Good morning, afternoon, evening or night! I have this new chapter for you all! In case you missed it in my last update of When Life Gives You Lemons, I made an announcement. In this story, that one and Fudge in Cars 3 (coming soon), I decided to include Easter Eggs to each of the following:
1. A113 (any Pixar fan would know what that is!)
2. The official release date of the movie I am writing about
3. The date I saw the movie I am writing about at the movies
Don't worry. I haven't included any in this story yet and I'll reveal all of the answers in the last update of all three stories just in case you miss any (especially since I think number 3 won't be easy to find).
So, keep an eye out for those and enjoy this new chapter!
Chapter 10- Dreams, Nightmares and Promises
Mater and Fudge played Tag for a couple of hours, some of the other residents joining in for a little bit. When the game ended, everyone headed over to Flo's for a bite to eat before returning back to their stores. Luigi and Guido were going to be busy, sorting some other stuff out to try and improve their shop. So, they asked Sally if she could watch Fudge for a few hours while they did all of that, including possibly putting her to bed, depending on what time they were done. Sally agreed.
The five-year-old girl sat quietly in the Cozy Cone lobby with Sally, drawing some pictures of animals when Sally asked abruptly, "Are you okay?"
Fudge nodded, not looking up from her drawing. "Yeah. Why?"
"You just seem quiet tonight, that's all." She paused before adding, "Luigi tells me you had another nightmare last night."
"Yeah..." Fudge's shoulders slumped.
She was still drawing, but her entire body language had changed. So, Sally was concerned. Gently, she took the crayon in Fudge's hand away from her. "Sweetie? Are your nightmares bothering you?"
"Yes. Because I'm gonna be leaving soon... Where was I gonna go again? If they don't find any humans for me to live with?" She couldn't say find her family because the cars in Radiator Springs were her family.
"Wisconsin", Sally replied.
"Where's that?"
The Porsche pulled out a map of the United States that she had. "We are here." She pointed to a spot in Arizona. "And Wisconsin... is... here." She pointed to a different, distant spot on the map.
"That's really far."
"I know..." Sally agreed sadly, kissing her lightly.
"Would I ever see any of you guys again?" Fudge wondered.
A pause followed.
"I don't know", Sally admitted quietly. "I hope so. Maybe ACAFCA would be able to arrange something, so you can keep in touch with us and maybe even see us every now and then."
"It wouldn't be the same", Fudge declared.
"I know it wouldn't, but it's better than never seeing us again, isn't it?"
The human girl nodded and Sally gave her a sympathetic smile and a kiss.
Since Fudge was still upset, Sally read her stories until she fell asleep. She was alone in her office till she saw some car lights go past. Could it be...
"Customers!"
She was quick to switch on the neon lights outside the Cozy Cone Motel. Only the sign showed up as NO VACANCY. That wasn't right. She groaned to herself as she struggled to fix it, waking Fudge up in the process.
"What are you doing?" the little girl mumbled.
"Oh!" The Porsche turned around. "Sorry, Fudgie. I didn't mean to wake you."
That was when they heard Mater's contagious laughter. "Tomorrow night, we can go look for the Ghostlight!" he suggested to Lightning.
"I can't wait!" Lightning replied unenthusiastically.
"Oh, yeah, I'm tellin' ya!" Mater exclaimed. "Oh, boy, you gotta admit that was fu-un!"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah." Lightning still didn't sound like he'd had as good a time as Mater.
"Where did they go?" Fudge wondered.
"I don't know, sweetie", Sally answered. "Maybe Mater wanted to take Stickers tractor tipping", she suggested, chuckling to herself. The idea of a big city race car going tractor tipping was pretty funny.
"What's tractor tipping?" Fudge wanted to know.
"Never mind."
All of a sudden, Mater burst out laughing again. "You're in love with Miss Sally!" he informed Lightning.
Sally's eyes widened. What?!
"No, I'm not!" Lightning argued.
"Yes you do!"
"Yes you do!" Fudge hollered out the window.
Lightning looked in the direction of the shout, but saw no one. "Fudge?"
