A week had passed.
It was Tuesday morning, and Ruby was packing her clohes in her suitcase, helped by Brian who hadn't slept a wink. His face was pale and he had rings under his eyes. When he grabbed a blouse or a t-shirt, he slowly handed it to Ruby, sadly looking at the suitcase. After a while, as he was giving her the pair of white boots that belonged to her in the 60s, she grabbed them and faced him.
“Brian, don't you want to go home and sleep a bit? Or at least sleep on the couch or in Dennis's bedroom?” she sighed.
“No. I want to be with you today. What if it's the last time we see each other?”
“It won't, Bri. Now John isn't an obstacle between us anymore, I don't see why we couldn't meet from time to time!”
“Yeah, but I won't have you near me everyday. What am I going to do?”
“You'll try to survive” she smiled. “Come on, Bri, it's not the end of the world.”
“Isn't it hard for you?” he frowned. “It seems like it doesn't affect you at all!”
Ruby rolled her eyes and threw her boots in the suitcase.
“Of course it's hard, but I try not to think about it. It will kill me if I do.”
“Try to understand me.”
“I do understand you, but...”
She sighed and sat on the bed. She was about to end her sentence but her voice strangled in her throat. She buried her face in the palms of her hands and sobbed. Brian sat beside her and pressed her against him.
“Oh, dear, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Pardon me.”
Tears rolled down his face and both cried on each other's shoulder. Brian kissed her hair and she pressed her forehead against his.
“Let's finish packing this suitcase, okay?” he whispered.
“Yeah...”
They packed everything in her suitcase and carefully closed it. Ruby didn't put her backpack in the suitcase; she had put her handbag instead. Her money, her ID and everything she usually kept in her handbag were in her backpack.
“I want to keep the souvenirs with me in the plane.”
“I understand, love.”
Jane came into the room, holding a paper bag.
“I made you sandwiches, in case you're hungry.”
“Thank you very much, Jane” Ruby smiled. “Oh, I'm going to miss this flat.”
“You know you can come whenever you want. And Bri, if you want to come sometimes, you can.”
“Thank you, Jane.”
They smiled at one another and Jane went out of the room. Ruby lifted up her suitcase after she put her backpack across her shoulder. Brian insisted to carry it, and she let him do. They put it in the entry. Ruby grabbed her coat on the coat rack and put it on. They were standing there, with Jane, facing each other, not daring to say a word. Jane sighed.
“So, you have to go now...”
“Unfortunately.” Ruby sighed too. She put her arms around her cousin and hugged her tightly. “Thank you for everything, dear. I appreciate your efforts.”
“I couldn't let you go to a hotel when your former flat is right there! You can come back whenever you want, just call me a few days before so I can clean everything.”
“I will. Thanks.”
She smiled at her and patted her shoulders. She made sure she hadn't forgotten anything, and Brian hugged Jane, thanking her too for her welcome. After that, they went down the stairs, carrying Ruby's heavy suitcase and putting it inside Brian's trunk. They waved at Jane who was looking at them at the window, and got into the car. Brian started it up and they left Edith Grove, waving at Jane one more time.
Ruby let out a sigh and silently stared right in front of her. Brian was nervous and his fingers were white because he clenched them too tightly around the steering wheel. She couldn't think of anything else than her departure. What would she do once she'll be in Paris? What would she say to May? She didn't know when she would be able to go back to England, and knowing that she couldn't have more holidays for the year, she knew she wouldn't see him for a long time. “Distance can kill love” she said to herself, letting out a sigh, “I hope it won't happen to us...” Brian turned on the radio, and Bohemian Rhapsody was playing. His face suddenly became pale, but he kept driving.
“Bri, don't force yourself...”
“I have to learn to live with that.”
“You're suffering, I can see it. Listen, it's hard, and you're not ready to put up with it for the moment, but you'll be one day. For now, you're not, and you shouldn't force yourself to listen to your music.”
“Isn't it stupid to be frightened at the idea of hearing your own music?”
