Time After Time

Michael Jones-Andretti has made it clear that Young Guns, who were now still in Australia, will go back to England soon because he had find the research group who would fund and perform surgery for Gustav Wood’s health problem. That fact had been walking around Rose’s head for a while. It felt rather weird that Rose felt like she had been thinking about this for years, while in reality she only got the call from Michael last night. In the end, she needed to accept that she would be left behind when Young Guns are going back to England, because she didn’t really need to come with them. Rose Lette didn’t even own a passport to travel outside Australia. It was a little sad that she was suddenly back on her own, again, only to realise that the existence of Gustav, Simon, Ben, John, and Fraser in her life made her usual loneliness felt sadder than before.

But at least she still had Lestat.

And she would always have Lestat.

It was fast, but she was back on her own house, alone again, only with Lestat running around, whimpering, and asking for food. Rose smiled and knelt to hug the dog, only to have a pair of arms pulling her closer to something hard and hot. In fact, it was too hot. As an owner of a dog for years, Rose did understand that dog’s body temperature is indeed hotter than human, but what make her thinking that she wasn’t actually hugging Lestat despite the hotness she felt was that she didn’t feel any fur. As a Samoyed, Lestat should have a lot of fur.

That was when Rose opened her eyes and she was staring at something rather brown and with familiar round-shaped thing upon it. That thing was moving gently and Rose strangely felt confused. She sat only to realise that she was sleeping; that the whole thing where she went back alone in her house was just dream and this was the reality one. The arms that were pulling her were Gustav’s and she just stared at his neck, specifically at his Adam’s apple. Gustav didn’t seem to notice that Rose was missing from his arms and continue his sleep soundly—so soundly that Rose started to wonder whether he fell asleep rather recent compared to herself.

Rose looked around.

They were still in Jervis Bay. The soft light on sunlight fell through the holes between the curtains and she could see a grey morning out there. As she building up more consciousness, she realised that warmth had leave her body, leaving her shuddered a little. But this was only Australia, she slowly thought, England would be so much colder—they have snow there, in town, not just in a special mountain like in here…

She sat there trying to think of seeing snow outside her house (which would be bizarre for her) when Gustav moved in his sleep and stealing Rose’s attention. The red-haired girl smiled and thought that it doesn’t matter if she didn’t go to England. As long as this man, this sleeping man, and his best friends, are able to get back to the place they deserve to be and being happy, she didn’t mind being alone again, only with Lestat.

She was alone for the majority of her life, anyway.

Rose stood up, covering Gustav with blanket and chuckling rather silently at the sight of his very messy hair. She tried to straighten them with her hands, but his hair resisted and bounced back into weird shape. So she walked slowly to the door and left the room in silence. She found Lestat on sitting next to the front door when she was going to the bathroom. After washing her face, Rose put on some clothes and shoes, and she left a little note in the fridge that telling the guys that she went for a walk with Lestat.

It had been a while since they had a walk together.

Outside, the air was cool and the sun barely shines through the cloud. But it was still a nice morning, with sounds of birds from the distance and the sight of one or two kangaroos as Rose followed Lestat walking. When the first time she got him, Lestat liked to sit near the front door to show that he wanted to go for a walk. Sometimes he even got Rose’s shoes ready, as if he had learned that human needs this pair of foot cover to walk outside their big nest.

Rose watched Lestat walking in front of her, watching his figure, thinking about what would happen to Lestat if she actually going to go with Young Guns to England (she didn’t know how, but she can wish, she presumed). She couldn’t just have Angela or Gabriella taking care of Lestat while she was going across the globe. But she knew that no one could just bring animal to another country, not to mention that Australia’s flora and fauna are so diverse that the security on the airport is a bit tight about what people bring into this land. Rose was still thinking about what she would do with Lestat if she actually goes to England while she heard thunder rumbling in the distance.

She didn’t have snow here, so mostly winter was just full of cold rain.

“Les, come on, we’re going back before it’s raining.”

The dog barked, showing his Samoyed smile, and turned around.

