All of Me (Sebastian Vettel)

58. A Sky Full of Stars

It was nearly midnight on the Monday evening when the taxi pulled up outside Seb's Swiss home.  He thanked Pascal, his usual driver when he needed driving anywhere, and handed him the fare, along with a generous tip. 

"Treat your wife," he told the man.

He and Alyssa got out and retrieved their cases from the boot.  They dragged them towards the heavy looking oak door.  Alyssa couldn't really see much in the dark but she knew the house was a converted water mill.  She'd seen photos of it and it looked a pretty impressive place.  Seb hunted through his pockets for his keys as the car lights disappeared down the driveway. 

"Aha," he proclaimed.  He inserted the key into the lock, turned it and opened the door, quickly deactivating the alarm. The hallway light was already on for them.  His housekeeper, Loretta, had been in to stock the fridge and to make sure everything was ready for them. 

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said.

Alyssa stepped inside and immediately fell in love with the place. She gazed around at the large entrance hallway. It was nearly half as big as the entire ground floor of the house back in England!

The walls were covered in a stained wood panelling and there were several framed portraits of the girls on the wall.   An antique sideboard rested against the far wall with a vase of fresh flowers stood on it.   

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, just a modest one though, nothing too fancy.  A wide staircase led from the far right corner disappearing to the upper floor, a deep pile cream carpet covering each stair. 

"Do you want the grand tour now or in the morning?"

"How do you not live here all the time? I'd never want to leave," she said, heading through one of the doors and finding a large lounge. "This sofa alone...I'd never get off of it." Seb laughed.

"I do miss it if I'm honest with you, but it's more practical to live in the UK. It's easier for the factory, and Sienna wanted to move there with the girls."

He sank down onto the plush silvery grey sofa, patting the seat next to him. Alyssa sat down and he wrapped his arm around her.

"When the girls have grown up this is where I want to spend the rest of my days. I love it. The mountains, the clean air, the people."

Alyssa rested her head on his shoulder. She wondered if he saw her as being part of his future plans. Seb kissed her head.

"Tomorrow night I want to take you out. I want to show you something that I love."

"What is it?"

"It's not exactly a what, it's a where.  It's just somewhere I always used to go when I needed to clear my mind.   I went there a lot when Sienna I began having our problems.  It just helped me, there's something magical about it and I want to share it with you."

"In that case I'd be honoured to see it."

Seb closed his eyes. It would be so easy to fall asleep. It had been a long flight after one hell of a night out.

He'd woken around five in the morning and climbed into bed properly, snuggling up to Alyssa. Then they had both got up at nine to get ready to leave for the airport. They'd both slept on the flight, but he was still beat and he was pretty sure Alyssa was too.

"I think we'll leave the tour until morning," he heard her say. "You look as beat as I feel." Yep. They were both exhausted.

He forced himself to open his eyes. "Yeah. I just wanna go to bed. Shall we?" He stood up and held his hand out. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.