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It was a very clear and sunny day. The singing of the birds and buzzing of the bees were the sweetest melodies; the sun felt like the warm embrace of a dear old friend. After spending so many hours of the week surrounded by blank, windowless walls, the garden looked like paradise to Robert E. O. Speedwagon. The blond man stood in front of the big bush of wildflowers, admiring the subtle purples and pinks in between the leaves. “Ah… this is what life’s about,” he thought. That had been one nightmare of a week.
According to his contacts in Ireland, word had it that a new stone mask had showed up. Robert was forced to spend yet another week at the research centre, working with the specialists every day until the sun went down. He felt like he hadn’t been touched by natural light in ages. Yet he was proud of everything his team had accomplished. Findings like these were the proof that his and Erina’s efforts hadn’t gone to waste. However, sometimes it was a pretty thankless job. He was so tired now, and there was still so much to do. There was always another mask to destroy. If more alarming findings kept coming their way, what would they find at the end? Robert felt colder just thinking about it.
After losing Georgie, nothing had been the same. This was the first year after his death in which both Erina and himself had returned to work full-time, with a clear purpose, focusing most of their time and energy on building the Foundation. “At least she can be at home…” he reflected. “At least she can be home for Joseph”.
Speedwagon had arrived at the manor on Friday night, exhausted as one can be. The trip had been a little gloomy, they were cursed with a foggy weather that reminded him of London. Before leaving, he had promised Joseph that he would come back early enough to see him, but that turned out to be another promise that he had to break due to external circumstances.
Looking at the Joestar residence, he felt a little guilty that it had been so delightful to arrive into a peaceful, silent home, without Joseph rushing to ask him a million questions, demanding souvenirs and attention. The progress they were making with the newly acquired installations meant that work was going great, and the Foundation assets were growing steadier than ever. Busy meant good. But busy also meant that he had little time to spend with Erina and Joseph.
The last few weeks, with the warnings of a new mask and the disappearance of one of his employees, had been particularly tough. Erina was an amazing teacher and had ben an extremely dedicated mother to George, but having to raise Joseph during her older years was a responsibility she had never expected. She seemed to have less patience every year, and Robert couldn’t blame her. In the last few years the three of them had spend together, Joseph had become quite the hyperactive child. Robert could feel the unwanted anger and resentment towards the military rising inside Erina, and the current political events had them both more on edge than ever. The upcoming anniversary of Jonathan’s death wasn’t helping either.
Despite his efforts, Robert wasn’t very good at gardening. Nevertheless, the people he hired to select and then plant the tree were the best in the region. He had acquired a marvelous Hawthorn, which according to the specialist, would bloom in white real soon. Robert was incredibly pleased with the results, and smiled at the thought of the fragrant, beautiful flowers. Erina was going to be thrilled; he welcomed a sudden rush of excitement thinking about her reaction. He knew she would understand the significance of the tree as soon as she saw it.
“Speedwagon!” Joseph screamed, hugging his adoptive father’s leg with impressive strength for a child that young. Robert hadn’t noticed the kid running at him, and was startled by the unexpected noise.
“Hello, little guy” he said, still a bit distracted. Without waiting a second, Joseph babbled at him:
“I woke up and I saw a bee! But I wasn’t scared of it. It was in my bedroom, that bee. Stupid bee! Why was it in my room? I wanted to kill it with a book, but then it flew away! I was going to go after it, but I couldn’t find it for a while, and then I saw the bee, and it flew too high up, so I threw some books at it…”
Sometimes it was so hard to listen, Robert thought. That didn’t happen with Georgie. When faced with raising a child without Jonathan, Erina and Robert had invested all of their energy into providing George with all the love, care and support they were capable of. They both grew older as the smart, sensitive boy turned into a righteous young man. They had become a family. When George moved out with Elizabeth to make his own, Erina and Robert felt it was timely: because of their busy schedules, they were drawn to peace and calm at home. Robert’s relationship with Erina had become one of pleasure and relaxation, where they shared their free time together to enjoy the fruit of their mutual success. For years they were used to a silent, clean, organized environment, where either of them could come and go as they wanted. The more Joseph grew, the more trouble he was, and they weren’t young anymore. Speedwagon often wished that Joseph had a younger, better version of Robert instead. The version of himself that had existed before Georgie’s death.