“It's not hearing your music that you're afraid of, it's hearing Freddie's voice. Anything related to Freddie is unbearable for you for the moment. It's not the music. It's him.”
“I guess you're right” he sighed. “But fuck, we were good!”
“You were, love. You really were. It's a shame that I didn't get to know John.”
“I'm sure that you would have loved him. He's very calm, almost shy, you know. But he's very nice and it's always pleasant to have him around. Unfortunately, he retired.”
“I hope that you will keep in touch.”
“I hope too.”
He pressed a button and put another radio station. This time, it was No Expectations by the Rolling Stones that sounded in the car. When they recognised the song, they heard the line that seemed like it had been written for them: “So take me to the airport and put me on a plane, I got no expectations to pass through here again.” Ruby bit her lip and looked down, as Brian felt really uncomfortable. They arrived at the airport, and Brian parked on the car park in front of the entrance. They got out of the car, and Brian opened the trunk before taking out Ruby's suitcase.
“Do you want me to carry it, Bri? I don't want you to carry it all the time...”
“Let me do it, don't worry, I'm okay.”
She nodded and he locked the car. Hand in hand, they walked up to the front doors of the airport and came in. Ruby took her ticket out of her bag and read the flight number; she stooped and looked up to the screens that showed the number of the gates.
“Gate 1.” she said. “And we have two hours left. Do you want to go home now?”
“No, I'll stay until you leave.”
“Are you sure? Brian, you're tired, you didn't sleep!”
“I want to enjoy every moment with you until you leave.”
She smiled and put her arms around him, pulling him close.
“I love you, Bri.”
“I love you too, my Ruby. I really don't want you to leave...”
“I don't want either but I have no choice.”
He sadly nodded. Ruby stroked his cheek before kissing him tenderly.
“Come on, let's get rid of that suitcase!” she said with a smile. They walked up to the reception. A lady wearing a uniform greeted them with a smile.
“Good morning, sir, madam. May I help you?”
“Yes, I already have my ticket, but I'm here to register my baggage.”
“Very good. Can you show me your ticket and your passport, please? And can you place your luggage on this tray?” the lady said, pointing at a big iron tray.
Brian placed her suitcase on the tray while she was showing the lady her passport and her ticket. The lady looked at her computer and tapped something before giving Ruby her passport and her ticket back. She dragged the suitcase on a moving walkway, and it disappeared behind a rubber curtain.
“Your boarding gate is the number one, make sure you have your passport and your ticket with you before you go to the boarding gate. Have a nice trip, and have a nice day.”
“Thank you very much, goodbye.”
The lady smiled at them and greeted the next customers. Brian and Ruby held hands and wandered in the hall.
“Do you want to have a cup of coffee?” Brian asked. “Or do you want something to eat?”
“Let's have a cup of something, I'm not really hungry.”
“There's a café right there.”
He pointed at a café and they walked up to it. They sat at a table and silently stroked each other's hands while looking straight into each other's eyes. A waiter came to them.
“Good morning sir and madam, what will you have?”
“I'll have a cup of coffee, please” Ruby said.
“I'll have the same.” Brian said too.
“Alright, I'm bringing you that.”
He spun round and went back to his counter. Brian let out a long and desperate sigh. Ruby could see he was suffering. His eyes that usually were full of life looked empty all of a sudden. When he smiled at her, he was giving her joyless smiles and Ruby felt guilty. “If only I didn't have this job!” she thought.
“Here are your cups of coffee” the waiter said beside them, making them jump. He placed the cups in front of them and went back behind his counter. Ruby let go of Brian's hand and grabbed her cup before sipping out her coffee.
“What are you going to do once you'll be home?” she whispered while looking at her sweet lover.
“I'm going to sit in a corner and cry.” he said with an embarassed smile. “No, I guess I'll have to go on living without you. I'll have to be brave, haha.”
“You'll be okay, dear” she tried to smile, placing one hand over his. “I'll try to call at least once a week.”
