La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 30

April 2024

We got off the plane with Charles, Andrea, and a few others, and immediately several journalists gathered around us. It was comforting to me that in my team jacket I looked like any other member of the team and no one could suspect that I meant much more to Charlie. We talked a lot about how we wanted to present our relationship, but neither of us felt like making a big official announcement. I didn't want it to be said that I was working for the Scuderia just because I was dating Charles and he was worried about my privacy. He knew very well what it was like to have someone constantly watching you and wanting to know everything you were doing. He deserved the attention, me on the other hand...not so much.

At the airport, a boy about our age with short dark hair, cheerful brown eyes hidden behind glasses, and smiling brightly at Charles, pounced on us. "Salut!" he exclaimed, hugging my boyfriend. They both automatically switched to French and I just stood there staring at my sneakers. When they finally broke apart, they both turned to me. "I'm Joris," said the boy I didn't know and held out his hand to me. "Adri," I replied, noticing the flicker of something in his eyes that could be interpreted as understanding. "Hmmm," he grunted and it was clear to me that this was another friend to whom Charles had already managed to tell a lot about me.

Watching Charles with Andrea and Joris was like watching 3 puppies playing together. About that kind of energy radiated from them. They were sitting next to each other on the edge of the bed playing FIFA on a Playstation and I have no idea where it came from. They alternately shouted at each other in Italian and French, and Charles was soundly defeated. Another entry on the list of things he's not good at.

On Thursday afternoon, I had to leave the boys and go to my place of work, where I had an appointment with several "patients". Fortunately it was nothing serious and Thomas offered to help me so we massaged a couple of stiff necks and taped up one knee and one thumb.

Both training sessions on Friday went as usual, and Saturday was also relaxed. Charlie and I didn't have much alone time, but I was glad that he seemed calm and composed before the race and I was sure that we would make up for it soon. It wasn't until Sunday morning that the sky clouded over and a crazy downpour started. It was dark as if the sun had already set, and I couldn't help but notice how everyone's mood turned bad as if it mirrored the weather. But it was mainly Charles whose bad mood worried me. He never rarely cracked a joke before the race, but he always at least smiled at me and gave me a quick kiss when no one was around. But now he was in a completely different world, and I didn't like that at all.

There were still a few drivers on the grid who had experienced the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014. That was the moment when Charlie's world first came crashing down. I knew because I was there. I knew that it had rained that day too, and I knew what was going through Charles's head right now. I found him sitting off to the side in the corner of the garage with his hood pulled over his head. I sat down next to him and gently touched his hand. He was a little startled by me, jerked and pulled the headphones out of his ears. "How are you doing?" I asked because I had no idea how to talk to him about it without throwing him off even more before the race. "I guess I'd rather be alone. Sorry," he whispered, continuing to stare at the wall in front of him. "Okay," I said, but didn't get up. Instead, I moved closer to him, entwining my fingers with his and resting my head on his shoulder. "I won't say a word. We can be alone together," I thought.

"This will be my fourth race here," he whispered after a few minutes of complete silence and I raised my head to look at him. He looked as if all those moments of horror were replaying before his eyes. "Every year I tell myself that next time it will be better, that I won't think about it so much. But today, with the rain..."

"I know," I whispered and turned so that I could hug him. He rested his chin on my head and sighed. "It's normal to be afraid."

He pulled away and looked into my eyes. He smiled a little sadly and then shook his head. "I'm not afraid. I just can't stop thinking about everything that went wrong that day. I keep thinking that it could have been prevented and Jules could still be here." He blinked hard a few times to fight back the tears but then smirked as he saw one tear escape my eye. He wiped it away with his thumb and kissed my forehead.

Fortunately, the weather cleared up a bit and for safety reasons, the start of the race was postponed by an hour. The first few laps went behind the safety car to allow the track to dry out more and then full-on racing could begin in already relatively acceptable conditions. Not even for a moment did I take my eyes off the red car with the number 16, which fought its way from third position to second place. With 21 laps to go, Logan Sargeant went off the track in a corner and hit the barriers, luckily he was fine, but the safety car came out again and most of the drivers, including Charles, pitted to change to fresh tyres. The gaps between the cars narrowed and Charles was within striking distance of the leader, Verstappen.

5 laps before the end I was on the verge of collapse. Charles was glued to the rear wing of the #1 Red Bull, waiting for the right moment to overtake. That came on the penultimate lap and the roof almost flew off the garage as everyone roared with joy and jumped up to the ceiling. Charles crossed the finish line and I could hear his excited scream in my headphones. I ran out with Andrea to greet our winner and I was the one to whom he dedicated his first moments after coming out of his formula. "I'm so proud of you," I told him with a big smile into the open visor of his helmet. I saw laugh lines around his eyes and quickly hugged him so he could move on. He smelled of sweat and gasoline and burnt rubber, but it was the smell of victory, and that's the most important thing.

After the emotional roller coaster that was today, I stood under the podium and watched Charles receive his trophy again. He lifted it above his head and looked at the cloudy sky. It was no secret to whom he was dedicating this victory.