"Fudge is right!" Mater insisted.
"No way!"
"Way!"
"Come on, look..."
But Mater wasn't listening.
"You're in love with Miss Sally!" Mater chanted over and over again, jumping in front of Lightning and driving backwards down the road.
"Okay, that's really mature, Mater!" Lightning groaned. "Real grown-up!"
Fudge giggled. The reason Lightning hadn't been able to see her was because Sally had pulled her back and hidden her.
"What are you and Mater talking about?" the Porsche demanded.
"He loves you!"
Sally scoffed at the idea. "No he doesn't!"
Fudge nodded seriously. "Yes he does!"
"You love her!" Mater went on. "You love her."
"Wait-" Lightning began.
Only Mater wouldn't stop. He kept repeating, "You love her, you love her."
"Okay, Mater, Mater, enough!" Lightning cut him off finally.
The tow truck just laughed.
"Will you stop that?"
"Stop what?" Mater asked innocently.
"That driving backwards stuff. It's creeping me out. You're gonna wreck or something."
Mater stopped. "Wreck? Shoot! I'm the world's best backwards driver!" he proclaimed. "You just watch this right here, lover boy!"
With that, Mater switched his cab light on and shot off down the road, hollering with glee. Fudge grinned and jumped up and down excitedly from her spot inside the Cozy Cone where she was witnessing Mater's crazy actions.
Lightning couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What are you doing?! Watch out, watch out!" he called worriedly as Mater headed straight for a Cozy Cone. However, Mater knew what he was doing and avoided the cone. "Mater? Mater!"
"Yay! Go, Mater!" Fudge cheered.
The tow truck weaved through the cones and surrounding area. Then he came out and spun around like crazy.
"Hey! Take it easy, Mater!" Lightning called.
Mater stopped finally and darted into the trees. It was hard to see the tow truck except for the cab lights flashing amongst the trees. Out of nowhere, he leapt up over the trees, so that it looked like he was level with the moon from where Lightning was.
Lightning chuckled. "He's nuts!"
Fudge turned to Sally. "Sally?"
"Yes, Fudge?"
"Can I go say hi to Mater?"
"Sure, sweetie", the Porsche replied, knowing that Fudge would be in sight the whole time. "Just be careful."
So, Fudge ran out of the Cozy Cone and made her way over to Lightning. "Hi!" she greeted him happily.
"Hey, Fudge!" he replied, sounding quite sincere.
"Ain't no need to watch where I'm goin'!" Mater announced as he made his way back to Fudge and Lightning. He did a jump, so that he turned around and faced them once again. "Just need to know where I've been", he concluded, turning his cab lights off.
Fudge clapped.
"Whoa! That was incredible!" Lightning cried. "How did you do that?!"
"Rearview mirrors", Mater explained, wagging them. "We'll get you some and I'll teach you if you want."
"Yeah, maybe I'll use it at my big race", Lightning commented as he began driving down the road in front of the other two.
"What's so important about this race of yours anyway?" Mater wondered.
Lightning stopped. He reversed and faced the tow truck and human once again.
"It's not just a race", he insisted. "We're talking about the Piston Cup! I've been dreaming about it my whole life! I'll be the first rookie in history ever to win it!" He rolled off, facing away from them again. "And when I do, we're talking big new sponsor with private helicopters."
"What's a sponsor?" Fudge wanted to know.
"People who pay me to race and wear their logo", Lightning explained and, for once, he sounded patient with her. He tried to think of a way to put it that a five-year-old would understand. "Right now, I'm sponsored by Rust-Eze, so I have their name on me, so people know who they are. And when I win this race, I'll get a bigger, better sponsor who pay me more money and will make me even more famous. No more medicated bumper ointment, no more rusty old cars..."
"What's wrong with rusty old cars?" Mater wondered.
Lightning paused again, realising his mistake and turned around to face them again.
"Well, I don't mean you, Mater", he tried to get out of the hole he had just dug himself into. "I mean other old cars, you know. Not like you. I like you."