“Are you listening, Speedwagon? Did you listen to me? I want to catch that bee!” the kid said, turning his face up with big bright eyes directed at his father figure.
“Yeah… I was, I just got a little distracted, sorry about that. It’s gonna be a little hard to find that bee, they’re very small…”
“I guess so. have you seen any bees down here? What are you doing?”
“I just got a new tree for the garden” he said proudly.
“No way!! Where is it?! Can I see it?!” The eyes of the child grew wider.
Robert laughed at the question; they were standing right in front of it. It was a young tree, so it didn’t look particularly imponent. They had other trees around them that were wide and tall and venerable, and those were the ones they had to tell Joseph he could climb in a few years, when he gets older.
“Well, it’s this one right here. I suppose it doesn’t look all that impressive yet”
The child’s expression was of puzzled disappointment.
“Huh? That’s it?! That’s the new tree?”
“Yes. It’s not the biggest, but makes a lot of flowers”
“Where are the flowers, then?”
“Well… there aren’t any flowers yet, but they’ll be here as soon as Summer”
“Oh…” Joseph seemed upset. Sometimes adults cared about the most insignificant things. What use could he have for a tree like this?
Robert was getting a bit tired of explaining things. He was expecting to relax alone in the garden for a while. The night before, Joseph asked about his parents for the second time. Talking about it was almost as painful as lying about it to Joseph. Sometimes he envied him a little, for not having to bear the real impact of the tragedy.
“You can play with the other trees if you want. But you have to be careful with this one. This is a very special tree…”
“But… I don’t get it. What is it for? Where are the oranges?”
“Oranges?” The kid’s curiosity and incessant need to question everything still surprised Robert.
“Yeah! Where are the oranges? If it’s an orange tree, then I can eat them! Right?”
“Well…”
“Does it have apples? Granny Erina told me there are trees that give out all sorts of fruits. Does it have strawberries?”
“Strawberries don’t grow on trees, Joseph”
“Does it have bananas?”
“No, Joseph”
“What does it grow?”
“It does produce some sort of fruit…” Robert explained, and Joseph started smiling in excitement “but it’s actually very sour. It can be used for dry liquor, I suppose…” and the smile disappeared.
His patience was running thin. Joseph was so loud! Robert didn’t realize this, but talking loud and proud was a trait that the kid had learned by observing him. Joseph was used to hearing Speedwagon’s enthusiastic conversations with Erina at the dinner table. At times he sounded intense and irate at bad news, at times rowdy, celebrating good ones. Joseph heard them coming back late a few times, after a night at the theatre, holding hands, Speedwagon commenting the show, sometimes passionate with criticism, sometimes laughing out loud. He talked business on the phone almost like he was yelling, and when he had meetings in his office, his voice was always the loudest one.
“Then… will it grow bigger?” the child said.
“Huh?”
“Can I climb it when it grows bigger?!”
“No. It’s a small-sized tree. It’s not for climbing”
“Then… why did you plant that tree?!”
Robert thought about explaining how the hawthorn was a special gift for the family, a Celtic sacred tree that symbolized love and protection. He could have told them that his grandpa grew up close to one, and how much it reminded Erina and him of Jonathan.
“It’s something… it’s hard to understand. I just… I think granny Erina will really appreciate these flowers. It’s a good reminder of the coming of summer, and very aesthetically pleasing”
“What?”
“…it means something that looks beautiful, Joseph”. Robert could almost hear the brain of the child working. He was always so excited about everything.
“So… what colours are the flowers then?”
“Uh…”
“Are they purple? Purple and white! Are they red? Yellow? Do they have dots on ‘em?”
“Well… they’re white flowers”
“Huh?!” This seemed to be very upsetting to the kid.
