-September 1968

"Put the papers on the desk and go, son. You're going to finish tomorrow; it's late and my daughter is dying to spend some time with you" the big mustachioed man said to that pudgy and clumsy boy who was working hard till that morning.

He was Reginald Kenneth Dwight, a 21 years old boy from Pinner, Middlesex. 5 foot 7, with soft but masculine features and thin, dark blonde hair. Everybody called him Reg, but not his father; nicknames were way too loving for him. Reg always thought it was his father who gave him that hideous name, just to project the hatred he felt towards him. How on earth could you look at a baby and name him Reginald? He has never been a good parent. The anger, the psychological and physical violence were never enough; he needed it to survive, to feed himself with others' pain and feel stronger.

Reg was so afraid of him, he constantly had to please him by having a girlfriend, maybe marry her and have a couple of children, play piano and work hard. This is all he expected from him, nothing less, nothing more.

They worked in the same place, an insurance agency. The boss gave Reg the job after he started dating his precious daughter, Linda Harris, known through his father. Reg's task was simple: check documents and put them in order, all day, 5 days a week. He hated it. The only thing that was holding him from running away was his deepest fear: his father, Stanley Dwight.

"As required, Mr. Harris. Have a nice evening" the guy politely replied, then took his bag and headed for the exit door.

Linda was waiting for him outside the agency, morbidly excited to see him, as always.

As soon as she saw him, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Reggy! I missed you so much! Why did it take you so long?"

"I was working honey, you know that"

"Be faster next time...I'm kidding!" she squeaked "Take your time, sugar bear! Now, we really must go, I have to show you something before dad comes home... quick!" she grabbed his hand and dragged him all over the town, until they arrived.

Linda pulled out the keys and unlocked the door, then she stopped. They were awkwardly staring at each other until she nodded towards the door: "tHe dOoR" she aggressively whispered.

Reggie was so confused and surprised by how complicated a girl could be, but he didn't question a thing and got the door for her.

"Ladies first, right?" he asked, trying to defuse the tension.

"Oh, such a gentlemen"

He was amazed by how fake a person could be. He was questioning himself about that toxic relationship every day.

Why am I still with her? She is not right for me. I don't want all of this. Maybe we should break up. But what would my father say or do to me?

She brought him to her bedroom, upstairs, squeezing his hand and turning around every 5 steps to check if he was as excited as she was. He wasn't really sure about what was going on, he was just praying to every kind of divine creature that she hadn't changed her mind about the implicit deal they had.

He couldn't think about anything else in that moment.

"I have to show you something, Reg",

"Quick, before my dad comes home, Reg". What could possibly need so much privacy?

He already knew the answer; he just did not want to admit it.

Everything, all the things in the world but, for God sake, not sex.

"Alright honey, sit" Linda ordered and Reg obeyed, sitting on the edge of her bed.

She disappeared for a while in her big walk-in closet and the virgin boy, who was sitting awkwardly on her bed, was starting to freak out inside.

"Are you ready?" She seductively yelled from inside the closet "I'm sure you're gonna love it!"

"Um... Hon.. honey, I don't feel really good. Um... maybe we should do it another day"

"Oh don't be silly, it will take just a minute!"

"A mi.. minute?"

"I thought you had a better consideration of me, honestly" he said to himself.

"Listen, are you sure this is the right night to try? I mean, your father could be here any minute, I don't even have a condom and I thought you wanted to wait until..." he added.

"Marriage" she completed his sentence and kept going talking: "I DiDn'T bring you here to have SeX; you know what I think about it. I wanted to talk to you about what should come first, before we start a sexual life together".

Reg felt so embarrassed but also relieved for not been forced to have sex for the first time with a person he didn't like.

She handed him a little velvet box. It was dark red and stained.

"Don't pay attention to the box ... it's not what it seems like" she specified, clarifying that she was a classy woman.

Reg proceeded to open the little casket that Linda gave to him but, as soon as he grabbed the lid of it, she yelled: "Don't! Silly ... you have to open it in front of me!".

"But ... Honey, I am in front of you" he was so confused, noticing that she was literally standing in front of him.

"Uff ... the box. Point it in my direction. I won't ask you to put yourself on your knees ... but, you know ...".

"Is she literally forcing me to propose to her?" Reg thought, shocked enough to not say a word.

So, he did as she ordered and opened the little velvet box in front of her, giving light to a shiny big ring with a ruby adorning it.

"Wha ... What does it mean? You literally just said to not pay attention to the box ... that it wasn't what it seemed like" Reg stated, referring to Linda's previous words.

"Yeah, the box is shabby... but the ring is a dream come true! I knew you were going to freak out. It's gorgeous, isn't it?"

"I'm ..." he tried to say, before she brutally interrupted him: "Listen my love, I know what you are thinking. You don't have to worry about it! I know you don't have enough money to buy me a ring ... and that's totally understandable! That's why I thought about buying one by myself. Don't feel bad .. you're still as manly as you were, to me".

Reg remained silent for a bunch of seconds; he opened his mouth to talk but he closed it an instant later. He had no idea of what to do or what to say to her. He certainly wasn't worried about the money she had spent for that ring he didn't require. That guy was scared to death, it was time to deal with the fact that he wasn't in love with her, he actually couldn't stand her. The last thing he wanted for himself was getting stuck in an unhappy marriage, with everyone's expectations on his back, even if it would have meant facing his father.

"I ... I forgot I had an important meeting tomorrow morning ... I need to go to sleep early ... b-but we will talk about this tomorrow. Ok honey?" he lied to get rid of that uncomfortable situation, then he added, before she could process an answer: "Ok, good night. Bye" and ran as fast as he could out of that house, before someone could stop him.

He ended up walking alone on the sidewalk, surrounded by the darkness of the night and a million thoughts floating around him. It was dinner time and he was supposed to be starving but the previous unreal conversation made him lose his appetite.

On his way home, he spotted his old band and friends having a chat inside of an old pub; he had no intention of going home and face his family after what happened.

"How was your evening, Reggy?"

"Oh, nothing special. I just ran away after my girlfriend forced me to propose to her"

He entered the pub and headed toward his old friends. He didn't know why he felt the need to confront them, but his subconscious knew that they had never minced words. He had to hear the truth from someone's mouth; real words, not thoughts.