Rose released the leash from Lestat’s collar and let the cream-coloured canine running on his own. After a street, Lestat collapsed to one side and Rose chuckled because she thought Lestat was playing dead. She walked closed to her dog and leaned down to see that Lestat wasn’t playing dead. He didn’t move. And he was cold.

Crying, Rose lost the strength on her legs. She sat there, pulling out her phone to call Hamish. She didn’t even realise she was doing it. She only half remembered that she was in Jervis Bay and something very bad happened to Lestat. She called him while crying most of the time and then, by the time she couldn’t say anything else because she was crying so heavily, rain had started falling.



Gustav woke up from his sleep on the warm bed inside Rose’ room. Something was off, but he didn’t really understand what was off until a whole minute later, when he realised Rose wasn’t next to him. Sitting sleepily, the half-Norwegian man squeeze his eyes shut to open it again as he stumbled from bed to floor. Maybe Rose went to bathroom, he thought, his mind felt fogged, as he was walking outside the room, to corridor, to see that the door of closest bathroom from Rose’s bedroom was slightly opened. Rose wasn’t there. She wasn’t even on the other bathroom or on the other room on the house.

Gustav found her note on the fridge.

But something somehow felt off.

He moved to couch and sat there in unease, fidgeting all the time.



Hamish O’Shea remembered that he was never drive this crazy, as he sitting behind the wheel, groaning while he tried not to hit speed limit. Everything felt too slow; his car, his own movement, and everything passed before his eyes. Rose managed to say something about the street where Lestat fell and didn’t get up and Hamish was so thankful that he knew this area so well that he knew what Rose meant when that red haired girl said ‘the street with half dozen of white house and one abandoned grey building’.

Rain was already falling when Hamish got there. He opened the car’s door in rush and didn’t even bother to close the door because Rose was clutching to Lestat. They were both wet and Rose sobbing uncontrollably. It was very hard for Hamish to make Rose understood what was going and that they need to go to vet as soon as possible. But even Hamish knew that there was no point of saving Lestat.

The dog was dead.



Rose knew it was stupid. She knew that even though she resisted from leaving the spot where Lestat fell, her attitude wouldn’t bring her best friend back to life. She knew she was stupid, but she felt like sometimes people do stupid things when they are very concerned with things they love.

On the way to vet, inside Hamish’s car, Rose sat, sobbing, hugging Lestat’s cold, wet furry body. She couldn’t think about anything. She didn’t even really realise that Hamish was there, driving the car, thinking his hard to say something appropriate but he couldn’t find any.



Rain.

For a very strange yet obvious reason, rain reminded Gustav of England. The ratio of rain and sunlight were very different here and there, in his homeland. But this rain was just not any rain. He felt that there was something wrong and a call from Hamish confirmed it all. He rushed to the door, followed by the guys; all five of them were clutched very tightly by sadness and surprise.



The vet was a small but clean and tidy place not far from their place. It was actually closed, but the worker who currently stocked the place up with some new tools was Hamish’s sister, Georgia. Rose sat on one of the waiting chairs, curled like a ball.

Gustav was practically run to kneel in front of her.

“Rose?” he called her, only to discover that his voice was hoarse.

Rose shook her head.

“Rose, I…we…” he reached his hand to her, but he didn’t touch her. It was always hard on situation like this; he didn’t know what to say or do to lighten her pain.

She shook her head again.

“Go home,” Rose mumbled. “I’m okay. I just need a little time…just go, okay?”

Gustav stared at her.

And he refused to leave her alone.

He brought her into his arms because he knew that was the thing she needed at the moment. Gustav knew he was right because she hugged him back, sobbing into his chest. He stroked her head, her hair, and then her back, and then he stared at Hamish and the guys.

“I think we need to get home now,” he announced before spoke in softer tone to Rose. “Are you okay if we leave now?”

Rose didn’t respond at first, but then she nodded, so he stood up while holding her.

She clunked to him like a lost child. One of his arms was under her knees and the other was stroking her back. And Rose felt so small. She felt so very small and sad and vulnerable. And it that moment, there was nothing that Gustav wanted more than to take away all her sadness.




