No Regrets, Only Memories

Turning Point

Maeve

The podium didn't help with knowing that Daniel didn't finish again because of something out of his control. I walked off with another trophy and a smile, but I met Daniel with a smile I knew well. He was happy for me, but sad about his race. I didn't blame him, what happened was far from his fault.

"Hey," I asked him as we walked away that night, ready to go back to the hotel and sleep before our flight to Italy tomorrow," why don't we do a real date night tomorrow? You always tell me how much you love Italy. Why don't you show me your favorite spots?" I inquired quietly as we walked towards the gate ahead of Pyrita, Charlotte, Michael, and Angela.

The sun had long set and we had just finished a very upsetting team meeting. They didn't really address any of the issues with the cars from the week. Despite my many inquiries, the only answer Daniel or I received was that they were 'looking into it.' Which is unacceptable. They were shutting him out. By proxy, they were shutting me out as well. Your drivers put their lives in danger every time they step into the car. This line of working was simply unacceptable to me because of this. If I was torn about staying before, I definitely wanted out now.

Staying meant keeping Daniel around a team that didn't care for or appreciate him. It also meant subjecting myself to the same things Daniel is going through because they no longer wanted me for my work off track. That was something I refused to work towards, my life's work was building and improving these engines. Something I worked at diligently and studied rigorously to ensure that I would be leading the charge towards a new generation of technology. They had no right to shut me out when I had literally created the thing they wanted to hide from me.

Yet, that meant that I didn't have a drive for next year. It didn't seem to bother me before. After sitting in the car this morning, the idea and plans of just how I could leave for both my sake and Daniel's, I realized how much it really excited me. The adrenaline pumping through your veins going 350 kilometers per hour was unmatched. I want more, I need more. McLaren still wanted me more than I thought they would. Zak, the CEO for the team, had gone as far as to ask me to meet him tomorrow night at the hotel to discuss a few things with me. In the interest of keeping it quiet, I had offered to meet him on his floor of the hotel via a text conversation once I was out of the car yesterday. Daniel didn't know that though. He just knew that I was being inquired about by a few teams for engineering and McLaren had already technically offered me a better deal.

"I'd like that a lot. Do you think you can handle some sneaking around? The Italian fans are a bit crazy." I chuckled, looking around the empty paddock.

We were the first out today, simply because they rushed through the race debrief and dismissed the drivers and our teams early. That was another dead give away to the fact that Daniel and I were being pushed out.

"I thought sneaking around was the best part of this?" I asked lowly, a smirk on my face as I looked at Daniel.

Trying to engage him in thoughts outside of our work seemed like the best idea. A date night, a real one instead of being holed up in a hotel room, was perfect. It would be one of the most complicated things to orchestrate, but doing so in the interest of seeing my best friend smile was worth it. Plus, Daniel had spent many more years in the region than I had, coming to Italy as a teenager to start the journey that led him to F1. He surely had some places or recommendations that would make for a great, quiet, and romantic night of just the two of us.

"I do feel a bit like a teenage boy sneaking into his girlfriend's house through the second floor window for the chance to touch a boob for the first time." A loud laugh escapes my lips at the mental image of teen Daniel doing that. He looked like the little nerdy kid then and I loved it.