Freddie

I admit, I wasn't exactly good company for much of that first day. I mostly sort of tried to get my feet back on the ground- went for a walk, explored the little house a bit, tested the sound of the upright piano in the parlor (which wasn't bad, but it obviously wasn't nearly as nice as my grand back at Garden Lodge), looked at the pictures on the wall (the ones that were still hanging, that is; there were several bare patches of wall where pictures clearly had been placed, but moved elsewhere), really just spent most of my time alone, thinking about things. I seemed to be in a constant state of upheaval from the very beginning. I didn't say much, didn't really react to much, just sort of soaked everything in, like a sponge, trying to wrap my head around what had happened to me.

So I'm afraid I may have made what should have been a relaxed Sunday evening meal between Julia and her son a bit strained. Nobody had very much to say, we just sat there, put food in our mouths, chewed and swallowed as fast as was considered civilized so we could get up from the table and do what we pleased. Farnsworth said more than any of us, and all he could do was repeat himself.

Julia and I refused to look at one another almost the entire time. Why, I don't know, but we didn't. As for the little boy, Danny, he didn't seem to know what to make of me yet. He kept throwing me curious little glances when he thought I didn't see, turning away whenever I looked back at him. Once he wasn't quick enough, and our eyes met straight on. I watched one corner of his mouth turn up in a cautious half-smile as he waited to see what I would do. After a second I winked, and he broke into a relieved grin.

That was almost the only normal moment throughout that whole first supper.

I suppose it was like I had been tossed back into my past instead of the future, back to the days even before Queen, the days when I lived hand-to-mouth, when I drifted in and out of friends' houses, living the life of a gypsy, when all I had in the world were wild, lofty dreams of fame and fortune, and the will to make them reality. And oh, how well I had succeeded. I don't say it to brag, I say it because it's true. That's basically what happened. I became a star- not all at once, mind you, it took time and not a little work, but I did it.

And then without warning, everything went tits up- and I woke in a strange bed in a strange world, in the little house of a woman I had only known for two weeks of my life, and hadn't seen in all of eight fucking years since then.

Eight years, I said to myself, running my fingers listlessly along the top of the table. Good God.

That's how long since I last saw her. Eight years since she left. Eight years since she had so effortlessly driven me out of my head, and helped me become the man I was now.

Eight years ago- or rather, as far as Julia was concerned, forty-two whole fucking years ago.

Good Lord, that made me feel so old.

Danny's high, hopeful voice shattered the silence at last. "I'm all done, Mom, can I please go watch some Futurama?"

Julia looked at him suspiciously. "Did you have anything else to do besides math?"

A long pause. "Ummm... uh, there was a chapter we had to read in English- but I can read it on the way to school tomorrow."

She dabbed at her lips with the napkin. "Sweetie, why don't you read it now, and just get it done?"

"But it's another dumb kiddie book- and besides, I read way faster than a lot of those guys."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Oh, yeah. They're a bunch a' slowpokes. You know Brent, he couldn't even read the word 'necessary' right. It was saaaad."

"Danny!" Julia exclaimed gently, throwing me an apologetic glance. "That's not at all a nice thing to say."

"But you say sometimes the truth isn't nice- and that's the truth." Before Julia could stop him he went on, "He didn't even know what it meant! How dumb is that?"

"Pretty dumb," I agreed, halfway covering my mouth; I couldn't help smiling. This kid had some kind of attitude.

Danny turned to me and grinned again. "See? Mr. Mercury thinks so too."

"Well," Julia sighed, "why don't you just go ahead and read the chapter, it'll take you ten minutes and Futurama's not going anywhere. We have the whole series."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, picking up his plate. Then, to my surprise, as he walked around and kissed his mother's cheek, he said, "Ja matane."

And even more surprising was when she replied, "Aishiteru, Daniel-san."

I could scarcely believe my ears. They were speaking Japanese to each other.

Then the boy walked around to my side and bowed a little to say, "Sayonara, Mr. Mercury."

I had to do this right. So I too stood up and bowed. "O-yasumi nasai."

Then his mouth split into another big smile, this time with a hint of mischief around the edges, before he darted off and out of sight, Fry padding along at his heels.

At least the kid likes me, I said to myself.

