Heard it through the grapevine

Chapter 1

Helena was a lot of things, but patient was not a word that many people throughout her life had used to describe her. At least not when it came to her morning coffee. 

As she was standing in her local coffee shop, Helena was tapping her foot against the tiled floor. The sound, mixed with her intense gaze aimed at the young barista, was evidently making him look increasingly stressed out. Once she realised, she immediately let her foot rest quietly, uncrossing her arms in the process. He didn't look much older than 19 and perhaps she was acting a bit out of order, rushing him like this.

Her impatience was a trait she had inherited from her father, for better or worse. When she was 5, he had taught her the benefits of having ambitions in life and to always strive for the best. "Everyone is given 24 hours a day, it's what you choose to do with them that will make a difference" he would say. It wasn't until she was older that she realised the weight of his words, but they had stuck with her to this day. It meant that she had grown up to become a disciplined and hard-working woman in a predominantly male dominated environment. It had required her to develop thick skin and strong confidence in herself to accompany it. 

Normally, Helena was never late for work. She had woken up on time this morning, even left her apartment on time, but as she did so, she remembered that she'd forgotten to leave room for a coffee run. And there was no way that she would not make time for that, be the outcome as it may. She'd slept horribly last night and if she were to survive a long drive, a cup of coffee was needed.

"One black Americano" the young barista announced loudly, after what Helena judged to have been close to an eternity. Finally.

"Thank you, have a good day". Smiling a little apologetically at the barista, she grabbed the coffee out of his hand, and hurried back outside. The humid August air hit and bright sunlight hit her face immediately the second she was through the door. Helena had always thought that Monaco was one of the most perfect places to spend the summer months; the weather was almost guaranteed to provide you with more than enough vitamin D and sun-bleached hair. To Helena, the high rise buildings, fast cars, money, and how it stood in stark contrast to the ocean breeze, the smell of seaweed, and the weekend produce markets, was what made Monaco the ideal place for her. It housed many high profile businessmen, athletes, and celebrities, but it also had a sense of community amongst its local people who had lives here for many decades.

While Helena knew that she was bound to be slightly biased, having grown up in Monaco, she also knew that Monaco had something that drew people in. The hordes of tourists and visitors during all months of the year would attest to this. At all times of year, but particularly during the summer months, they usually filled the streets with their digital cameras, belt purses, and sun hats.

Helena usually detested having to share the streets with slow-walking groups of tourists who would take up the whole sidewalk, but today she was surprisingly free of them. Walking the streets of Monaco at 6:30am will probably do that to you.

But Helena did not have much time to enjoy her early morning walk or the lack of people blocking her way. She would have to be in Maranello in exactly 5 hours and according to the Google Maps route that she checked last night, the drive was at least 5 hours and 20 minutes without traffic. Juggling coffee, keys, and phone in her hands, she reached her car which she, in a hurry to get inside, managed to spill a drop of coffee on her cream coloured trousers.

"Merde, they were brand new, why can't I have something nice for once" she mumbles to herself, desperately trying to get the coffee stain off her jeans with a napkin before giving up and leaving it a problem for her future self upon arrival in Maranello. As she pulled out of Monaco, onto Rue Grimaldi, the Monaco harbour and the morning sun greeted her and blinded her for only a short moment. Turning on the radio, she presses down the speeder of her car as much as she could get away with.