2~
Cornelia Eldorado had succeeded again in securing herself a front row seat at the Thomasville Speedway and cheered the moment the race began and the indigo-blue Hudson Hornet cruised forth. As his speed picked up, he was soon leaving several of his competitors in the dust. Already excitement had filled the stands and Cornelia was just as energized as they, if not more. The rest of the racers became no more than props to her as her eyes focused solely on the main lead. She somehow found a way to tune out all other racket so she could only put her attention on the sound of his powerful engine, and what a thrill it was! The roar of it was nearly deafening at close quarters, but somehow that just made it even more exciting. It was all a part of the race, and she found that she didn't even mind when her green hood began acquiring a rather brown tinge of dust that drifted off the track. If she never had the opportunity to meet her idol, getting dirt thrown on her that he had a part in tossing up wasn't bad either. Her parents would think she was crazy to even have such a thought, she briefly considered.
She watched every lap with glee until the very last one came. This was it. This was who would determine the winner.
"Oh please, Mister Hornet, please win! You've got the power. You ought to get the honor more than all those others!" she cried as she watched. It seems everyone else in the stands had the same idea and cheering for their respective favorites echoed 'round the track. But her eyes still never left The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, not even when the station wagon next to her gave her a nudge and said that he betted that his favorite would win instead. She shoved him off, earning an offended look in reply, but even if she had noticed, she had nothing to say.
Closer and closer the finish line came for the cars in the race, and Cornelia's heart plummeted when she saw another racer coming dangerously close to the lead. He was gaining on #51. Apparently the Hudson Hornet noticed this as well, and at what seemed like the very last minute possible, he gave the competition his all with a final show of top speed and as the flag went down, crossed the finish line—at first place. Cornelia felt as if her joy could never be contained, and cheered loudly at the triumph.
At this race, she knew her fondest hope couldn't be suppressed any longer, and so one way or the other, she persuaded racing officials to let her past to a place not many girls were usually allowed—where she could have the opportunity to meet her idol. When she had stated her plea to the first random race worker she saw, he had given her a confused look but at her begging had eventually relented. "Just make it fast. These cars are very busy, you know." he said in warning.
She promised she'd do that. All she could hope for now was that she wouldn't have a case of "cat got her tongue" and be able to say something. She rehearsed over and over again her greeting, hoping she wouldn't sound like some crazed fan. That'd be absolutely dreadful for such a wonderful opportunity as this.
When she made her way over to where all of the racers sat with their crews, it was easy to pick out The Fabulous Hudson Hornet. She thought he had the sharpest paintwork and of course, was the best looking. Waiting by the sidelines she sat until a small forklift noticed her.
"This isn't a place for the public to be, Miss." he told her.
She offered a little smile and answered, "I got permission from someone with the track though. He said I could come over."
"Would that be Henry Longmile you talked to?"
"I think so, yes. You see, I've been a fan of Mr. Hornet ever since I can remember and I did so want to offer him my compliments for his achievement. He's truly amazing."
"That he is, Miss, a genuine champion. Well, if you got permission, you can come on over. Just make sure you don't take up too much time. We're all busy, you know."
"I promise I won't," she said for the second time so far that day. Then, when the forklift moved away she slowly drove over to where the handsome indigo-blue car sat, only he wasn't so blue anymore. A thick coat of dust had fallen over him also, not yet cleaned off. She came around to face him, and when their eyes met he said, "Well, hello there, ma'am."
She braked and tried to summon up every scrap of courage she had. Her idol had spoken to her! To her!
"Hi. My name is Cornelia Eldorado… I just wanted to say 'congratulations' on your winning of the race, Mr. Hornet." she finally said with the manners she knew would make her mother proud.
He offered her what she thought of as his "publicity smile," which was so charming and undeniably urbane. "Thank you, Miss Eldorado. I appreciate that."
She shuffled her right front tire in nervousness and finally said, "You really are incredible. I've followed your races since you began. You're my favorite on the track. No one has the ways you have."
"Maybe none do right now, but I didn't start off in the very beginning as a champion either. To be good, you got to have a lot of training." he replied.
"I guess that's true. I enjoy races a lot. I love learning about them; I wish there were thing I knew that weren't printed in the papers. My dad says races aren't a 'womanly' thing, but I love attending them." she blurted, before mentally censuring herself for sounding like she was airing dirty laundry. She needn't have worried though, for he chuckled and said, "I've heard that before. Here's a thought for you, also."
"Yes…?" she asked, holding her breath, thinking he'd tell her time was short and she ought to start hauling fender out of there.
"You interested in learning about racing from an insider's point of view, you come talk to me later. I could tell you some of those things that aren't printed in the papers." he replied.
"Would you?" she asked, scarcely believing it.
"Of course. I've done all I need to do today—aside from getting cleaned off. Whatever else there is can wait a day. Later on after I'm cleaned up, you can come back if you want, and I could tell you a few things."
"Oh, I'd love to! It's alright?" she asked of him.
"It's nice to have some different company off the track. I don't mind." he assured her.
"I'll be here then! Oh, thank you, Mr. Hornet. This will be so exciting!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I hope your expectations aren't let down." he answered, smiling.
HE watched the form of the Cadillac retreat before turning back to the immediate events. He couldn't remember when the last time was he actually engaged a fan past the standard "thank you" for whatever compliment they offered. Why did he act different this time? He'd had a few girls before saying some things that were vaguely similar, but hadn't invited them for a longer talk. What was different? Well, this girl wasn't nearly as overexcited as some. That was one point. A lot of them could hardly get their words out and the youngest ones squealed something awful. Some of his companion racers thrived on that kind of attention, but he honestly found it uncomfortable. Cornelia Eldorado seemed older than those girls and also more mature, which felt honestly like relief. To have a fan squeal whenever you said the slightest thing got old very fast.
"Who was that, boss?" a forklift—a member of his pit crew—asked as he rolled up. The racer broke from his thinking and answered, "Some girl named Cornelia Eldorado."
"You know her?" he asked.
"Not before she came over, I didn't."
"Another squealing groupie?" he asked.
"Actually no. She behaved well, and wanted to know some things about racing."
"Don't they all," the forklift stated. The racecar ignored him and continued, "I told her if she was interested in learning other things 'not printed in the papers' she could come back later, after I'm cleaned up."
"You invited a girl back? You ain't ever had a girl over for a chat. Is this what I'm thinking it is?!"
"What do you think it is?" the Hudson Hornet asked, firing the blue forklift a dry stare.
"A date? I mean, why not think that? You're one of the few racers that aren't connected with a gal, and you know how that improves your image. You would have had a gal in '51 if you wanted. I've seen how they look at you, boss. They think you're a dreamboat."
"That's enough. If you'd start cleaning me off now, I'd appreciate it."
"Sure, boss. Whatever ya say." he answered, although his mind was a whir of thought. If The Fabulous Hudson Hornet invited a girl back for a talk, that'd make it's circuit quick around the racing community and before you knew it, they'd all be thinking every sort of thing possible.