Once their photo shoot was finished, Brian helped Lettie carry her things back upstairs to her room. He carried the box of records while she carried her outfits.
Lettie had changed back into what she had been wearing when he had arrived and had laid out the clothes on the floor so he could take some pictures of just the pieces themselves and the details.
"You can just set that on the desk," she told him. "Sorry about the mess. I've been going through my clothes to see what I can part with and take over to the stall. Problem is, I don't want to part with any of it."
He chuckled. "Trust me, I've seen a lot worse." The walls of her room were covered in posters and collages. In the corner by the desk a vintage sewing machine sat. He hadn't known her for very long, but even he could tell that this room was very Lettie.
"May I look at your record collection?"
"Of course. Chip and I share it. We're constantly fighting over them. In fact, I think he still has one of my Pink Floyds still."
"You've got lots of good ones."
"Yeah, thanks."
"Knock knock," came Valerie's voice, followed by her tapping at the door.
"Yes Mum?"
Valerie peeked in. "I heard we had a guest."
"Hello Mrs. Evans."
"Oh, 'Valerie' will do quite fine for me, dear. Nice to meet you. Now Brian, would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Oh, that's very kind of you. I'm not interrupting any family time, I hope."
"Not at all. We'd love to have you."
"I'd love to, thanks." He turned to Lettie. "That alright with you?"
"Of course."
"Brilliant, we'll eat in twenty minutes. Will you set the table with your brother, please?"
"Yup." Lettie got up and headed downstairs, followed by Brian.
"Oi! Watch it!" cried Chip when she rounded the corner into the kitchen, he stepping out the other way, the two almost colliding. It would have made a huge mess seeing as he was carrying a stack of plates.
"I'll get the cutlery then."
"Can I help?" said Brian.
"Sure." Chip handed him the stack of plates. "You can pick where you'd like to sit, though I bet you want to sit by Lettie. I'll get the food."
"So nice to have a dinner guest," Frank declared, entering the dining room. "Frank Evans." He held out his hand for Brian to shake.
Brian had to set down the plates to do so. "Brian May."
"Good to meet you, Brian."
"You as well."
"So you're a friend of Lettie's then?"
"Yeah. Our best mates are dating each other, so that's how we met."
"So I see. Hey - why's our guest setting the table?"
"Ask Chip." Lettie nodded to her brother.
"Chip!" cried Valerie.
"He said he wanted to help!" Chip came back into the dining room with a bowl of salad. "Hope you're hungry, Mate."
"Looks excellent."
"Have a seat Brian, let Chip do the rest," said Valerie.
Brian sat down next to Lettie. They bumped elbows as they sat down. "Sorry!" they laughed.
"Will you try some wine, Brian?" offered Frank, holding up a bottle.
"Oi, Dad, fill me up," Chip held out his glass from across the table.
"Certainly not," countered Valerie.
Chip grumbled, having to settle for a glass of water instead.
"Yes, thank you," Brian said.
"All the way from Santorini," Frank explained. "We Greeks have been making wine for thousands of years, you know."
"Dad's very proud of the fact," Lettie said.
"Oh Frank, don't bore the poor young man to death," cried Valerie.
"'Bore him to death'? I seem to recall you thinking it was very interesting when we met. I charmed you with my knowledge of great Greek wine." He winked to Brian and Lettie.
"Oh brother." Chip rolled his eyes.
"It's very interesting," Brian assured them.
"Salad?"
"Yes, thanks." Brian scooped some salad onto his plate and stabbed an olive with his fork, lifting it to his mouth.
"Whoa Mate, we haven't said grace yet," said Chip.
Brian's eyes grew wide as he promptly swallowed the bite and nearly dropped his fork back down. "Oh, I'm so sorry-"
"Oh don't be, he's just teasing, we don't do that," Lettie said, swatting at her brother. "Go ahead, tuck in."
"Yes, Brian, tuck in," said Valerie, also swatting at Chip as she brought in the last plate - garlic bread - and sat down.
