Seb parked his father's car as they had arrived at his family's house. He glanced at Gia who seemed to be daydreaming again. "Gia?"
She woke up from her reverie. "Eh, have we arrived?"
"Yes, we have." Seb kept staring at her. "What's wrong, Gia? Seems like you are thinking about something."
"Ah no, Seb, nothing you should worry about."
Seb didn't entirely believe her. "Are you ready to meet my parents?"
Gia nodded surely. "I am."
They both unbuckled their seatbelts and went out of the car. Seb approached towards Gia before they walked together to the house. He pressed the doorbell and they heard someone's footsteps before the door was unlocked. Heike was the person who opened it for them.
"Georgia."
"Mrs. Vettel."
Heike opened her arms as she was ready to hug Gia. "Come here, Gia."
Gia glanced at Seb first before she walked closer to Heike. And they finally hugged. She stroked her back as she was sobbing in her hug. She also couldn't hold her tears. After a few moments, Gia pulled away. Heike helped to erase the tears on her face. "Please come in."
Gia and Seb were following Heike to come to the guest room. Norbert who was sitting on the couch there stood up. "Georgia."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Vettel." Gia gave a quick hug to Norbert before all of them sat down on the couch.
"Gia, thank you so much for coming here," Heike said, starting the conversation. "You know that there's something that we want to talk about to you."
"With pleasure, Mrs. Vettel. I'm very happy that I can come here again. The last time I came to this house was around three years ago."
"Yeah, when you told us that you'd move to Austria, right?"
Gia nodded. "Yes, that's right."
A moment of silence happened before Norbert broke it. "Georgia, on behalf of my family, I want to apologize as we kept everything secret about Sebastian to you and your family for around 12 years. It isn't entirely his fault, but this is ours as well."
"I guess that Sebastian has told his reason why he left you without any news afterwards. Norbert is right, this is also our fault as we had let this happen," Heike added.
Then, Norbert asked, "Will you forgive us, Gia?"
Gia glanced at Seb for a moment. He gave her a smile before she was finally ready to answer. "Yes, of course I will. And as you said, Seb has told me everything and I fully understand that. I'm also sorry because, maybe, I acted differently to you all because I was really disappointed all this time."
Heike nodded. "It's fine, Gia. We know that how upset you were because we didn't want to give you his phone number and we also didn't tell you every time Seb came here."
"Thank you Gia for forgiving us. To be honest, we want to meet your mother and brother as well, because we think that we have to apologize to them as well."
Gia smiled. "It's okay, Mr. Vettel. I believe that they've forgiven you too. They also really want to meet you as soon as possible."
Seb felt so relieved as Gia had forgiven him and his family. He believed that the relationship between his family and hers would be better. Then, he realized that his brother wasn't there with them.
"Where's Fabian?"
"Fabian goes to his friend's house. But he said that he won't be long," Norbert replied.
"I miss him so much," Gia said. She had considered him as her own little brother.
"I will phone him."
Seb was about to take his phone before Gia prevented him. "No, you don't have to, Seb. It's okay, I can wait."
Seb nodded. "Okay."
Then, Heike asked Gia, "Hmm Gia, Seb told me that you have a bookstore now in Vienna. How is it?"
"Yes, you're right. I've built a bookstore with a friend of mine in 2016. I'm very happy that I can realize my dream with her," Gia explained. "Our bookstore is growing and thankfully, we have a lot more employees now. During this season, it is usually very crowded."
Some minutes after, they heard a car park in front of the house. It was none other than Fabian. So, Heike asked for permission to open the door. While, Norbert was still asking some things to Gia, such as Gilbert's family and also the atmosphere in Vienna which she loved so much.
A minute after, Heike was back to the guest room. Gia's smile was wider when she saw Fabian following his mother. "Gia!"
Gia immediately stood up and hugged him. "Fabian, how are you?"
"I'm fine. What about you?"
"I'm good, thanks."
Seb and his parents were smiling as they saw the interaction between Gia and Fabian. It made them clear that she had welcomed them back to her life.
"I want to apologize to you, Gia."
"It's okay, Fabian. I've forgiven you all. I've talked to your parents and everything is clear now."
"Thank you so much, Gia. You are such a big-hearted woman. I'm so grateful to know you."
Gia gave him a smile. Then, she took her seat back next to Seb, while Fabian sat beside his father. He was ready to shower her with questions. "Gia, how are Mrs. Hassler, Gilbert, and his family?"
"They all are fine. I hope that we can gather someday. But, Gilbert is always busy, just like you, Seb," Gia chuckled while patting his thigh.
Seb also laughed a little. "You're right, Gia. Maybe I should talk to Gilbert until we found the perfect time for us to gather."
"That's a good idea, Seb," Norbert agreed with his son's suggestion.
