In case you didn't notice, there's another chapter before this one.
Here's something I didn't cover in Ride due to lack of ideas. So, I hope you enjoy this new content! :)
Chapter 8- A Vacation to Remember
The smiles definitely continued over the next couple of days. Normally, when I got out of hospital, I just couldn't wait to get home. On this occasion, however, sure I would've wanted to head home, but I didn't mind so much. The Florida sun felt nice as we waited in line.
"Dad-gum!" Mater exclaimed. "That is one big boat!"
It sure was. There was a really cruise ship before us. We'd looked at all the information online. So, we knew that there were several pools on board and even one or two water slides! (That sounded like fun, but unfortunately, I would have to miss out!) Luckily, there were some other stuff I could do like go to the movie theatre and the ice cream parlour.
"I can't wait to get some ice cream!" I declared as we waited in line. "On a day like today, I could really go for some ice cream!"
"We'll get you some once we're on board and we're settled", Lightning promised me.
I smiled.
"I want some ice cream too!" Mater put in. "But not pistachio!" After mistaking some wasabi for pistachio ice cream in Japan, the tow truck had been put off of that particular ice cream flavour for life.
I giggled.
The line seemed to move at a snail's pace, but finally, we were inside. All I can say is my family must have dropped a lot of money on this trip. We were in the luxury cabins and luxurious they were. The walls were a beautiful ocean blue and there was a ginormous bed just for me.
Guido picked me up and placed me onto the bed, so I could feel it.
"Oh, it's like a fluffy cloud!" I proclaimed.
Guido and Luigi both looked at me and smiled.
"And we've got an awesome view!" I proclaimed, pointing out the window where the ocean gleamed.
"The ship should be leaving any minute now", Luigi announced after we had done some unpacking. "Why don't we go out to the balcony?"
I smiled. "That sounds like fun!" I agreed as Luigi got me into my wheelchair and pushed me towards the balcony where the rest of my family were waiting.
"D'you like your room, Fudge-O?" Lightning quizzed me as soon as he saw me.
"Yeah!" I confirmed. "It's amazing!"
"So's ours!" Sally piped up. "It's so romantic!"
"That's right!" Lightning agreed. "We're definitely gonna have some fun this week!"
That was when we heard a loud horn blaring out behind us.
"The ship's leaving now!" Lightning announced.
Sure enough, a couple of seconds later, we felt ourselves moving. Luigi and Guido held onto my wheelchair as tight as they could.
"Goodbye!" I hollered to the crowd of people gathered down at the dock below, even though I didn't know any of them. "Goodbye!"
Mater was quick to join in. He waved his tyre madly, yelling, "Bye!"
People on the dock were shouting too. They were calling things like, "Bon voyage!" and "Have a nice trip!" It was all pretty exciting! My family and I watched until we couldn't see the dock anymore.
"Hey! Can we explore the ship?!" I requested excitedly as soon as we were out in the ocean. "Please?!"
"That sounds like fun!" Sally commented.
"It would be nice to see what's here", Sarge agreed.
"And then we can get some ice cream when we're done!" I finished.
"Well, you really want that ice cream, so let's get started!" Lightning laughed, pushing me off.
Exploring the ship was pretty cool. The only problem occurred when we got up to the second deck from the bottom and it continued the rest of the way around the ship.
"I think it's just cabins here", Ramone observed, looking around.
"Looks like it", Sheriff agreed. "Think all the good stuff is-"
He was interrupted by a loud piercing scream. I jumped out of my skin, wondering what the hell was wrong.
"Is that Lightning McQueen?!" an excited voice squealed.
I turned around to find two little Mazdas- one red and one blue- who looked only a couple of years older than me.
"It is!" the red one exclaimed as the two raced towards him. "I'm Victoria!" she introduced herself.
"And I'm Carly!" the blue one added.
"We're both such big fans!" Victoria babbled. She turned around and yelled, "Alicia! You have to see who's here!"
Another Mazda, this one silver, came out of one of the cabins and let out a loud squeal of her own.
"LIGHTNING MCQUEEN!" she screeched.
That attracted just about everyone's attention. Cabin doors were opening left, right and centre.
"Lightning McQueen?!"
"Is he really here?!"
"Oh, my gosh! It's true! He's really here!"
"Lightning McQueen, what are you doing here?!"
"You're so awesome!"
"Yeah, we miss you on the track!"
"Can I have your autograph?!"
"Me too!"
Lightning grinned. "Hey, guys! Yeah, it's me. I'm here on vacation with my family!"