Once they got back into the house, Rose suddenly acted differently. She stood up straight and call Hamish to talk about how and where are they going to bury Lestat. After that, she asked everyone whether they were hungry and since none of them haven’t eat anything since they woke up and it was almost twelve in the afternoon, everyone nodded. Rose almost run to the kitchen and start cutting vegetables for salad.

Gustav exchanged look with Simon, Fraser, John, and Ben and they shared the same pain and discomfort upon realisation that this was how Rose cope up with Lestat’s death.

Without hesitation, they all went to the kitchen as well, helping her so they could have brunch faster.

Then they ate in silence.

Ben tried to start a conversation but failed rather miserably. But he wasn’t the only one. After that, Fraser and Simon tried and they ended up listening to the sound of rain as well. Even Fraser tried, though he backed up from his attempt before he was defeated by the heavy silence. Only Gustav didn’t try anything. He ate while thinking and the only thing he really noticed from the whole sitting-on-the-table-and-eating activity was that Rose’s hand was shaking as she lifted the fork into her mouth.

But in the end of the meal, she put up a really sincere smile and said.

“I’m really glad you pick me up. I was a mess back there.”

She smiled so gentle, so thankful, but the only thing Gustav saw was how hard she was trying not to be sad and not to cry.

He couldn’t control himself by seeing such smile and roared.

“Don’t!” he stood up, pushing the chair he was sat on behind and his fork was falling to the floor. “Rose…don’t…it’s okay. If you feel sad, it’s okay. Your best friend just passed away—you’re allowed to be sad. Don’t you even think that your sadness is burden for us—no. Just… don’t. You can cry, okay? You can cry your heart out and we…I…I’ll listen to you. So…don’t smile like that when you know you want to cry.”

Gustav stood there, his heart was beating like crazy, and he realised that he was panting. He stared at his best friends’ faces and it seemed that they were a little surprised at the beginning that he knew her that well, because they thought that Rose had overcome her sadness. And then he stared at Rose.

The smile upon her face faltered into blank expression.

And the blank expression turned into a really sad pout.

Then she cried.

She cried hard and loud and buried her face unto her palms.

She cried like a little child and mumbled “Lestat” between her sobs. Gustav felt amazed by how childlike she was crying and he knew, by seeing Ben, John, Fraser, and Simon’s faces that they didn’t expect her to cry like that as well. He hugged her again for God knows how long.

The orange twilight was approaching the horizon when Rose finally went silent. She hiccupped because of her cry and she sat on the couch, staring into nothingness. Gustav was sitting next to her and he was holding her hand.

She didn’t hold back.

And her hand felt cold.



At night, they decided to sleep together in the living room.

Gustav had observed that somehow, they all agree silently that they want to make Rose feel better and not leaving her alone to be spun into despair was one of them. Rose had the honour to sleep on the biggest couch and she was sat there, chatting with Fraser and John, when Gustav came back from brushing his teeth as one of his before-sleep routine every night.

He just looked at her and he realised that things were change.

What happened today made the half-Norwegian man felt like a boat has took Rose away and nothing he could do to reach her. But maybe she needed to be in that boat, wherever she goes. And he was sure that she’d come back to him. There was other thing too. Gustav felt that she got more beautiful than the first time he saw her. He plumped his pillow while remembering the girl with umbrella in that rainy day.

And now he was here, with his best friends who were gladly fly across the globe to get together with him again—and with her, too.

Suddenly, Gustav felt a little jealous with John and Fraser, who were currently talking to her. But he lied down, arms stretching next to his shoulder, his palms were under his head, and he listened to the sound of that house; Rose’s voice, Fraser’s chuckle, John’s hum, and in the distance, was Simon and Ben’s steps and then their voices talking to each other. There was one voice missing and Gustav didn’t really want to think about that. But for him, these sounds that he heard now, he was sure that it was sound of happiness.



The next day, Rose told the story of how she got Lestat. It only surprised Gustav a little that she didn’t buy the dog as pup, because Rose didn’t look like people who named their dog ‘Lestat’. She’d come with name like ‘Cream Puff’ or ‘Vanilla’, but not ‘Lestat’, not a vampire name. She looked a little more relaxed than yesterday when she spoke.

