"Your fridge lives on beer and water."

~•~

Alira took her dog and went out into the streets. She had changed out of her work uniform, which she promptly threw into the washing machine to get rid of the fish smell. That smell would never fully disappear since she worked around animals in that outfit, but it didn't need to be overly prominent. She was now wearing black shorts with a khaki tank top and sneakers—different ones than she wore to work. She had a pair of sneakers just for the zoo because they were so dirty and worn that she would never wear them on the street.

It wasn't far to Daniel's place from her house, but before turning onto his street, she took a detour to the park two streets away, so the dog could relieve itself before they went to his place. She didn't know if he would let her in, but she hoped he would. She had only watched Formula races with Grace and Joe because Daniel was racing. After the accident, they never watched again, which bothered her a bit because she genuinely enjoyed the sport. However, she found that she didn't enjoy watching it alone and wanted a partner.

Unfortunately, no one around her was an enthusiast of motorsport. She didn't want to ask Grace or Joe, as they had suffered enough pain because of this one sport. She didn't want to ask Michelle because she had a family and spent weekends with them, going on trips around Australia—she didn't want to take that away from her. Nancy worked weekends to earn extra money since her first two years of veterinary studies were in America, where schools weren't cheap. Besides these people, no one else came to mind. She had no one, so she preferred not to watch at all.

The dog finished its business, so Alira headed to Daniel's—hoping he didn't mind dogs; otherwise, she would turn around and leave. She didn't go anywhere without her four-legged friend when she wasn't working. During workdays, the dog stayed home alone, so she always had it with her on weekends. She made up for ignoring it during the weekdays. If it weren't for Harry, who came over with Robin to walk the dog, it might have hated her.

She reached the door and didn't hesitate. She knocked. For a moment, nothing happened, and Alira, though not religious, began to pray silently that nothing had happened and that Daniel was alright. Her worries were relieved when Daniel, dressed in a loose white t-shirt and black shorts, opened the door. His hair was tousled, which was very interesting to see given that his hair was curly and always looked somewhat messy—today, it was exceptionally so. It looked as if a species of small birds had settled in his hair overnight and decided to make their home as chaotic as possible to stay safe from predators.

"Alira?" Daniel asked in confusion when he saw the brunette with curly hair at his door. She looked different than how he usually saw her at work. At work, she wore a uniform with her hair tied back in a ponytail. Now, she was in casual clothes that girls wore on the streets and sometimes to work, and her hair was down—still slightly damp from her shower.

"Hi, Daniel," Alira smiled warmly. She didn't want to create any tension. She didn't want the boy to see her as someone who would always boss him around...because that's what she did. She did it constantly at work, but only because Daniel didn't listen and thought he could do everything his way. But he couldn't, and it only made things take longer than they should have. He didn't realize that in the zoo, time was crucial, and it was best to do everything as quickly as possible—but also quickly and correctly. He had to learn to do it fast and right, which was difficult, especially for newcomers. More so for newcomers who had no interest in animals and didn't want anything to do with them.

"I don't work on weekends, so what are you doing here?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms to appear serious. He didn't really look serious. He looked more funny and cute.

"I know you don't work on weekends, otherwise I'd have you to look after," Alira replied, "I was at your mom's because one of the penguins is sick."

"She sent you?" he asked. "She knows the qualifying race in Japan is today, on one of my favorite tracks, and she's worried, right? She sent you to check on me. Tell her I'm fine and don't need a babysitter. Especially not one who's five years younger than me," he said, stepping back and about to slam the door in her face.

"Wait!" the girl exclaimed. She had to act quickly, and this was all she could think of. "Could I watch it with you?" she asked. She blurted it out so fast she didn't even realize what she had said. Daniel looked her up and down as if trying to determine if she was serious, then raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You want to watch Formula with me?" he didn't understand.

"I used to watch the races with your parents when you were still racing," the girl replied. "It's really fun, but I don't enjoy watching it alone. I don't have a partner now, and I thought you might appreciate some company, especially since this is the first race you're watching after the accident."

