After Hours

To a Tee

November 21, 1962
Feltham, UK

After a light rain earlier that day, it was unusually warm for late November in London, which proved to be a perfect opportunity for fifteen-year-old Brian May to go stargazing. He hated sitting out in the cold for hours at night but as winter marched on, he couldn't stay away from the beautiful constellations that seemed to demand his attention.

With the telescope that his father built for him in his hand and a blanket in the other, he headed for Feltham Park, which was about 100 meters across Harlington Road from his front door. He walked along the sidewalk until he got to the corner of Harlington and Walsham, he looked to the house on his right. That's where she lived, his best friend, Jane. He glanced at his watch, it was only eight in the evening, her mum was usually pretty lenient about letting Jane go with Brian anywhere at this time of night. She trusted him and didn't think he would do anything that would lessen the purity of her only daughter. He took a deep breath and walked down the sidewalk, up the front steps before he was faced with her front door.

Brian knocked softly, almost to the point where you would be surprised anyone heard him. Jane's mother, Evelyn, opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Brian standing there with his telescope and a grin on his face.

"Hi, Mrs. West, is Jane home?" He tugged at the stitched edge of the blanket, a nervous tic that he carried with him through his adult life too.

"Hello, Brian," Evelyn smiled warmly at him, "She is, why don't you come in and I'll go get her for you."

Brian wiped his feet on the mat in front of the door and entered the West home. The matriarch worked as a typist and from Brian's understanding, her father always struggled to hold down a job based on conversations that his mother and father had when they thought Brian was asleep upstairs. Because of their troubled financial situation, their home was decorated minimally, but Mrs. West always put in effort for it to be comfortable and warm for Jane. Brian always had a sense that Jane was embarrassed by the drab nature of her home, she always wanted to spend time at his house and would rarely suggest her own home.

He heard the pattering of her feet from the hallway before she appeared before him, her light brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that sat low at the base of her neck. She pushed her glasses up further up the bridge of her nose as she smiled at him. She was always happy to see him unexpectedly.

"Hi, Brian.."

Those two words always made his heart skip a beat right there in his chest, even still almost eight years after that night.

"Hi, Jane.. umm Jupiter and Neptune are supposed to have perfect visibility tonight if you'd like to see it with me." He was still tugging at the edge of the blanket.

Jane looked up at her mother who nodded, "Be back before ten, okay?" Before Evelyn could finish her sentence, her daughter was already dashing back to her room to retrieve her coat and put on her shoes. Mrs. West wished them a fun evening before they were back out onto the street and on the brittle, brown grass of Feltham Park.

The two of them had already been friends for a few years, they met in the summer of '58 when the West family moved in down the street. Her older brother, Scott, had moved out after graduating from secondary school and they took the opportunity to downsize their living situation. The two of them hit it off instantly. They bonded over their love of music and science fiction which fueled the other's interests in those subjects as they got older. Now four years later, they were inseparable.

"Have you had a good evening so far?" He asked as the two stretched the blanket out and placed it on the grass.

"I did, but I've having an even better one now I'm with you." She sat down as he extended the legs of the telescope. She didn't ever try and intentionally lead him on with her flirtatious comments but they were teenagers and Brian's obvious crush made her feel a way that many young girls crave.