Matteo and I have both been staying in the hotel close to Mugello. It's been nice, we have reviewed the riders together and he's been helping me out with the new project with the six riders.
I asked him to join me in the meetings with Pecco and Fabio, because of his insights on both of them.
Fabio and I haven't been in contact and I miss him. I don't want to disturb him these days. He's spending time with family and friends. And I'm afraid he's not happy with me. He wasn't happy the last time we saw each other and that's my fault. He just got second. He said it was his best race ever in all his interviews. So he was pretty happy. Until he saw me and saw me leaving.
I've talked to Tom on the phone once. He told me Fabio's family is joining him in Barcelona. So it's a good thing that we aren't spending much time together. I've cancelled my appointment with the doctor, I've been staying in Italy till Wednesday. And now we're travelling together to Barcelona. The whole clinica mobile together in a private jet. I've never travelled that luxurious. It's nice to do this as a group.
"Do you do this every race?", I ask Matteo. We have been getting close these last few days.
"Only to some races. It depends how big a group we are", he stands to get his luggage from above his head.
I walk behind him off the plane.
There's a bus waiting for us next to the plane to take us to the circuit.
"We can get in and they take the rest of our luggage in the bus. We don't have to do anything", Matteo gets on the bus and sits down. I do the same, relaxing before a busy weekend. Atleast I don't have to be out on track on Sunday.
"Have you heard from him?", Matteo asks when he sees me typing on my phone. I shake my head. I upload a photo of the jet on my Instagram stories and lock my phone.
"No, I haven't texted him either. I know he's with his family and I know his family is coming this weekend. So I don't think we will see each other much", Matteo gives me a reassuring smile.
"And when you have your meeting, you also have me with you. Is that a good idea?", He asks. I shrug. I don't know if it's a good idea. Fabio probably won't really like it. But at the same time, Matteo has some really great insights. And it's work after all.
"Where are you gonna watch the race?", I look at him again.
"I'm out on track all day, I told you"
Shit, that's true. Matteo is out on track all day. Tom is with Fabio and his family. Maybe I'll watch in the Ducati or VR46 pitbox. Or just from the clinica mobile.
The ride from the airport to the circuit is short, we are there in no time. We take our luggage and settle in the big motorhome. It's big, but we have to share it with 6. Which makes it small. One bathroom with six persons isn't ideal. Why did I want to stay here again? Atleast we all have our own rooms.
I take my laptop and browse around a little. It's Wednesday and I have no idea what I can do to be honest.
After a while my phone starts buzzing, I answer without looking.
"Julie! It's Margaux. How are you?", I hear on the other side of the phone. She sounds a little distressed.
"Hey girl! I'm pretty good. How about you?", I try sounding a little enthusiastic.
"I'm not that great. I ran into him again. What do I do?", she almost sobs in my ear.
"Hey... hey, it's okay. You are okay. Where are you right now?", I try to soothe her.
"I'm at home"
"Are your parents home?", I try to get as much information out her as possible.
"Yeah, they are downstairs"
"Okay, that's good. You are safe now. Did he see you?", I don't really know what to do or don't do, but I try to keep her talking.
"I don't know, I quickly turned around and walked away", she sniffles. Her sobbing stopped, thank god.
"That's good. I'm sure he didn't see you. Why don't you try to rest for a bit?", I know exactly how horrible she feels right now.
"I need to get away from here, Julie"
"I know, I know. I'm gonna try to get the house as soon as possible. Then you can go there, okay?", I need to contact the real estate agent and see if I can get the house earlier. It's better for Margaux. And maybe also better for me.
"Thank you", she yawns.
"Go get some rest. I'll let you know", I tell her before ending the call.
I email the real estate agent and ask to speed up the process. I know that house is empty right now, so maybe I can sign the papers after this weekend and get the keys.
Getting my earphones, laptop and backpack I get up again. I actually have a meeting with Lin Jarvis again in an hour. So that gives me some time to walk around and clear my head before going there.
The paddock is still a little quiet. Of course you hear the sound of starting bikes everywhere, but it isn't busy. Not like it will be in two days. Most of the riders will get in today, but it's still early. Walking around I don't see any familiar faces and I'm glad. That way I can relax more. The music blasting in my ears, I'm enjoying this. I felt lonely past race weekend. But at the same time, I like the peace and quiet. I'm more of a loner than I thought..