"I doubt you thought about so many factors and even considered my mental health," Daniel shook his head. "And my mental health is perfectly fine. I don't even think about it being my first race after the accident."

"Please, Daniel," Alira pleaded. "It's the weekend; you shouldn't be alone."

"I like being alone," he told her.

"Michelle said you didn't used to be like this," she said. "You were completely different, and solitude was the last thing you wanted in your life."

"People change," Daniel muttered. "Especially after surviving an accident like I did."

"Please, let me stay and watch the qualifying with you," she asked again, deciding that this would be her last attempt. If he said no, she would leave and tell Grace that Daniel was perfectly fine.

"Alright, but only because I'm not in the mood for you, and it's starting in a few minutes," he sighed and stepped aside so Alira could come in.

"You don't mind dogs?" she asked before entering, pointing to the dog at her feet.

"No, I don't mind," he replied, stepping inside first because if he waited for Alira, it would take forever. She followed him immediately and took off her shoes in the hallway. She wiped the dog's paws with a cloth she found on the shoe cabinet, not knowing if there was anything white inside that could get dirty, and then walked into the living room where Daniel had gone ahead.

"You've got a nice place," Alira said, looking around the room. His helmets were hanging on the walls, and instead of books, his trophies filled the shelves. It definitely looked like the home of a professional motorsport athlete. The paradox was that despite everything, his living room was cozy and inviting. It might have been filled with helmets and trophies, but it still looked like a perfectly normal home.

"Nice," she concluded. "The helmets and trophies are interesting, but it works in a mysterious way."

"Thank you," the brunette said. "I spent hours arranging it."

"I understand," the girl nodded and sat in the empty armchair in the room. Daniel sat on the couch, immediately followed by a white fluffy ball that seemed to have taken a liking to him. "Traitor," she growled at the dog, which placed its head on Daniel's lap, indicating it wanted to be petted.

"What's his name?" Daniel asked, doing exactly what the dog wanted and started petting its head.

"Targaryen, but I call him Tar for short," she answered.

"That's an interesting and very original name," Daniel smiled. "I would never have thought to name a dog after a family name from a TV series," he laughed.

"I found him on the street near the dumpsters four years ago," Alira told him. "I first took him to the vet and left him there to find a home, but even after three months, he didn't get one, so I took him in, even though I was scared because I'm at work most of the time. He's such a sunshine, and since then, my mornings and evenings have been much better."

"So, you're a superhero?" Daniel laughed.

"He's the superhero," Alira countered. "Without him, I'd be in a very dark place because four years ago, things weren't exactly great for me."

"You don't have to tell me about it," Daniel said. "Instead, tell me why you named him Targaryen?" Alira was relieved when he told her she didn't have to talk about what happened four years ago. Daniel never pressured her to share; either he didn't want to be friends, or he knew how hard it was to tell someone what was bothering you. He preferred to wait until Alira felt comfortable enough to share with him.

"The options were Snow, Atila, and Targaryen," she explained. "I let the people at work vote, and Targaryen won because everyone liked the idea of calling him Tar."

"Tar is cute," Daniel agreed. "But I would have voted for Atila because it suits him."

"You weren't here, so get used to Tar."

At that moment, the familiar sound of the Formula 1 intro filled the room. It was a signal for both of them to fall silent and focus their attention on the TV screen.

~•~

It was Sunday, which meant it was race day. The race wasn't until around five in the afternoon, so Alira had plenty of time to prepare everything she had planned. She and Daniel had thoroughly enjoyed watching Saturday's qualifying together, almost as if they had forgotten how much they disliked each other at work. They were simply two people enjoying something they loved and savoring every moment. Daniel even explained things to Alira that she never knew, sharing insights from his experience as a Formula 1 driver—facts she couldn't have known because she had never sat in a Formula car.

