Here With Me - A Formula 1 Story

Say Yes To Heaven

    

I'm admiring Charles' car when we make our way to the heart of Parma. He is focusing on the road and seems almost distracted while I ask him about his day. His response was a generic answer so I decide to sit quietly as we drive to wherever we're going. I'm not sure what happened in the last few minutes, the only thing I can think of is the text message from Charlotte. I know they broke up over a year ago, at least based on social media. He's actually had another girlfriend after her but they didn't date for very long, at least not as long as he and Charlotte did.

Eventually we pull up to a part of town that I've never wandered to because it's too high end for me and I didn't want to tempt myself by the stores and restaurants. He finds a parking space and immediately people flock towards him and the car, taking photos and asking for autographs. He obliges while I stand away from the crowd and watch him interact with his fans. He's very gracious and acknowledges everyone around him. After a few minutes he finds me in the spot I've been waiting with an apologetic expression on his face. I give him a smile hopefully indicating to him that I don't mind.

"Ready?" He asks as he starts walking toward a center square where booths are set up. When we approach the area I realize that it's a farmers market. I immediately smile brightly as I take in all the booths and I excitedly skip over to one that's giving away free samples of Parmesan cheese and ham. Charles follows me with a laugh, his dimples out on full display. As I take the samples and put them in my mouth, I'm immediately moaning in satisfaction with how delicious it is. I turn to see Charles looking at me, with his sample hovering near his mouth, his eyes are dark and smoldering.

"You okay?" I ask with a smirk and he shakes his head with a slight chuckle as he eats his own sample. He must not think it's as good as I did because he doesn't seem as taken with it as I was. To my surprise he talks to the booth attendant in Italian. I have no idea what he said but I watch as the attendant starts wrapping up cheese and ham and puts it in a bag for Charles who hands him money. Charles looks at me when he takes the bag and asks me if I want to keep exploring. I roll my eyes because of course I do, so we continue our perusal of the booths. We stop by a booth selling fresh baguettes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which Charles bought as well. When I question him he tells me we're going to have a picnic and I can't help the smile that comes over my face.

We end up finding some fresh strawberries and blackberries at a different booth that were so sweet and delicious that I almost ate half of them as we walk through the square. Charles stops at a booth selling wine, and he's currently having a long discussion in Italian with the owner of the vineyard the wine is from. I excuse myself, telling Charles I'm going to check out the booth across the way that's selling handmade jewelry. Not that I could afford any of it but I can look.

As I admire the rings on display, I come across a few that are moss agate stones and absolutely beautiful. I pick one up that's a beautiful blue green color that reminds me of the color of Charles' eyes and try it on. It fits on my pointer finger and I stare down at it wishing I could buy it. Maybe I can? I look at the price tag that's attached by a little string and see that it's marked as $100. I immediately take the ring off my finger and put it back in its spot. How did I think I would be able to buy something like that in this part of town? It's at that moment that Charles walks up and stands next to me. I will the tears that are threatening to fall from my eyes away so he doesn't see my upset over a stupid ring.

"See anything you like?" He asks as his eyes roam over the rings in front of us. I shake my head no when the woman manning the booth makes her way over, saying something in Italian. I can't understand her but Charles responds and the two of them have a conversation while I stand their awkwardly. I turn away and look out at the square to see where else I want to explore because I need to get my good mood back after this stupid ring incident. A moment later Charles turns to me.