La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 32

May 2024

Charlie managed to get tickets for the Imola race for all my family members. They had great seats in the grandstand and everyone had prepared adequately for it. Elio looked extra adorable in a red t-shirt and cap. Alessandra was only a few weeks away from giving birth and she didn't seem to be enjoying the weekend activity we had prepared for her as much, but she was brave because, as she later told me, she didn't want to spoil the fun for Luca, Eli and her father-in-law. I spent all the training sessions with them in the stand, but for qualifying I moved to the garage, where Joris was waiting for me and grinning enthusiastically. "What is it?" I asked him because he usually didn't look this happy when he saw me. "How do you handle the role of a matchmaker?" he wanted to know. "I have no clue. Why?"

"See that girl over there?" he motioned his head to the right, but when I tried to turn around, he hissed at me sharply. "Don't turn around now. You have to be discreet." I smirked and waited for him to check if I could take a look. "That one over there. In that pink t-shirt." I casually looked in the direction he was pointing and noticed a small, cute blonde with big blue eyes in a pink t-shirt.

"What about her?"

"What do you think? I need to know her name, when she lives, if she has anyone...just everything."

"You're starting to scare me a little," I frowned.

"Please help me," he gave me the puppy dog eyes that match him because he's just...well, a puppy.

"Why don't you just go and talk to her?"

"Me? Are you crazy?" he screamed. "You don't remember what happened in Miami?"

I remembered his last attempt to address a girl. He had a few drinks that night and was probably a little more outgoing and oversharing than he should have been because the lady slapped him with her purse and left the bar somewhat upset. "Ok," I sighed and before he could stop me, I ran after the blonde in the pink t-shirt.

My talk about how amazing but shy Joris is, must have taken a toll because he didn't move away from her during the entire qualifying. The qualifying did not offer any big surprises. Max had the best lap, followed by Charles and Carlos was third. These were promising starting positions for the home team.

I kissed Charles and wished him good luck, then he put on his helmet and disappeared. Joris and I moved to the screen and each grabbed our headphones to listen to the team radio. We watched the race tensely for the first few laps, but then the situation settled down, Charles was still holding his second place, so I turned to Joris. "How was your date?" I asked, he winced and his cheeks turned red. I laughed. "It was good then?"

"Her name is Camille, she is the daughter of one of the bigger sponsors. I took her to a pizzeria and she didn't run away. So I take that as a good sign," he smirked.

"I'm happy for you. When will you see her again?"

"Today," he grinned and I shook my head.

"What? Am I going too fast?" he hesitated, but at that moment the radio screeched.

"What is that idiot doing?" came Charles' angry voice and I immediately turned my attention to the screen just as Charlie's front tire was inches from Max's back. Maybe Max didn't see him, or didn't realize how close he really was, but he swerved a bit more than he should have, Charles didn't have time to react and the Ferrari suddenly went flying. There was complete silence in the room. As if in slow motion, I watched as Charles' car turned in the air and slid upside down into the barriers at a high speed. I will remember the sound of his formula screeching against the asphalt and the subsequent muffled thump of impact for the rest of my life. I covered my mouth with my palm so I wouldn't start screaming and waited completely stiffly to see what would happen next. "Are you okay?" Xavi, Charlie's race engineer, came onto the radio. Nothing. No answer. The yellow flags were waved on the track and the safety car came out, but I didn't notice anything. I could only concentrate on the deafening silence on the other side of the radio. "Charles, are you okay?" Xavi repeated as smoke billowed from the car.