"Eh, it's okay, buddy", Mater assured him.
"What about me?" Fudge piped up. "Do you like me?"
A small smile spread across Lightning's face. "Sure, Fudge." He had to admit, Fudge was pretty cute.
"Yay!" the five-year-old cheered.
Meanwhile, Mater was deep in thought. "Hey, you think maybe one day, I can get a ride in one of them heli-copters? I mean, I've always wanted to ride in one of them fancy heli-copters!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure", Lightning agreed casually.
"Me too! I really want to ride in a helicopter too!" Fudge chimed in. "That would be so fun!"
"Tell you what", Lightning began, "I get the sponsorship, you two can ride in my private helicopter anytime you want."
"Reallyreallyreally?!" Fudge exclaimed, jumping up and down and flapping her arms like a bird as she always did whenever she was really excited.
"You mean it?!" Mater added, his tow hook wagging like a dog's tail.
"Oh, yeah, anything you say", Lightning replied, still sounding extremely casual and far from sincere, but neither Fudge nor Mater picked up on that.
"I just hope I'm still here then", Fudge commented.
"I knew it!" Mater declared happily before Lightning got the opportunity to ask Fudge what she meant by that. "I knowed I made a good choice!"
Lightning looked blank. "In what?"
"My best friend."
Lightning stared at the tow truck. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Mater really considered him a best friend? He didn't know what to say. He just smiled. Mater returned the gesture.
"I wish I had a best friend", Fudge remarked.
Lightning looked at her. Of course she didn't have a best friend. There was nobody around here her age. It was obvious, even to the race car, that Fudge loved everyone in Radiator Springs. Still, he wondered if she ever got lonely. Not only was she the only kid in town, but the only human. He had no idea what it was like to live his whole life being outnumbered like that. Even though he'd also been an only child, he'd been one of, if not, the most popular kid at school and everyone wanted to hang out with him, both in and out of school hours. He was never lonely. But, of course, Fudge didn't have that...
All of a sudden, Mater changed the subject.
"See ya tomorrow, buddy!" he called to Lightning as he drove backwards back to his junkyard. "Good night, Fudge!" he added before chanting, "McQueen and Sally parked beneath a tree! K-I-S-somethin'-somethin'-somethin'-T!"
Lightning laughed. Then when he stopped, he turned to Fudge. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"You seemed kinda upset when Mater said I was his best friend... You must get lonely sometimes."
"Not really... Because I love everyone here. I don't wanna leave, but soon, I'll be-"
"Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Lightning wondered, interrupting Fudge.
"Sally was looking after me", the human girl explained. "She let me come and say hi, but I should get back now."
Lightning smiled. "Come here." He scooped Fudge onto his hood. "I'll take you."
"Okay", she agreed, pressing her hands down to allow her magnets to connect to Lightning's metal hood, who clearly wasn't expecting it.
"Whoa! What is that?"
"Magnets!" Fudge explained, showing him. "They stick to metal, so they stop me from falling off."
Lightning smiled. "Right." The race car reversed, trying to drive backwards like Mater did. Only he was a lot slower and much more cautious, driving off back to the Cozy Cone.
"Number one... Number one..." Lightning murmured to himself, repeating his cone number.
"Here it is!" Fudge pointed to it.
He drove inside. "Ah! This is nice!" he commented.
"Hey, Stickers!" a voice called from behind him.
Lightning jumped a mile. So did Fudge.
"Don't do that!" the five-year-old shrieked.
"I'm sorry!" Sally apologised.
"Whoa! You scared me! You gotta be careful!"
"I scared myself scaring you scaring me!"
"I mean, I wasn't like scared scared."
"No. Of course not."
"I was more..."
He trailed off awkwardly, realising that Fudge was still there.
Sally saw what he was looking at. "Fudge, why don't you go back to the lobby?" she suggested. "I just wanna talk to Stickers and I'll take you home in a sec."
"But I wanna stay!" Fudge protested.
"Fudge!" Sally laughed. "Come on, sweetie! We gotta let Stickers go to sleep. And you need to go to sleep too. Besides, this is boring, grown-up stuff."
