All of Me (Sebastian Vettel)

4. Confrontation

"I'm just going to check on the girls," Seb said, standing up. He left the room. Sienna and Joel sat in an awkward silence.

"The girls," Sienna said a few minutes later. "They know all about you, Alyssa and Dad. They'll be so happy to meet their Uncle Joel."

Joel nodded. He had two nieces. It was something he'd already known but now it felt different. It had suddenly become real. He was actually going to meet them, and he was terrified.   

"So you work for Aston Martin," Sienna stated. "What is it you do?"

"I'm the number two mechanic on Seb's car," Joel replied.

"And you thought he wouldn't recognise you?"

"I've grown a lot, put on loads of muscle and my hairs darker.  I really thought he wouldn't.  Guess I was wrong."

"Your eyes never changed. He recognised your eyes. He's an observant man."

Deep down Joel had begun to wonder whether he'd actually subconsciously wanted Seb to recognise him.  

"I just can't believe that you're here," Sienna continued.  "I've wished and wished for this over the years.  Well,  for you and Alyssa. I know a lot of time has passed but I'm hoping that we can be close again."

Joel took her hand and squeezed it.

"I hope for that too," he told her.  He also hoped that one day they'd be reunited with Alyssa, and that she could forgive him for turning his back on her.

Sienna decided then that she was going to cancel her lunch with her friends.   Nothing was more important than spending time with her brother.   They had to get to know each other again. She was so happy that he was back in her life but she still felt incomplete.  There was still someone missing.  Where was her baby sister?  Was she ok?  She needed to know. 

She quickly tapped out a message and sent it to the WhatsApp group she was in with Natalia and Sorcha.

The door opened and Seb's head popped around it.

"The girls want ice cream," he told Sienna. "I said if they eat lunch first they can have some. Did either of you want anything?"

"I'll have whatever you're having," Sienna told him. Joel shook his head. He wasn't hungry.   Seb disappeared again. 

"So did you want to meet the girls now?" Sienna asked.

"I would love to," he told her.

"Come on, let's go and join them in the playroom. Be warned though, you'll
probably be roped into playing either My Little Pony or Just Dance. And if you're really unlucky they'll have their sticker craft kit out and they'll stick them all over you!"

Joel chuckled and stood up. He nervously followed his sister out of the lounge and down the hallway to the playroom.

As they reached the door he could hear the excited squeals of his nieces coming from inside.

Sienna pushed the ajar door open and they stepped into the room.

"Hey girls," she said. They stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to look at their mother.

Joel smiled as he got his first glimpse of his nieces. The older one looked just like Sienna, but with darker blonde hair like Seb. The younger one was the image of Seb but with Sienna's lighter blonde hair.

They both jumped to their feet, the younger one smiling and the older one looking down at the carpet as if scared by a stranger's presence.

"Girls, there's someone I want you to meet. Someone who is very important to me," Sienna began. "Do you remember me telling you about your Uncle Joel?"