Good Company

Chapter 5

~December 24th 1973~ 

'I know this is probably the worst timing in history, but I can't get out of this. If I don't take this job, there'll be no christmas for them... I wish things were different. I wish I could just stay home on the 24th and enjoy Freddie's ideas and John's chit chat. I'm truly sorry to ask you this, Roger, but could you watch them for today? It's totally fine if you don't want to or can't make it, I -seriously? Thank god. Roger, you are an absolute angel. Thank you so much! See you in ten?'

Brian put the phone back and sighed. He hated that he had to ask Roger to help out. He hated that he hadn't been able to make enough money to give his kids the Christmas celebration they deserve. He hated that he hadn't been able to handle his life on his own. But the boys had grown very fond of Roger, so he thought it wouldn't hit them as hard and sudden when Roger was there, but it stung. There was a terrible stomach and heart ache when he thought of Freddie and John, how disappointed they would be when there were no presents underneath the christmas tree. They'd hide it, in order to make him feel better, but they would be sad nonetheless. 

The doorbell rang, and Brian went to open the door. As expected, Freddie and John were a lot faster than he was, which meant they got there first. 

'Roger!' A bivocal call that made both men's day. Roger crouched down, arms wide open to receive the incoming double hug. Brian leaned against the door frame and, not entirely by accident, made eye contact with Roger. Thank you, he desperately tried to message to the younger man. Always, Roger sent back. 

'Roger, where's Marianna?' John had tried multiple times to peek behind Roger to see if he'd brought his dog, but he hadn't been lucky. 

'Hold up.' Roger got to his feet and whistled loudly on his fingers. Freddie and John stared at him in awe. Less than fifteen seconds later, Marianna ran into the garden, messing up the clean cut lawn. Brian didn't mind though, for how could he tell an animal to stay away from the only bit of original nature on his property? 

'Marianna!' Freddie ran up to her, and Marianna, playful as always, knocked him over and started licking his face. John took a brave attempt to pull her away, the only result being that he suffered the same fate as Freddie. Meanwhile Brian and Roger went over some technical priorities. 

'I'll be back by 18:30. Could you take them somewhere fun? I'll pay you back, of course, just take them somewhere they can forget about their worries and their strife.'

'I think I know a place. But you don't need to repay me, that's all good. I love hanging out with the boys. Now go, you don't want to be late.' Roger smiled at the prospect of spending yet another afternoon with Freddie and John. He truly loved the little bastards, as he'd predicted. How could he not? 

'John, Freddie. I'm going to leave now, so go have fun with Roger. From what I've heard, he's got an amazing afternoon planned for you, so listen closely and don't misbehave, alright? Oh, what am I saying. I know you'll be good for Roger.' 

Brian hugged both his kids and then turned back to Roger. 'Thank you, again, for doing this. I don't know how I could ever repay you.' After he said those words, a strong feeling washed over him. He gave in to it, and hugged Roger. The younger man was surprised, although he recovered soon enough and hugged Brian back, much to his enjoyment. As they let go, Brian whispered another 'thank you', and then he walked away in the direction of the mall. 

Brian had not a clue of what just happened. He knew that he'd had a strong feeling that it was a perfect time for a hug, but why he'd thought that in the first place? As he made his way to the centre of London, on foot, mind you, he thought it all over. 

Why? Normal people don't usually hug their nanny, right? Or do they? How would I know, I've never hired a nanny before. I've never even had a nanny. My parents díd do a good job parenting, or at least there was always somebody home to take care of me. You aren't home. You let a stranger watch your kids. But surely Roger is no stranger? I've known him for about two months now, he's been at my place about ten times. I know him, he knows me and Freddie and John. Roger is becoming part of our family. They love him a lot. Maybe they love him too much? What if they love him more than they love you? What if they prefer Roger as their father instead of you? They are always so happy when he's around. They're never that excited when it's about you, don't you know that? Shut up. Freddie loves me. John loves me. It's prefectly natural for children to be more excited about their nanny because everyone needs a break from parents every once in a while, no matter how much you love them. Now shush, I need to focus. I'm almost there. I can't do this job if I'm silently talking to myself, that's weird. If you say so.  

Brian opened the mall management office door and reported his arrival to the girl at the desk. 

'I'll let him know you're here, he'll call you in a minute.' She took a few steps in the direction of a large, wooden door, opened it, and said, 'sir, Mister May is here. For the position of -' 

Brian heard a loud sigh. 'Yes, thank you, Nancy. I know why Mister May is here. Send him in, please.' 

Jenny gestured him to get to the office, and Brian got up and knocked on the door, even though it was open. He took a seat on the other side of the desk than the man was on and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. That hand got stuck in his curls halfway down, so he made a huge tangle trying to get his hand out. The man looked at him funny, but went back to being serious quite quickly. 

'Mister May, you're here for the position of Santa. Your costume is in the storage space, you can get changed in there. Jenny will make sure nobody enters the room when you're in there. You won't have to wear the wig, though, for your own hair looks just fine. You do have to wear the beard, obviously. Jenny can help you attach it when you're done changing, just ask her. The glue isn't very strong, so you can easily take it off, but make sure the kids won't try to pull it, or it will definitely come off. You can take over from Jeremy in about twenty minutes. He's downstairs at the centre, by the Santa house and the yellow chair. Good luck!'

Brian hadn't said a word, and mumbled a short 'Thank you, sir' as he exited the office. He got changed and asked Jenny to help him with the beard, and then he had to get to Jeremy without being spotted. This was going to be a long, long day. 

A/N: I'm supposed to be studying for my geography test. Instead, I though it would be nice to write another chapter because yay procrastination. I'll be seeing you guys when I've screwed up my test, byeee!