"Not boring grown-up stuff!" Fudge groaned, sliding off Lightning's hood and retreating back to the lobby.
Both cars laughed.
"So, what's up?" Lightning wanted to know.
"It's just I overheard you talking to Mater and Fudge", Sally informed him.
The stock car tensed up. "When? Just... just now? What did... What did you hear?"
"Oh, just something about a helicopter ride", she lied.
Lightning was obviously relieved. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, they got a kick out of that, didn't they?"
"Did you mean it?"
"What?"
"That you'll get them a ride."
"Oh, who knows?" Lightning responded casually. "I mean, first things first. I gotta get out of here and make the race."
Sally eyed him suspiciously. "Uh-huh."
Fudge, who was sat in the lobby and able to hear every single word coming from the two cars, glanced up from her drawing. Lightning had meant he'd get them a ride in a helicopter, hadn't he? He promised. Nobody had ever broken a promise to Fudge before. Why would someone start now? She shrugged and went back to finishing off her drawing.
"You know", Sally went on, "Mater and Fudge trust you."
"Yeah. Okay."
"Did you mean that?"
"What? Look, I'm exhausted", Lightning insisted. "It's kinda been a long day."
"Yeah, okay. Well, I better take Fudge home. Good night." The Porsche started to drive off.
"Hey! Thank you!" Lightning called after her.
She stopped in disbelief and turned around. "What did you just say?"
"You know, thanks for letting me stay here. It's nice to be out of the impound and this is... It's great. Newly refurbished, right?"
"Yeah."
"Good night."
"Good night."
As Sally drove away, she resumed thinking something that had been on her mind several times that day. Maybe there was hope for this guy after all.
"I finished my drawing!" Fudge announced proudly, thrusting it at Sally when she returned. It was a drawing of a bunch of animals based on some toy ones Fudge had.
"Fudge! This is great!"
"Do you want it?" the child offered. She often gifted her drawings to the residents. In fact, that would always be her Christmas and birthday presents for her family members.
"Of course I do, sweetie. Tell you what. As soon as it's framed, I'll put it right here on my desk, okay?"
Fudge beamed. "Okay!"
"For now, let's keep it safe in here." She put it in a drawer. "Now, you ready to go home, you little munchkin?"
"Okay!" Fudge yawned.
"There she is!" Luigi exclaimed when Sally entered Casa Della Tires with Fudge on her hood. He picked his daughter up and kissed her noisily and repeatedly.
Fudge smiled broadly, returning the kisses. The townsfolk always made a big deal over seeing her. Especially Luigi and Guido.
"Are you okay?" Luigi went on.
Fudge nodded. "Uh-huh."
"Ciao!" Guido greeted his daughter warmly, joining them. He, too, kissed her many times. "(Did you have a good day, baby?)"
"Si", Fudge responded before going on to recount her day in Italian, making Guido smile.
"What is Fudgie still doing awake?" Luigi wondered, giving her yet another kiss.
"That was my fault", Sally explained. "I woke her up."
"Guess what, guess what!" Fudge cried.
"What, Fudgie?"
"I was talking to Mater and Lightning! And Lightning said that he was gonna let me and Mater ride in one of his helicopters!"
There was a pause. Like Sally, Luigi and Guido didn't buy it. But they weren't about to break Fudge's heart and tell her that.
"Really?" Luigi asked.
Fudge nodded eagerly, jumping up and down. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
"Well, that sounds exciting", the Fiat commented, picking her up again, "but for now, let's get you to bed."
"Okay!"
"Good night, Sally."
"Good night, Luigi. Good night, Guido. Good night, Fudge."
"(Good night)", Guido responded.
"Night-night, Sally!" Fudge added.
Sally smiled, kissed Fudge and left.
Luigi and Guido carried their daughter up to the bathroom to help her brush her teeth before taking her to her bedroom. And as she was tucked into her bed with a good night kiss from each of her fathers, Fudge no longer worried about having nightmares. Instead, she had big dreams of soaring high in the sky.