Once Danny had gone, Julia gave me a sheepish little smile. "Sorry," she murmured.

I frowned. "What for?"

"For the insensitivity of my child. I take full responsibility." She didn't sound very sorry, though- more proud than sorry, I thought.

"What for? You've got a point: sometimes, the truth isn't nice."

"Yeah, but that's not quite what I meant when I told him that," she giggled. "He's very smart, and I forget sometimes that he's still so young. I may be as politically correct as the next counselor, but not when it comes to being a mom."

"So you did become a counselor after all?"

She nodded, smiling. "It pays the rent, so I'm happy. But Stuart's right; maybe I should bring my work home with me more often."

That explains a lot, I said to myself. "Are you teaching him Japanese?"

"No, his art teacher is. She's from Japan, and he learns new words from her, and he brings them home to me. So to some extent, he's teaching me."

"Is Danny part Japanese or something?" When I realized how out of the blue that question was, I added quickly, "I mean, I just wondered on account of the interest- and he sort of looks like he might have a little Oriental-"

"I... yes," Julia answered. "Yes, I'd say he's at least part Japanese, thanks to his father."

I thought of asking further questions about Danny's father, but I held back. After all, it really wasn't any of my business. Still, I couldn't help but speculate. We both fell silent for a moment, when suddenly Julia pushed back her chair.

"Before I forget," she announced, picking up our plates, "there's two pills the lab rats want you to take. Might as well swallow them now, while you've got something in your stomach."

"What are they for?"

"Don't know. One's a tracker, the other one's a surprise."

I stood too. "Which one's the poison? I'll take that one first."

"Ha ha. No poison, sorry- but these little BB pellets look a little shifty, so I guess that's close enough." She began rooting around in one of the cupboards. "Care to wash it down with some vodka?"

"That's a wonderful idea," I said. "Uh, where do you keep everything?"

She pointed to a cabinet by the fridge. "I keep most of the alcohol downstairs usually, but the vodka somehow wound up here. Word of warning, though: I didn't get the chance to stock up on the fun stuff yesterday. All I've got is Tito's."

"What's that?"

"It's an Amazon-imported Texas vodka; so, it may not be as elegant as what you're used to."

"I don't mind, just so long as it doesn't taste like barbecue or beer, or things like that."

"Oh, well, then I guess you won't like it," she sighed.

I blinked. "So it does?"

"No."

Then she began laughing while I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore how nice it felt to hear her laugh again. She had such an sweet one, too, a very relaxed, genuine laugh. It sounded so happy- so carefree.

Not that I've missed her laugh, because I haven't, I told myself quickly. I haven't missed anything about her. Not one thing. Why would I? After all, anyone would agree I've done quite well for myself without her.

"Ah! There we go," Julia tapped the capsules into my palm, then walked to the cabinet. "So. Neat? On the rocks? Maybe a little splash of cranberry?"

"Just gimme the bottle, I know what to do," I said, making sure to wink. I didn't plan to let on in the slightest that the sight of her affected me any more than the sight of me affected her- which apparently was not at all. I would not give her the satisfaction.

"I do want to ask you," Julia said as I poured myself the drink. "You were very sweet about dinner tonight, but for future reference, is there anything you absolutely will not eat so I don't make something you hate on accident?"

"Anything that comes out of a paper bag."

She gave me a sly smile. "Does that include grocery bags? Because if you do, then we have a problem."

I rolled my eyes again. "You know what I mean." I took a sip, and decided while this Texas stuff was by no means the finest vodka I'd ever tasted, it was also far from the worst. It would do.

"Ah, yes, I guess I do," she nodded. "Just thought I'd ask. Plastic bags have basically been outlawed in New Jersey."

I popped the two pills in my mouth and washed them down with the vodka. I stood there a moment, then frowned at her words as they played over again in my head. "Outlawed? What for?"

"Oh, you know. EPA type stuff. Too many dead penguins, I guess. Or dolphins, one of those."

I smiled. "Oh, right. Then I'm sure that made Brian happy. Not the dead animals, you know, but, uh, the, um-"

"I know what you mean," she said, laughing. "I guess it's whether you value the life of a penguin over the life of a tree, or vice versa."

"Well, it's also a lot harder to replant penguins. Believe me, I've tried." Why we were having this silly conversation was beyond me, but I found myself enjoying it. It certainly beat another awkward silence. "Which do you value?"

