lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

10.

January 2013

"Pia?" Anthonie's voice brought Pia back to reality. She was looking around her with enthusiasm because since she was in Milton Keynes last time, a lot of things changed there.

"Yeah?" She sounded unbothered. Anthonie wasn't sure if she was really paying attention to him because she seemed too interested in trophies in the showcase.

"Do you have a feeling that Sebastian was over at our place more often than normal?" He asked her calmly even though he wasn't calm at all. In the beginning, he thought that Seb felt alone from time to time, so he visited Gianna and Pia, but now he was a bit suspicious. It seemed like Seb was in Italy more and more often.

"Well, I don't know. He stops by when he has time." She answered plainly. She didn't know what her father considered normal and what didn't. Also, she didn't want to make him feel bad since Seb was at their place more than he.

"What does that mean?" He began to grow impatient with his daughter.

"That this summer, he was there more often than you," Pia said bitterly. She didn't want to be like that, but her father didn't give her much of a choice.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, Pia, but you know I'm busy." A sweet smile played on his face. He realised that if his suspicions were correct, he would have to have Pia on his side in the future. She could be essential for everything.

"I know, dad. I guess that you will be even busier when you signed Max." It was something that Pia wanted to ask her dad about for a long time but didn't have a chance before.

"Yeah, I probably will, but that doesn't mean I won't find time for my little girl," he winked at his daughter. It was some time since he called her like that last time. "We should go together to Disneyland in Paris. You always wanted to go there, right?" he asked her hesitantly. He wasn't sure about it since he didn't know his daughter at all.

"Well, yeah, but Seb took me there last summer," Pia muttered because she was perfectly aware that he would get angry. He always did.

"Oh, really? Where else did he take you?" He formed a sweet smile on his face, but Pia knew it was a fake one. He was just pretending to be okay with it.

"I don't want you to be upset. Seb just took me there because he knows how busy you're. You're in the meetings all the time, and he just wanted to make me happy."

"I try to make you happy as well, Pia. I'm working that much because I want you and mum to have an easier and better life."

"Have you ever considered that maybe we would have a better life with you in it?" Pia didn't even know from where this anger came. Maybe it was because of the fact he forgot her birthday. She was waiting around, still halfway hopeful that he'd show. He said he'd call, of course, he didn't. She should've known. Or maybe it was the fact that he promised her that he'd be home more often. Or maybe, it was some other promise that he broke.

"I'm trying my best," he defended himself.

"Do you really? It doesn't seem like it." Pia said arrogantly. She was irritated.

What an ungrateful spoiled brat. She's just like her mother. Anthonie thought, but he knew he had to keep it cool and pretend to be the best father in the world.

"I do. You know what? You and me, next weekend. We can go anywhere you would like. How does that sound?" He made another suggestion, hoping his daughter would agree with this one.

"Great, but can mum join us?" Pia asked. She wanted to have her family together for once.

"Oh, hun. I would love that too, but your mum is too busy with her work. That's why she isn't here in the first place." Anthonie said sadly. Obviously, it wasn't true, but why not picture Gianna as the bad parent for once? She was always the perfect one in Pia's eyes, so why not ruin it a bit?

It always seemed to be her father who never had time, but maybe it was her mother as well, Pia thought. Maybe her dad was really trying to be with them more often. It was true that Gianna was going on business trips more often than she used to a few years back. Maybe both of her parents were guilty evenly.

"That's a pity, but yeah, let's enjoy it together," Pia said. He had done many things in the past that upset her, but after all, everyone should have a second chance. Pia wanted to allow him to be her father again. She wanted to give him an opportunity to have a family again.

"Awesome," he said while looking somewhere behind her. Pia had to turn around to see what caught his attention. She saw two tall men formally dressed, and next to them was walking Daniel. Thanks to his smile, you could adore his bright white teeth. He didn't really fit there. He was too happy for this business world.

"Would you mind staying here with Daniel?" Anthonie asked Pia when all three men reached them. It wasn't really a question because he'd leave her with him even though she'd say she would mind it.

"Oh, no, not in the slightest," she smiled at her dad. She wanted to chat with Daniel for some time now, but they didn't know each other that much, so she thought it would be awkward just to come up to him. Now, her father gave her a perfect opportunity to ask Daniel about Jules.

"So, you're replacing Whinging girl next year?" Pia asked him with a smile on her lips. He seemed like a much better companion to Seb than Mark, and Pia already liked Daniel just because of Jules. She was sure that he wouldn't date anyone annoying.

"Who is Whinging girl?" The confusion in his voice was hearable. He was in F1 for a season and a half, so he wasn't fully introduced to the gossip yet. When Pia listened carefully during the race weekend, she sometimes found him laughing at jokes he couldn't possibly understand.

"Oh, you don't know. It's a nickname for Mark. He's whinging all the time." She laughed out, explaining the nickname to him.

"Well, I don't know. There's still plenty of negotiations about that." He said calmly. He wasn't sure about his future, but Pia was.

"Don't be stupid, Daniel. You wouldn't be here with my father unless you sign soon with Red Bull." Daniel was surprised by Pia's behaviour. He expected that their conversation would be about her favourite superhero or about something like that, but he was terribly wrong. Pia was just like her father, straight to the point without hesitation. She was so young, but she already knew how that world worked, and it was almost sure that Pia would continue in Anthonie's steps. She knew already so much. Sometimes she even knew more than her father.

"Also, how are things with Jules?" She asked out of the blue when Daniel didn't respond because he was still shocked by the fact how much that little girl in front of him knew.

"What? What do you mean?" He was bewildered.

"I asked how are things with your boyfriend, Jules?" she calmly repeated her question with emphasis on the word boyfriend.

"How do you know it?" he asked when he recognised that there was no use in denying it. "Please don't tell your father about it," Australian begged the girl in front of him. She was sure that both of them deserved more than just those clandestine meetings, but she also knew how things in F1 worked. It was so much better not to talk about it for the sake of both of them.

"I wouldn't even think about it. I know how things are in the paddock," Pia whispered. "Look, I care about Jules a lot, so your secret is safe with me. I want him to be happy." It wasn't her intention to scare him with the fact that she knew about it. She just wanted to apprise him that she would be there for him if needed.

"I care about Jules as well... A lot. He's special. I like the way he makes me feel even when he's nowhere near." When he talked, his delectation for Jules was clearly visible. Pia was delighted by that fact. His lips bore a broad smile every time he recalled any memory with him. It was visible that he was truly madly and deeply in love with his Frenchman.