She had contacted Nicholas whenever they had changed planes, and he had arranged for a rental they could pick up at the airport in Marseille, and he had sent her the address of the hotel. Faith, however, wants to go to the race track. Kenny had cut back on the drinks, and she lets him drive. Less than an hour after leaving the airport they arrive at the gate, where the guard only lets them through after Faith declares that Kenny is her husband. “Mon mari”, she says.

  Kenny asks who Mary is. Faith is not even shocked. She has already gotten used to the fact that the ignorant American is not just a cliché.

  She directs him to the parking space behind the paddock. He parks the car as if he was alone in the world, blocking at least to others. She does not say anything and drops him off at the canteen, which, although it is already late, is well staffed and equipped with anything he might want to eat or drink.

  When she enters the garage, Tom is the first to notice her. “Hello, Faith”, he says.

  Faith says, “Good evening, everybody.”

  They make it easy. There are pointedly casual “hello”s from around the place, and this is it. She takes a deep breath and walks over to Tom.

  “Can you bring me up to scratch, please?”

  He makes room for her and she sits down. Before he can say anything, she asks, “What have you told them?”

  “Nothing”, he says. “That’s not my department.” Then he goes on to tell her about the state of things before the training session on the next day. A quarter of an hour later she leans back, feeling better. She is back.

  Soon after she is pulled back into reality. Everyone is ready for departure when the door is pushed open and Kenny barges in, his arm full of bottles of champagne, followed by two catering people with trays of hors d’oeuvre. Before anybody can say anything, he puts down the bottles on one of the cars, covered for the night. Faith sees George Strathairn gasp for air and rises to intervene when Kenny announces, loudly and boisterously, “Guys, guys, I’m sure my beautiful wife has already told you the great news, and she has probably also promised you a great party, but why not have a little celebration today? We must have a toast, and we need some music. Can anybody get some music going? And you can call me Kenny, of course.”

  The speech is greeted with murmuring, hesitant glances in Faith’s direction, and then at last, when she has managed to smile, some applause. Faith would have loved to throw him out, but to save face she walks up to him, puts her arm around him and says, “I have not said anything yet, because I wanted to get the work done first. But it is true. We got married the other day, and of course there will be a party. You are the first to know. I’d be glad if you joined us for one drink.”

  This time there is more sincere applause, but there are also glances towards Tom, who has turned away. Faith just hopes that her crew, and especially the drivers, know better than to drink. Deniz lifts his water bottle at her, some of the technical people take champagne. They also congratulate her. She tries to keep her smile genuine. When a mechanic shows Kenny how to operate the smartscreen, the worst moment is over. And now they know. The music brings out Kenny’s qualities as a performer, and her people flock towards him. She withdraws and stands next to Tom, who is leaning against the wall, his arms folded.

  “What happened to having the marriage annulled?”, he asks.

  “Didn’t go through. He doesn’t want to.”

  “That was to be expected. You are a goldfish. But did you have to bring him here?”

  “I didn’t. I asked him to stay at the canteen.”

  Tom shakes his head.

  Nicholas comes in and looks questioningly at Faith. She shrugs, already resigned to the unfolding chaos. Then Kenny approaches, pulls her into the room and makes her dance with him. “Come on, Babe, this is our wedding dance.”

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  Again she tries her best to save face. They dance to one of his songs, and at the end he whirls her around until she has to hold on to him to not fall down. Then he lets her go and she makes it to the wall opposite from Tom and Nicholas. She ends up next to Strathairn. He looks tortured. Just when she is about to say something to calm him down, he points into the room and says, “My God, Faith, do something.”

  She follows his direction and sees, to her horror, that Kenny is lighting up a spliff. Around them are millions worth of computers, engines, spare parts, and all sorts of liquids, and the general safety regulations are stricter than at NASA. She walks up to her husband, takes the spliff away and says firmly, “Not here, please.”

  Kenny is taken aback for a second, but then he makes a face and says, “Yes, ma’am”, with a mock salute. Some men laugh. Faith is going to remember their faces. Then she turns to Deniz and Sandro.

  “Get the hell out of here, you two. You have drug tests coming up. We don’t need any kind of irregularities now, do we?”

  Luckily, the drivers understand and leave. “Congrats”, Sandro says halfheartedly. She just nods. Thank God, the drivers are safe. When she looks around she sees Strathairn leave the garage in the direction of the pit lane. He is disappointed in her, and rightly. She will have to talk to him. But first, she has to end this awful situation.

  Nicholas and Tom, having secured the computers, join her. “What’s up with George?”, Tom asks.

  “Needs some air, I believe.”

  “He has been unwell these last days. I’ll go check on him.” Tom follows Strathairn outside.

  “This is the last thing we need”, Nicholas says. Faith sighs inwardly. Tell me again.

  Some people have made an exit, but especially the younger crew members are beginning to enjoy themselves. Kenny is on good form. Faith is getting angrier by the minute and is about to end the show when Tom comes back, looking nervous.

  “Faith, I believe George is having a heart attack or something. Do come, we need help”, he whispers excitedly.

  She runs after him and finds Strathairn leaning against the pit lane wall, gasping for air and shaking. Hands pressed against his chest, he looks panicked.

  “Shit”, Faith says.

  “The paramedics have left already”, Tom says. “We have to get him to a hospital.”

  Faith looks at him confusedly. “Should we not call 999, or whatever it is in these parts?”

  “We’d be in town before they are even here. Stay with him, I’ll get a car.”

  “Wait! Kenny has parked like a hog. I’ll get the car. You stay.”

  She runs back into the garage, quickly tells Nicholas what is up, asks him to end the party as quickly as possible, before Kenny can bring out the cocaine, and then take him to the hotel. Then she grabs the keys from Kenny, who barely seems to notice her, and rushes to the car and down the pit lane to pick up George and Tom.

  On the way to La Ciotat, Tom is driving like the devil while she is in the back with George, talking to him, telling him to cough because when looking after her grandfather she had read that coughing makes the diaphragm contract, which in turn helps to stimulate the heart or something, it might be rubbish, it probably is, but it is all she has. She also phones the hospital and tells them they are coming. She wipes the cold sweat from Strathairns face and steadies him as best she can. At least he is still conscious when the medics take him into the hospital.

  Now that there is nothing left to do, she realises that she is frightened. She texts Nicholas, who writes back that they are packing up and will be setting off for the hotel in Le Beaussel shortly. Then all she can do is sit beside Tom and wait.

  When she wakes up, her head is on his lap, and Nicholas has put his jacket over her. A doctor comes to them and tells them that Strathairn is stable and that they can visit him tomorrow. On the drive home, they discuss the situation. Apparently, Strathairn has had a couple of minor heart attacks during the last few days. This one could have killed him, but he is going to be fine. He will not be returning to the team in the foreseeable future, though, and needs to be replaced. They agree that Tom is going to take over his responsibilities at the race track and Faith is going to see him at the hospital, to make sure that he does not get excited about missing work.

  At the hotel Tom helps her carry her own and Kenny’s bags to her room. Then he gives her a quick hug and they say good night.

  Kenny has the TV running, emptied the mini bar, and is just about ready to start a fight when she refuses to talk to him.