Annabelle
The end-of-year celebration took place on a roof terrace, from which one had an unbelievable view over the city. The elevator doors opened and George held out his arm so I could link my arm. Together we stepped outside through the interior, where we were immediately greeted by Toto and his friends.
Susie and I immediately struck up a conversation while Toto and George joined some other men in suits. After a few minutes, a little boy suddenly ran to Susie and snuggled up to her side. He looked really cute in those nice pants and shirt and I leaned down to him after asking the woman in front of me which language he would prefer.
(conversation in German)
"Hello, I'm Annabelle and who are you?"
"Jack," he answered uncertainly, hiding behind his mother.
Susie smiled at me and stepped aside so Jack couldn't hide behind her. He shyly grabbed my hand, which I held out to him and then shook. At that moment, Toto called his wife, who looked frantically at him. Her eyes fell on Jack, who wasn't so shy anymore and she looked at me. Of course, I immediately complied with her request to keep an eye on Jack while she went to Toto and the other men. The boy immediately grabbed my hand and together we walked over to the tables that had some dishes on them.
"Are you hungry?" I asked Jack, smiling at him.
"Yes, really hungry."
He pointed to his stomach and I had to laugh. Since the tables were quite high, I grabbed the boy and lifted him up. I held Jack by my side with one hand and picked up an empty plate with the other. Jack excitedly pointed to the items he wanted. I laboriously placed the plate next to the food and then put the desired delicacies on top.
"Do you need my help?"
George's soft voice on the back of my neck made me wince. I smiled at him in thanks as he took the plate and waited for further instructions. Jack, however, was suddenly more interested in me and George than the food. He looked back and forth between us, grinning, and then pointed at George.
"Ist das dein Freund?" (Is that your friend?)
I laughed at the question while George just looked at me in confusion because he didn't understand our German words.
"Ja, der George ist mein Freund, ich hab ihn ganz doll lieb." (Yes, George is my boyfriend. I like him very much.)
Jack looked at us enthusiastically and George just pointed impatiently at the food, which the boy then turned back to. After choosing almost everything, George brought the plate to one of the free tables and we sat down, I next to Jack and across from George, who smiled lovingly at me.
While Jack was enjoying the view, fascinated, and George was pointing out something in the distance, I cut up the food so Jack could eat it more easily. Having done so, I waited for Jack to finish and turn to the meal, meanwhile letting my eyes wander around the terrace. Most of the people stood in small groups and talked animatedly, there was no sign of Hamilton.
Suddenly I noticed Toto and Susie, who just looked over at us and had to grin. They exchanged a meaningful look before turning back to the people in front of them. Jack had had enough of the view by now and turned to his plate of food. George and I exchanged an intimate look before turning back to the boy.
"Schmeckts?" (Does it taste good?)
With his mouth full, Jack nodded and beamed at me. George reached out and took a small piece of the food, causing Jack to look up in disgust.
"Das ist mein Essen." (This is my food.)
George looked at him confused and raised an eyebrow before his eyes fell on me, but I could only smile. Jack tapped my arm and I immediately looked back at him.
"Versteht er mich nicht?" (Doesn't he understand me?)
"Nein, George versteht nur die Sprache der Aliens." (No, George only understands the language of the aliens.)
I had to bite back a grin as Jack's eyes widened and he put his fork down on the plate.
"Wie sprechen Aliens?" he asked me curiously and I just winked at him before grimacing at George, who still didn't understand what was happening. (How do aliens talk?)
Jack immediately imitated me and started making the funniest faces and grimaces. Meanwhile, George just sat there stunned and no longer understood the world. The boy was totally smitten and didn't stop making funny faces at George. Overwhelmed, the Mercedes driver looked at me, but I just gave him a smile and innocently shrugged my shoulders. George shook his head laughing before making a face as well, which made Jack laugh.
Satisfied, the boy went back to his plate and cleaned up the last leftovers. I was amazed how he could eat so much so quickly and George quickly returned the plate while we stood and pushed back the chairs. Since I saw how the men next to Toto and Susie were just leaving to get another drink, we headed in their direction.
Jack, who walked between us, quickly took our hands and so we formed a small human chain. At that moment, the Wolff couple turned around and had to smile at the sight of us.
"Looks like you had fun." Toto said and knelt down to his son.
Susie thanked us for looking after us and gave us a meaningful wink. Toto picked Jack up and I immediately felt George's arm around my waist. The boy grinned at us and then laughed before turning to his father.
"George spricht die Sprache der Aliens." (George speaks the language of the aliens.)
"Oh wirklich, wie geht die denn?" (Oh yeah, how's that going?)
Susie and I had to smile when Jack made wild faces again and looked at George, who still didn't understand anything.
"Yeah nice, that my driver also speaks the alien language, I didn't know." Toto said with a laugh to George, who slowly understood what it was about.