“You won't give up on me, will you?” he said, his voice trembling.
As she was about to answer, two girls came to them, with a huge smile and they were blushing. One of them was wearing a Queen t-shirt.
“Good afternoon, Mr May” one of them stuttered, “My name is Minny and I'm really fond of your music, you know! Here's my friend Cass.”
“Good afternoon!”
Brian looked at them with a weak smile. Ruby was invisible to them.
“Um... I wondered if you could... Sign our Queen tapes? Please?”
Minny took out two tapes from her handbag and Cass took one she had in the pocket of her jeans.
“Oh, well... Sure...”
The two girls refrained their urge to cry and jump all around them and simply handed him their tapes with a marker. Brian took it and signed each of them before giving them the tapes and the marker back. The two girls thanked him and Cass opened her backpack and took out a polaroid camera.
“Is it possible to take one picture with you? Just one?” she said shyly.
“Actually, not to sound rude, I'd like to be alone, please. It's really nice to meet you two, you seem to be two lovely young girls, but I don't feel good right now and... I need to stay alone with this lady. I hope you won't mind.”

“Oh, no, not at all. I'm glad that we met you, you are God, Mr May!”
“You can call me Brian, but no, I'm not God. Jimi Hendrix is.”
“I prefer your music, no offense to Jimi” Minny said. “I hope you'll feel better soon, we love you, we love you so much, Brian! Say hello to John and Roger, okay?”
“I will, I promise” he smiled.
“Thank you very much! Thank you for the autographs too, and sorry that we bothered you. We love you Brian May!”
They smiled at Brian and Ruby before stepping backward. But Minny suddenly turned round and called Brian.
“Hey Brian!”
She raised two fingers and placed the other over her heart.
“Freddie will reign forever!”
“He will. Thank you.”
Minny waved at them, and Brian waved back, feeling that he was about to cry. He faced Ruby again and sighed, his eyes wet.
“Everywhere I go, Freddie's here. How am I supposed to go through it?”
“My love, be happy that he isn't forgotten. He never will. I understand that it's hard for you, but you need to carry on. I'm sure that Freddie would tell you 'Come on, darling, it's alright!' Wouldn't he?”
Brian looked down and giggled.
“It's true, that's totally Freddie.”
“Come on, darling, it's alright!” she said, trying to imitate Freddie's voice.
Brian laughed and looked at her with a tear in his eye, but a huge smile was drawn on his face.
“Thank you, honey. You always make things brighter.”
“You are brighter than anything else, dear. You're the reason why I lived through all this, because I hoped that I would see you again. See? You are the sun that I follow. Remember, The Beatles said I'll follow the sun.”
Brian smiled and the tear that was filling his left eye escaped from his eyelid and rolled down his cheek. He stood up and walked up to her before pressing her tightly against his chest. He gently wept on her shoulder, trying not to be too noisy. He kissed her again and again before he finally sat back on his chair and emptied his cup of coffee. They stood up and walked up to the counter and asked for the bill. The waiter gave it to them and Brian took a look a it; he took out his wallet from his pocket and gave the waiter ten pounds.
“Keep the rest.”
“Thank you very much, sir. Have a nice day!”
Ruby took Brian's hand and they went to the waiting room, sitting on a fake leather bench. They pressed their back against the wall and Ruby rested her head on Brian's shoulder. They waited like this, without saying a word, for at least thirty minutes. After that, Brian took a look at his watch.
“Fuck... Thirty minutes left with you...”
“I don't want to go, but I have to. I have my job, and there's May, she still needs me. Oh by the way, I wanted to buy her something, I'm going to look at what they have in the duty free area.”
“Okay, love. You can already go, I'm just going to the toilet, don't wait for me.”
She nodded and kissed him before walking gracefully to the duty free area. People around her turned around to watch her passing by, and she heard a man whistle for her. She rolled her eyes and ignored him. She went into a perfume shop and looked at the different sorts of perfume they had.