The Yamaha hospitality is quiet. Lin is on the phone and I sit down in the same spot we were in last time. Taking my laptop out and opening the documents. We are gonna discuss the meetings I'm gonna have with Morbidelli and Fabio tomorrow. I hope this won't be a mandatory meeting every race weekend. Ducati and VR46 don't have these meetings either.
"Yes, yes, I tell her", I hear Lin saying, walking this way. He puts his phone down and sits in front of me.
"Hello Julie", I smile back at him, "I don't know if you talk to each other, but Fabio asked to tell you, he's on his way here. He wants to do the meeting here today"
I nod my head. He could've texted me that. And I'm not that pleased to do it now here, instead of tomorrow. Matteo would come with me to share his insights. I was actually looking forward to that.
"Okay, so I think we can agree that Fabio's race was almost perfect. So I think it's good to start with Morbidelli", Lin nods smiling, "Morbidelli was actually riding a great race as well. I think his riding was much better than the other races. He was adapting well and had almost no mistakes, after the first few corners"
I look up the footage and show him a few corners. "If you watch this pure technical, he could turn his shoulder here and the same goes for here and here", I point out.
We evaluate like this for a while till Fabio joins us. He kisses my cheek and sits down next to Lin.
"Sorry, I'm a little busy tomorrow, so I thought we could do the meeting today", Fabio tells me. I nod, "yeah, Lin told me. It's fine. It's just that I asked Matteo to join us, but I'll call him and ask if he has time as well"
"Matteo?", Fabio looks confused. I dial his number, while Lin stands and excuses himself.
"Hello?", I hear on the other end of the phone.
"Hey, do you have time to come to the Yamaha hospitality right now?", I ask immediately.
"Ah no. I don't. Dr Zasa and I are discussing some things right now. I can come by after?", Matteo sounds a little stressed.
"Okay, give me a call when you're done. Maybe it's no longer needed. Good luck", I tell him.
"Okay, grazie", I hear a click indicating the end of the call.
"Matteo is not gonna make it right now", I say, laying my phone on the table. "I asked him to join, because we reviewed all the riders together. And he had some insights I didn't think about. But it's no big deal. Your race was pretty perfect"
Fabio nods. "How are you doing?", is all he asks. I don't think he really cares about what Matteo wanted to share.
"I'm okay. How're you? How was your time in Monaco and Nice?"
"It was great, we had fun", he smiles big.
"That's good", I smile at him.
"You didn't go to your doctors appointment", Fabio sounds a little disappointed.
"How do you know?"
"I went back home yesterday to go with you. But you didn't show", he states.
"Shit, I didn't know that. I cancelled because I was still in Mugello yesterday with the whole clinica mobile team", I really didn't know he would be back home.
"You could've called or texted me"
"I didn't because I didn't know you would come back home. You told me you'd stay at your parents. And I didn't want to disturb you", I say quietly.
"I just wanted to be there for you. But I should've stayed with Clarisse instead", he says the last part more to himself. Clarisse again. I don't know who that is, but I'm not a fan.
"Yeah, you should've. Look we can review your race if you want. but if you have a problem with me, I can ask Matteo to make an appointment with you later. He can do it as well"
"I'm not the one with a problem. You have been distant with me. You've been avoiding me since the free practices started in Mugello. But I understand you and Matteo are close now. You've been sleeping in the same bed too?", He asks bitterly. His eyes piercing at me.
"You actually have absolutely no idea what you are talking about", I shake my head. I don't even get mad and I don't explain, it's not up to me to tell him about Matteo's feelings for Marc. "I'll show you the pointers we wrote down right now, then we're done", I sigh.
I read the things we wrote down out loud in a monotone voice, while showing him a few parts of the race. He is quiet not saying one word. Probably not even listening. I'm done in less than twenty minutes.
"Okay, good luck this weekend. I heard your family is coming, have fun. If you want some pointers or a checkup or treatment, you can text me. And if you want to talk about us, you know where to find me. I have another meeting", I stand and put my laptop back in my backpack, getting ready to walk away.
"Maybe you can come to my motorhome this evening", Fabio says when I turn to walk away.
"If that's what you want, I'll be there. Text me the time", I say, not looking at him, before walking off.