“Look. This is… something that reminds me and your grandma of your grandfather. Alright? You don’t have to fully understand it”
Joseph looked up at the tall, grown man by his side, and knew something was wrong. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, as usual. Joseph had always been attached to the house, as his parents visited frequently, and he had adored his grandma and Speedwagon since he could remember. But living with them was very different from visiting. He didn’t remember much of his parents, but he knew that things were different then. It was like everything had changed around him, but Joseph had stayed the same. He didn’t like it when grandma Erina walked through the house alone, looking into the rooms when it was too quiet, like she had trouble finding something because she forgot what that thing was. He didn’t like it when he woke up from a nightmare asking for Speedwagon, and he wasn’t there. He didn’t like it when he wasn’t there to tell him stories of his travels and adventures, and hold him up real high, and teach him things about business. He missed him a lot when he wasn’t around. And now sometimes he missed him even when he was there. He didn’t like it when Speedwagon was sad.
“Why did he leave?”
Robert was not prepared to answer that question. Hopefully, he could deflect. The kid had only heard the legendary tales of Jonathan Joestar, but they never talked about his absence. Not in front of Joseph, anyway.
“He… he didn’t leave. He passed away, Joseph”
“I know that, but…” Robert was shocked at the natural indifference that Joseph said those words with. The kid had experienced so many deaths in his short life. Is this what will happen to me? To Erina, eventually? he thought.
“But…” Joseph continued, “Why did he pass away? Why can’t he be here with us?”
“Well…” Robert could feel the anxiety rising inside of him. He closed his eyes, and bite the pain the best he could. “Your grandpa was a very special man, Joseph. He sacrificed for all of us. He can’t be here because he saved us all from a great danger. He is not here, so we can all be here. He was a hero. Do you understand?”
“I know, I know… but…” Joseph looked up at Robert, but he couldn’t meet his eyes “what if you didn’t want him to do that. What if… granny Erina didn’t want him to do that?”
“You don’t… you don’t understand right now…”
“Why didn’t he ask you first? I always ask before I have to do something. Isn’t that a bit botch?”
And Robert couldn’t fight it anymore. Joseph’s adoptive father turned around, his back facing the child, who couldn’t really tell if he had said something wrong. Joseph wasn’t sure about Speedwagon’s mood right now, so he got worried and listened carefully to what he said, trying to find out if he was stressed out, angry, or some other thing that meant that something wasn’t right.
“Never. Never speak that way about your grandfather again, Joseph”
Robert said this without looking at him, but Joseph knew Speedwagon’s mood was not a good one. Trying to get a look at his face, Joseph caught a glimpse of it. It was the sad face.
Robert tried hard not to cry in front of the child, but he knew from the start that this was a battle he couldn’t win. He had been so aggressive out of nowhere; he should’ve never spoken to Joseph using that tone. When he was turning around to apologize, the kid attached himself firmly to one of his legs and hugged it hard as he could. A quiet voice rose up to Robert from the child, now looking down.
“… I’m sorry…”
Robert turned around, picked the child up from the floor, and held him against his chest.
“No… I am sorry, Joseph. I shouldn’t have talked to you that way. It’s just that… your grandpa… Jonathan, was… he was a very special man. And I really loved him… and I miss him dearly”. Joseph, close to his adoptive father’s face, could clearly see the big, slow, painful tears run down his cheeks. But the comfortable pressure of his arms’ embrace remained the same.
Robert knew he should have been prepared for this. Joseph’s inquisitive nature had gotten the better of him. He knew he should have planned better, since conversations like this could arise at any moment now that the kid was growing, but he just couldn’t put himself through it. He should have been more focused on what’s good for the kid. Joseph always caught him off guard, always forced him to be his real self, to be authentic. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
Robert’s train of thoughts came to an end when he felt Joseph’s tiny hands touching his face slowly and carefully, drying up his cheeks and trying to stop tears from coming.
“Don’t worry, Speedwagon. I’ll always be around.” A few more tears went down as Robert held his adoptive son high up, firm and secure in his arms. Then Robert gave him the most loving of smiles, one that Joseph always remembered, as he looked directly at his face, and said “And I will always be with you, my little Jojo”.
The singing of the birds and buzzing of the bees were the sweetest melodies. The sun was starting to hit harder, so they picked up one of Speedwagon’s old hats for Joseph. The child seemed very happy with it, and he was even allowed to keep it. They talked about different fruits and flowers, and they chased some bees, and many questions were answered. It was a very clear and sunny day.