All the couples that Alaia Repond has gotten together have stayed happily together, and at this point, she really should consider matchmaking as a profession. So when her close friend Ollie asks her to set up a friend of his, she's more than happy t...
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Franco's headed up to Grove today, which leaves Alaia free for most of the day.
She's meeting her dad and his new girlfriend tonight, and Alaia finds herself nervous. Franco's staying late at the Williams headquarters, so he won't be able to go — but he sends her a few texts of reassurance before she drives up to Essex, and Alaia smiles reading the messages.
It's weird. The fact that she could have a stepmother soon makes her feel all kinds of conflicting emotions — the fact that she might finally have a mother figure that won't disappoint her the way her own mother did makes her feel somewhat relieved, but at the same time, things are changing so quickly. She'll need to get used to it.
The drive up to Essex allows her to sit with her thoughts as music blares from her car. One hand's on the steering wheel as her other hand rests on her own knee, fingers tapping in rhythm with the beat of the song.
She pulls up into the driveway of her childhood home, and she looks to her right and sees the Bearmans' home. She should really go say hi to Ollie's parents and brother in a bit — she hasn't seen them in a while either.
She parks the car, stepping out of the vehicle as she takes a deep breath before walking up the stairs and knocking on the door.
Her dad opens the door not long after, and he wraps her in a hug. "There's my girl!" he says, smiling. "How was the drive up?"
"It was relaxing. Quite nice, traffic wasn't too bad. But you know how London is." she says, stepping into the house. She smiles, taking it all in. She'd moved out a couple years ago, but she's always missed it here.
"Not too tired?" her dad asks, and she shakes her head. "Nope. What'd you make for dinner?"
"I'm not making dinner, actually. Elena is," he replies, and Alaia nods. Elena was her name, she thinks. She doesn't know why she's suddenly feeling nervous. "I'm nervous." she confesses.
"Me too," her dad replies. "I worry that... you won't like her, and you think that things will change."
Her dad always knows what she's thinking.
"I am, Dad. It's just... it's always been you and me ever since she left. And I... I don't know. This is a big change. I feel like my life is full of big changes lately."
Alaia's dad sighs. "Come, let's talk about this in the living room."
She follows her dad towards the living room couch, sitting down beside him. "I know how you feel. Sometimes I still think about it, but that was years ago, you know?" he says, and Alaia nods.
"Time doesn't wait for you, Alaia. I don't want you to spend your time playing catch-up because you're too scared to do something."
"Sometimes change is a good thing." he tells her.
Alaia then thinks of Franco. Her life has been full of good things ever since he walked in it. "Yeah. I think it is."
"Now, what big changes have happened with you?" he asks.
She contemplates on whether or not she should tell him. This is going to be a big deal to her dad. Alaia's sure that he's going to be shocked, and will want nothing more than to meet Franco now.
"I... I'm seeing someone, now."
Her dad looks at her, surprise evident in his eyes. But that surprise turns into joy, and he hugs her tightly. "Who? Who is it?" he says, excitedly.
"His name is Franco," she tells him. She smiles when she says his name, and her dad immediately knows that she's smitten. "He wanted to come, but he's busy today. I met him through Ollie."
"A racing driver?" he asks her, and Alaia nods.
"Yeah. He's in F1 now." she grins, and her dad nods approvingly. "Well, now you're going to meet Elena, so I think it's only fair that I meet Franco, no?" he asks her.
"We can do that soon," she replies. "It's kind of recent, though."
"I still need to meet him. Does he treat you well?" her dad asks, and Alaia nods, chuckling.
"Look at you being all protective. Yes, he treats me well. Very well." she says, and her dad smiles.
"Good. Then I approve!"
Alaia laughs. "That's good. It was kind of... unexpected, I would say. I didn't really expect to start liking anyone at all, after... you know."
Her dad knows what she's getting at.
"Well, I didn't expect it to happen for me, either," he says, and his lips twist into a frown as he thinks of the bitter memories. "But you can't expect everyone you come across to do the same thing to you, right?"
Alaia nods. "Right."
She suddenly sees a woman peek her head out of the corridor, and she's kindly smiling at Alaia. She must be Elena, she thinks.
"Hi," Alaia says to the woman. She turns to look at her dad, and he's got a look on her face that Alaia hasn't seen in years.