“I used to date this man who is now a lawyer in Melbourne. He was my first boyfriend in university. We basically fought a lot. He was almost finished his master degree and was about to go on in life, but I was just a teenager. He was working on a small law firm appointed by a wealthy man who gave ten million dollars for New South Wales’ education, named William Parker-Smith. The man died alone after sending all his servants and family members away not long before I broke up with Robert.”

She tilted her head a little and she was staring somewhere not in the room they were together. Maybe she was staring at the past.

“The strangest thing was William Parker-Smith left everything for the charity but his dog, a young Samoyed, to Robert. Robert was always like a son for him, a son he never had. But Robert felt like it would benefit me more if I take care of the Samoyed, because then I would probably learn to love something if I have to brush its fur every single day.”

Rose chuckled, but she looked sad.

She didn’t say anything for a moment, so Gustav mumbled, almost whispering, but loud enough to be heard by the guys in the room, “So William Parker-Smith was the one who named Lestat.”

Rose nodded and closed her eyes, “I still remembered that Robert only told me one conversation he had with William Parker-Smith.

‘Robert, do you know why I named this dog “Lestat”?’ the old man asked Robert one day.

‘No, Sir,’ Robert answered.

‘Because sometimes human tends to think they are stronger than they are—that they are vampire that would defy law of death. Lestat is a reminder for me that one day, I will rot and it’s inevitable. We’ll never be a Lestat, so we should invest our time in our life very carefully.’

It wasn’t long before William Parker-Smith’s death.”

Rose shrugged and sighed, “We broke up not long after that. I still came to his graduation and then he moved to Melbourne. Now he’s happily engaged and has one daughter. I’d better tell him about Lestat, even though he…”

She didn’t finish her sentence. But everyone understood.



They left Jervis Bay only two days after that, almost like running away from the reality that it was the place where Rose’s best friend died. It was including Lestat’s burial in Hamish’s family house with big yard, and Young Guns’ meeting with Hamish’s family. Gustav finally understood why Hamish was special one way or another for Rose; all his family members were red-haired. If Rose had family, they would probably look like the O’Shea.

The journey of going back was a lot quiet. They didn’t even speak much after they was back at Rose’s place, cramming the living room by lying down wherever there were spaces left. After went out for dinner in a small fish and chips parlour near the beach, they went home to Gilbert's house and went to sleep without saying much.



In the morning, Gustav woke up very early.

He knew a morning like this, long time ago, before somehow they decided to travel around New South Wales in a van by Michael’s help. It was a grey morning. There was no sign of sunrise and everything was bathed in light monotone colour. He walked out from the room to find Rose on the Gilbert’s porch.

She looked so small.

She looked very small and fragile and sad and alone.

She just sat there, not saying a word, not even moving.

But then she heard his footsteps and she gazed up at him and he felt like the coolest, happiest man in the world, even though he was just wearing pyjama pants and plain T-shirt. Combined with his messy hair, he was certain that he was not cool. But there was something about the way she looked at him that he believed he could stand in front of thousands people to sing right now.

“Gustav,” she said as greeting.

And he smiled.

He never really liked his name that much—not until now, when he heard her saying his name with that raspy, sleepy voice.

Gustav sat next to Rose and they just sat there like long time ago when they enjoyed tea, when Gustav told her about Young Guns’ tour in Europe and how he woke up the first to pay parking fee. And now he thought about how long that time had passed. He was a little scared about what happened after this. He was afraid that she would not be there again inside his world. What would happen to him if she weren’t next to him anymore? Gustav didn’t know that loving someone could be this terrifying.

But then their hands upon the cold wooden floor touched.

He slowly moved his hand and held hers. Then they just sat there in silence for a while, holding hands without saying a word. Rose started to move closer to him and leaned her head into his left shoulder. Gustav then hugged her by her shoulder, his hand on her left shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head while stroking her shoulder gently.

That was when it came to him that she felt the same. He didn’t say a word, but she knew that he was scared and she was scared too. It was amazing how they didn’t even have to say anything. He kissed her head again and he closed her eyes.

Heaven is this, Gustav Wood thought happily.

And in that moment, he wasn’t afraid anymore, because whatever happens in the future, he would always have this moment.