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Book Club

As it turned out, the book club that Harry had mentioned to Freddie met on Sunday afternoons, and so in an effort to scout out the territory, Harry went to that little coffee shop in search of a few nice, old ladies. He went on his own while Freddie was on the phone with her parents, and he was glad that he did. Freddie would have never let him hear the end of it if she had seen the way these women fawned over him, pinching his cheek and ruffling his hair. Enduring it with a bashful smile, Harry asked to join them for a moment, which they gladly accepted, so that he could ask whether he and Freddie could join in on the fun.

"I don't know why you're asking, dear; we've been offering for months," Cora said testily, grasping this week's book between her hands. She was a widow that lived nearby with her daughter, her husband, and their children. She had always been the one to reach out to Harry when he seemed down, and though he had only spent a handful of times in her company, she made Harry feel as if his mother were there in New York with him. She was probably his favorite.

Harry chuckled, "Yes, but I wanted to make sure it was alright if my roommate Freddie could come too."

"Is he handsome?" Violet asked, raising an unnaturally well-sculpted brow. Violet was perhaps the most saucy of the three. She had seen things and done things that one could only hope to hear of, and she had a mouth on her that would put even the proudest of men in their place. It was only natural of her to make this inquiry of Harry.

Hesitating, Harry experienced a moment of what life must have been like for Freddie, where everyone questions the name just because it was different. He felt for her and wondered whether it bothered her still.

"She is beautiful," Harry answered Violet reluctantly, glancing up at the three ladies with a shy smile. "I think you all would like her very much."

Violet gasped, "Her name is Freddie? That's quite odd, wouldn't you say?"

In turning to the woman beside her, Violet was answered by an eye-roll and a rather quick dismissal. Isobel was perhaps the only one of the three that could put Violet in her place just as she liked to do to others. "Oh, Violet, don't be so rude," Isobel quipped. "Freddie is a perfectly fine name for a woman these days."

Harry smiled gratefully at Isobel. He didn't know her very well either, but he rather enjoyed the dynamic she and Violet had together. He was sure that if he and Freddie did join in on this club, the two of them would undoubtedly prove to be a great amusement to them.

"She was named after Freddie Mercury actually," Harry told them proudly. "Her parents met at Live Aid during the Queen set, so she has a cool story behind it."

"I nearly went to that," Isobel lamented, surprising everyone there at the table. She seemed quite the housewife, so to find out that she was a concert goer was somewhat shocking. "I went to the Philadelphia venue instead, but all everyone ever seems to talk about is Queen."

"You should tell Freddie that you went," Harry smiled, thinking of how excited Freddie would likely become at the prospect of someone having participated in such a historic musical event. "She loves that kind of music. She plays it around the flat all the time."

Cora smiled knowingly, "Are you sure she's just a friend, Harry? It sounds like you admire her a great deal."

Though he tried not to react, Harry knew that his expression betrayed him as his cheeks warmed and he suddenly found himself incapable of looking any of the women in the eye. Of course, he was going to lie about how he felt with Freddie, but he just couldn't do it while making eye-contact with any of them. It was wrong, but Harry knew that if they were to know of his feelings, they would likely have a hard time keeping that to themselves. He couldn't risk it.