vii.

by the time you and your father arrive at the schumacher's, you see a familiar car is already parked on the driveway. a faded baby on board tag hanging at the back window reminds you of his kids. the smallest one must be tall now since the last you saw him. the eldest must have gotten smarter. the middle one should know how to behave properly since he's getting older now. a smile immediately found on your face. an image of sebastian vettel in a thin worn out t-shirt with shorts comes into your mind.

     you pull your car behind sebastian's car and turn to your father. he was looking out the window, watching augustine and roger playing near the garden. his eyes travel to the familiar-yet-not-so-familiar big house in front of them. his forehead creased.

     "we're here, dad," you tell your father.

     "where?"

     "the schumacher's."

     "who is the schumcher's?"

     that question makes your heart breaks. but what hurts the most is how he had forgotten his best friend. because your father and mick's father were so close. they were inseparable. they worked together. they took their kids to the same karting club. they'd hang out while you kids play in the horse stable. they took care of each other's kids like theirs. there's no way that there were no bond between them. but if michael saw his best friend's current state now, will he be disappointed? or mad? will he want karl to be his best friend again?

     your dad doesn't say anything. he doesn't do anything but watch the dogs and the house. he sits still at the passenger's seat as if waiting for further instructions from you. from anyone.

     you help your father take off his seat belt, look around for you belongings after. a shadow creeps towards your car. you look up and instantly beaming when you see another beaming person waving at you and your father from the other side of the window. he opens the car door without permission (not like he needs it though) and greets your father.

     "karl erberhardt." his accent is still thick though with the constant traveling and speaking different languages. "guten morgen! it's a very long time since i last saw you. i've missed you! hello, catherine!"

     you smile at sebastian's enthusiasm while your father when takes a nervous glance at you. it looks as if asking if he could trust sebastian. maybe to him, sebastian is just another man who is speaking too loudly in his ears.

     you hop out of the car just in time augustine jumps to hug you. not prepared with the sudden attack, you fall flat on the driveway. soon, you have two dogs mobbing you and nudging their noses towards you and licking your face.

     "ew, no! no licking!" you still laugh.

     "es tut mir leid," you hear your father say after shooing augustine and roger. mick had join your father and sebastian some time while you were attacked by the dogs. "wer bist du?"

     sebastian's face falls. his heart shattering. his eyes turn red and get wet. he blinks his tears away before glancing at you, but you saw them. he gulps. something is playing in sebastian's mind, but the words got caught in his throat. maybe mick or gina or corinna told him about karl, but even so, maybe he didn't expect your father would not remember him.

     sebastian tries to smile again as he answers your father's innocent question. "ich bin sebastian. sebastian vettel. dein freund."

     "oh."

     sebastian clears his throat. "let's get inside. corinna is making your favourite soup."

     "who is... corinna?"

     when sebastian explains about corinna (not the first time someone has to do it for your father, though), he sounds more confident. he sounds like sebastian vettel that you knew. and that makes your heart calms. and everything that you were worried about dissipated. the tension on your shoulders lifted. you see your father smiling as sebastian laughs at something.

     god, you feel like crying. cry in happiness.

     beside mick at the driveway, you watch as sebastian leads your father inside the house. their voices slowly turn into muffles to your ears. and you watch until the door clicks opens and shuts. and you sigh. long and heavy.

     "see. i told you everything's going to be okay," mick says.

     "sebastian was crying."

     "well, i'd say who wouldn't."

     a short silence fell between you and mick and suddenly, your heart rate speeds up. there is sweat forming up on your hairline. though in the sweater, your palms are clammy. so as your armpit. damn, what is this effect?

     when you take a glance at mick, you realise how close he is standing beside you. like you can feel the heat radiating from his body. he looks so comfortable in an old hoodie that maybe you've worn it multiple times.

     up to his face, you as if there's something different on his face. maybe it's the hair. or maybe it's the way his blue eyes greying under the sunlight. or maybe it's just him being himself and being the person you loved, still love, and still in love with.

     "--rine?" mick's voice breaks your daydream. "is there... something on my face?"

     "what? oh! no, no." shit. you blush.

     mick smirks. "anyway, i'm glad you brought your father."

     "yeah, i think it's time that he comes out of that house. he needs some fresh air." you shrug. "how are you? you look... troubled."

     "oh, yeah. right. uh-huh. it's getting a little crazy in the kitchen."

     an image of corinna ordering mick what to do, but tell him off a second after that while gina trying hard not to laugh at mick, crosses your mind.

     people would think mick is the child in the family, bossying around because he's the youngest, spoilt and always aggressive with his older sister because he is a boy. when the truth is, he is the total opposite of those. and gina is the aggressive one in the siblings. and mean and mischievous. she would be the one with prank ideas, causing mick into trouble.

     you guess some things never change.

     "hmm. i can smell the chicken from the outside." you mutter to yourself. your mouth water. your stomach immediately hungry. "did you tell sebastian about my dad?"

     "i did."

     "hmm. how did he take it?"

     "confused. sad. he didn't really know how to take it. and then he said that it doesn't matter. both of you are his friends and will always be his friends. and now i think you guys are one of the reasons why he's retiring."

     "he retires because of his family, mick."

     "yeah, but you guys gave him another reason why he's retiring. i don't think he can continue if he knew his best friend was sick."

     you smile at mick. nothing feels better than to hear that from someone who knew you too well.

     "c'mon. let's meet the rest of them."