Carly looked at me. "You've got Fudge with you?!"
"Yeah, I do! We took this vacation because it's been a rough year for her."
Carly, Victoria and Alicia looked at each other and giggled. "Awww!"
I didn't understand what was so funny!
It didn't long for news of Lightning McQueen being on the ship to spread like wildfire. He stopped and gave out autographs and photos. Despite that, we managed to explore and there were so many cool things to see. The only disappointment was that I couldn't do a lot of the fun stuff like the pools or water slides or even the arcade (I still couldn't move my arms that much). I was still excited about the movie theatre, the gift shop and of course, the restaurants and ice cream parlours.
"Well, it looks like we have some pretty great stuff here!" Lightning declared.
"Now, let's get ice cream!" I shouted.
Everyone laughed.
"This is good ice cream!" I declared, sucking on a spoonful of strawberry sundae.
"It really is!" Lightning agreed, spooning up some chocolate ice cream and putting it into his mouth.
I looked around the ice cream parlour. My family was all together; though not all of us were eating ice cream. I saw tons of cars and several humans- families, groups of teenagers, old couples- all eating ice cream.
There was one girl who really caught my attention. She was a human like me about my age sat with two adults and a younger boy and girl; presumably her parents and brother and sister. She looked very pale and weak with a bandana wrapped around her head. I felt a pang of sympathy when I saw her.
"Fudge!" Lightning called, dragging my attention away from the girl. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"What were you looking at?"
"Oh. Nothing."
"All right..."
The first thing I did when we left the ice cream parlour was take a nap. Luigi woke me up in time to have a bath in order to get ready to have dinner in a very fancy restaurant. After my bath, Luigi brushed my hair and put a new dress on me. It had been bought specifically for the vacation and it was a dark purple knee-length dress.
"You look beautiful, my angel!" Luigi proclaimed, kissing me.
"Really?" I couldn't help smiling.
"Yes", Luigi confirmed. He reached into his bag and unearthed a camera. "Let's get a photo of you."
He took about two dozen photos before we met up with the others at the restaurant.
"The food is great here!" I declared when it arrived and we all started. "Not as good as yours, Flo..."
The former show car beamed.
"Well, I think we're gonna have a good time here", Lightning commented.
"Me too!" I agreed, which I was definitely convinced of when we got ice cream for the second time that day after dinner.
After dinner and ice cream, I returned to our cabin and fell asleep to the gentle swaying of the ship.
"When are we gonna get there?" I wanted to know, stirring from my nap the next morning.
"I think we're about half an hour away", Sarge replied.
"I can't wait!" I proclaimed.
"I know!" Sally agreed. "I'm sure we're gonna see some beautiful beaches!"
That was exactly what we saw about half an hour later as soon as an island came into a view.
"Wow!" I exclaimed softly. "The sand looks nice and the water is a gorgeous colour!"
"It sure is!"
Our first day in the Caribbean was wonderful. The first thing we did was explore the island. For the most part, it was just beach and palm trees. There were a couple of hotels lining one side of the island.
"I am so glad we came here!" I proclaimed, taking in the sights.
"Me too", Lightning agreed.
"This has to be the best thing that's happened to me this year!" I went on. "Well, that and my birthday.
Now that we'd seen the island, it was time to hit the beach. For a while, I didn't enjoy that so much because I was just lying in the sand, watching everyone else enjoying the nice water. I had to miss out, though, because I still couldn't swim or move very much on my own.
"Hey, Fudge-O!" Lightning called out, coming towards me. "How you doing?"
"I'm doing okay", I muttered.
"You wanna come in the water?"
"How?" I wondered.
"Come on." He scooped me up onto his hood and started driving towards the water.
"That feels nice", I remarked, dipping my feet in the water.
"It sure does." Lightning smiled at me.
I stayed with Lightning for a little while. The reason I left him was because Luigi took me away.
"There are lots of beautiful fish here!" he informed me excitedly. "Come and see before Mater scares them all away!"
So, he raced off with me.
"Wow!" I exclaimed, eyeing the many colourful fish that were swimming every which way all around us.
"I know!" Luigi agreed. "I am so happy I am here with you!"
I smiled softly. "I'm happy I'm here with you!"
Unfortunately, Mater did end up scaring the fish away. However, I wasn't too upset because by then, I was ready for a nap. So, I returned to shore, stretched out on my towel, digging my toes in the warm sand and drifted off to sleep.
Just as I was doing that, though, I heard a voice scream, "IS THAT LIGHTNING MCQUEEN?!"
"It is!"