The Mercedes boss let his son down again, who then disappeared with Susie in the direction of the parapet of the terrace.
"Danke fürs Aufpassen, sah wirklich professionell aus da drüben, wie eine kleine Familie.", he said with a grin and pointed towards the table, "Also ein Kind würde euch definitiv stehen." (Thanks for watching, looked really professional over there, like a little family. - So a child will definitely suit you.)
Before I could reply, he excused himself and turned to another man. I wanted to go back to the buffet, but George twisted me in his arms so that I was facing him. His look was question enough and I had to grin before answering.
"He just thanked us for looking after Jack and said we looked like a small family and that a child would suit us."
Instead of the expected surprise, George's eyes lit up and he also put his second arm around me. He slowly leaned towards me.
"You were wonderful with the kid. I am sure that one day you will be a perfect mother."
His words surprised me and I looked deeply into his eyes.
"You weren't that bad yourself, even if you didn't understand anything."
I looked at him laughing and he just shook his head with a grin.
"I'm learning and understanding more and more, but it takes time. Ich mag dich."
I laughed when I heard George's second sentence and replied, "Ich mag dich auch, hab dich lieb."
The Englishman tried to absorb and understand my words, but I couldn't wait that long and joined our lips. However, almost all conversations fell silent at that moment and we broke up again. Hamilton appeared at the entrance and after a quick hello from him, the conversation continued. His gaze flew over the whole terrace, but got stuck on us and I immediately got an uncomfortable feeling.
However, George and I agreed not to say a bad word about the whole thing today, after all it was the end of the season. Luckily Hamilton went in a different direction and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Some time and conversations later I was sitting next to Susie with Jack on my lap and we looked at the small open space in the middle of the terrace. The boy ran over to me as soon as we were all seated and I was only too happy to offer him a sit on my lap. George was standing up front with Hamilton and Toto, who was holding a mic and was just thanking the whole team and everyone involved. He then passed the microphone to George.
"Yes, what should I say. We had a great season after a not so good start but the second half was really positive except for one race and we managed to make the right decisions. I would like to thank the entire team and everyone involved , without you I would not have finished second this year. Cheers to that and to our second place in Constructors, let's have a wonderful night."
Everyone raised their glasses and toasted before Hamilton spoke. However, I wasn't really listening to his speech as Jack started playing with the skirt of my dress and I turned to face him.
(conversation in German)
"I have to go to the toilet.", the boy suddenly said and I looked around searchingly.
At that moment, Hamilton had finished speaking and everyone stood up to toast. I quickly told Susie and then walked Jack toward the interior door. The boy had grabbed my hand again and together we looked for the toilets, which we found next to the elevators after a little search. After making sure he could walk on his own, I let go of his hand and waited outside the door.
After a few minutes he came out again with his shirt hanging halfway out of his pants. Smiling, I squatted down next to him and straightened his clothes. He thanked me and then stretched his arms up towards me. I immediately understood what he wanted and took him back in my arms. Together we stepped out onto the terrace again and I looked around searchingly.
Jack's parents were nowhere to be seen, so I quickly walked over to George, who was talking to the media team I ate with yesterday. They gave me friendly smiles as I approached them and greeted Jack. George immediately stepped closer to me and placed his hand on my lower back. The conversation came to an end and the three left us. Suddenly Hamilton stood in front of us and put on a cheeky grin.
"Hi Jack."
He shook the boy's hand, who just looked back shyly and snuggled up to me tiredly. I felt George tense up and I quickly gave him a reassuring look. Jack wearily closed his eyes and rested his head on my shoulder.
"First George and now Toto's son, what's next? Are you the new team boss next season?"
I looked at Hamilton in horror, not knowing what to say, but luckily I had George next to me.
"She's my girlfriend accept it. And please leave us alone."
Shaking his head, Hamilton walked away and I smiled gratefully at George. I then said he was welcome to go back to any people, as I wanted to take Jack to one of the small sofas that stood at the edge of the patio. The wind suddenly picked up and blew across the patio, causing George to look at me and the boy with concern.
Without asking, he took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. He quickly gave me another kiss on the forehead and stroked Jack's hair before he disappeared again between the other people. I moved a little away from the soft music and the people talking and took a seat on one of the small benches.
I carefully placed Jack on the padded seat and his head on my lap before taking the jacket and laying it over him as a blanket. I lovingly stroked individual strands of hair from the boy's face while he slept peacefully. I sighed and let my eyes wander over the Abu Dhabi skyline at night.
How did I end up here, on the roof of a skyscraper at the Mercedes closing ceremony together with my friend, who became vice world champion today. My eyes fell happily on George, who was standing some distance away with Toto and some other men. At the moment I was just happy and nobody could take that happiness away from me, not even a Hamilton.