"Oh, I'm on the penguin side, obviously. Penguins are the best. Hey!" She had hardly finished speaking when the parrot flew from the kitchen perch to the top of her head, and she added, "Sorry, Farnsie, I meant second best. You're the best bird ever."

"Good bird," Farnsworth squawked. "Farnsie, bird, bird, bird."

Then Julia took him off her head and went back to puttering around the kitchen with this handsome tropical bird on her shoulder, humming to herself.

"You look like a pirate," I murmured, lighting another of her cigarettes.

"Just call me Captain Jack Conure," she quipped with a little giggle. I joined her in the laugh, although I myself didn't get the actual joke. Not yet, anyway. Danny would soon fix that. For now I just took another drag, watching her, unwittingly spellbound, and wondering why it was that her face still had to be so lovely.

"You know, it's really incredible, how well you're taking me being here," I told her, leaning back against the counter.

"Speak for yourself," she said politely. "You're the one who made the jump this time- and so far you've only had one little outburst."

I shrugged. "Well, to be honest, I've been sort of - I mean, I haven't seen anything really spectacular, future-wise. Not even any flying cars. Lots of flat screens, though, and that thing you called a Magic Mirror- but I've seen those before. I'm almost disappointed."

Julia just smiled, then said a bit louder, "Hey, Modo, say hello to Freddie."

Then that same canned female voice came from out of nowhere: "Hello, Freddie. Nice night, isn't it?"

I leapt forward and turned around to see another one of those small, glossy black spheres on the kitchen counter. My eyes bugged.

"Right. What the fuck is that- and why does it know my name?"

She smirked. "That is Modo 2. Modo 1 is in my bedroom."

"Modo?" I squinted and took another drag. "What is a Modo?"

The little thing lit up again and answered me much too cheerfully to be sincere, "I am Modo, your virtual assistant. Ask me nearly anything; I have the answer. Give me nearly any task; I have the tools. I'm here to make your life smarter, faster, and easier all at once. Shall I give you a demo?"

"No, thanks, Modo, I think he gets it," Julia replied, and Modo 2's light went out. She looked at me as if to ask what I thought.

I took a step away from the counter and answered her. "Um, I don't think I like that."

"It may take some getting used to," Julia admitted, then looked closer at my face. Whatever my expression was, it must have been terribly amusing, because then she began to laugh yet again.

"What?" I snapped, suddenly irritable.

"You," she giggled. "You look so scared- and of a Modo!"

I scoffed, "I'm not fucking scared of the- I just- I mean, what's the point of this- how's it able to-"

"They're connected to my smart phone- that is, my Magic Mirror- and that connects to the Internet. This house is too old to be one of the newer smart homes, but it's good for stuff like setting alarms or playing music, or checking voice mail or text messages, stuff like that."

I just stood there, shaking my head, feeling more and more like the dinosaur I had become. "I didn't understand half what you just said."

She sighed. "A lot of this will be a foreign language to you, but that'll change the longer you're here, assuming you are here for longer than they anticipate, which most likely won't happen. Don't worry. You will not be here long."

Why Julia felt it bore repeating so often that I would "not be here long," I couldn't say- but it had really begun to rub me raw. She sounded so robotic when she would say it- though not nearly as much as she did when we first talked that morning. That, I wouldn't wear if my life depended on it.

Julia must have seen my face darken, because she walked over a little closer to me and laid her hand over mine.

"If it's any consolation," she whispered softly, "I'm still learning how to use them too. Stuart gave these guys to me a few days ago on my birthday. An attempt to get me up-to-date, I guess." With another sweet smile, she added, "It's not just the old dogs, after all."

I looked into her big, round eyes. "Who's this Stuart you keep talking about?"

"Stuart's my fella," Julia chirped. "I guess you could say he's my boyfriend."

"Ah," I nodded. "Is he Danny's father?"

She shook her head. "No. Why?"

"No reason." I had sort of taken it for granted that Stuart was Julia's man, but it surprised me that Danny wasn't his. Strange, that something so minor should have mattered to me.

Julia cleared her throat, moving on. "Also, again, you were very sweet to be willing to stick around tonight, but in the future, you don't have to sit around the house all the time, if you want to go out and do your alley cat thing, prowl around, whatever, be my guest."

