Did you think I'd forgotten all about this story? Well, I hadn't! Even though I've been busy on my other stories (except Tales From Radiator Springs; there's not a lot going on there at the moment, so please forgive me for that!). Anyway, please enjoy this new chappie!
Chapter 12- The Customer
"Done!" Fudge sang proudly, putting the last of Doc's whitewalls back on.
Doc smiled at her. "Thanks, Fudge. You're a big help."
The five-year-old beamed.
"Now, let's take a look at your head, Miss Fudge!" Doc suggested, leading her over to the clinic. "I think I might be able to remove the stitches in a day or two."
So, he examined her carefully.
"Well, you've been very good about not scratchin'", Doc remarked.
"That's because you said you'd make me wear a dog cone."
"I was just kiddin'", Doc assured her with a teasing smile.
"Oh."
"Good news, kiddo", Doc announced a few minutes later. "I think I can remove your stitches the day after tomorrow."
"Yay!" she cheered.
"There she is!" Luigi exclaimed as he and Guido burst through the doors to the clinic.
"Hi, Luigi!" she shouted, jumping off the table where Doc was examining her. "Hi, Guido!" She gave each of them a big hug.
"Ciao!" her fathers returned her greeting with a big kiss.
"Guess what! Doc said he'll remove my stitches the day after tomorrow!"
"That is good news!" Luigi declared, giving his daughter another kiss.
"Yeah, so, if the day after tomorrow, you could bring 'er in early, that'd be good", Doc spoke up. "Get it out of the way."
Luigi nodded. "We can do that. Grazie, Doc."
"Well, I think it's time Miss Fudge went home now", Doc added.
"I was just about to say the same thing", Luigi remarked with a smile. "Come on, Fudgie."
"Okay!" she agreed. "What's for dinner?"
Fudge awoke early the next morning. In fact, she could hear Sarge and Fillmore's early morning routine. The reveille sounded over Radiator Springs and the electric guitar started soon after.
"WILL YOU TURN THAT DISRESPECTFUL JUNK OFF?!" Sarge barked at Fillmore.
"Respect the classics, man!" Fillmore replied and, for once, he didn't add, "It's Hendrix!"
It didn't take Guido and Luigi long to get Fudge dressed in khaki shorts and a matching button-down shirt. They got a surprise when they headed out, they followed the others (again, Doc was the only one not there; in fact, he was leaving) over to the end of the now-finished brand new road. Only Lightning wasn't there.
"He's gone?" Flo asked in disbelief.
"Well", Sarge piped up, "we wouldn't want him to miss that race of his."
"I can't believe he really left", Fudge murmured, squirming in her position on Luigi's hood. She was trying hard not to cry.
"Yeah", Mater added. "And he didn't say goodbye."
Sally drove off, clearly very upset by the thought of Lightning being gone and she wasn't the only one. Sheriff was sniffling, making Fudge giggle a little bit.
"Oh, dude!" Ramone had also noticed. "Are you crying?"
"NO! I'M HAPPY!" he insisted (lying!). "I don't have to watch him every second of the day anymore! I'm glad he's gone!"
But Red burst into tears, tearing off exactly as he'd done several days before when Lightning insulted Radiator Springs. He even knocked over the same stack of tyres.
"What's wrong with Red?" a new voice piped up. Right away, everyone knew who it was and gasped happily.
Well, almost everyone.
"Oh, he's just sad", Mater began casually, not realising who he was talking to, "'cause you left town and went to your big race to win the Piston Cup that you'd always dreamed about your whole life and get that big ol' sponsor and that fancy helicopter you was talkin' about."
Silence. Mater had stopped talking, still oblivious to who he had been talking to. For a couple more seconds.
The tow truck gasped. "Wait a minute!"
Everyone laughed.
"I knowed you wouldn't leave without sayin' goodbye!" Mater declared.
"You're still here!" Fudge cheered, scrambling off Luigi's hood and running to the stock car for a hug.
"I'm still here!" Lightning repeated, chuckling and returning the hug.
"What are you doin' here, son?" Sheriff questioned. "You're gonna miss your race." He started driving down the road, switching his lights on. "Don't worry. I'll give you a police escort and we'll make up the time."
"Thank you, Sheriff", Lightning replied. "But you know I can't go... just yet."
"Well, why not?" Sheriff asked, looking back at Lightning and turning his lights off.
"I'm not sure if these tyres..." Luigi gasped happily as Lightning continued. "...can get me all the way to California!"
"Peet stop?" Guido spoke up.
"Yeah, does anyone know what time Luigi's opens?" Lightning went on.
Luigi and Guido zoomed up to the race car. "I can't believe it!" Luigi squealed happily.
"FOUR NEW TYRES!" Luigi exclaimed joyfully when they arrived back at Casa Della Tires and got Lightning on the lift. "Grazie, Mr. Lightning! Grazie!" Luigi hugged him.
Sally appeared just then, amazed that Lightning was still in town. She joined the others in watching from outside. Fudge understood why they wanted to watch and she was excited tpoo, but it made her feel like a goldfish in a bowl. Doc was soon to arrive, glaring at Lightning angrily.
"Our first real customer in years!" Luigi went on. "I am filled with tears of ecstasy! For this is the most glorious day of my life!"
"What about me?!" a hurt Fudge cried.
"(He is just excited)", Guido explained when Luigi didn't answer. "(None of this means as much to him as you do.)"
"All right, Luigi. Give me the best set of blackwalls you've got!" Lightning requested as he was raised up on the lift.
