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At this very moment Charles was very much regretting his decision to agree to Max’s plan to bring the kids on a boat trip. He thought the idea was fun at first, to get away from their vacation home for a bit, feel the fresh sea air on their cheeks, smell the salty ocean, and of course for the kids to maybe see some dolphins.
He knew Jane in particular would lose her little mind if they would happen to see some in the wild. She’s been obsessed with her stuffed dolphin that Lando gave her for her birthday last year, and ever since then it was her favorite animal in the world, and everything dolphin related had to be bought for their little princess.
The kids loved the idea of the trip, they’ve been excited all morning, brabbling about all the animals they might see. Jules his eyes had widened when Max told him there was a possibility to see whales as well.
‘But Daddy, whales are so big,’ he had said as he spread his arms out as wide as he could.
‘That’s why they live in the ocean, buddy, so they have all the space they need,’
Charles had chuckled and fed his son another bite of his breakfast.
Now though, when they were on the boat, Charles saw danger everywhere. He should have thought of it before. The kids could easily slip and fall on deck, the railing was quite wide and the perfect size for the kids to climb through and fall into the water, the-’
‘Stop that,’ Max’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear and a strong arm wrapped around his waist. ‘I can see the wheels turning in your head, but they will be fine, Love, I promise.’
Charles frowned and turned his head to look at his husband.
‘How do you know? Have you seen the-’
‘Charles,’ Max interrupted him again, smiling down at him fondly. ‘The crew is about to bring up some life jackets for Jules and Jane and we will both be watching them like hawks, as will they. Let’s just enjoy this day out, okay?’
Just like Max said, two of the crewmembers approached their children with kid sized life jackets. One blue and one red, how poetic. Jane immediately reached for the blue jacket and the woman that was holding it laughed and helped her put it on. Jules pouted at his sister for a moment before allowing a young man to help him in the red jacket.
‘How come our children both like navy blue better than red,’ Charles mumbled, imitating Jules’ pout.
Max laughed and kissed his temple.
‘Because navy blue is the best color there is, baby, and you know it.’
Charles rolled his eyes and squatted down when the kids ran to them, Jules’ hand tightly around Jane’s.
‘Daddy, I got blue like your race car,’ Jane giggled as she fell into Max’s arms. ‘And I have red like yours Papa,’ Jules added, his arms coming around Charles’ neck.
The both of them lifted their kids in their arms and walked over to the lounge area at the front of the boat. The entire front was covered in cushions for sunbathing and the staff had already put down some towels for them.
‘Let’s put some sunscreen on you munchkins,’ Charles said as he put Jules down on the bed, the boy immediately crawling to the front. ‘Not too close to the railing, Jules!’
Jane made a move to follow her brother but Max scooped her up again, holding her upside down in his arms as she giggled. Her long blonde hair fell down in a waterfall over her face, making it unable for her to see, which only made her squeal with laughter more.
Their daughter was a miniature version of Max with her blonde hair and blue eyes, they shared the same nose and mouth too. Jules however had Charles his green eyes and darker hair, it still made his mother close to tears sometimes when she saw her grandson.
‘Jules, get over here buddy,’ Charles called his son again, a bottle of sunscreen ready in his hand. ‘We’ll ask the crew for some ice cream after, yeah?’ he bribed when his son pulled a face. He hated sitting still or the sticky feeling the sunscreen left behind, which Charles totally got, but he was not letting his son’s skin get burned because of that.
‘Do you think they have my favorite, Daddy?’ Jane asked, holding her arms out for Max.
Max booped her nose, making her giggle.
‘I’m sure they do, Princess, everyone loves chocolate.’
Jane cheered and yelled for her brother to come quickly so she could get her ice cream. It worked like a charm and soon both kids were happily enjoying their ice cream. Jane’s mouth was already completely covered with sticky brown ice cream, some of it dripping down on her life jacket.
