More ashamed of how spoiled I was than ever, I tried to avoid the question. Opening the door for her, I motioned toward the car.
“Should we drive with the top up or down?”
Her attention went back to the car and, as she lowered herself into the passenger seat, she whispered, “Can we please drive with it down?”
Once I settled in and the top was down, I smiled at her. Isabella was still looking around at the car, and every time she went to touch something, she stopped herself. I laughed.
“You can touch things, you know. The car won’t bite.”
With a sigh, she shook her head.
“No. It’s better for me not to know.”
She looked at me pointedly.
“This is, like, my dream car.”
I looked at her, surprised.
“Really? Why Ferrari? Is it just because it’s Italian?”
As I started to drive, she lifted her head in the air and seemed to smell the breeze washing over us. Isabella’s cheeks were flush and she looked happier than I had ever seen a person. It caught me by surprise. Could it really be possible to find that much happiness in such a simple thing? Finally, she returned her gaze to me.
“Okay, so you can’t judge me. Promise.”
If she only knew I should be the last person that should be judging people.
“Promise.”
“Do you know anything about Formula One racing?”
How could I not? Driving was my favorite thing in the world. But I understood why she asked. Americans were all about Indy cars. Not many watched the international races.
“A bit.”
She eyed me more curiously but continued.
“My dad is a huge fan and, well, being that my bedroom is the living room, it’s hard to avoid watching the races with him. Eventually, I started to love it just as much. And I guess the Italian thing started us favoring Ferrari, but one of their drives, Charles Leclerc, he’s just dreamy. And so talented.”
It was impossible to refrain from laughing.
“Isn’t he French?”
She sighed.
“He’s from Monaco. You know, I can still crush on non-Italian men. Although, my father does give me grief. I’m lucky he drives for Ferrari otherwise I’d have to cheer for the enemy.”
It was cute when she blushed. Against her tan skin, the pink hue was impossible to miss.
“Anyway, one day at the library, I went to the Ferrari website because I heard Leclerc showed off the cars in a video on it. That’s when I fell in love with this car.”
Teasing her, I whispered, “You fell in love with the car or with Leclerc?”
“Both.”
Laughing out loud, we both smiled, and Isabella returned to closing her eyes and feeling the wind against her cheeks. I made a mental note to plan a day where I could take her for a drive down the coast. I think the sea air would be much more enjoyable. I remained quiet, letting her just enjoy the drive. Driving had always been an escape for me.
After a few minutes she whispered, “Do you have Netflix?”
