Lando's Love (2021)

Chapter 17

The next morning, I took Astrid to the university. Her friends had all arrived and were waiting for her in the car park. When they saw the McLaren, they were all surprised. They were even more surprised when they saw Astrid getting out of the car. I also went out to say hello and to introduce myself. Astrid introduced them to me one by one: Marion, Joséphine, Romane and Anthoine. The one she introduced as Marion spoke directly to me: "Well, Lando, Astrid had spoken to me about you as one of her favourite drivers, not as her boyfriend. It's nice to meet you. I didn't know she was dating you, yet she's been talking about you since we met back in September." . I smiled and shook my head, "No, we didn't know each other in September, so I was just a driver for her. We've only been together for a little over a month." . She smiled at me and Astrid interrupted us: "Well, it's time to go for an exam, guys." . "Good luck everybody." . I got back in the car and went back to the flat. I had to call McLaren about this housing thing. So, I called Zak and Andreas in Face Time.

Z: Hello Lando, how are you?
A: Hello Lando

L: Hello gentlemen. I'm fine, how are you?

Z: I'm fine
A: Likewise, but I doubt you'll be calling us to ask if we're okay or not during your week off.

L: Yes, Andreas. I know that Daniel lives in Los Angeles and only comes to England to work on the simulator or the car settings. He can analyse his data with Tom by video conference. So, I was wondering if it was possible for me to do sort of the same thing between September and May...

Z: Okay, but why do you want to change the way you work all of a sudden? You bought your house near the centre on purpose so you can come whenever you want.
A: Come on Zak, think about it, when he bought his house, he wasn't in love...

L: I would like to live with Astrid. We'll live in Douai during her school period and in England during her holidays. Zak, you said it yourself, Astrid is not ready to stop her studies for me, so I had to find a way. If she couldn't move, I could.

Z: Would you still be able to come to the centre when asked?

L: Of course, I would only be 4 hours away from the centre.

A: In that case, I don't see a problem. When will it start?

L: In September, Astrid is in distance learning for her lessons until her exams in May so she will come and live with me. So, I will stay in England from next week until September.

Z: Speaking of the lady. Do you know what races she's going to attend next?

L: Yes, she told me to tell you that she can be there in Imola. However, she can't come to Portimao or Barcelona because of her exams. Then she can come to all the other races from Monaco to Zandvoort, maybe Monza but she doesn't know yet.

A: Wow, she really wants to come to all her races
Z: Yes, that's a lot of races.

L: Yes, she will come, she asked me if I would mind if she came to all the races during her summer holidays.

Z: OK, well I'll go and talk to your engineers and get them started on this change.

L: Bye Zak!

A: So Lando, where are you today?

L: I'm at Astrid's, she's at the university while I'm staying at her flat.