Jules’ mouth wasn’t much better as the both of them chatted and pointed at the sea every now and then, imagining animals that weren’t there. They looked adorable with the life jackets that were a little big on their small bodies, their hats to protect their heads (Jane of course wore a hat with dolphins, while Jules had a Ferrari hat with his uncle Arthur’s number on it) and the ice cream covering their mouths.
Both Charles and Max looked on endeared as they enjoyed their own ice cream, and slowly Charles was beginning to feel more relaxed about this day.
***
‘Papa, Papa, look! Are those dolphins?’ Jane jumped up and down excitedly as she pointed at a spot in the sea.
Charles squinted his eyes to see better, trying to spot any dolphins, but all he could see were waves and some seagulls.
‘I don’t think so, Princess,’ he said, reaching out to touch his daughter's head as she slumped down against his legs in disappointment.
‘What if they don’t come?’ her voice sounded wobbly and Charles’ heart clenched at the thought of his little girl crying.
He crouched down and pulled her between his legs, her head immediately fell against his chest and he kissed the top of her blonde hair.
‘We’ve only been on the water for an hour, Ma Belle, do you remember what the captain told us?’
Jane let out a big sigh.
‘Yes, Papa. He told us he would take us to where the dolphins are.’
‘He did, so we got to have a little patience alright?’
Jane nodded against his chest and let out another sigh.
‘I still hope they hurry up, I wanna see the dolphins so bad.’
Charles chuckled and dropped another kiss on her head.
‘You have the patience of your Daddy, Princess, let’s find your brother shall we? Maybe we can ask the captain if we can borrow some binoculars to help spot the dolphins, how’s that?’
Jane wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and nodded enthusiastically, letting him lift her up and carry her over to the other side of the boat where Max was helping Jules read a book. The boy sat in between his legs, his back against Max’s chest and he looked up every sentence to see if he did it right. According to Max’s proud grin, he did.
‘Julie, guess what!’ Jane yelled once they were in hearing distance, wiggling in Charles' arms to be let down. ‘Papa said we could use binols to find the dolphins.’
Jules dropped the book to his lap and grinned at her. ‘And whales too? I wanna see a whale!’ He looked back at Max. ‘Can we really find them with binols, Dad?’
‘If your sisters meant binoculars and there are any sea animals closeby, then yes you can,’ Max said, gathering the book from Jules' lap and putting it away in their bag.
For the next half hour the family spent their time looking through the binoculars the crew gave them. So far they had spotted multiple birds and a sea turtle, but no dolphins or whales yet. The kids had been especially excited about the sea turtle, but they were slowly losing their patience at not seeing the animals they wanted, especially Jane.
‘I know it’s hard schatjes, but you must remember that the animals live in the sea and they only come when they want to. They are not here for our entertainment,’ Max tried to explain when Jane slumped against her brother with a sad face.
‘Don’t give up, Janie,’ Jules said, squeezing his sister's hand before bringing the binoculars to his eyes again. ‘I’ll find them.’
Charles smiled and shared a look with Max.
‘That’s right, Princess, you’re a Verstappen-Leclerc, and we don’t give up easily,’ Max said, winking at his daughter before also looking at the sea again.
Jane lifted her chin up high, her lips were pursed as she nodded.
‘You’re right Daddy.’
Not even ten minutes later the captain of the boat spoke to them through the speakers.
‘We have spotted a group of dolphins ahead, if you make your way to the bow of the boat you’ll be able to see them shortly.’
Jane squealed loudly and didn’t waste any time getting up and running over the cushions to the railing at the right side of the boat, Jules in tow.
‘Careful!’ Charles yelled as he scrambled to his knees, fear gripping his heart when his daughter got close to the railing.
Luckily Jules was able to grab his sister's hand before she reached it, allowing Charles and Max to catch up with them. Max wrapped his arm around Jane’s waist to keep her from getting away from them and Charles placed a hand on Jules' shoulder. He knew their oldest wouldn’t just jump off the boat or anything, but he still felt calmer being able to hold onto him.
