Hello. My name is Lars, I'm a friend of Rod and Elisa's, and I'd like to say a few words.
I've known Rod since we were both kids. We became friends after his family returned to Melbourne after a few years living in Botswana in Africa. Back then, I was a real brat. But even that early I knew Rod was a good guy.
A few years later we were finishing school, and both entered university to study software. By this time, I'd discovered that not just Rod, but his whole family were smart, kind, and deeply humourous. Plus, his father Ric has a fantastic wine cellar. Naturally, we moved in and shared an apartment.
In another few years we had both graduated. I kept studying, Lauren and I went to Japan and got married, and Rod moved to Spain for some work. We heard about his adventures across Europe, and always asked if he'd met any cute girls, and always the answer was no.
That is, until he came back from Spain. Apparrently, in the last month he was there he had met a special girl, and leaving had been a bit difficult. The last month? What kind of terrible timing was that? This would never ever work.
But it did work. Over endless Skype chats, they kept in touch, and eventually Elisa came out to Australia and we got to meet her. Now, Rod had never been that romantic before, but when Elisa came out, he prepared. A lot. He flew her across the country site-seeing, prepared an endless itinerary, and made sure every day she was out would be a good one. I've never seen Rod so dedicated. And Elisa turned out to be this stunning, intelligent and warm woman before us.
Still, she went home, and we wondered: would she be back?