Suddenly, the lift stopped, jerking Lightning back to the ground.
"No! No, no, no!" Luigi cried. "You don't know what you want. Luigi know what you want."
He drove over to a red curtain, Guido and Fudge following.
"Blackwall tyres!" Luigi began, spitting the words out as if they tasted bad. "They blend into the pavement! But-a this!" The Fiat pressed a button to open the curtains, revealing some whitewall tyres.
"Ta-dah!" Fudge sang.
"Whitewall tyres! They say, 'Look at me! Here I am! Love me!'"
"All right, you're the expert", Lightning agreed, making Luigi laugh.
Doc growled and stormed off.
"Oh, and don't forget the spare!" Lightning added.
"Perfetto!" Luigi answered before turning to his assistant and best friend. "Guido!"
Guido lit up. "Peet stop!"
"Peet stop!" Fudge echoed excitedly.
Guido got ready to change Lightning's tyres. He was armed with his wrench. Four whitewall tyres lay beside Lightning. Luigi had his Ferrari flag, ready to start. Fudge was eager to see her dad change the tyres as fast as he could. Luigi waved the flag and Guido was away, removing Lightning's Lightyear brand racing tyres as fast as he could and getting the whitewalls on just as fast.
"Go, Guido!" Fudge cheered when he was done.
"Wow", Lightning commented. "He's really fast."
Fudge turned to Luigi. "Can I do it next time?"
Luigi chuckled. "We will see, Fudge."
"Yeah, she changed Doc's tyres yesterday", Lightning added.
Luigi looked at his daughter. "Did you?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I did!"
"Where did you get the tyres from?"
"They were Doc's", Fudge explained. "He already had them."
The Fiat nodded. "Okay..." He pulled Fudge in close, kissing her gently and repeatedly.
"But... don't you think she's a little young to know how to change a tyre?" Lightning wondered.
Guido spoke in Italian. Luigi translated. "Guido says he was not much older than Fudge when he learned."
Lightning nodded. "Oh. Okay."
Luigi smiled. "Signore Lightning. Come look in the mirror! You see how fantastico the whitewalls make you look!"
Grinning all the way, the stock car obeyed, following the other three over to the mirror.
"Ta-dah!" Fudge sang again.
"What did Luigi tell you, eh?" the Fiat asked.
"Wow, you were right!" Lightning admitted. "Better than a Ferrari, huh?"
"Eh... no", Luigi responded, to which Lightning's face fell, making Fudge giggle.
Luigi laughed when Fudge did and began tickling her. The five-year-old squealed with laughter, begging him to stop. Eventually, he did, kissing Fudge noisily instead. Lightning just smiled. At first, it kind of annoyed him how lovey-dovey the two Italians got with their daughter. Now, he just thought that it was nice.
When Luigi stopped tickling and kissing Fudge, the little human girl took great delight in showing Lightning all of her toys and books and drawings and Chrysler knew what else. She was constantly running back and forth between the storeroom and her bedroom to grab more stuff until she had brought down just about everything she owned. Of course, the others had seen all of her things a million times, so she was excited to have someone new to show them all to, which Luigi explained to Lightning, smiling apologetically.
"She never gets to do this", Luigi informed the race car, watching as the place got more and more covered with whatever Fudge wanted to show Lightning.
But he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled at Fudge and her possessions and kept repeating things like, "Oh, that's nice", or, "Wow! You're lucky to have one of those!" or, "That's a great drawing. You're quite the artist."
"Grazie!" Luigi thanked Lightning at the end of his visit after making Fudge put all of her belongings away (which she did reluctantly). "Thank you for coming! Don't be a stranger!"
"Actually", Lightning began, "before I go, Luigi? I was... actually wondering if you could do me a favour..."
Immediately, Luigi was curious. "Oh?"
"Yeah..." Lightning chuckled, seemingly kind of embarrassed. "You see... I wanna surprise Sally..." He explained exactly what he had in mind and what he wanted Luigi to do.
"Oh!" Luigi sounded excited. "Of course! Anything for you and Signorina Sally."
"And, Fudge", Lightning added, turning to the five-year-old, "you can help me as well."
That was all the little girl needed to hear. "Really?! What can I do?!"
He told her.
"I can do that!"
"Sure you can." Lightning started out the shop. "Come on."
"Where?" Fudge wondered.
"I have an announcement to make", Lightning explained, joining the rest of the townsfolk.
"He has an announcement!" were the first words out of Fudge's mouth when they arrived. Only it was pretty hard for a little girl to pronounce announcement.
Lightning merely grinned. "Anyone up for a game?"
"What game?" they all wanted to know.
"Fudge can decide."
Fudge's eyes lit up. "Reallyreallyreally?!"
"What about California?" Sheriff wondered.
"Trust me, that can wait", Lightning assured him. "Fudge, what do you wanna play?"
"Let's have a water fight!" Fudge suggested. "We have water balloons and water guns and Red has his hose! It's really fun!"
"Sounds fun!" Lightning agreed enthusiastically. "Go get your stuff then."
"Okay!" She sped off.
One very happy Fudge ran off to her room and soon returned, armed with water guns and water balloons. She also had a pad of paper, crayons and a book to lean on with her. She wouldn't tell anybody what those were for. However, it didn't matter. She wasn't using them yet. Right now, it was time to play!
This water fight is the kind thing Lightning's gonna do for Fudge because she doesn't have a store or business or anything. So, let the fun begin! Sort of. The next chapter has some sad stuff in it, so be prepared for that. Ciao!