‘I see them, Daddy, Papa, look!’ Jane yelled, pointing right in front of her to where indeed multiple fins were becoming visible.
The boat had slowed down and it didn’t take long for the dolphins to come closer. Jane was pretty much vibrating, Jules his mouth was agape and Charles could feel goosebumps on his skin when he could clearly see the animals next to their boat. Max's eyes were wide as they followed their movements. The whole family was silent, their gazes never leaving the dolphins as more and more joined in.
It was a magnificent sight how they almost seemed to dance in the water, going under, coming up, moving from one side of the boat to the other. The group waved through each other, different colors of gray and different sizes all moving through the water and Charles could swear he also spotted some baby dolphins.
‘Jane, they have babies,’ Jules whisper-yelled, being the first to break the silence and confirming what Charles saw.
‘It’s incredible,’ Max breathed out, his arms tightening around Jane as she leaned forward to see better.
The boat started moving a little faster again and the dolphins followed, jumping higher out of the water now as they kept up with the speed easily.
‘Do you think we’ll also see the whales now Papa?’ Jules asked, turning around to look at Charles.
‘Who knows, buddy,’ Charles ruffled his hair. ‘For now let’s just enjoy the dolphins, they’re very fast aren’t they?’
Jules nodded and leaned his body against Charles as he focused on the dolphins again.
Max had lifted Jane in his arms, their daughter clinging to his neck as they moved even further to the bow of the boat. Jane’s giggles were what made Charles and Jules follow them and the four of them stayed there until the last dolphin disappeared.
Jane had fallen asleep against Max’s shoulder and Jules was also leaning against Charles heavily.
‘Come on buddy, time for a nap,’ Charles whispered in his ear as he picked him up easily to move him to a spot in the shade.
‘But, the whales-’ Jules tried to argue, but a big yawn interrupted the rest of his sentence.
‘We’ll wake you up, I promise,’ Charles said as he covered him with one of the towels and started to trace figures on his son’s forehead with the tip of his fingers. Immediately Jules closed his eyes, his body relaxing even more. ‘Sleep now, Julie.’ It didn’t take long for Jules his breathing to even out. Charles kissed his forehead before slowly moving backwards, careful not to touch Jane who was curled up against one of the pillows not far from her brother.
Max had moved back to the front of the boat so Charles crawled back over the cushions and sat down next to him, cuddling against his husband's side.
‘Hey,’ he smiled, nuzzling his cheek against Max’s shoulder.
Max wrapped his arm around his waist and kissed the top of his hair.
‘Hey yourself, that was quite the experience wasn’t it?’
‘It was beautiful, I’m so happy we got to share this moment with the kids,’ Charles agreed, moving his head a little so his lips touched Max’s scruff on his cheek.
‘So no regrets of bringing them on this dangerous boat?’ Max teased, leaning back a little so he could also turn his head, their noses now touching.
Charles rolled his eyes and nipped at Max’s bottom lip.
‘I’m always worried about their safety, and yours, you know that. But no, no regrets.’
‘Good,’ Max said before leaning in and kissing him softly.
They stayed right there, cuddling, kissing and watching the sea and other nature around them until someone from the crew came up to them with a platter of snacks and some drinks.
‘The captain just heard on the radio another boat spotted whales further along,’ she informed them. ‘Should be in about twenty to thirty minutes, they are the smallest whale species that live out here but they are still quite impressive.’
Max his eyes had widened.
‘How large are these small whales?’
The woman smiled at them. ‘The whales that were spotted are the short-finned pilot whales and the adults can reach a body length of about five to seven meters long.’
‘Wow,’ Charles murmured, filing the information away in his brain so he could tell Jules later.
‘If you want, one of us can come up here later to give you and the kids some more information about the kind of dolphins and whales we’ve seen at the end of the day?’ the woman offered with a glance at little Jane who was wrapped up in a dolphin towel.
‘We would love that, thank you,’ Max agreed.
‘How lucky that the both of them will have seen the animals they wanted today,’ Chales said when the crew member left, his eyes lingering on their sleeping kids. They’d have to wake them soon if they wanted to get some snacks into them before the whales were sighted.
