Ophélie

Part 19

*** Authors note: I highly suggest you listen to One Life by James Bay (https://open.spotify.com/track/4TvUATvip5xCKi9GcUsgHG?si=c58c4be7f13941a0) when they get to the Marina. IYKYK. ENJOY!!***

It's race day in Monaco.

Qualifying ended in Charles' favour, and he is starting in pole position thanks to Checo and Carlos hitting the barriers right before the end of qualifying. The weather is miserable, the rain is pouring down. The more it rains, the more nervous I get. Lorenzo, Arthur, Pascale and my parents are joining us in the paddock today. Instead of going out in the rain with Charles, we all stand in the garage and hold hands around the car.

"Que Dieu bénisse cet homme, cette voiture et cette équipe" I say, squeezing Charles hand tightly, my heart is beating so fast. I hate rainy races.(Que Dieu bénisse cet homme, cette voiture et cette équipe = God bless this man, this car and this team)

I turn to Charles and pull him aside as the mechanics push his car to the starting grid.

I take his face in my hands, making him look me in the eyes. "Charles, please please be careful out there today. Be safe. Stay focused. Please."

He pulls me into a tight hug. "I will Ophy-fille. I promise. I love you."

"I love you Charlsie."

He gives me a kiss before he disappears to start getting ready for the track.

I walk over to where everyone is sitting and take my seat next to Isa.

"I'm so nervous about this one." I say to her quietly.

She takes my hand in hers and squeezes in. "Me too. I hate the rain."

We pull our headsets on and we watch as they start the formation lap.

Charles is on the radio almost immediately. "Ah, it's raining like crazy."

I shake my head, squeezing Isa's hand.

The FIA calls a red flag, and the cars all come back into the pitlane, lining up behind each other.

I let out a sigh of relief and watch as Charles goes over to the engineers, him and Carlos are talking with them, looking at the weather and the track conditions.

My dad puts his hand on my shoulder and I turn to look at him.

"Arrêtez de stresser. Ils ne les laisseront pas conduire à moins que ce ne soit sûr." he tells me. (Arrêtez de stresser. Ils ne les laisseront pas conduire à moins que ce ne soit sûr. = Stop stressing. They won't let them drive unless it's safe.)

"Je connais papa. Merci." I say to him, giving him a small smile. (Je connais papa. Merci. = I know dad. Thank you.)

Everyone behind us is talking, but I'm sitting, still holding Isa's hand tightly, we're both watching the guys watch the screens and the weather.

After forty-five minutes, the FIA decide that the track is now safe and the race can continue. The drivers all hurry back to their cars. They are led out onto the track by a safety car for a rolling start. Isa and I are watching the screens intensely. Arthur has pulled a seat up next to mine and has his arm around my shoulders. Latifi crashes into the barrier at the hairpin and the whole garage groans. Charles is leading the race, the weather has got a lot better and I can feel myself breathing normally again, Isa and I have stopped squeezing each other's hands so tightly, and Arthur has dropped his hand down to my knee.

Both Arthur and I stand when we hear the team calling Charles into the pits. We watch the pitstop as they change to the intermediate tyres, and then he's gone again. Arthur nods, approving of how quick the pitstop was.