La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 38

May 2024

"I still can't believe it," I cried when Kala and Sarah and I went to the paddock for the first free practice. "You live in a fairy tale. In my opinion, everything is possible now," Kala grinned and put her card to the scanner to go through the turnstile. They both dressed up for the occasion and stole two of my team t-shirts. They made me wear the T-shirt I got from them. Probably so that no one can have any doubts about where my loyalties lie. "Hi," I smiled at Charles, whom we met behind the garage, where he was warming up with Andrea. "Hi," he smiled at me and my friends, and I turned my back to him to show him a huge number sixteen. Charles laughed and came closer to me so he could hug and kiss me. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for inviting them here," I whispered in his ear and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You can thank me in the evening," he winked at me and I blushed, he greeted my friends who were looking at him like Charles was some supernatural figure and then he went back to Andrea so they could continue.

I knew it would be hard for me to see him in the car again and I was even more glad to have Kala and Sarah by my side. "That's a terrible noise. How can you stand it?" Sarah shouted, covering her ears dramatically as the drivers, including Charles, started their engines and began to drive out onto the track. "I'm from Maranello," I shrugged. "I probably have more tolerance in my DNA."

It was only the first two practice sessions, but the team was still tense as both Ferraris only finished around 10th. What made it worse was that Max was doing great and I knew that Charles would not be in the best of spirits. As I wanted to give him some space, I took the girls for a walk in the evening through the city, which was bursting at the seams. There was absolutely no chance of eating in a restaurant without a reservation, so we just bought tortillas at a fast food place and settled on the beach overlooking the harbor. "Do you like it?" Sarah asked.

"What do you mean?" I turned to her.

"Do you like this life?"

"Well," I thought. It was quite a difficult question after such a long day. "I would like to feel more useful. I still struggle a bit with not feeling useful enough. But how can I complain?" I smiled and waved my arms around me. "This is a dream, isn't it?"

"I would never say that you will be one of those girls who will give up everything for a boy. That is all."

"What do you mean? I have a job here," I shook my head.

"Seriously? I didn't notice that anyone needed you today."

"Sarah!" Kala intervened. "Where does this come from?"

"Am I not right? Don't you want to do something useful in life? Make some sense of it?" Sarah continued and I just stared at my friend silently. I couldn't deny that her words hit me like a well-aimed bullet. In a way, she hit the nail on the head, but everything was so fresh that I forbade myself those thoughts.

"Of course I want to do something useful in my life. Nobody says it's going to be like this forever. I just..." I took a breath to think about what to say next. "I've been waiting for him for so long. I'm really happy after a long time, okay? Can't you just be happy for me and stop telling me I'm useless?"

"That's not what I meant, Adri," Sarah sighed. "I am sorry. Of course I'm glad you're happy. And Charles is great. If you're satisfied, I promise I won't say another word on this subject. Forgive me."

I nodded and leaned in to hug her. "All good," I whispered.

We walked into the apartment and I went straight to the kitchen to start a bottle of cheap prosecco that we bought along the way. There was a dirty plate and cutlery on the counter, so I assumed Charlie was home too. I found him in the bedroom, where he was curled up in a blanket and looking at his phone. I smiled at him and sat down next to him. "How are you?" I asked quietly, reaching out to stroke his cheek. He grabbed my wrist and planted a kiss on my palm. Such a small and subtle gesture, but it always turned my knees into jelly. "It's better now," he said. "How did you enjoy your evening?" "It was strange. Sarah brought up a topic I'd rather not address for some time. But I won't burden you with it now, it's nothing," I kissed him and smiled soothingly at him. "I bought prosecco, do you want a glass with us?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. It was a race weekend. He shook his head and pointed to the glass of water on the bedside table. "Just go to the girls. I'm going to bed soon anyway," he smiled at me and raised himself on his elbows to kiss me. Instead of a quick goodnight kiss, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself as close as I could. I breathed in his scent, which reminded me of freshly washed laundry and faint aftershave, and whispered, "I love you so much."