The sound of people- presumably, teenage girls- screeching like pterodactyls was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.
The first thing I heard after I fell asleep was people talking. I heard Lightning's voice and Luigi's. There were voices I didn't recognise too. When I opened my eyes, there was Lightning, Luigi and the rest of my family talking to a family. It was the family I'd seen at the ice cream parlour the day before- the two parents, the two girls (including the one with the bandana) and the boy. The two younger kids were climbing across Lightning's hood and roof.
"Oh!" Luigi exclaimed, turning to look at me. "She is awake!"
"Fudge Rossi-Topolino!" the girl with the bandana exclaimed, approaching me.
"Yeah, that's Fudge", Lightning confirmed.
"Wow!" she cried. "It's so cool to meet you! I've seen you on TV! You're so great as Lightning's cheerleader!"
I smiled. "Really? Thanks!"
"Fudge, this is Megan Donahue", Lightning introduced her. "She's a big fan!"
"Nice to meet you." I smiled shyly.
"Same here!" Megan squealed. "I still can't believe you guys are here!"
"They're here on vacation for the same reason we are", Lightning explained.
"Yep", Megan confirmed. "I get a break from chemo, so we're going for a cruise in the Caribbean and then to Disney World!"
"That sounds fun!" I commented. "I couldn't do much at Disney World, though." I sighed, kind of disappointed. Disney World would've been so much fun. "You know, we go to Disneyland every year!"
"Really?" Megan asked. "Is it good?"
"Yeah!" I described Disneyland for her. "Of course, Disney World's probably gonna be different. I've never been there, though."
"It probably is different", Megan agreed.
"Where are you guys from?" I wanted to know.
"Connecticut", she answered. "Near New Haven."
I nodded. "Cool."
"Do you wanna take a drive with us?" Lightning suggested. Then he eyed them. "Or walk?"
"Sure!"
We all walked or rolled around the island, taking in the sights again. We talked getting to know the Donahues. I found out that the parents were named Barry and Cindy and the kids were Megan, who was fourteen; Tyler, who was seven and Emily, who was five. Barry was a lawyer and Cindy used to be a jeweller before Megan got sick. She had been diagnosed with leukaemia two years earlier and were finally able to go on this vacation through the Make a Wish Foundation.
"They're gonna take us to Disney World!" Emily shouted excitedly.
"I know!"
We told them about ourselves too. Of course, there was a fair bit they already knew. Like how we were part of a racing team, we were from Arizona and we were on vacation because of my accident.
"We heard about your accident", Cindy commented. "It sounded horrible, but it's good to see you look like you're doing well."
I smiled. "Thanks!" It was funny. With my birthday and this trip, I was feeling better mentally, which made me feel better physically.
By the time we had to get back to the ship, we knew them really well.
"Why don't you have dinner with us tonight?" Barry suggested. "We were gonna go to that pirate-themed restaurant on the ship?"
"Great!" Lightning agreed.
"Why don't we meet at six-thirty?"
"Sure!" everyone replied.
I didn't want to have dinner with the Donahues, if I'm being honest. Not because I didn't like them; I did. It was just... This was supposed to be a family vacation and I wanted to spend it with my family.
Besides, as I found out when we got to the restaurant, the adults were chattering away about everything from politics to their kids' education and Megan, Tyler, Emily and I had no choice but to just sit there and listen.
That is, until Megan turned to me with a smile. "What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you in hospital?"
"Where do I begin?!" I groaned. Nothing about the hospital had been fun.
Pretty soon, we were swapping hospital stories. Megan laughed sympathetically when I told her about Olivia and her many brothers and sisters.
"That's nothing compared to what happened to me one time. One time, I was in a room with four other kids and the oldest one convinced the other three he could hypnotise them!" Megan told me. "He got them to do the most ridiculous things like pull their pants down and run around, singing 'Barbie Girl' at the top of their lungs!"
"Wow!" I laughed. "I guess that's pretty bad."
"Oh!" Megan exclaimed abruptly. "I forgot to tell you about the time my friends tried to sneak some candy in for me."
By the time dinner was over, I decided I liked Megan; we had a lot in common with many hospital stories. She understood better than anybody else I knew what I was going through, being stuck in hospital for ages. Although, I guessed I was luckier than she was because I didn't have to go through it as much as she did. Spending time with her may not be so bad.
Another serve of ice cream later, I was fast asleep, ready for the next day of cruising. We were going to another Caribbean island quite similar to the last one. The only difference was that this one was smaller. I think that was why Megan gave our parental figures a suggestion.
