?"

"Yes, coming to the European Championships this year was a last-minute decision. I was taking part in Dancing on Ice, but my celebrity partner had to withdraw due to injury so I took the offered place to compete. But because it was so last minute, Mum and Dad are busy and my boyfriend is working."

"Boyfriend?" He smirks, "You been together long?"

"His name is Toby, we've been together nearly six years."

"High school sweethearts, huh?"

"Yeah. Can I ask why you're here?" It feels quite the odd place to meet him.

"These gardens remain me of the gardens at Garden Lodge, they remind me of Freddie, he would have loved this waterfall," The gardens have quite the Japanese style and it's a comfort for him to be here, "I come here often when I'm missing him and want to talk to him, I sometimes feel like he's here."

A shiver comes over Alyssia and she looks over to the waterfall, Freddie is standing at the railings, leaning against them and he smiles his gorgeous toothy smile, "He is," She whispers.

"What?" Jim frowns not hearing her mumble.

"I feel like that sometimes, when I really miss him. Listen, would you like to join me for some lunch? I'd love to hear some more about Freddie, I don't remember much of him."

"I'd love that," He stands offering her his arm. They grab something from a nearby cafe but continue back to his house so they can catch up without hogging a table for hours.

He shows her photos of him with Freddie, Queen in the later years and even some of her when she was little with Freddie, "Freddie adored you, you know. He said to me once that you gave him an idea of what he would have been like as a dad."

"I think he would have been an amazing dad," It's at times like this that Alyssia finds herself inwardly screaming at herself for not being able to remember many moments with Freddie.

"I think so too," Jim wishes he and Freddie could have had a child together, that's the only thing in life he never fulfilled. Being with someone else after Freddie just wasn't an option because anyone else would shadow in comparison to the relationship he had with the singer.

Eventually, Alyssia had to go back to her hotel but to her delight, Jim turned up to the Championships final to watch her compete. He was there to watch her place third and gain another bronze medal.

Before leaving Dublin the day after, they exchange numbers promising to stay in touch.

------

Two weeks after her encounter with Jim, Alyssia is just pulling into the car park after finishing her driving test and she's pretty sure she failed.

"How do you think you did?" The test examiner asks, writing the last few bits of paperwork.

"I failed didn't I? Because of the street where I was over the speed limit." One of the roads she drove on had a speed limit change since the last time so drove down. She wasn't aware of it, missing the first sign and drove over the speed limit most of the way down the street until she eventually saw the sign at the other end.

"Hmm... well, I can tell you that you have passed. Something like driving over the speed limit goes down as a minor fault as long as you don't do it more than three times in the test and it's not excessively over the speed limit. That speed limit change happened just yesterday and I bet it will catch even the most experienced drivers going over the speed limit for a while, the fact that you were aware of it eventually and slowed down the moment you saw it is a good thing, it shows you weren't doing it intentionally and keeping an eye out."

"I passed?" Alyssia needs to hear it again.

"Yes, you passed, Miss May. In fact, the speed limit point is the only minor you got on your entire test which is very impressive," The man hands her the certificate and takes Alyssia's provisional licence, "This will be sent off at the end of the day with any others and should be back with you in two weeks. Until then you can use your certificate as evidence should you want to drive before then."

"Thank you," She beams getting out of the car to look for Roger, who is walking back towards her as the examiner goes inside.

"I passed!" She squeals showing him the certificate and paperwork.

"Wow, only one minor," Roger smiles, reading what the point was for, "You did better than me and your dad, I got seven minors while your dad got five, I think. Well done, Lissy."

"You should consider becoming a driving instructor," Having him teach her helped her feel comfortable in the car as opposed to some instructor she's never met before.

"I'll keep it in mine should my music career ever go down the toilet. Come on, in the car, let's go tell your parents you need a car," He drives her home and the entire journey she tells him what she had to do for the test. He's happy for her though, it's a big milestone for a lot of people.