‘It’s a good day, I do hope however Jules won’t get obsessed with whales now. I find them a lot less cute than dolphins,’ Max said, grimacing.
‘I don’t think anything will ever top his car obsession, Mon Amour, he wants to be like his Daddy when he grows up, remember.’
‘Hmmm you might be right, he has too many racing drivers in his life to forget about that,’ Max hummed in agreement. ‘Which reminds me, Lando asked if we’d want to bring them over to his karting track next week.’
Charles frowned. He knew Jules was old enough to take up karting with him being almost five years old now, he actually already been in kart plenty of times but so far he never competed. Jane however was too young however in his opinion, she was only three and while he was fine with her in a kart with him, he would not let her go out alone yet.
‘Oh come on Charles, you know how old we were when we started. And Lando has had Olivia in a kart since she was two.
‘Well Lando is crazy and reckless sometimes,’ Charles muttered.
‘Maybe so, but Olivia is a force to be reckoned with in her kart.’
‘Doesn’t mean Jane has to be as well, maybe she doesn’t even want to get into karting like Olivia and Jules.’ Charles argued.
Max raised a brow at him and Charles sighed. Yeah he was just trying to ease his mind, Jane would definitely want to follow in her brothers and friend footsteps. For how long she’d like it Charles didn’t know, but he did know he owed it to his kids to let time find out for themselves what their dreams were and if they wanted to follow them.
‘Dad? Papa?’ a small voice sounded from behind them.
A very sleepy looking Jules was looking at them from under his towel, his eyes tiny and hair ruffled from the wind.
‘What’s up buddy?’ Max crawled across to cushions to his son and pulled him in his lap. ‘Are you hungry? The crew brought some cheese and fruit.’
‘Berries too?’ Jules rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Jane woke up as well and without even discussing it, Max and Charles made sure their kids had eaten something before they told them the news about the whales. They were usually on one line with the kids and it never failed to make Charles smile when they communicated with just a look, no words. It had always been that way with them, much to their friends' annoyance.
When the captain announced the whales were just a few meters away, the same thing as before happened. The children ran through the railing, hand in hand this time, and Max and Charles followed.
‘They look like dolphins,’ Jane said when they saw multiple fins appearing in the water. The whales were still a bit far away and Charles agreed that from this distance they looked like dolphins.
‘Their fins are bigger than dolphins and did you know that every pilot whale has a unique fin? Not one of them is the same,’ Max told the kids. ‘And they’re much bigger than dolphins too.’
Max continued to tell the kids the information he gathered and Charles took that moment to take his phone out and snap a few pictures of his family. The whales didn’t come as close as the dolphins did, but they got a good look at them and Jules was squealing with delight when one of them slapped their tail against the water, spraying sea water everywhere.
‘That was so cool,’ he beamed, jumping up and down with excitement.
It really was a wonderful afternoon, just the four of them, and Charles was really glad he had allowed Max to talk him into going. He would never forget the looks of joy on his kids faces and the feeling of seeing the majestic animals up close and in freedom.
When they got back to the docks later that afternoon, both kids were exhausted, a little sunburned, but very happy. Jane was in Charles’ arms, her head laying on his shoulder as he carried her off the boat. She waved at the crew and giggled when the captain blew her a kiss.
Jules was next to Max, his hand holding onto his dad’s shirt as his eyes took in all the boats around him.
‘We’re not eating fish tonight, are we?’ he asked when they walked past a few fisherman boats. ‘Or crab,’ his face scrunched up at the thought.
‘I was thinking burgers,’ Max told their son, lifting him up and putting him on his shoulders.
Jules beamed and grabbed onto Max’s head.
‘With cheese?’ Jane asked, her voice sounding sleepy and muffled against Charles’ shoulder.
Charles chuckled. ‘With whatever you want, Princess.’
‘This is the best day ever,’ she told him and Charles couldn’t agree more.