Her || Charles Leclerc

29. Toasting The Champagne

Matilde left the hotel and made her way to the restaurant, where she would meet her team. As she walked through the cosy streets, she caught herself smiling. Her heart was still filled with the euphoria of Ferrari's triumph. She slowly started to realise what just had happened, what her team did this afternoon.

As she approached the restaurant, the amazing aroma of Italian cuisine wafted through the air. Matilde stepped through the door of the restaurant and she was greeted by the familiar faces of her team. Before she even had the chance to greet a few people close to the entrance, they greeted her first.

"Matilde, you're here!"

"There she is!"

"You are late!" Galileo teased.

Matilde rolled her eyes and walked through the restaurant, finding an empty chair. She was surprised to see the entire restaurant filled with people from Ferrari. "My grandparents called, I couldn't just hang up the phone," she explained to Galileo.

"Awh, sweet."

Her eyes glided over all the chairs; most of them were already occupied. Suddenly, one of the mechanics pointed to a free chair, when he noticed that his team principal was looking around. Matilde smiled at him and gave him a thankful nod. She squeezed herself between the tables and people to get to the chair.

"Ah, Matilde, you're here!" Mario happily said. "It's time for a toast!"

She placed her purse on her designated chair and her eyes slightly widened when she heard she had to make a toast. Matilde looked at Mario, smiling the panic away. When she looked around, she noticed that everyone was paying attention to her. It became silent at the restaurant, they were really waiting for her. Then she noticed that everyone already had a glass of champagne in their hand or in front of them on the table and a waiter came over to her and handed her a glass as well.

"Um, hi everyone," she said and awkwardly chuckled. She looked around, having an internal crisis, losing her sense to improvise a speech. Her eyes found Charles' eyes, who sat next to her and next to the designated chair. He smiled proudly at her, giving her encouragement for her speech. "Thank you all for being here. I don't think I have to go into much detail, but this afternoon was one for the books. Even though this isn't the first win of this year, it is a special win. Honestly, who expected a 1-2 in Monza?" She chuckled and shrugged. "Well, I did."

A few chuckles filled the room.

"Anyway, I want to thank each and everyone of you. Without you all, this wouldn't have happened. It's all about taking risks in life. So enjoy this evening, and let's get to the next one," she proudly smiled. Matilde raised her glass and her team followed her. "To celebrate the win," she started and a cheeky smile crept on her face. "Compliments from your team principal." When she said it, she looked around; hoping her team would understand the joke. "Cin cin," she quickly added, in case no one would get it.

Multiple laughter filled the room. "Cin cin."

She was thinking about some situations, what felt awful at that time, but somewhere in the future, it would turn into a funny saying and make people laugh.

Matilde took a sip from the champagne and sat down next to Charles. "Hi," she greeted the people who sat close to her; Galileo sat across from her, Mario next to Galileo, Abele next to Mario and a few other mechanics. Carlos sat two chairs away from Charles. It became clear to her that she sat at the fun table.

"I almost thought you wouldn't show up," Mario mentioned.

Abele playfully smiled. "We saw the champagne and we thought you were partying with Red Bull again."

Galileo almost choked on his champagne. "Abele!" he hissed disapprovingly. "You can't say that."

Silence fell at the table, not knowing if it was the right comment to make.