So why is Max smiling?

~•~

Freya, sitting on a comfortable couch next to her father and his wife Alma, gazed at the television screen where the Formula One program was on. The girl was waiting for the start of Max's race. It was a moment she had eagerly awaited. Her father was quite surprised when his daughter announced that she would join him to watch the race, especially since she had never shown any interest in watching Formula One before.

Although Freya had never watched previous races, she wanted to fully experience this moment. She longed to be there when Max crossed the finish line as the winner. She wanted to experience the atmosphere when the Dutch anthem played and he stepped onto the podium.

Her father was only aware that his daughter spent hours outdoors and always returned with a smile from ear to ear. He had no idea that her outings involved a triple Formula One world champion. He had no clue that his daughter was accompanying a Formula driver whom she admired so much.

Freya was well aware of her father's admiration for Max, so she considered whether it would be possible for him to come and surprise Max after the race. She planned to call or text Max and arrange a meeting when he had some free time.

Today was Sunday, the day of the real race. Freya spent yesterday, Saturday, dealing with issues with the Badminton Federation, so she missed the qualifying session, which she would otherwise have watched with anticipation.

Although Freya couldn't participate in tournaments yet, she promised herself to do everything in her power to clear her name. She even had evidence ready, but... there was a minor problem that was causing the whole process to take a bit longer than planned.

On Thursday, a day filled with interviews and media obligations for Max, he remembered Freya at every spare moment. They constantly wrote to each other. About everything. Especially about the moments they spent together in Ystad. Max was curious about every detail of this small town, and although Freya wasn't its permanent resident, she tried to answer his questions wholeheartedly. She knew that when he got into something, he wouldn't let go until he had all the answers.

Their conversations also revolved around their pets. Max was the proud father of two Bengal cats, Jimmy and Sassy. He sent pictures to Freya, who looked at them with interest. They were truly beautiful animals, and in some mysterious way, she felt they resembled Max in certain poses.

In return, Freya talked about her home in Monaco, where she didn't have any pets. Her mother was firmly convinced that any pet would only distract Freya from more important things, like winning the World Championship title in badminton, not just victory in paddle, where she surprised everyone by performing slightly better.

Max couldn't understand why anyone would be against having pets. His own father was too liberal when it came to parenting, and if someone reported him, it could end up with social services. Nevertheless, Max still claimed that it was nothing compared to Freya's mother. She was in a league of her own in this regard.

Forcing a five-year-old girl who is currently experiencing her parents' divorce to undergo extremely demanding training combined with a strict diet was unacceptable to Max. Although his own father left him at the gas station, it was only temporary, as he knew Max's mother would soon arrive and take him with her. But Freya's mother... she was on a whole different level. She made the girl fast and devote all her energy to training, which would be too demanding even for most professionals, let alone a five-year-old girl.

After calming down each other, Freya confided in Max that the situation was slowly improving and that she was trying to solve many things herself, even starting to organize her own training.

And then came the moment when Freya described where her father actually lived.

It was a kind of small farm. Modest, but full of life. A henhouse with laying hens, a rabbit hutch with cute rabbits, a flock of sheep and goats, and even cows and horses. And what would a farm be without dogs? Two German Shepherds, a Doberman, and a Jack Russell Terrier, who roamed the yard like mischievous guardians.

Her father's home was simply a farm that carried a piece of history within it. Life on the farm seemed to be a natural part of Freya's father's life since his childhood. After the death of his parents, he returned here and faithfully reconstructed everything and expanded the herd of animals.

In this household, they didn't buy milk and eggs; they produced them themselves. They even occasionally sold eggs and milk to neighbors because their production was always sufficient, and it would be a shame not to use the surplus.

"Do you really want to watch Formula One with us?" her father repeated, watching his daughter for over five minutes, eagerly staring at the screen, looking forward to everything finally starting.

"What else would I be doing?" Freya replied, trying to mask her desire to watch the race while also not wanting anyone to disturb her. At this moment, Max was her main focus.

"Hugo and Nils are outside with the horses, you can join them," her father offered his idea.

Hugo and Nils, twins born in 2011, were her father and Alma's children. They were born just two years after their parents met, and they were Freya's stepbrothers. However, while she lived in Monaco, they grew up in Sweden, and there was always some distance between them.

But the twins looked like they were not Freya's stepbrothers. They inherited blond hair and brown eyes from their father, and since Freya was all her father, the twins looked like her. Greta, Freya's older sister, was all her mother - blond hair and blue eyes.

They were simply a typical Swedish family. All blondes - except for Alma, who was a redhead. Fortunately, the twins didn't inherit her ginger hair, otherwise, no one would believe they were stepsiblings with Freya.

"They ride competitively. Do you really want me to go there with them and just hear from someone who's ten years younger than me how bad I am at horse riding?" Freya turned to her father with a questioning look. Alma just smiled amusedly at Freya's expression - she was simply a copy of her father.

"Maybe they would finally teach you properly if you hadn't refused to learn from me," her father chuckled. It was true that her dad always tried to teach her, but she never listened to him. She got the basics and then rode her way because she didn't want to compete anyway and believed that a few hours spent with her father on a horse would be enough.

"I'm a badminton player, not a horse rider," Freya muttered.

