Boy Racer 2: Tale of a Grand Tour

Chapter 7 - Meeting the Family

Following a brief reunion with Yumiko, Alwyn made his way home to his garage in Ibaraki. As night falls, the Welshman had hung up his jacket and proceeded to make his dinner. Once done with his evening meal, he sat down on the sofa on the second floor of his garage which is pretty much his apartment as mentioned before. He remotely activated his wall-mounted flat screen television with his phone and tuned into the news, coincidentally reaching the sports segment where the Japanese news reporter was discussing the team changes during the start of the Super GT series. The London-based Donington Motorsports team was said to have done better than anyone has ever assumed, the Philippines-based MVP Motorsport team however was said to be almost as perfect as the latter. Nigel Sharpe, Alwyn's crew chief was then on screen as he discusses how it has gone for the team along with the future for them in the series. Once his interview was finished, the news has then moved on to a much different topic. The said topic was regarding the ongoing case of the missing high school girls that were said to be kidnapped, many seemed to have speculated that it the girls were likely being abducted and so on. This was however true as local police officer from Hiroshima has said as he explained that a white minivan was seen suspiciously following a girl with a lacrosse racket months earlier, the Welshman was then becoming curious, thinking that he might have saved Yumiko from getting abducted by foreign thugs, Alwyn nodded to himself and thought of how differently it could have turned out. Soon enough, Alwyn picked his phone to remotely turn off the TV and then walked off to his bed and laid down to have a thought to himself on how well he did in Okayama and eventually fell asleep.

Meanwhile at a warehouse at Yokohama, the two Filipino drivers for MVP Motorsport were sitting together while having a smoke, discussing how their Lexus' were beaten by a decades old Lister Storm at Okayama. The first thing they needed to talk about was tuning, it may be common for teams to do last minute tuning before a race but this is something that they would never expect. Then there's the pair of drivers that were driving those cars to victory, it may seem as if they've learned from motoring legends throughout the decades but that is never exactly true although this has been a case with the rest of the roster. Soon enough, they decided to cross the bridge once they get there. "By the way, Lopez...what about that order from Mister Dela Rosa?" Lopez asked his teammate who was just about to leave for his flat, "It's not easy getting the cutest high schooler out there, not to mention the cost..." Tanedo answered before walking out of the warehouse and climbed into his silver Mercedes AMG GT then drove off to his flat in the outskirts of Tokyo.

Two weeks later (about a week before Fuji), Alwyn drove to Yumiko's residence in Hiroshima in his '73 Skyline, bringing her a pack of strawberry-flavored chocolates which were sitting on the passenger side of the car. Once the Welshman stopped and parked in front of his house, he stepped out with his present in hand and rang the front door. It was a Friday so she has to be around, "Alwyn Maddock! Good afternoon!" A middle-aged gentleman wearing a polo opened the front door and greeted him, "ah good afternoon, sir...is Yumiko around?" Alwyn greeted him in return and asked in curiously. "Oh she's just on her way home from class, would you like to come in? Perhaps you can stay and wait for her to arrive." He asked him, "If...you insist...yes, please." Alwyn nodded and agreed to have a sit down with the gentleman, "I was always wondering when i get to meet the man who not only won that race in Okayama but also saved my daughter from being abducted." He said to the Welshman, revealing to him that he happens to be Yumiko's father who then introduced himself, "Oh i forgot, i'm Bunta Minami...Yumiko's father.". The two then went to have a sit down at the living room, awaiting for Yumiko to arrive home. "So you are the driver of one of the two Lister Storms that will be participating in Fuji next week?" Bunta asked Alwyn, "Well yes...546-horsepower Jaguar V12." He answered. "Jaguar V12...quite an exquisite machine, isn't it?" the father asked him, "Most Jaguars i know nowadays are normally known to have V8's...". "It is kinda rare to find a vehicle with a Jag V12." The Welshman said to Bunta, "At least other than the XJ220." The father nodded and replied. "You seem to know your vehicles well, especially when we're talking about a British engine." Alwyn pointed out to gentlemen in the polo shirt, "I use to run a garage for European imports, Beamers, Benz's, Ferraris, now i run a Jaguar Land Rover dealership just close by. Perhaps i'll interest you in a good deal there some time." Bunta said to the Welshman who then gave a weak smile as he leaned forward and said "I'm interested, i am looking for something that's more my style.". "Well you may give me some time and i'll see what you can afford with your winnings." Bunta smiled back and replied, moments before Yumiko herself opened the front door to see the two in the living room discussing Jaguars. "Otou-san! Alwyn-san!" She greeted the two men and gave a short bow, "Ah, okaerinasai!" both of them greeted her politely, albeit not in unison. Alwyn eventually approached Yumiko as her father then goes back to his work in his home office, "i thought i'd pop around and see how you're doing." The Welshman said to the girl who was still holding on to her lacrosse stick. "Well i have been doing fine, i see that it is the same for you?" Yumiko asked him, "Well...yes" Alwyn said as he held the package that he was supposed to give her. "Oh...you're quite a thoughtful one, Alwyn." Yumiko said as she took the pack of chocolates from his hands, "I bought it on the way here, i thought you'd like them." He explained to her. "I love them, Alwyn. Thank you." She responded to him in a grateful tone, "Oh uh...you're welcome." He replied as he raised his arm and scratched the back of his head. Once evening had fallen, Yumiko and her family went to invite the Welshman back in for dinner and just so they get to know more about each other, he thankfully agreed to have an evening meal with the family.