"Thank you," I managed. Good to have your permission to go fool around if I want. Thanks, darling, I really appreciate it.

"All I ask, is if you do find a- someone, and you want to stay with them, then spend the night at their place, and please don't bring them back over here for the fun and frolic."She winked. "It's still my bed, after all."

That's when it hit me. "Darling, if I'm in your room, and Danny's in his- where are you sleeping?"

"Oh, downstairs," she answered. "I slept on the couch last night. It's a really comfy couch-"

"No," I shook my head. "No, no, no."

"What?"

"That will not happen again," I told her. "You're sleeping in your room tonight. No questions asked."

"Freddie, I don't expect you to make do with the couch, I fall asleep on those things all the-"

"That's not what I meant."

She stopped, gave me a wary look. I arched my brow and tried to look half-kidding. Why I was doing this, I hadn't any idea- but it was happening just the same.

Julia folded her arms, saying cautiously, "Freddie what are you suggesting?"

"You know how much I hate sleeping alone, my dear," I said softly. "That bed's big enough for two. I was thinking, you know- for old time's sake..."

I waited for her to bite her lip; I remembered she would always do that whenever naughty ideas, mild or extreme, started dancing in her head. But all she did was blink at me.

"I don't think that would be wise, my friend," she said coolly.

"What does 'wise' have to-"

"Besides," she quipped, "I'd say neither of our boyfriends would be too pleased if they hypothetically found out that we'd been sharing a bed, wouldn't you?"

And she smiled.

Julia stood there after saying that, looked straight into my eyes, and smiled.

And I felt my hand tighten into a fist. My eyes narrowed.

"Wouldn't you?" she asked again, even more innocently- although I did see her smile falter a bit. "I mean, I don't know what kind of person Jim is, but I certainly wouldn't want to do anything that might step between you two, far be it from-"

"Fuck off!" I snarled, whirling away from her. For some reason, it had always curdled my blood when she would speak of any of my lovers, past or present, with one exception- Mary- and now was no different, except perhaps that tonight it was worse.

She covered her mouth. "Oh, I know you must miss him, I'm sorry about that."

"The hell you are," I hissed. "For fuck's sake, why is this happening again? Why you? Why the fuck does it always have to be you?"

"I don't know." Her voice was cooling, turning as mechanical as it had that morning. "Just remember, Freddie, you have my word, everyone's word, that you'll be back home before you know it with absolutely no memory of all this. You will not be here long, believe-"

"Stop fucking saying that!" I cried. "I heard you the last forty times you said it, you don't need to fucking keep on telling me! I KNOW!"

With that I stormed out of the kitchen and slammed the bedroom door.

In hindsight, I know it was ridiculous to get so excited over something as small as that. But at the time I didn't care. My head was all over the place. I didn't know how to feel, and I didn't know why. I wanted to be alone, and yet I needed someone I knew to be with me. Mary, Phoebe, Jim, Paul, John, Roger, and yes, even Brian. (Wow, I was really feeling desperate.) I would take them all at the moment. Somebody, anybody, just one tiny bit of familiarity was all I wanted. Something I could understand, something to cling to. Anything, anyone, but her.

Anything but that woman.

That freezing cold beautiful bitch of a woman in the next room.

This was all her fault, I decided. I blamed her fully and unabashedly. She had never been any good for me anyhow. All she did was ruin me, give me a taste of something I had resigned myself to never knowing- then rip it away from me again after promising me she wouldn't. Funny, but hadn't the little liar been the one warning me against Paul Prenter- one of the few people I could honestly trust?

How's that for irony?

I wanted to hate her. I wanted to forget her, to believe it with all my heart every time I told myself that she meant nothing to me, that I had all the world at my fingertips and I didn't need someone as average, as corny, and as straight-up-and-down American as her within a thousand miles of myself. But I couldn't. I came close occasionally, but I never could quite work up to it. She was always there, smiling that quiet, sweetly evil smile in the corner of my mind, always reminding me, no matter what or who I did.

And here she was now, all these years later, sailing along happily just like she planned, with her life all down to a T.

IT WASN'T FAIR.

Tears still streaking my face, I whispered aloud, "Maybe I should just go out of my way to rip your little world in half, Julia, and see how you like it."

