Spinning My Wheels: One-Shots

Getting Smoked

It was a rainy day in Thomasville, North Carolina. Smokey was parked at his desk in his garage, sorting through mail.

" Bill," he muttered. " Bill. Bill. Junkmail. Junkmail. Coupon..."

The Hudson pick-up truck froze, eyes widened. In his tire was a letter from Doc. He set the rest of the unsorted mail off to the side then opened the letter.

" Howdy, Smokey," the letter began. " This is Hud. I know. I know. It's been a long time, I have a lot of explaining to do, and I owe you a big apology for cutting off contact with you."

" You got that right, you son of a gun," Smokey scoffed then continued reading.

" As you probably already know, I am in Radiator Springs, AZ," the letter continued. " I've lived here for over fifty years now. It's a quiet, little town. So quiet and so little, it's isolated from the rest of the world. Nobody had any idea who I was, until somebody snooped around in my garage and blabbed about it."

" I wonder who that could be," Smokey muttered to himself.

" Thanks, Lightning," the letter kept going on and Smokey chuckled. " Yes, Lightning. As in Lightning McQueen. I'm mentoring him in addition to being his crew chief. Yes, he dragged me back into the racing world, kicking and screaming, mind you. Nice kid. Has a good hood on his axles…Now. Has a lot of stuff, too. Oh, you have got to see him, Smokey. Reminds me of me when I was his age. Here's a picture of the boy."

Smokey glanced below the writing to find a picture of Lightning flying through the air with his tongue out. The old truck giggled.

" Don't tell him I gave you that," Doc warned him in all capital letters. " I found it in the trash. Sneaked it away while the boy was busy cleaning out his trailer. Speaking of the devil, here he comes. I best be going now. Here's my phone number: (555)-555-A113. Please, feel free to call me any time. Hud."

The Hudson truck set the letter down on the table then glanced over at the rotary dial to his left. He reached for it, hesitating. Smokey sighed then picked it up, using a pencil to dial the numbers.

" This had better be worth it," Smokey mumbled.

Back in Radiator Springs, the phone in Doc's garage began ringing. Doc and Lightning were just returning from a day of training, covered in cacti and laughing. Both went silent when they heard the phone. Doc ushered Lightning toward Flo's then raced into the garage, picking it up.

" Hornet residence," Doc announced.

" Hud," Smokey started. " Hud, is that you? You sound old."

" And so do you, Smokey," Doc quipped back. " I see you got the letter…I am so sorry, Smokey, about everything. You didn't deserve that."

" You getting all mushy on me, Boy," Smokey teased.

" Would you rather I drive all the way back to North Carolina and punch you in the fender, like in the good old days," Doc picked back.

The old cars busted up laughing.

" I see you're still ornery as ever," Smokey commented.

" Back at ya," Doc commented back.

" Keep that trait," Smokey encouraged. " You wouldn't be you without it."

" Plan to," Doc tweeted. " So, how have you been? How's the garage? How's Thomasville? How's the old gang, or what's left of it anyway?"

" I've been doing okay," Smokey replied. " The garage went under a couple of decades ago, so I no longer do that. Fortunately, I was old enough to retire at the time, so I did. Thomasville has remained the same, except for the residents. We're nothing but a bunch of dinosaurs now. Can't believe nobody wants to move here. Most of the gang is alive and well, except for Ronnie Roadster and Hugh Hudson. They both passed away a few decades ago. Two years apart. Ronnie wasn't much of a talker and Hugh was never one to go one minute without blowing a fuse over something, so they weren't missed much."

" Ah, that Ronnie," Doc recollected, shaking his frontend. " He was always brooding in a corner and staring. Never did like him. And, Hugh…Oh, good Ford…I will never forget the day I caught him beating his wife over a can of oil."

" And I will never forget the day he beat you up for reporting him to the police," Smokey recalled. " That was a week that Thomasville will never forget."

" Tell me about it," Doc groaned.

" Anyway, my turn," Smokey uttered. " How have you been? What have you been up to since you left Thomasville, besides hiding? How's Radiator Springs? How are things going with the boy?"

" Much better now that I've gotten back into the racing world," Doc answered. " Didn't realize how much I missed it until the kid literally came barreling into town. Let's see, after I left Thomasville, I went to go study law and medicine. Now, I am a doctor, a judge, and a racing expert. Radiator Springs is thriving now that it's back on the map. You should really come see it someday. It kinda reminds me of Thomasville, only not as green and everything is 50's themed. Things are going well with the boy. We fell into the tulips and got a little beat up today, though. The kid lost control while drifting and slammed into me. Took us both down."

" Aww, how cute," Smokey mused. " Is he yours?"

" I wish," Doc chimed. " You know me, though. I never could settle down. If I wasn't up in one pretty girl's grill, I was up in anothers…You know, sometimes I wonder if we are related. Will have to get his production code and trace it back. Check it out."

" Or you could not be so dad gum creepy and ask him about his family like a normal car," Smokey offered.

" Smokey, I was joking," Doc said, bluntly. " I'm curious, but not that curious."

There was a knock at Smokey's garage door.

" Hey, Smokey," the voice of an elderly female hollered from the background. " Who are you talking to?"

" An old friend," Smokey yelled back. " I'll be right out."

" Well, hurry," she barked. " It is your turn to make dinner for the group tonight. If you don't feed them, they will feed on you."

" Is that Lou," Doc questioned, raising a windshield.

" Sure enough," Smokey replied, rolling his eyes. " She's still got eyes for you, you know."

" Tell her I'm still not interested," Doc rejected. " I could never date a woman who can catch me."

" That's because you can't behave," Smokey taunted. " If you behaved you wouldn't have to worry about that."

" That will never happen," Doc said with a chuckle. " And you know that. Anyway, I better let you go before Barnstormer comes a knocking again or she'll have both of our hoods."

" Later, Hud," Smokey dismissed. " Don't be a stranger."

" I promise," Doc uttered. " I will write to you and call you as often as I can. No more cutting off contact. Later, Smokey."

They both hung up at the same time. Smokey stared at the phone, sighing as old and new memories surfaced. He missed the stubborn, old ex-racer already.

" Smokey, everybody's starving," Lou shoute, as she knocked on the garage door, again. " I think I can see their frames."

Smokey guffawed to himself then turned to go outside. Before leaving, he grabbed the letter and the picture Doc gave to him.