Ophélie

Part 7

After a quick shower, I throw my hair up into a bun, apply some light make up and throw my stuff into my tote bag.

I throw my clothes from last night into the laundry pile.

I'm rushing around my room in my underwear, panicking.

We never have such a late start.

I pull on my red pants and Ferrari shirt.

I'm putting my sneakers on when there's a knock at the door.

I open the door and Charles is standing with a smile on his face, calm and collected.

I grab my tote and his hand. "Let's go. I need to double check the schedule for today."

Charles pulls back on my hand, pulling me to a stop.

"First, breathe." he smiles.

I take a deep breath.

Charles knows when I'm close to a panic attack, and knows how to help me calm down.

"Come on, a couple more deep breaths." he urges, gently.

We stand in the hallway while I breathe.

"Good. We'll get to the track earlier than expected, and you can organize your day while I source us some coffee." he says gently, squeezing my hand.

"Thank you." I say quietly.

"It's my pleasure Ophy-fille. I've got you." he gives me a quick kiss. "Let's go."

When we get to the track, we walk swiftly up to his driver's room, greeting people as we pass.

When we reach the driver's room, I immediately sit down and pull my laptop out.

I open a few emails until I find the team schedule for today.

Usually I do this super early in the morning on race day, before Charles even wakes up.

I answer a few emails and put today's schedule into my phone.

I also make note of Charles' media interviews for after the race.

When I'm done, I check the time Charles has been gone for the last thirty minutes.

I text him:

"Did you get lost? Xx"

I then go over to his closet, and start taking out his race suit, laying it out for him, as well as his balaclava, gloves and shoes.

About ten minutes later, Charles walks in, two coffees and a brown paper bag in hand.

"Did you fly to Monaco for that coffee?" I laugh.

Charles laughs. "Actually, no.I know that my girl was in such a hurry this morning that she didn't eat. So I had hospitality put something together for her."

"Aww Charlsie! You are the sweetest! Thank you!" I hug him tightly.

He puts the coffee down and starts unpacking the food.

"I wasn't sure what you'd want." he looks over at me. "So I got you a greek yogurt and fruit, a croissant, a muffin and a breakfast burrito."

I laugh. "It's too much. I can't eat all that."

"You take what you want, and I'll take whatever you don't want."

I smile. "I'll have the yogurt and the croissant."

"Thank goodness." he laughs. "The breakfast burrito smells delicious."

We sit on the couch together, eating our breakfast.