"Any lamb, Son?" Frank asked, holding the platter back out to Brian. The lamb had been passed around the table, and Brian had passed it along without taking any.
"Oh, no thank you. I'm vegetarian, actually," Brian told him.
Silence fell upon the table. Lettie then noticed his plate only had salad, garlic bread, and saganaki on it. She realized she knew that, Brian having told her he was vegetarian before.
Poor Brian now appeared embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I should have said something-"
"Oh nonsense Dear, not a worry at all. Chip, give some to Brian, the man can't eat meat." Valerie snatched the plate of garlic bread away from Chip, who was on this second, maybe even third, slice.
"Oh, that's fine, thank you," Brian assured her. "This is lovely, really."
"Thank you, Dear. Glad you think so."
"Sorry, I definitely remember now you telling me you're vegetarian," Lettie said.
"No need to apologize."
"So, Brian, Lettie tells us your a scientist," said Valerie.
"Astrophysics, Mum," Lettie corrected.
"Oh, well pardon me."
"It's fine," said Brian. "Yeah. I'm in graduate studies at the moment."
"Good for you."
"Thank you."
"Brian's working towards a Ph.D.," Lettie added.
"Wow."
"Well done."
"Thank you." Brian blushed at their praise.
"All that science stuff is like a foreign language to me," said Frank.
"Here here," mumbled Chip.
"Yeah, it's really complicated. Very technical. I wish I was more like Lettie, though, with a creative side. I've always admired that in people."
"But you do have one," she protested. "With your music."
"Yeah, I guess. But you have such a creative vision."
"Well so do you."
"Could you two stop flirting and pass the hummus?" requested Chip.
"Oh you!" Valerie swatted at him again. "And 'please'. Where are your manners?"
"So you play in a band then?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, me and a couple of mates."
"What sort of music do you do?"
"Rock and roll, mostly."
"What instrument do you play?"
"Lead guitar."
"And he sings too," Lettie added.
Brian chuckled. "A little. Tim's lead vocals."
"Very nice. Would like to come and hear you play sometime."
"You're very welcome to."
"Yeah, if you want to come to a university pub with a bunch of students," said Lettie.
"Yeah, and if you want to be the oldest in the room," added Chip.
"No cheek from you, young man," said his mother.
"Hey, believe it or not, we used to do fun and exciting stuff when we were your age," Frank said, nodding to Valerie. "Like go see bands play at school."
In honour of having Brian as a guest, Valerie brought out some baklava for dessert for everyone to share. Tea was made, the dessert was served, and everyone relaxed after dinner.
Lettie loved how quickly Brian connected with her family, patient with her parents' ongoing questions and showing genuine intrigue at what they had to say. He offered to help clean up afterwards, and Valerie thanked him but told him not to worry. She also sent Brian home with some food.
"This is wonderful, thank you. I won't be sharing with my flatmates." He thanked them again, told Lettie he would see her soon, and said goodnight.
"What a sweetheart," Valerie remarked when he was barely out the door. "And a handsome young man too."
Lettie and Chip rolled their eyes. "Why are you rolling your eyes?" said Chip. "You think so too."
"Yes, I think he's sweet and handsome. What of it?"
"You clearly think so." Chip swiped another piece of baklava off the tray before heading upstairs.
-----------------------------
"My physics teacher thinks I need a tutor."
"Really?"
A few days later, Lettie was once again picking Chip up after school on their way to their shift at the shop.
"Yeah, I completely and utterly bombed the last test. It was shit. I was shit."
"Can't you meet with your teacher after class for some extra help?"
"Well he didn't offer, so..." He grumbled and buried his face in his hands. "I really hate physics."
Lettie suddenly got an idea. "Well, you might just be in luck - I may know someone who can help..."
(Yes, she just so happens to know a sweet, smart, and handsome astrophysics student, doesn't she? ;) Well thank goodness for that, her brother really needs it! Bri to the rescue!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))