Page 84 of The Grumpy Count
“LMGTE stands for Le Mans Grand Tourisme Endurance.”
I nod a thank you.
“Porsche,” Matteo says.
“Correct again!”
Matteo skips up and down. “Another question! Come on, ask me another question!”
“OK, here’s a really tough one. What is the name and country of the driver who holds the record number of wins at the Sarthe Circuit?”
Confusion in his big eyes, Matteo fidgets. “I don’t know what the Sarthe Circuit is…”
“Sorry, can’t help you.” The technician spreads his hands. “If you’re a real fan, you should know what it is.”
Matteo’s face is so miserable now that the man takes pity on him. “You can ask your dad or his fiancée for help.”
Matteo shoots a look at Jonas, who is absorbed in his editorial debate, before turning to me. But I know nothing about car races outside of the few fun facts I’ve picked up from Matteo. I give him a rueful shrug.
Shifting his gaze back to Jonas, Matteo cries out, “Dad!”
Jonas stops talking mid-sentence. His body goes rigid.
“Dad!” Matteo calls again. “What’s the Sarthe Circuit?”
Slowly, as if exerting a tremendous amount of control over his movements, Jonas turns toward Matteo.
“The Sarthe,” he begins before his voice cracks.
He coughs, takes a breath and starts again, “The Sarthe Circuit is just another name for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, because it’s held in the French province of Sarthe.”
“Aah! Cool!” Pivoting toward his quizzer, Matteo puts his hands on his hips. “The record holder is Tom Kristensen from Denmark.”
The technician gives him a thumbs-up. “Three out of three!”
Everyone claps.
The technician tips his cap. “You aced my quiz, Matteo. Well done!”
I sneak a look at Jonas. His eyes are trained on the boy, and the sheer happiness in them makes my breath catch in my throat. Quickly, I avert my gaze. It won’t do to start sobbing for no obvious reason on my first day in person at the studio.
As I stare at the wall, I wonder when exactly Jonas ceased to be Matteo’s uncle and became his father. Was it something he felt immediately or soon after the formal adoption? Or did it happen gradually over the first year following Stephen’s death? Or perhaps the second year?
What I do know is that when I met him in London and heard Matteo call him by his first name, it didn’t occur to me to question the degree of their connection. I just assumed their relationship was messed up. But their relationship was great. Matteo was simply out of step with Jonas. In his heart, Jonas was already Matteo’s dad, but to the boy Jonas was still his uncle.
That gap has just been bridged. Matteo caught up. From now on, he and Jonas are in sync.
>>