"Can Fudge and I go off on our own here?" she pleaded. "Please?!"
"I don't know", Luigi replied worriedly. "Fudge needs to be looked after-"
"I could do it!" Megan offered. "I've been in hospital a lot! I know how to look after patients! You don't have to worry about a thing, Mr. Topolino!"
I wasn't sure either, though. On one hand, it would be fun going off without any adults hanging around. On the other hand, I still didn't really know Megan and wasn't sure if I wanted to spend a day with her.
"Megan has looked after younger patients while she's been in hospital", Cindy informed Luigi.
Cindy made me sound like I was years younger than Megan when I was really only a year younger.
"And I know what I can and can't do", I assured Luigi.
There was a moment of silence as Luigi considered.
"Well", Luigi decided finally, "I suppose it is okay with me-"
"YAY!" Megan cheered.
"As long as you both meet us at twelve-thirty to meet us for lunch and medication!"
"Oh, we will!" Megan promised. "We will! Come on, Fudge!"
And just like that, we were off.
"What are we gonna do?" I wanted to know.
"We're gonna explore the island!" Megan announced.
So, we did. The whole way around, Megan and I talked. We exchanged a couple more hospital stories and not just the funny ones. I ended up learning a fair bit about what cancer did to Megan. Of course, I knew some stuff before that, but I didn't really understand till I met Megan and I'm sure she felt the same way about what I went through after my accident, which I told her about.
After a while, when we both started feeling a little down from our conversation, Megan started talking about racing.
"I don't know much about racing", she admitted, "but I do watch Lightning McQueen. I think he's really cool."
"Take it from someone who knows a lot about racing, he is!" I agreed. "He's definitely in my top ten favourite racers."
"Who else is?" Megan wanted to know.
"The Fabulous Hudson Hornet-" I began.
"Oh, yeah! Lightning's crew chief!" Megan recalled. Lightning McQueen and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. It was next to impossible to have heard of one without having heard of the other.
"Yeah. Strip Weathers", I continued. "Junior 'Midnight' Moon, River Scott, Louise 'Barnstormer' Nash-"
"Never heard of them."
"Well, they raced back in the fifties", I explained.
"Oh. So, what's it like to know a famous person?"
Megan and I talked about that for a little while. Just so you know, knowing a famous person is pretty awesome! Of course, I'd still love Lightning if he wasn't famous, but it definitely does have its perks. However, there is one really bad downside, which I experienced with Megan that day. Everyone always asks me questions about Lightning, but hardly anybody wants to get to know me. Megan wasn't as bad as a lot of people, but most of them don't care about Fudge Rossi-Topolino- a person! All they care about is the-girl-who-knows-Lightning-McQueen-the-famous-person!
"That must be pretty cool!" Megan commented when I told her about the parties I'd been to and all of the excitement of being on pit row for the races.
I nodded. "It is!"
"Megan! Megan!" Tyler and Emily hollered, racing up the beach towards their sister.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted them with a warm smile.
"We're on a treasure hunt!" Tyler informed us.
I tried to hide a smile. "Really?"
"Yep!" Emily confirmed. "We think there's treasure buried on this island! You wanna help us look for it?!"
Megan and I looked at each other and grinned. "Sure!"
We spent most of the day looking for treasure. The only times we stopped were for lunch and when I had two short naps. Needless to say, we did not find any treasure, but it was still pretty fun to explore the island and pretend we were going to find some. (Although, I think Tyler and Emily were convinced that we really would find treasure). I laughed a lot.
By the time we got to the last island on our cruise, Megan, Tyler, Emily and I were pretty good friends. We'd had dinner and ice cream together a lot, been to the movie theatre on the ship and spent every day together, exploring the islands and enjoying the touristy attractions. (That's not to say that my family and I never had time to ourselves. We had dinner on our own a couple of nights and went to things like aquariums without the Donahues.) Our parents smiled when they saw us together.
"I think both Megan and Fudge have forgotten about being unwell for a while", Barry remarked to Luigi at one point.
Luigi smiled. "I think they have."
"We have to look for treasure!" Tyler insisted on our last day of the cruise as soon as we touched the warm sand of our last Caribbean island.
"We haven't found treasure on any of the islands!" Emily reminded him, sounding quite discouraged.
"Which is why we have to look here!" her brother pointed out.
"He's right", I agreed, humouring him. "What if this is where the treasure is? We'll have searched every island except the right one."
"You're right!" Emily realised. "Okay."
For most of the day, we had no luck. That was no surprise to Megan and me, but the two younger kids were disappointed.