(Before I go much further with this, I need you to realize I didn't mean half of what I was babbling about here. I was incoherent and emotional. Normal people say things they wouldn't ever say or even think if they had their wits about them, when they're alone and blowing off a little steam- and while I'm not "normal people," I still didn't mean my words, even though I still wound up having to eat them- but that comes later. I just wanted you to know that here, I was talking through my ass.

God, what a mental image that is.

But anyway, as I was saying...)

"Yeah, why don't we find out for ourselves," I said aloud with an unnerving chuckle. "Let's see how fast you can pick up the pieces before they go up in smoke before your very eyes. You seemed to come out of it all fairly untouched, you lucky little bitch; how would it be if this time around, you were the one who suffered?"

The one consolation I had was that I wouldn't have to remember seeing her face, however long I had to stay in this fucking shithole. Having to deal with her in the moment was bad enough; it was the remembering later, that I knew would kill me.

************************************************************************************************

Julia

I stood there a few minutes after Freddie stormed into my room and slammed the door so loud it shook the walls of the house. With a sigh, I took my hair down so Farnsie, still sitting on my shoulder, had something to play with before I put him back in his cage. I didn't even know what I had done wrong. I was just kidding with him about Jim, when all of a sudden he turned into a lit firecracker and exploded in my face.

This is why my hair is already turning white, I thought to myself wearily.

I heard a door open down the hall. After a few seconds, my son's dark head peeped out from behind the wall.

"Hey sweetie, come on out," I said, waving my hands. "Everything's all right."

He inched a little further into view. "Where's, uh..."

"Mr. Mercury's gone to bed," I whispered. "He was a little... tired."

"Why'd he get so mad?" he asked, hoisting himself onto the counter so he could swing his feet back and forth.

"I don't know, Daniel-san," I sighed, going back over to the cabinet; now I needed a drink. "I think he's just really scared, and a little confused. He'll be better tomorrow."

He thought a moment. "Is this how it's going to be the whole time?"

"I sure hope not. I don't think it will. He just got here, he feels a little mixed up. I remember. The first night is definitely the hardest."

Danny nodded. "Now can I watch Futurama?"

I smiled and nodded. "Only if you'll let me join you." Somehow, a show about some guy that was cryogenically frozen and awakened in his distant future sounded awfully relevant tonight.

My boy's expression was still a little concerned as we headed downstairs. "I hope he gets used to us, Mom."

"Oh, Danny, don't worry, he will," I smiled reassuringly, coming over to give him a hug. "Anyway, he clearly likes you already."

"I don't know about that," he murmured, hunching a little.

"Sure he does! I saw you two making faces- and he thought it was so cool that you can speak Japanese-"

"Yeah! And he can speak it too! That's what was really cool! Does he speak it really well?"

"Well enough, I'm sure," I laughed. "He's been there so many times. You should ask him about it later, when he's in a better mood. He's got plenty of stories..."

One Futurama episode quickly became four. That show, admittedly, is like peanuts: you can't watch just one and shut off the TV. Danny kissed me good night (or should I say, "O-yasumi nasai") and went off to get ready for bed.

As for where I slept?

Let's just say that, in a sense, Freddie did get his way. I did sleep in my room- but I didn't sleep in the bed.

I put my ear to the door, heard utter silence. Very carefully I opened the door to see him curled up under the covers, looking rather small and vulnerable for all his thunderbolts-and-lightning attitude earlier that night.

I crept over to Modo 2, and whispered, "Hey Modo. Set an alarm for five-thirty tomorrow, please."

"You got it," the thing whispered back. Yes, it whispered. It was volume intuitive, whispering when you whispered, shouting when you shouted. Ah, 2027.

Very quietly I too readied for bed, then curled up in the papasan chair in the corner, which directly faced his quietly sleeping form. He didn't confuse me the way he might have ten years ago; I knew what was happening, I could see it in his face. Freddie was just a little scared and out of his element- and for someone like him, the world itself may as well have been coming to an end.

After my own ten years of personal trials and tribulations, I understood him far better than he probably would have wanted me to.

Or so I thought at the time.

With one last sigh, I whispered, "'Night, jackass," then pressed my face to the cushion.

Yup. This was going to be interesting.