They drove side by side for a little bit until reaching the mountains. As the meandered up and through them on the winding road, Heidi narrowly dodged a puddle, making Sheriff drive through it. He was surprised, but he smiled. Heidi saw another puddle. She deftly put only her right wheels on the water, trying to splash Sheriff again. This time he dodged. However, without warning, Heidi splashed some mud onto him. Sheriff was completely covered in it.
"Oh, gross!", he exclaimed.
Heidi laughed with joy, obviously enjoying herself. Sheriff saw a pile of leaves up ahead but it was too late. He plowed through them and they stuck to him since the mud acted like a glue. Sheriff shook his entire body, managing to get the leaves off of him. Heidi sped off and left him behind. She was amazed by the arch and tunnel as she drove through them. Sheriff finally managed to laugh, indicating that he was also having fun. Heidi made it onto the bridge in front of the waterfall. For Sheriff, the view was breathtaking, as if it was a dream. Heidi looked at him. Sheriff saw her looking and gave her a toothy grin, only to reveal having mud on his teeth.
"Hahahahaha!", Heidi laughed.
Sheriff gave a small chuckle. Then he tasted his teeth with his tongue and spit out the mud in disgust. Sheriff sped up a little to try to get to her. They drove along the winding road some more until reaching the now bustling Wheel Well Motel. As they pulled in, they saw lots of cars going in and out of the establishment.
"The Wheel Well Motel. What an interesting place.", she stated.
Sheriff agreed with her.
"Yes it is. Before Lightning came along it had been rotting for decades. Now it's lively again."
He backed up a little before turning around to face the valley and the town below. Heidi parked beside him.
"Wow. It's so...schön."
Sheriff knew that last word as he knew a bit of German.
"Beautiful?" Heidi quickly turned her eyes to look at him.
"I think we should talk more inside.", she said.
Sheriff agreed and drove up to the door. He opened it and gestured to her with his tire for her to drive in first.
"Danke, offizier.", she said to him as she drove in.
"Sie sind herzlich willkommen, Frau.", he replied suavely before following her inside.
Heidi giggled at that. A forklift waitress then came up to them wearing a beaming smile.
"Hello there. Table for two?", she asked them.
"Yes, ma'am.", Sheriff answered.
"Right this way!", the waitress told them.
She led them to an empty table which was in a secluded corner of the restaurant and had privacy curtains. Heidi took her spot first.
"Give us the best oil you have.", Sheriff whispered to the waitress, who nodded and went to the counter.
He parked himself in front of Heidi on the opposite end of the table and closed the curtain with his tire. They waited a few minutes. Soon the waitress came back with the oil cans. She opened the curtain, set the cans down on the table and closed the curtain before attending to other patrons. Heidi looked at the cans and knew they were expensive.
"How can you afford this?", she asked.
Sheriff replied, "I always save some money on the side for expensive occasions."
Heidi nodded her hood.
"How did you learn German?", she asked him.
"I went to Berlin during the Cold War years to visit a friend of mine who was a guard at checkpoint Charlie.", Sheriff explained.
Heidi's mind recollected some old memories of her own.
"Twice a year I went through Charlie to visit a former school mate who lived in East Berlin. She passed recently and I decided to see more of the world."
Sheriff looked at her, his eyes filled with sadness.
"I'm sorry to hear that Heidi. I feel your pain."
Heidi nodded.
"I know. I understand Doc Hudson was your best friend, yes?"
Sheriff reversed a little when she said his name. He closed his eyes for a few moments.
"Yes. He was.", he said, though barely louder than a whisper.
Heidi saw the hurt in his expression.
"From my perspective, there's nothing in the world that's worse than losing someone you deeply cared about.", Heidi said.
"That's true.", Sheriff replied. "But when Doc passed, the whole town and racing world were affected. Not just me. Lightning was affected the most, obviously. He holed himself up in the shed for days until the funeral. I remember my mentor when I was training to be an officer. The day after I graduated, he was shot to death by shielding me from gunfire we encountered while on patrol."
Heidi was horrified.
"Mein Gott.", she whispered.
Sheriff sighed.
"It's just one of those things, Heidi. I'm continuing his legacy by doing my duties, just like Lightning continuing Doc's legacy by adopting the blue paint scheme and becoming Cruz's trainer."
That forced a little half smile on Heidi's bumper. Then she spoke.
"Yes. Cruz Ramirez. I really liked how she made that flip over Jackson Storm. It was amazing!"
"Yes, it was, Heidi. Doc actually did the same thing to his own rival back in the day. It's as if Cruz is a kindred spirit to him if I ever saw one."
Heidi took a sip of her oil, as did Sheriff of his.
"This oil is very good! I love it!", Heidi remarked.
"I only get the best.", Sheriff said to her before giving a wink.
Heidi blushed so hard that Sheriff could barely see a dark shade of red on her black paint.
"So tell me, Heidi. What is a car like you doing in a place like Radiator Springs?"
"I simply wanted a vacation, Sheriff. I needed a respite from my job in Germany."
"And what job would that be?", Sheriff inquired.
Heidi hesitated for a few moments.
"Um...government work. I'd rather not say specifically."
"What? Are you a spy or something?", Sheriff joked.
Heidi chuckled at that.
"No. I'm too old and slow for that. To work for the Federal Intelligence Service as a field agent, one must be agile and young. I'm neither of those."
"Heidi, I know an Aston Martin DB5 who works for MI6. Also, I've been officer for decades. Don't give me that."
"Well, Sheriff. My line of work wouldn't allow me to be an agent anyway."
Sheriff was starting to get impatient.
"Please, Heidi. Tell me what your job is."
"Nein!", Heidi fired back.
Sheriff jumped back a little. Heidi rushed out of the privacy booth and through the door.
"Aw, nuts.", Sheriff mumbled.
The waitress who'd served them earlier rushed over to him. He looked at her and sighed.
"Check, please."
TO BE CONTINUED