Gia also agreed with that. "If you say so, I think that I should ask Gilbert to look at the F1 calendar, then he starts discussing it with you, Seb."
Then, Heike looked at the clock and realized that it was time to go to the kitchen. "Gia, can you please help me to prepare the lunch?"
Gia smiled. "Ah, sure."
Heike embraced Gia when she had approached her and brought her to the kitchen. While, Seb, Fabian, and their father were still having some chats at the guest room.
Then, Gia looked at Heike who was opening the fridge and taking the ingredients. "What do you want to cook, Mrs. Vettel?"
"A simple one, sauerkraut soup. I have the frozen meatballs so I don't have to make it," Heike replied, smiling at Gia. "Please dice the potatoes, carrots, and onions."
Gia did what Heike asked. It wasn't the first time for her to cook with Seb's mother. She smiled remembering the moment they cooked together when she still lived in Heppenheim.
"Hmm Gia, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Mrs. Vettel. Just ask me," Gia said while cutting the ingredients.
"When did you know that Seb is dating someone? And how do you feel about that?"
Gia froze. It definitely hurt her heart, but it was impossible for her to show her sadness in front of Heike. "I... I knew it when I watched the British GP race. His girlfriend was there, watching him from the garage. And yeah, it's his decision to date with her. It's something that I can't intervene."
"But, do you still love him?" As Gia didn't respond, Heike walked closer and touched her cheek. "It's okay, you don't have to keep it."
She nodded slowly. "Yes, I still love him."
Heike stroked Gia's shoulder gently. "I'm glad that you are being honest to me. As his mother, I leave it all to him. If he says that he starts feeling uncomfortable with Bernadette and considers to break up with her, I won't do anything. I will fully support his decision."
"Gilbert said to Seb that he doesn't want me to become his reason to break up with Bernadette, and so do I. I don't want to be the person who ruins their relationship. If he was destined to be with her, I would try to accept it," Gia explained. "Now the most important thing is that I can finally be friends again with him."
Heike knew full well that Gia loved Seb. So, she didn't entirely believe that she would accept if her son got married with Bernadette or someone else. "Gia, we've always liked you since the very first day we knew you. We also remember the day Seb told us the truth that he loves you. We were totally surprised when he told us that he wanted to move to Switzerland because he couldn't divide his focus between his career and relationship with you,"
"We always felt guilty every time you asked us about him. And you know, we were surprised as well when he told us that he is dating another woman when we all know that he loves you. But as his parents, Norbert and I just can support every decision he takes," Heike said, making Gia sure that Seb's family still loved her although he decided to date Bernadette about three years ago.
"It's okay, I can understand that." That was the only thing that Gia could say. Actually, she wanted to ask about how Bernadette was like, but she felt that it was inappropriate to ask it.
"In my eyes, Bernadette is a kind woman," Heike described about her son's girlfriend. Gia was surprised that she could read her mind. "But, I think that Seb knows her a lot better. He told me that she's quite possessive. In the first year they got together, there wasn't any problem between them, as well as in the second year. But since last year, things have changed. Seb has been busier than before so that he is barely home. So, Bernadette starts being so possessive and she always demands his attention. Looks like it's quite hard for her to understand that."
Gia kept silence once again as she didn't know what to answer. So, she just bowed her head and her eyes focused on the vegetables she was cutting. While, Heike regretted a little to talk about Bernadette. So, she decided to ask her about her life in Vienna.
"Hmm Gia, how does it feel to live in Vienna?"
Gia was caught by surprise as Heike had changed the topic. But she could still answer it calmly. "It feels so amazing. Don't get me wrong, living in Heppenheim was a great pleasure for me. But, living in Vienna is really something else. My mother and I enjoy it very much."
Heike sighed a relief as she felt that she had changed Gia's mood. She looked more excited to talk about the city where she was currently living. About half an hour later, they had finished cooking the sauerkraut soup. She asked her to call Norbert, Seb, and Fabian to the dining room.
"Sorry to disturb you all, but the lunch is ready," Gia said to the men who were still enjoying their chats in the guest room.
"Thank you, Gia. Come on, let's go to the dining room," Norbert asked his sons to join him. While he and Fabian had left, Seb was still standing there with Gia.
"Did you cook with my mom?" he asked.
Gia smiled sheepishly. "Hmm, I just helped her a little bit."
"I don't believe you," Seb teased her.
She laughed as she couldn't lie. "Come on! Your family must be waiting for us."
"Wait a minute," he asked as he wanted to say something. "Thank you once again for forgiving and accepting my family back. It means everything to me."
Gia held both of his hands with hers. "Seb, they are like my second family. I was disappointed, but I obviously can't hate them. You've come to apologize, so there's no point for me not to accept their apology. It's all over now. Okay, let's go!"
"Yep." Seb put his arm on her shoulder and led her to follow Norbert and Fabian. They had lunch together for the first time in the last few years.