Fields of Gold; Daniel Ricciardo

Party and goodbye

Once I'm able to peel myself off Daniel I finally take a good look around. Of course I see Michael and Blake, but also every driver on the grid is there. Even the rookies.
On the left I see Bri and Jen with Derek, my old trainer and also my brother and his family together with my dad.

Behind them are my old colleagues from the veterinary clinic and my old boss.
There's Christian and Gerri, Checo and his wife are here as well. And I see Seb and Hanna, Seb winking at me when we make eye contact.
More on the right I suddenly spot Daniels family, his parents and Michelle are here! They made the extremely long journey here for my birthday.
I'm in shock when I see Daisy and Alex behind Daniels parents, but next to them I spot Brad and his wife Kimberly, her and I have been talking a lot over WhatsApp and she is truly an amazing and sweet woman.

I think my jaw is still on the floor when I see my band on the stage instruments ready to start playing.
Jen and Bri come over to me and put their arms around me.
"Happy birthday girl! So what do you think about the surprise?" Jen shrieks in excitement.
"I.. I .. I don't know what to say. I can't believe everybody is here. How? Who, I mean what?" I'm completely lost for words. My brain is malfunctioning, barely taking in what I see in front of me.

"It was Daniels idea. We just helped him get the UK people here." Bri explains. "We know you would never throw a party for your own birthday, so Daniel did it for you."
I turn back at my husband who is glowing, he seems so proud of what he has accomplished. And honestly he should be. He has people here from all over the world, people who we have known for years, but also people we've met over the year and who made an impact in our lives.

"Daniel I can't believe you pulled this off. How on earth did you manage to get everybody here today? I never noticed anything."
He takes my hands in his. They are warm and big and they feel so good holding mine.
"I didn't do it all by myself. Kelly and Charlotte helped out a lot as did Bri and Jen. Let's just say those afternoon naps you've been taking gave me the opportunity to arrange everything."
With teary eyes I press my lips on his, thanking him in the only way that feels right at the moment as words aren't enough.

"Now go talk to your guests. I'll get you something to drink." He places his hand in the curve of my back and pushes me to the guests who are already mingling.
I first head to my family, my brother and Abby hug me before I turn to my dad.
"Happy birthday my dear daughter. You look amazing. I can't believe my new grandchild will be here in a few more weeks."

He smiles looking at my bump.
"Thanks dad. It's great to see you again. How have you been?"
"Not too bad. The divorce is finalized, so I'm a free man. I really should have done this years ago. Have you heard from your mom lately?" He asks me and I remember the encounter in the supermarket, but I don't want to talk about that now.
"No, nothing. I guess it's for the best." He nods and I decide to go on to talk to our other friends.

"Kel! Char! Did you guys help Daniel arrange all this?" I find my two other girlfriends, they look so beautiful and I kinda feel like a beached whale.
Kelly smiles, her face lights up and she looks even more stunning.
"Well we may have done a bit to help him yeah. I mean he was pretty busy winning races, so we couldn't let him do it all himself."
Charlotte grabs my hand and they both lead me to a table that is filled with presents.

"These are for you. We'll make sure they make there way to your place so you can unwrap them tomorrow. It will take you all night if you start now and now it's time to party."
I walk around the table, there are small gifts that look like jewelry boxes, there's one huge box and it's so heavy I can't even pick it up.
"That's a new saddle for Rain." I hear a familiar voice behind me.
"Daisy! Oh my god I can't believe you guys came all this way for my birthday. It's so good to see you. How is the ranch?"