Page 195 of First in Line

“He’s probably the one who needs rescuing, if I’m being honest,” my wife answers with a wince.

Justine shakes her head. “I genuinely can’t believe you two are high school sweethearts. How did you find each other so early? It should have taken you thirty tries to get such a perfect match.” She sighs. “Anyhow, yes, you can come with us, Eviedarling. You’ll stay in the back with me. Now, let’s go. Chop, chop, chop!”

We follow Justine through the hallways, and when we come across a bathroom sign, I say, “Wait, I need to wash my hands real quick.”

“Why?!” Justine frustratedly asks.

“Uh… We snoggedreallyhard?”

She gets what I’m trying to say and rolls her eyes. “Jesus Christ, you two are annoying. It shouldn’t be legal to be this happy. I’m on my third divorce, for God’s sake.” She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Go, Jackson. Go wash off the snogging.”

I’m off and back in a blink, then I retake Evie’s hand and we resume our walk to the media pen. I only let go of her at the last moment. They have to enter through the journalists’ door while I’m coming through the backstage one.

“I’ll do this and skip all the other shit, okay?” I tell Evie. Justine’s clearly about to argue, but I ignore her and lean closer to my wife to murmur, “And then we’ll go back to our room, order all the hotel’s desserts, and have a little celebration.”

She’s all smiles when I pull away. “I’d love that, Hot Wheels.”

The other two drivers who made it to the podium are already there, and they give me a slightly irked glare for my tardiness. “Sorry I’m late, guys. I usually arrive first,” I joke with a smirk.

“I almost had you today,” von Ranzow says.

“The keyword being almost, buddy. Better luck next season.”

The playful jab sits oddly in my chest. Yes, his chances will be better next season. All of their chances, really. But no one knows that aside from Wesley, Rosie, and Justine. Not even Evie—though she might suspect it.

We’re let into the room, and I sit in the middle of the white couch. As the FIA moderator introduces us, I scan the room, looking for Evie. I find her all the way to the back, slightly tomy right. We exchange a smile from across the room, then I’m forced to focus on the first question.

This has all become so very familiar that I can’t remember my life before Formula One. It’s all a blur, except for Evie. She’s like a lighthouse, a steady and guiding presence that’s been there from the start. She’s my anchor.

“Jackson, there’s been a lot of talk about Altron’s junior-focused initiative, which will be in place next season,” the moderator says at some point. “Do you support Wesley Pryce’s investment in the Altron Junior Academy Program, also known as AJAP?”

“I’ve been there from day one, and I’m not only supporting it, I’m invested in it. Wesley made the decision to build it in Colorado, my home state, so we could be central and welcome kids from all over the country. The facility is twenty minutes away from my house, and my wife was one of the three architects who worked on designing it.

“With three, soon to be four, Grand Prix weekends set in the US, I think it’s smart to invest in that territory. Formula One has always been international, but we can’t deny its European focus. Thanks to Wesley’s dedication to the sport, we’ll now get to seek and encourage talents in a new area of the world. We’ll have karting camps and development programs for younger drivers. The most promising talents will receive full onboarding, scholarships, coaching, simulator access, and opportunities to progress into Formula 4. From there, we’ll support them as they climb the ladder, and I’m sure we’ll find the champions of tomorrow among those kids.”

“That’s a beautiful sentiment. As someone who came from a rather unique background, aren’t you finding it unfair that some kids will have their chance handed to them, in comparison to what you had to do?”

“I didn’t come up through the typical karting background, no, and it was hard to find my way to Formula One. But it doesn’t mean I think every financially disadvantaged kid with a big dream should endure the same struggles as I have. This sport asks families to sacrifice enormous amounts of time and money, and not everyone gets to have someone who believes in them every step of the way.” My eyes drift to Evie for a second. “That’s why I’ll be financing ten scholarships per season, on top of the ten scholarships Wesley has already budgeted. Too many aspects of this sport revolve around money, from the skyrocketing prices of the tickets to the sometimes ridiculous fines the FIA puts us through. We want to take that parameter away within the AJAP and let the love of the sport take over.”

Critiquing the FIA isn’t a smart move, and they’re all aware of that. I can hear the journalists whispering among themselves, and I can already tell I’ll be getting questions about this when the moderator opens the floor for discussion.

Before that can happen, though, some questions are asked to my opponents. When asked about his near win, von Ranzow jokingly concludes with, “He’ll start aging out of the job soon enough, and I’ll finally be able to get the lead more often.”

He punctuates his words with a weak fist to my shoulder. We’ve grown friendly these past few years, and I understand why Wesley wanted me to play nice with the other drivers. Racing with friends is definitely easier on the mind than racing with enemies.

“What do you say to that, Jackson? Do you think you will be aging out of the job anytime soon?” the moderator asks.

Cautiously, I bring the mic to my lips. I’m about to unleash hell in the media pen yet again. But this time, it’s for a good cause. It’s for the best cause there is.

“Actually, I’m afraid we won’t get an answer to that. This was my last season.”

Although it’s not their time, the journalists on the floor jump to their feet, raising hands and shouting questions. Their lack of manners annoys me, mostly because I can’t see Evie anymore. Fuck. Maybe I should have told her I was doing this. But much like she wanted to surprise me with the pregnancy, I wanted to surprise her with this decision.

“Everyone, sit down. Be quiet, please,” the moderator demands. It takes a few attempts to get them all to sit down, but he eventually manages. “Are you saying that you will be retiring?” he asks me.

“From racing Formula One cars, yes.”

“Why the sudden retirement, especially after such a stellar season?”