Book 2: Beginning Again -Carlos Sainz

Chapter 57/Epilogue 2

5 more years later

I know I'm missing something. I rack my brain, search my phone, search the kitchen, and even stop in my tracks trying to think about what it is.

"What are you doing?" Gavin says as he walks into the kitchen. He was aging well, attributing it to continuing to follow both F1 and his son-in-law around the world. He claims that it's a mixture of staying physically active and the adrenaline rush from the sport.

"I'm forgetting something," I said, eyes still shut.

"You've pretty much covered the basics here, food, bounce house, alcohol for the parents..."

"Shhh, dad, you're breaking my focus," I said, waving him off. I walked around the kitchen, going through list after list I had made for this. Footsteps sounded walking into the kitchen again,

"Dad, I don't have time, I need to-"

"I love it when you call me dad," Carlos said with a chuckle.

My eyes flew open as I turned around to face my husband.

"Hi dad," I repeated with a smile. "I'm forgetting something but I can't remember what it was."

"I don't think you're forgetting anything, I mean the kids are having a great time," Carlos said as he looked out to the large backyard that was filled with enough bounce houses and obstacle courses to look like a kid's dream.

"They are? Oh good," I mumbled to myself.

"You did a great job, better than I would've done," Carlos said as he walked over towards me.

"I just feel bad, you know," I said quietly.

The guilt over being a working mom was not something I would wish on my worst enemy. Fact is that I love my job and it is part of my family legacy. With Carlos retiring after the birth of our third, he was around all the time. Even Gavin bought a home nearby to be close to his grandkids.

"You are the most amazing mother. And wife," he added. "And I think... you're forgetting the cake."

"Yes!" I exclaimed as I turned to face him. "You're brilliant. Have I told you that I love you?" I said as I ran to the freezer for the cake.

"Sometimes, but not lately," he said with a teasing smile.

It was the same smile that our Carlos had, although we called him a plethora of nicknames to keep the confusion down. He was practically a carbon copy of my husband, and acted just like him too. It was our first daughter, though, who had his passion for racing. At the age of just 6, she was dominating at the karting tracks of her own merit. She knew she had a dad willing to break through the gender barriers tooth and nail for her. Our third, well, she was just starting to show a personality that reminded me too much of how stubborn I was as a child.

"Well," I said as I deposited the cake safely on the counter and walked over towards him. "I love you very much. Even more seeing you as a dad. You're the only person I would want to spend my life with, and fight with, and make up with. You will be getting a special treat tonight for that," I said as I pulled him in for a quick kiss. These days, we were lucky if we got a moment alone for a quick kiss, so I savored all of it. He aged well, somehow getting even hotter with each passing year. The grays started peeking through his hair and beard, but he never lost the fluffy, soft hair. He started to get some wrinkles and sun spots, like me, but it just made him look seasoned and wise. His eyes, though, never changed. I still thought of chocolate when I really looked at them, and felt like I was melting. And he still looked at me the same way, like he did the very first time we met. A look so intense I still fought the urge to look away.

"I can't wait for that. Love you," he said as he looked deeply into my eyes. The eyes that captivated me from the first second.

All of our kids got his eyes.

AN

Ah! End of book 2! If you've made it this far, congrats to you and thank you for reading. Many apologies for taking so long to finish posting this book, having a real job is a huge bummer towards my writing time. I hope you guys enjoyed the narration change for the end of the book; by the end I really felt like Marie was personal to me and that I could write from her point of view. Book 3 is actually in the works, but it's definitely taking me a bit longer than normal because it's got some personal aspects that I wanted to get just right. I'm trying a few new narration things as well to liven it up. Thank you for reading and engaging, it means so much to me to know that people have enjoyed something that came from my brain, and something that actually started as a joke. Crazy. Wild. Follow for updates on book 3, I guess?