Chapter 18

That was the last time I saw Frank. It was the last time he stepped foot in our house. My mother and Grandparents had a couple of encounters with him in court. My mother sued him for grievous bodily harm and emotional abuse. The last we heard of Frank, he was staying at his friend’s house, Peter. He was sleeping on the couch. It didn’t take long for Pete to see what kind of a man he was and told him to leave. The last we heard, he left London.

I’m back home now with my mother. The truth is some nights at my Grandparents and some at home. Jade is with me wherever I go. When she has lessons at the university, we’re at Brentwood. The weekends we spend with mum. My Grandparents have slowed down with the charity work. They try to spend as much time with Mum and me.

I will be starting my last year at Hertfordshire University in September. To my surprise, my Grandparents paid for any tuition fees I had for the previous two years, including this year. Nick promised me that he would help me as much as possible with any projects I have at the university. That is if I support him with something he will need to do in July. He won’t tell me until then.

It’s the first week of July. Nick has arranged a surprise trip for me. It’s early on a Saturday morning; we are cruising in our Beamer along the M25, eastbound towards Heathrow. Nick was driving, me next to him in the passenger seat. Jade and Emma were in the back seat. It seemed that the three of them knew where we were going except for me. Nick came off the M25 and jumped onto the M1, northbound. He drove past Luton and Milton Keynes. After a few more junctions, he swerved off the motorway towards Northampton. A few more miles through some villages, we came across a large advertisement board. It was for a drag race venue which was held today. A few more miles, and we arrived at the entrance. Nick pulled out for tickets and handed them in at the pay booth. The barrier opened, and we drove in.

“Welcome to Santa Pod Raceway!” Nick yelled. “This is a gift from me to you, my good friend.

I was speechless; I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to scream with joy. My eyes went moist. Jade was seated behind me; she leaned forward and wrapped her hands around me. Leaning forward, she whispered in my ear, “I love you.”

Nick parked the car in a parking slot which was only for the cars racing. I told him that we were not allowed to park here, but he ignored me. We strolled around the venue seeing all the cars that were on show. All the walking around and excitement opened up our appetite. By midday, we went for lunch, which was my treat. By two, we were seated at the race stands, watching the drag races.

The venue for this weekend was for cars made in Europe. There were no supercars like Ferrari and Porsche. Standard cars would compete with modified vehicles like Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Drivers would challenge other drivers to drag race each other. It was all legal racing.

At four in the afternoon, Nick nudged me on the shoulder, he said. “Come on; our slot is at four-thirty.”

“What slot,” I said, confused.

Nick and I got up while the girls stayed seated. We made our way to the Beamer. Nick started the engine and opened the hood. He let the engine warm-up for a few minutes before inspecting the running of the motor.