Race With a Heart
Chapter 103: Don’t Make Him Choose

Chapter 103: Don’t Make Him Choose

Abe Allen was tired after the trip and had a lot of duties in the stable. Steve Paxton’s car, crashed during the race, was no longer serviceable, but parts of it were too valuable to be left for vultures foraging in the junkyard. That’s why the whole car was packed in a container, secured and now transported to their base, where Abe will check exactly what else can be saved from it.

The call he got, however, made Allen quit all his work and come to that old car repair shop in a poor neighborhood. The shop hadn’t changed at all, except that its once-red sign was now so faded that it was hard to recognize the color.

This place evoked memories. Lots of memories. Lots of good, some bad. Memories that to Abe were distant past.

Allen walked into the garage and saw a nice old ’88 convertible. A real antique. A real beauty.

"So this is where my boy works now," Abe nodded, smiling sentimentally.

"You have come?" He was greeted by a white-haired old man with glasses emerging from the office. Allen was shocked to see him. Time was really passing too fast!

"How could I not come when you called, old man? Good to see you!"

They hugged, perhaps not as heartily as son and father, but warm enough.

"I just admired that this place hasn’t changed. How is it possible for so many years? "

"You can’t interfere with what’s perfect," Teddy said verbally. "Come on, let’s have some tea!"

The men proceeded to the counter, where Teddy already had water boiled in an electric kettle. The old man picked up two mugs and threw into them a bag of tea bags for each.

"I’m not going to beat around the bush," Teddy announced as he sat down in his seat while Allen was shown a seat for the client. "I want you to give a job to one of my boys."

Abe met the old man curiously. He even raised an eyebrow.

"Martin?" he risked. He guessed it was him, but Teddy might have looked after other talented boys. Just like it used to be.

"He’s Harry’s son, isn’t he?"

"Yes, he is," Allen admitted. "Martin told you that or did you figure it out for yourself?"

"You only had to watch one race with him to know. The kid has his father’s ears. He heard over the TV broadcast that Feretti’s drive unit was having problems. This kid is a diamond! He can’t waste yourself in a place like this! "

"Come on, Teddy, you’re a little unfair to yourself. I haven’t met a mechanic better than you. With you, Martin ... "

"It’s a past. Now this kid knows more than me. I was a master forty years ago. Even thirty years ago. But now there is nothing left for me to teach young people. All that electronics ... "

Probably Allen should have denied it out of politeness, but that would be unfair to Teddy’s honest self-criticism, for which it was not false modesty but realistic thinking. Technology in cars has changed so much in recent years that even Abe, who has been dealing with the latest technical solutions on a daily basis, has at times found it difficult to keep up with the improvements. And what can a man who has worked for fifty years without access to new technologies say?

"I’m thinking of taking him in next season," Abe announced. "If he wants to come back."

"What? Did something bad happen there? "

Allen shook his head.

"Martin may look like his mother, but he has his father heart. He is gentle and kind, but proud. He does not want to get a job because of his connections. I offered to arrange for him to stay now, but he didn’t want to. "

"Proud people with a gentle heart don’t have an easy life," Teddy nodded. "When others take an opportunity without thinking, people like Martin feel that they are not rightly taking an opportunity from someone else. Yes, in their eyes, it’s always someone else who needs this chance more ... "

"Martin has talent," Abe admitted. "He’s brilliant like his father, or more so. If I had known about it sooner, I would have given him a job for the whole season, but even I didn’t know the boy was so capable before. Unfortunately, I cannot force him to return and I do not have time to convince him. "

Abe sighed. When he hired Martin, the boy had very little experience, only that he was helping his fellow amateur racing colleagues to refine their racing cars, but that in itself should have made such adventures as Allen think. After all, it already showed that the boy has an unusual talent. A talent it was a sin not to use. Abe made the mistake of proposing such a short deal and he realized it now.

Or maybe not? Maybe if the deal was for a full season, Martin wouldn’t even try to take this chance?

"I don’t want him to waste his talent like his father did," Allen shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what professional racing would have been like now had Harry not been forced to choose. Damn it! After all, he really could have both love and work! "

"It wasn’t your decision to pin him down. It was mine and Fergus’s decision! This is one of the few decisions I have regretted in this life. If I were to..." The old man paused as emotion overwhelmed him.

"Harry never had a grudge against me," Teddy continued. "He was happy with his family. He was really happy. We lost the genius that could contribute to faster and better development of motorsport. That’s why you don’t make Martin choose, do you? "

"Choose?" Allen was surprised. "Are you saying he already has someone?"

Teddy nodded.

"And from what I can see, they are quite serious about themselves."

Is that Ami? Abe had heard about the nice girl Martin was dating, but then somehow he didn’t mention her, so Allen decided they broke up. Are they back together? Or is she a completely different girl?

No one should ever have to choose between love and work. Everyone should have time for everything. If an employer doesn’t get it, he can’t blame others for losing an excellent employee. Careers and money are not the most important things for everyone in this world.

"I’m definitely not going to make him choose," Allen stated firmly. "I’m not going to lose my diamond just because I can’t accept the fact that there is more to his life, no, more than a job."

"Hope you won’t forget it."

Don Alston found it unpleasant to return to his empty apartment. The driver was surprised to find that he missed Heather. The girl may have been annoyingly stupid and sometimes a little vulgar about how she dresses and acts, but she at least was with him. Don had someone to open his mouth to, to smile at, or to express his frustration. Besides, she wasn’t that bad. It was a pleasure to enter the house knowing that someone was waiting longingly and happily kissing him on his neck.

Don, in a way... missed.

But not so much as to want to find her. He had thought about it before, in the context of her possible knowledge of Alston and Nelson’s plans, but quickly concluded that it was not worth it. Even if the girl knew something, she did not warn anyone about the plan, and if she started talking now, firstly, she had no evidence, and secondly, the damage had already been done. It is true that Steve still stuck to the track, but everyone saw that he is the most unlucky driver of this season, and maybe the whole history of racing. He may still have some desperate effort to defend himself from a total catastrophe, but it is only a matter of time before he collapses.

The phone rang as soon as Don took off his shoes and put on his slippers.

"I’m sorry Don, but we can’t meet today," Nelson announced. "Something urgently came out."

"Too bad," said Alston.

Don really wanted to meet this intelligent, resourceful man with whom he could learn so much for a drink. Nelson’s job, however, required some mobility from him, so it was obvious that he wouldn’t always be on hand for a personal meeting. But Alston could always count on telephone advice.

"I wanted to tell you, too," Nelson continued in a calm voice, "it looks like you were right, Don. Paxton spends all day with a very lovely mechanic. Even now they are having a great time. "

Something stung Alston’s heart painfully.

Martin! It must be him! Don couldn’t shake off the sight of the young mechanic’s ecstatic, sperm-covered face.

His throat was dry.

"Whole day?" he asked and his field of vision narrowed strangely.

"I was surprised too," admitted Nelson. "I thought they would be more careful. They didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong, but someone might have questions about such a close friendship. "

"Where are they now?" the driver asked.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.