Meanwhile, Brian passed by the toilet door but didn't go in. He went to the hall where they had coffee earlier and talked to the lady at the reception.
Ruby got out of the perfume shop; there was nothing interesting. She saw a nice jewellery shop and came in. She looked at the necklaces they were selling and noticed one in particular. It was a cute silver necklace with a musical note with a ruby. She looked at the price, and even if it was still a bit expensive, she bought it and asked the lady to wrap it. As she got out of the shop, she looked around but Brian wasn't here yet. She had a sudden idea. “What if I bought him something before I leave?” She smiled and went back into the shop. She looked at chain bracelets and picked one that seemed not too eccentric or too noticeable. Something discreet was perfect. She asked the lady at the counter to engrave something on the chain bracelet.
Brian smiled at the lady at the reception and slowly walked up to the duty free area, nervously touching his pocket.
Ruby was in another shop, buying a chocolate box and made it wrap. When she got out, she accidentally bumped into someone. She apologised and laughed; it was only Brian. They kissed and he noticed the two plastic bags she was carrying.
“What did you buy?”
“Oh, nothing.”
She gave him a sweet smile and they went back to the bench on which they were sitting earlier. They spent the few time left hugging each other and kissing. Then, a voice sounded through the speakers of the airport.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the passengers for the flight number AF657A for Paris-Charles de Gaulle are waited at the boarding gate number one. Please do not forget your passport and your ticket. Thank you.”
Ruby spun round and faced Brian. Their heaven had suddenly collapsed. Brian swallowed his saliva and cleared his throat.
“I guess you have to go now...”
“I do. I still have to go through the magnetic doors or I don't know what they are.”
“Yeah... We'd better go now, then.”
They stood up and held hands tighter than ever. Ruby's heart was beating incredibly fast. No, she didn't want to leave Brian. She wanted to stay! But what could she do? She couldn't give up on her job, she couldn't let May down, she couldn't leave everything without planning anything. She could feel Brian's handgetting more and more clammy. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was pale and tears started to fill his eyes. Their separation was close. Too close. Ruby stopped, planted her feet in the ground and looked at him.
“Brian, I... I bought something for you.”
“What? Love, why?”
“I wanted to. I still have time, so, open it.”
She handed him the plastic bag containing the chain bracelet and the chocolate box. He opened the box first and kissed her with a grin. Then, his hand grabbed the jewellery box. He carefully unwrapped it and opened it. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. It was a thin chain bracelet on which she had made ungrave “Brian May” and on the other side, it was written “From Hyde Park to this moment, Ruby loves you”. She blushed and suddenly felt embarassed.
“I'm sorry, maybe it wasn't a good idea, it looks like a gift you give when you're in middle school, oh, Bri, I'm so sorry, I tend to forget that we're old now and...”
Brian interrupted her by kissing her lips firmly and tenderly at the same time. Her cheeks suddenly became wet, yet she wasn't crying; it was Brian. While he passionately kissed her, he was sobbing and sometimes his lips stretched into a sad smile before kissing hers again. She grabbed locks of her hair and broke down in tears too. “It's not a good idea” he thought, “it's too sudden.” But what was this idea?
“Bri, I'm sorry” she cried.
“Don't be sorry, this is the third most beautiful gift I've ever had!”
“What were the two others?”
“It was you and May.”
Ruby cried harder and threw herself at his neck and held him tight. No, she didn't want to go. She needed Brian. She needed him like mad.
“You have to go now, love” he said with a joyless smile through his tears. “Don't miss the plane, okay? Now, go back home and be happy without me. We're still together, and as you said, we never broke up. Say May that I already love her. I wish I had time to buy her something, I'm so sorry.”
“I will tell her. I love you, Brian. I LOVE YOU.”
“My Ruby, you could never imagine how much I love you.”
