Merry McLaren Christmas | Lando Norris

Home

We danced, talked, and laughed for hours, until finally the room started becoming obviously empty. As the music faded, we decided that we too, were going home. We slowly made our way back through the dining room and the too-bright-for-comfort lobby to the porch. Here, we joined the line that had formed for the valley parking. There were still quite a few people in front of us. The night was chilly and since a coat was a no-go with a dress like this, I was shivering within minutes. "This is going to take forever," Lando sighed, as he placed his jacket over my shoulders. I nodded, yawning. "Too fancy, you'd say?" I teased. He took my hand, "oh definitely." He glanced at me, a mischievous look on his face. "What?" I asked, "oh no, what are you thinking?" He straightened his back, wiggled his bowtie, and pulled my from the line. "You said it yourself, this is too fancy. You're cold. We're both tired. Who says we have to wait in line for our car? We can just get it ourselves." He explained as he led us down the steps, towards the front of the line. There, stood a young man. I recognised him. It was the same man who I had given our keys to when we arrived. Lando waited for him to finish helping a couple whose car had just been driven around, and approached the man. "Sorry, we don't mean to jump the line," he said while also directing his words to the two men next in line, "but we've decided to collect our car ourselves. So, may we please have our keys. Oh, and will you show us in the direction of the parking lot?" The young man looked startled for a few seconds and then recomposed himself. Clearly nervous by the sudden change in routine, he stammered "oh course, Mr. Norris. That would be no problem at all." He reached inside a box on the table next to him and pulled out our car keys. Lando thanked him and listened to the man as he gave us the directions towards the parking lot. We thanked him again and started walking. I locked my arm into Lando's, only slightly leaning into him to relieve some of the pressure off my heels. He tightened his grip around my arm and took more of my weight on him as we walked calmly through the night.

I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up from the car coming to a halt. We were home. Lando had parked the Chevrolet on the small lot behind his apartment. The street was completely silent, and there was no light in any of the houses around the lot. "What time is it?" I whispered, as I fastened the straps of my heels again. "Almost four," Lando responded. I moaned. Four! It had been a while since I had stayed out so long. I got out of the car, catching myself on the roof of another car as I wobbled on my sore feet. "I don't know if I'll make it to the door," I snickered, "my feet hurt so bad." Lando walked ahead, making sure to keep the door open for me so that I could continue straight into the tiny hallway. Here, I plumped down on the stairs that lead to his apartment. I tugged at the straps of my heels, my head so heavy that it took all my strength to keep it from falling. Lando laughed. "Don't worry, I got it." He got down on his knees and worked the clasps. I sighed in relief as my heels came off. "Thank you," I mumbled. I leaned forwards and gave him a kiss. "Let's go to bed," I whispered, "I'm dead." Lando stood up, helping me up as well, "Yeah, me too. I really had fun, though. I was glad you came along." Together, we moved up the stairs in slowmotion. When we finally made it to his bedroom, I had just enough energy left to change into my pyjama's and wipe most of my make-up off my face. We moved around the room like zombies, communicating only through moans and mumbles. I kissed him goodnight and snuggled in next to him. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was off.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my alarm. "Why did we set an alarm?" I grunted. I rolled over to the side of the bed, keeping my eyes closed for as long as I could. When my searching hand found my phone, I peeked through one eye to see the time. 8:30. "Jeez" I moaned. I rolled back to face Lando, hoping that he had slept through the noise. I stretched out my hand to find his body, only to find nothing there. Eyes still closed I patted the sheets, in search for his warmth on the bed. There was nothing. Confused, I opened my eyes, confirming that he was indeed missing from the bed. That's when my eyes fell on a stuffed animal - my stuffed animal. I grabbed the animal and sat up straight,  looking around me in a sleepy haze. Something seemed off. The room looked familiar but felt very distant at the same time. It was my room. I was in my own room, at my parents' house. That's when it dawned on me. As I fell back into my pillow, I let out a sigh in disappointment. It had been a dream. It had all been a dream.