Tar also took a liking to Daniel. So much so that he refused to leave, and Daniel had to step out into the chilly evening to coax the dog outside and let Alira put the leash on him.

To top it off, Daniel thanked her for a wonderful evening. He said he had enjoyed it with her and had completely forgotten that if the accident hadn't happened, he would have been racing too. He genuinely enjoyed being a spectator, thanks to Alira. That's why he invited her to watch Sunday's race, because he wanted to enjoy it just as much. Qualifying is fun, but the points are awarded on Sunday—that's the main event everyone eagerly awaits.

What did Alira do on Sunday before the race? She cooked because she noticed Daniel had no food in the house. She was worried about what he had been eating all week, but she didn't ask. They had become friends during her visit, and she didn't want to ruin it by making it seem like she was worried about him. If he didn't want people to treat him like a child—he had gotten enough of that behavior in the hospital after the accident—he wanted to be treated like an adult at home, so she would treat him like an adult and leave his problems to him. It wasn't her concern.

She prepared simple dishes like lasagna, some vegetable salad, and finally made Petulla, one of the traditional Albanian dishes she had enjoyed as a little girl and wanted someone else to taste this delicious treat. She wanted to see his reaction and hear his opinion. This would reveal her Albanian heritage to him, but he could always ask anyone at the zoo, and her identity would be revealed.

She packed everything into a bag and, along with Tar, headed to Daniel's. They first went to the park again so Tar could relieve himself and not make a mess inside Daniel's house. No one needed him to pee on a trophy or helmet that was too close to the ground—some of his trophies and helmets were indeed quite low.

She knocked, and unlike Saturday, today the door was opened by a smiling Daniel who immediately stepped aside to let her in. He also immediately started playing with Tar, who jumped on him, almost knocking him down. Tar was a big dog, so he was definitely strong, and Alira had already fallen several times when he greeted her by jumping. Daniel was strong from his time in Formula 1, but he had been out of the sport for a while, and his knee still hurt, so he had to work hard not to end up on the floor as well.

"I brought some food so you wouldn't starve to death here," Alira told Daniel as she headed to the kitchen to put the food in the fridge. She didn't have to worry about finding space; the fridge was mostly filled with beer and water, nothing more.

"You didn't have to," Daniel said. "I'm not starving here."

"Your fridge lives on beer and water," she pointed out, showing him the inside of the fridge she had just opened.

"I buy food," Daniel shrugged.

"Now you won't have to for a few days," the brunette smiled. "I made some lasagna and a vegetable salad because I'm not sure what you, as a former athlete, eat most often," she laughed. She put all the mentioned food in the fridge, closed it, and turned to Daniel, who was lying on the living room floor with Tar sprawled over him, looking content to have a living cushion that was also scratching him in all the right spots.

"Thank you," he said.

"I won't let you live on takeout food," she laughed, grabbed her bag, and went into the living room. She had to literally jump over the pair in the middle of the room to sit in the chair where she had spent the entire previous day. She decided that from now on, it would be her chair whenever she visited Daniel. She didn't tell him, but in her mind, she had claimed it.

"I also made Petulla," she said, taking the last container out of the bag.

"Petulla? What's that?" Daniel asked as he struggled to sit up, but Tar didn't mind. He just moved from Daniel's chest to his legs, where he settled down. Daniel winced in pain and shifted the dog slightly so that his weight was on his right leg and not his sore left one.

"A traditional dish from my country," she replied, opening the container. The room was filled with the smell of fried dough and honey with jam, which together made a sauce for dipping the dough. She had also sprinkled them with sugar to make them look nice. It was a family recipe that was essentially the same as any other in the country. If you looked it up online, you would find an identical recipe that would taste just like the ones she made.

"You're not from Australia?" Daniel asked in surprise.

"I'm from Albania," she replied. "I moved to Australia when I was twenty."

"Albania? That's quite far," he said, incredulous.

"It's better here," she smiled. "Here, I have my second family."

"The zoo?" Daniel asked.

"The zoo," Alira nodded.

~•~