They smiled at each other and kissed. The last kiss before she left. And maybe it was the last kiss of their lives. It was the most passionate kiss they ever shared, even when they made love, it wasn't as passionate. Ruby stared into his wet eyes while stroking his cheeks and playing a last time with a lock of his dark curly hair. She stepped backward and couldn't stop looking back. Brian stepped back in the other direction, trying to wipe his tears. He nervously touched his pocket once again. “Brian, do it” a voice in his head said. “Do it or you'll lose her once again. D'you really want this to happen?” Brian touched his pocket one more time and stopped walking. He took a deep breath and spun round before running like a crazy man through the airport.
“RUBY! RUBY!”
He accidentally bumped into many people and apologised. He was still running, but he couldn't see her. “Oh, please, Ruby show yourself!”
“RUBY!”
And then, he saw her. She was slowly walking up to the magnetic doors.
“RUBY!”
She suddenly spun round and saw him. Her eyes widened and she ran into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“Bri, I don't want to go...”
“I don't want you to leave.”
“Bri, I'm going to miss my plane.”
“Can I talk to you for one minute?”
She nodded and wiped her tears out of her eyes. Brian put his hand in his pocket but didn't take it out.
“Ruby, for the past twenty-three years, my everyday life consisted in thinking of you over and over, even when I was married. I got married because I thought I loved her and that I didn't love you anymore, but I couldn't get more wrong. It was a terrible mistake. I remember every moment we spent together, like Hyde Park, going to the tearoom near the Imperial College, listening to Led Zeppelin in your bedroom, wearing the velvet coat Prudence bought me, talking with you through the telephone, making love to you... Every single moment we lived together were the best. And it's when you've been forced to leave me that I realised that I needed you. I realised it when I was running behind your car. When I saw you looking at me through the window. And we were helpless. During those, oh, so long twenty-three years, I've been missing you. Every single day was Hell. I was glad that Rog, Deaky and Fred were there, but they couldn't help me. Roger missed you too, you know. And... Now, you came back to me. You were there at this concert, you managed to give me this letter. And here we are. Together again. We lived a happy week together, and we had totally forgotten that you were leaving. Every Tuesday is hard for me now. Because I lost you on a Tuesday, and I'm losing you one more time on a Tuesday. Those Tuesdays are killing me. I want to stay near you forever, as long as you still want me, of course.”
“I still want you Brian.” she sobbed. “I really have to go now.”
“Just one more thing. How much do you love me? Do you love me at the point that you want to live with me every single day? Do you love me at the point that you want me to take care of you? Do you love me at the point that you want me to be May's father at last?”
“Yes, Brian. I love you at the point that I want to spend the rest of my days with you. I don't want to lose you again. Some people lose one person a first time, and they can afford losing this person a second time. But it's not my case. I'm not ready to lose you again. I couldn't bear it.”
She sniffed and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“Brian, I'm sorry, but I'm going to miss the plane.”
“Let me ask you a very last question.”
She nodded and Brian took a deep breath. He finally brought his hand out of his pocket and Ruby tried to see what he was holding. It was a small velvet box. She didn't understand until Brian cleared his throat and knelt down before her, in front of everyone. She covered her nose and her mouth with her hands, her jaw dropping and her eyes becoming round.
“I know it's sudden, but this was my dream. You are my dream, Ruby. So let me ask you this question: Ruby Riley Franklin, will you marry me?”
People around them were smiling at the crazy man who was running a few minutes earlier. They now understood why. Ruby broke down in tears, but this time, those tears were full of joy.
“Yes, Brian Harold May, I will!”
Brian opened the box and a silver ring appeared; beautiful rubies were inlaid at the top of the ring. He took the ring out of its box and Ruby gave him her left hand. He carefully put the ring around her finger and stood up. They intertwined their fingers and tenderly kissed. The people passing by applauded and some of them whistled. Brian laughed and leant on her.
“That was the only thing that I found to stay near you.”
“I love you, Bri. But I have to catch that plane” she said in a sad tone.
Brian giggled and took a plane ticket out of his pocket.
“I've just bought a ticket for Paris. I won't lose you. Not this time.”