November 1978 brought the release of Jazz, Queen's seventh album which went straight to number two.
It was rather strange because before the album was even released, the band had jet off to the States to start the tour and they didn't come back to the UK until just five days before Christmas.
Roxanne and the boys hadn't gone - Rebecca and Ellie also hadn't joined them and Roxy had wanted to stay home and help her if she'd needed it.
For John, that was the worst; leaving the three of them behind was not something he wanted to do at all but, in a way, he supposes that it prepares him for when they go to school. He wouldn't be able to take them out for months so that they could go touring with them.
On the 22nd, just two days after returning, John and Roxy would be attending Freddie's annual Christmas party.
"I'm surprised that he even managed to pull this together," Roxy muses as she puts on some lipstick, "You've only been back two days."
"Could do without it if I'm honest," John sighs, shaking his head as she turns on the stool that she's sat on.
"You look so tired," she frowns as he leans into her touch.
"I am."
"Then let's just stay home," she stands, resting her hands on his chest.
"We can't do that."
"Freddie would understand."
He leans down and kissed her softly just as their babysitter for the evening rings the doorbell, "I'll be fine once we get there."
The frown stays on her face as he leaves the room to go answer the door but then she sighs, grabbing her bag before following.
Arthur is already in bed, he's getting over a particularly nasty cold that had kept him awake the previous night and so Roxy tucks him in, presses a kiss to his forehead before doing the same to Theo and then she slips out, making sure to leave the door open.
She wasn't even sure who John had managed to find to look after the boys at such short notice but as she descends the stairs, she realises that it's Beth, another local teen who offers babysitting services.
"Wow, Mrs Deacon," she grins, "You look amazing."
"Thank you, Beth," she gives the young girl a smile of her own, "But how many times? It's Roxy."
"Are they alright?" John asks in reference to the boys and she nods.
"Yeah, they're fine. Arthur will probably sleep right through. The cold really knocked it out of him." Beth nods and John gets their coats, "Theo, he'll probably wake soon. He's due a feed."
"Okay,"
"Numbers are by the phone," John helps her into the jacket she's picked for the night.
"Like they always are," the teen teases and John smiles.
As he disappears to get the car keys (the plan was to drive there, leave the car at Freddie's and then get a taxi back), Roxy grabs her bag again, "I don't know if we'll be there very long and thank you again for doing this at such short notice."
She shrugs, "I don't have much else to do with school being off and hey, a little extra money is always good."
"Alright," John comes in twirling the keys around his finger, "Ready?"
She nods, giving Beth one last smile before following him out the front door.
++|++
John seems to get a second wind when they arrive at the party, taking Roxanne's hand as soon as they get out of the car.
Freddie's house is lavishly decorated; lights dangling from the ceiling beams, a large tree set up in the hallway which guests can see as soon as they step through the front door and once they've hung up their coats, they step into the main room to see that there are a lot of people here.
John keeps a tight grip on her hand as he leads her through the party-goers to where he sees Roger and Becca are sat on some rather uncomfortable-looking chairs.
"Hey!" Becca greets, being the first of the two to see them approaching, standing to kiss Roxy on the cheek.
"You look great!" the blonds holds her at arm's length, admiring the dress that she's wearing, "I love the colours."
Rebecca gives her a twirl, "Thank you. But this," she tugs at Roxy's sparkly red dress, "You can't go wrong with a little bit of glitter at Christmas."
John, who had disappeared to get Roxanne a drink, hands her a gin and tonic, "I'm going to go find Freddie and say hello."
She nods, taking a sip of her drink as Brian joins the three of them.
She feels a little bit out of place, which really, is ridiculous but she can't help it. It had been a long time since she'd seen anyone who wasn't Becca and since she hadn't gone on tour with them, even seeing Roger was a little bit weird. And even before they'd gone, seeing Brian and Freddie was seldom.
"No Kayla?" Roger asks and he shakes his head.
"No. She...she's not feeling well."
"Oh," both Roxy and Becca frown, "That's too bad. We could have gotten the band back together. Eh, Rox?"
Both she and Roger laugh and she holds her glass up, "It'll just have to be a duet."
Grinning, Rebecca reaches over to tap her glass against hers while Roger groans, "Please don't."
John returns with Freddie in tow and he lets out an enthusiastic cheer, "Welcome to the party my darlings!"
Roxy kisses him, "Evening, Fred."
"Wonderful, isn't it?" he beams, gesturing to the party that's going on around them.
"It's lovely," Becca agrees.
"You," he says, pointing an accusing finger at Roxanne while he falls into the empty seat on Roxanne's other side, "I've missed you. You're never around anymore, Nessie."
"I know," she says apologetically, "I keep meaning to come by but y'know, kids."
"Boring!" the singer all but yells and John smiles, "But you must join us on the next part. That means you too, Rebecca."
The brunette opens her mouth to respond but before she can, Prenter speaks up from seemingly nowhere.
"I don't think that'd be a good idea, Freddie. Three kids on a tour doesn't exactly-"
"Who asked you?" Roger snarks, Rebecca putting her hand on his arm to calm him.
She certainly hadn't missed him.
++|++
Much to her surprise, Roxanne finds that as time passes, she actually starts enjoying herself. It has been a long time since she's really let herself go.
She dances with John and Brian (who's cheered up a little bit), beats Roger in a drinking competition, much to his frustration and when My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small starts playing while she's dancing wth Rebecca, the two of them can't help but sing along with the lyrics loudly.
Sometimes, she forgets that both she and John are only twenty-seven.
Speaking of John, he's leaning against a nearby wall, watching in amusement as she grabs hold of Freddie as he's walking by, pulling him into the make-shift band that they've somehow created.
When their performance is over, she stumbles over to him and he catches her when she loses her footing.
"Always there to catch me," she grins, pressing a drunken kiss to his lips. A kiss that tastes of lemons with just a hint of gin.
"Always."