"Your mother made you that way," her father told her, "I wanted you to be a hockey player. You loved hockey when you were little. Before that woman took you to France, saying you would be better off there than in Sweden."

Freya used to live in France before her mother decided that Monaco would be more suitable for them. Their home was in Lyon, and both sisters loved it there. Greta, with her passion for history, fell in love with the architecture and all the libraries she discovered in the city. For her, Lyon was a symbol of art, with plenty of museums and galleries it offered. On the other hand, Freya enjoyed the atmosphere of the city, chatting with tourists, whether they were French or other visitors. Her interest was not in sports but in languages and culture.

"I'll ride when I want to, alright?" Freya turned to her father. She had her plans for horse riding, but she couldn't tell him about them now, or she would reveal that she was planning to invite Max.

"Why did you decide to watch with us anyway? You claim you have nothing better to do, but you always find something more interesting. You can't tell me you don't have any hobbies you could do during the race," her father asked her.

"It's eight in the morning, and you're asking me about hobbies?" Freya replied.

"You usually go for a run or to the gym," Alma reminded her.

"I'm off tournaments now, so let me just sit and eat whatever I want for a few days," Freya said.

"Your mother wouldn't be thrilled to see what you're eating here," her father chuckled.

"Definitely not," Freya nodded and took a bite of the toast she made for breakfast.

After another ten minutes of conversation, which was more like lamenting about how tough Freya's life was with her mother, the race finally started. And as expected, Max Verstappen took the lead right in the first turn.

Freya was surprised by how thrilling and interesting the whole race was. Her father, wearing a Red Bull shirt because it was his favorite team, and Max was his favorite driver, sat with a glass in his hand, seemingly enjoying watching his daughter eagerly follow every moment of the race. He was glad that maybe they would find another common interest to talk about - maybe now they would have another topic for discussion and entertainment.

Freya held her breath as Lance Stroll crashed into Daniel Ricciardo. She squinted when Kevin Magnussen collided with Yuki Tsunoda, causing Yuki to retire from the race. Her father just sat next to her with the widest smile on his face, watching his daughter.

And then it all ended. Max Verstappen crossed the finish line. The black and white checkered flag announced his first place, while he jumped out of the car as soon as he reached the position that belonged to him and parked without hesitation. Still in his helmet, he ran to his team and literally threw himself at them.

Freya felt like cheering. She wanted to dance around the room, but she restrained herself. She left it to her father, who embodied the joy in the room. Alma just laughed at his enthusiasm, and Freya laughed again, realizing how incredibly happy her father looked.

But Freya was proud. Proud of Max. Proud that he was her new friend. And excited that the first race she ever watched in F1 was the one where Max won. It put a smile on her face for the rest of the day.

What momentarily wiped the smile off her face was watching three Formula drivers getting ready to step onto the podium. Checo and Lando looked fine, but when it came to Max, booing started. Booing so loud that Freya would have liked to step into the TV and hug Max. But what surprised her was that Max's smile didn't disappear from his face. On the contrary, it shone from ear to ear, even through the piercing noise of the booing crowd.

His strength of will was admirable. Freya wished she had such a mentality. She would mentally collapse on that podium. She would break into pieces and would have to disappear as quickly as possible.

So why is Max smiling?

~•~

Doll
Congratulations on the victory

Doll
Don't pay attention to the booing. You're awesome

Doll
I'm glad we met

Doll
You're one of the best people in my life right now

Doll
I enjoyed spending time with you

Doll
I hope we can do it again sometime

Doll
You shine completely on that podium

Doll
I love seeing your smile

Bulldozer
What's all this?

Bulldozer
Why?

Doll
That's just how I do it

Doll
When I hear booing, I return it with kind words

Bulldozer
Thank you

Bulldozer
You've improved my mood after all that

Doll
I'm always here for you

Bulldozer
Thank you

Bulldozer
Can I fly in on Monday?

Doll
Funny that I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come?

Bulldozer
Really?

Doll
Yeah. Dad's a big fan, so I thought maybe you'd like to cheer him up

Bulldozer
Your dad's my fan?

Doll
A big one

Bulldozer
Then I'd love to meet him

Doll
He'll be thrilled

Bulldozer
Any B&B or hotel nearby?

Doll
Yeah

Bulldozer
What's it called, so I can book a room?

Doll
It's already booked a long time ago

Bulldozer
What?

Doll
You'll be staying with us

Bulldozer
What?

Doll
We have plenty of spare rooms, and I'm telling you in advance that dad will allow it because it's you

Doll
Because you're MAX VERSTAPPEN

Bulldozer
I can't accept that

Doll
Yes you can and you will

Doll
Consider it your victory gift

Bulldozer
I'll bring a gift with me

Doll
You don't have to...really

Doll
You are the gift

Bulldozer
I'm already looking

Doll
You're terrible

Bulldozer
Once I know when I'll be flying, I'll let you know

Doll
I'll come pick you up at the airport

Bulldozer
I'll be bothering you enough at your place, so let me get there by myself

Doll
You can drive

Bulldozer
Alright

Bulldozer
But only because you want to

Doll
It'll be my pleasure to pick up the famous Max Verstappen at the airport

~•~