Page 36 of Not So Fast
Austin? That was five or six weeks away. He had no clue how he’d make it that long.
“Yes, Mia. That’s what I want.”
Eight
What future achievements are you working toward? How can you make strides today?
Well, 112 people RSVP’d for my Monaco watch party, so I’m proud of myself for taking steps to keep and grow my listenership. I’m nervous, though. I’ve never hosted more than three people at my apartment. Granted, that’s because I don’t have enough chairs. Note to self: buy better furniture after my next big sponsor deal.
With bottle-blond hair and dark roots whipped into a tornado, objectively too much blue eyeshadow and a metallic chrome motorcycle helmet under one arm, Mia’s aunt Judy was the first person through the door of Arena Ale for Mia’s Monaco watch party.
“You’re here!” Mia exclaimed, half out of excitement and half out of surprise. It was seven-thirty on a Sunday morning—there was every reason to expect her aunt to still be in bed.
“Of course I’m here. This is the culmination of years of me indoctrinating you into this sport. I had to come.”
Mia laughed and soaked up all the goodness of her aunt’s warm embrace. Judy’s hugs hit differently than those from Mia’s mother. They came with zero unspoken judgment.
“So? Will my sister be here?” Judy asked, stepping back and wiping her hands on her dark jeans.
“Mom? No. I mean, I invited her, but just to be nice. There’s no way she would come. It combines the three things she hates most in the world—a bar, sports and my podcast.”
“Don’t forget me.” Aunt Judy raised a demonstrative finger. “She hates me most.”
Mia’s heart broke a little more every time she was reminded of this fact. And she’d made zero headway after the Miami GP when trying to urge her mom to mend fences. “Hateis such an ugly word.”
“But accurate.”
“I love you both, but I’m begging you two to get past whatever caused so much unhappiness.”
“Tell my sister that.”
“She said you weren’t there for her when she needed you.”
“Maybe that’s true. It’s also not my job to do everything she wants me to do.”
Mia hated how much this topic only traveled in circles. It never went anywhere. “You should just show up at her office one day and take her to lunch. Talk it out. Like grown-ups,” Mia suggested.
“I’ll take that under advisement,” Judy replied.
A small group of people Mia did not know came through the door, swiping off sunglasses and looking around the bar. In truth, they seemed a bit lost, but Mia knew they were inthe right place. One of them wore aNot So FastT-shirt. Up until that moment, Mia had never seen one out in the wild. This was real—people were coming here to watch the race. But they were also here because of her podcast. Because ofher. The sense of pride she felt was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. She’d built this on her own, and it was all coming together.
“Are you Mia?” the woman in the T-shirt asked.
“That’s me,” Mia managed, grappling with an abrupt case of nerves.
“You tend to these folks,” Judy said. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Help people find their tables? Make sure they know to order with the QR code.”
“I’m on it.”
Mia had never been so thankful for help. Why in the world had she ever thought she could handle this on her own? Five minutes in and she was already feeling overwhelmed.
“You can put your stuff down at our table. We’re up front. You’ll see our names.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a party. Have fun.” Judy started for the front of the room, flirting with one of the waiters as he helped her find a suitable place for her helmet.
Mia turned back to her guests as even more came through the front door. “Welcome, everybody.”
