Unexpected

Part 76

The final race of the season is here. So is most of my family. At least one of them has been with me at every race, and now more than half of them have flown in to support me. So of course I crash in free practice. The damage is bad enough that I sit out the rest of the session. I would love to blame this on an animal or other driver, but it was all me. I hear their good-natured ribbing the rest of the evening as they tease me.

The second free practice goes smoothly, with me getting a faster lap time than Esteban, which has happened only a handful of times. Hopefully this scenario plays out more often next year, but then I remember that my teammate next year is Nico Hulkenberg, who has been in F1 for ten years. So maybe not. Saturday with the final practice session and qualifying go by before I know it, and only the race tomorrow remains in this year's season.

My large family and I enjoy dinner together before I drive to the airport to pick up Sangil. As I wait for him to appear, I think about how this just might be the last time we publicly do this. When we continue to date, mostly under the radar, he won't get the opportunity to be at my races often. Maybe just a couple or so a year.

I hear cameras going off and look up. Sangil is striding toward me, pulling off a confident, almost arrogant, look. I remember that he told me to walk up to him for a romantic reunion. So I smile coyly and sashay in his direction. He picks me up and twirls me around a couple of times before putting me down and taking my hand. "Let's go," he says as I giggle. That display was a little much compared to our usual greetings.

*****

For the last time in 2019 the five red lights go out and we're racing in Abu Dhabi. I don't make it through the third corner before I have contact and am out of the race. I wish the car had a horn that I could push to let out my frustration.

"Are you okay?" asks my race engineer.

"I'm fine. The car isn't," I reply. I turn everything off and jump out. As the marshals arrive and push my car into the pit lane I walk dejectedly back to the garage, then the hospitality suite. In my room I punch the pillow on my bed.

I don't notice that Sangil is there until he touches my arm. "Do you need anything? How can I help?"

"I just need a few minutes to calm down. Hold this," I instruct him, holding out the pillow. Then I spin backwards and kick it, over and over. Finally feeling composed, I put the pillow back on the bed and lie down.

"Better?" Sangil wants to know.

I sigh deeply. "Yeah. But I probably need to talk to the team soon." 

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