"I promised my friend Jayden I'd bring back treasure!" Tyler complained as he continued to shovel in the sand, convinced he wouldn't find anything.
"Maybe you should've promised something a lot easier", Megan suggested with a smile.
"Yeah!" Emily agreed. "I promised my friend Isabella I'd get a photo with Minnie Mouse when we go to Disney World!"
"Well, it would've been so awesome if we went back to school and I could show all my friends that I found tre-" Tyler stopped short as he hit something in the sand with his plastic toy shovel. "There's something here!"
"Is it treasure?!" Emily quizzed him automatically.
"I don't know."
Immediately, his sisters began helping him. I would've helped too, but I still couldn't move that much. It didn't matter anyway; it didn't take the Donahue kids long to unearth a shiny gold box, slightly larger than a shoebox.
"Wow!" Megan exclaimed.
"Open it, open it!" Emily shouted excitedly.
Inside the box were four smaller boxes. I was the first one to notice something special about those boxes.
"That one has my name on it!" I exclaimed.
"This one has my name on it!" Megan gasped, pulling out hers.
Tyler and Emily were quick to pull out their boxes. Megan handed me mine before taking hers.
"Thanks!" I smiled at her.
We all opened our boxes at the same time. Inside each box was some candy, some loose change and even a couple of dollar bills, a Lightning McQueen racing decal and a keyring from the cruise ship gift shop. On one side of the keyring was a photo of the ship at sea with the logo for the cruise company and on the other side was a photo of the four of us together on one of the islands.
"Cool!" I cried.
"I can't wait to tell Jayden I found real treasure!" Tyler hollered.
"Real treasure!" Emily echoed excitedly. "This is amazing!"
"Yes", Cindy agreed. "It is amazing!"
Megan and I couldn't say anything in front of the two younger kids, but we turned to our families and smiled to say thank you.
The rest of the day was just as wonderful. When it was time to return to the ship, my family, the Donahues and I all watched the sun set from the top deck.
"Look!" Sally exclaimed abruptly, pointing. "Dolphins!"
"Where?!" I looked around frantically.
"There!" She turned my head, so I could see where she was pointing.
"Oh, wow!" There most definitely were dolphins jumping in and out of the ocean.
"They're beautiful!" Megan and Emily proclaimed in unison.
It really was. Not just what I was seeing with the gorgeous sunset and the dolphins leaping majestically, but what I was feeling. I just felt this really warm, happy feeling as I was surrounded by my family and new friends. I hadn't felt that way in a very long time.
We had one last dinner together and one last dessert of ice cream in the parlour, chattering all the way through about what a great vacation it had been.
"And we haven't even got to the best part yet!" Emily insisted.
"Thanks!" I muttered, pretending to be insulted.
Everyone laughed.
"Well, it really was great to meet you!" Megan declared sincerely. "This has been the most fun I've had in ages!"
I grinned. "Me too!"
Megan and I had to say it again to each other for the last time the following night. The ship had docked in Florida earlier that morning, so the Donahues weren't going to Disney World till the next day. That was not a problem for me or for them. That meant we could say goodbye to each other at the airport.
"Well", Lightning began, "this has definitely been a great vacation!"
"Wasn't it?" Barry agreed. "Chemo has been difficult on Megan and that's been difficult on all of us. It was good to be able to take some time away."
"We feel the same way." Luigi nodded. "About Fudge's accident. She has to go back to hospital on Thursday."
Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about that. I wished I didn't have to.
Megan turned to me.
"I'll never forget you, Fudge!" she informed me.
"I'll never forget you either!" I replied and I knew I wouldn't.
"I knew we were gonna have fun on this vacation, but I didn't know I'd have this much fun!" she went on. "Maybe one day, you could visit us in Connecticut!"
I nodded. "I hope so. And maybe you could visit Radiator Springs."
"I'd like that", Megan informed me.
"Well... good luck with your... chemo. I'll be thinking about you."
"Thanks! I'll be thinking about you too! Good luck with your recovery."
"Thanks", I responded.
That was when they announced that our flight was boarding.
"Come on, Fudge-O!" Lightning called, coming over to me.
I paused for a moment. I wanted to give Megan a hug, but I didn't have the energy to do so. Besides, I was so weak and fragile ever since the accident that nobody had hugged me in that time. So, I just waited there before Lightning started pushing my wheelchair away from her.
"Bye!" I called out.
"Bye!" she responded with a smile and a wave.
Then she was gone.
Again, I can't promise when I'll have the next two chapters up, but I'll do it as soon as I can. Please review! Peace out, y'all!