That's Racing Baby | Lando Norris

Bonus Chapter One

I'm so sorry I forgot to post this but here it is now happy Easter you may need some tissues :)

There were flowers. Bright flowers. Neatly arranged in a bouquet with a string at the bottom holding it all together. They were alive. Someone had brought them here recently. Not Emilia. She hadn't been here.

It was Fred's grave. Despite Fred being cremated and his ashes sprinkled on their local karting track where the two of them had spent hours together, Emilia wanted to get him a grave next to his wife, Emilia's Grandma. Even though all of this had been months ago, Emilia hadn't had the courage to come back. After Abu Dhabi, Emilia thought it was time to visit her grandparents, especially on Fred's birthday.

There was a light coating of snow on the ground that added a crunch to every step she took. All the graves were iced with a layer of snow as well. It was cold enough for Emilia to see her breathe but not unbearably cold.

Emilia knelt down to look at the flowers. There were three bouquets. She picked one up to look for a tag or a name to give away who had left it. The first one had no tag on it so Emilia decided to pick up another. This one had a label saying 'from the sign language club.' Emilia felt very emotionally unstable. Despite Fred's passing, the sign language club remembered him and his birthday. She was so touched by this. Fred really did have a lasting impact on just her life but so many others.

Emilia picked up the final bouquet. There was also a label on this one that said 'Happy Birthday Grandad.' Fred only had one other grandchild and that was Josh. Emilia found it hard to believe that he had come all that way when he tended to agree with his parents' opinions of Fred. Maybe Josh had changed. Emilia found herself wishing that she had bumped into him, to see how he was doing.

Adding the flowers she had bought, Emilia felt the urge to say something. The same way she felt at Spa.

"Happy Birthday Grandad." Emilia felt weird talking to two blocks of stone. "I really miss you both. I'm glad you're together though. I'm sorry I haven't been here. I haven't felt strong enough to come here and that's bad on my part. It's been a pretty hectic couple of months though. Williams finished P3 and I got the Mercedes seat. It's still insane to say that now, I didn't think that was going to happen. It was an amazing day but it would have been so much better if you both were there." Emilia put her hands in her pockets. "I seen that Josh has been. I hope he's been a couple of times which makes up for my absence. I'm still your favourite right? Yeah good, I should be.

"Lando and I are doing great. We had a small break but we're back on track and you were so right about him Grandad. And Grandma, you would love him." Emilia sighed thinking of Lando meeting her grandparents, being invited to a Sunday roast or just a walk in the park with them. "Thank you for the letter Grandad. I'm not mad, though you should have told me. I understand why you didn't but you didn't have to struggle all by yourself. I could have helped. It upsets me to know that you fought this battle alone." Emilia wiped a tear from her cheek. "I really hope I'm making you proud, on and off the track. I'm moving to Monaco with Lando, we've bought an apartment there but I will still come and visit you when I come to work here. I'll come and put some flowers on your graves and clean it up a bit as you both aren't looking your best but I like to think you're happy up there. I'm happy here. I think I've found the love that you have. One that will last a lifetime. I love making him smile, his smile just makes my day. He's so kind and thoughtful and I could honestly marry him now. It'll be tough next year especially if I'm fighting for a World Championships but we're going to make it work. It's like what you said Grandad, if no one's done it before, why not be the first? I'm going to be the first female World Champion and Lan and I will be the first drivers to date each other and make it work." Emilia promised. "I miss you and I love you both."

Emilia wiped her eyes and stood up looking at her grandparent's graves. Talking to them made her feel a lot better. She hoped they were listening. Emilia hoped they were okay and that she had made them proud. 

"You must be his granddaughter." A voice from behind Emilia said. Emilia turned around not expecting anyone to be there. "You look just like him. Do you remember me?"

"Bertie of course I do." Emilia embraced the man. He was one of Fred's oldest friends. 

"You look great. How have you been?" Bertie asked. 

"It's tough without him." Emilia replied.

"I know it is. Everyone misses him." 

"There are a lot of flowers here." Emilia stated. 

"Your Grandfather was well loved."

"Some of the time I just feel so bad that I wasn't around him enough especially when he was ill." Emilia admitted putting her hands in her pockets.

"You race in Formula 1 don't you?" Bertie asked and Emilia nodded. "He wouldn't have wanted you to be around, no offence. You need to be out there on that racing track and Fred wanted you to be happy and doing a job you love. You spent every minute you could with him. You did more than enough for him and he love you for it."

"Thanks Bertie." Emilia smiled. "He's happy now." Emilia wasn't angry anymore that Fred had left her instead she was grateful for the time she got to spend with him. 

"Yes." Bertie nodded looking up to the sky. 

"But he's never left us he's still with us." Emilia responded. 

"He'll always be with us." Bertie agreed. 

Emilia knew he was watching over her. He'd be proud of her. Fred would be beaming, the type of smile that made his eyes wrinkle in the corners. But Emilia didn't need him anymore, not in the same way she used to. She was a grownup who paid her own bills, cooked her own food and lived in her own house but Fred gave her a love she'd never experienced at home and that's what she missed from him. Emilia missed all of him, of course she did. She missed his laugh, missed his smell, she missed the little dance he did when he beat her in Monopoly after hours of playing. But those were all good memories. Something Emilia could look back on and smile. Fred was no longer here but he wasn't just something of her past, he would always be with her. So when Emilia would think about her Grandad, she wouldn't be looking behind her, she'd be looking right next to her or above her because he was always there even if Emilia didn't think he was. 

I hope this wasn't too traumatic but I wanted to give Emilia some closure with Fred. Let me know if you want any other bonus chapters! I wrote this just because I was stuck planning the sequel but it's all good now no need to panic. I'm up to chapter 50 in my detailed plan which is good so it'll be out July time I hope after my exams. I do want to give you a little hint or just an inkling about it so the main plot line was inspired by a Christmas film I have seen which sounds odd but you'll see. I still haven't worked out how to include Fred in the sequel which is just very sad and very annoying because he has to be in it somewhere. If anyone has any ideas on how I can resurrect him and make it believable let me know because I will be doing everything I can to make him involved in the sequel but it might just be some flashbacks. Enjoy Easter if you're celebrating or just enjoy the rest of your week if not :)