Chapter 24.- Spas and Rehearsals -
Lightning and Sally arrived at the spa. It was the first time they had been to one. The Spa's concierge whose name was Connor, took his time explaining everything to them. They looked through the list of services and found 'Sedona Clay Wrap.'
"This unique, high desert treatment begins with a light exfoliation and a generous application of our mineral-rich Sedona clay. The powerful detoxifying and anti-inflammatory property of the clay is infused with cocoa powder." Lightning read from the catalog "Cocoa powder is a softening, smoothing antioxidant agent that heals and protects while its delightful aroma brings a sense of simple pleasure. The treatment includes a sixty-minute massage of your choice."
"That sounds wonderful." Sally said "Do you want that?"
"Yeah." Lightning said "It sounds good."
"Do you want a facial too?" Connor asked "It will make the experience complete."
"Sure." Sally said "Here's one, Ayurveda Facial- Traditional herbs from India, Vata, Pitta and Kapha oils are used to cleanse and balance your soul. Exquisite floral oils are used in a facial massage that incorporates acupressure points to balance the energy throughout your entire body... Oh! Can I have that?"
"You can have anything that you want, my Queen." Lightning said "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."
"Oh, I found the perfect facial for you." Sally said as she read from the catalog "Journeyman's Facial- This results-oriented treatment, using planceucts specifically created for men, combines deep cleansing with calming and clarifying properties to effectively treat congestion and irritation that occur as a result of athletic activities. The session includes an axle massage."
"Yeah, I want that." Lightning said "Except the axle massage, I don't think my broken one would allow it."
"Stickers!" Sally exclaimed "You have three others."
"Oh, yeah!" Lightning laughed "You can add the axle massage back on."
"What kind of massages do you want? The Abhyanga is the most popular." Connor said "The Abhyanga is a traditional, Ayurvedic full-body massage using two therapists who use specially blended aromatic oils and waxes of the seven energy centers of the body. This gently encourages toxin removal on a cellular level, resulting in a relaxed physiology and an enhanced feeling of well-being."
"We'll do that one." Lightning said "I need to be 'relaxed'. This week has been nuts!"
"Ok… that's everything; give us a few minutes to get everything set up." Connor said "I'm assuming you want a joint session?"
Lightning and Sally nodded. They had a ten-minute wait until they were called back.
Four hours later:
"That was a wonderful experience." Lightning said "Remind me to kiss your mom for recommending it."
"Do you want to go back to your room?" Sally asked "Or go sit by the pool?"
"Sit by the pool." Lightning said "It's too nice of a day to be inside. I need to get something to eat first, I'm starving."
"They can bring us something." Sally said "I'm a little hungry too."
They found two unused lounge chairs at the pool and stretched out in them. Sally called a waitress over and they ordered something to eat. It was brought out to them and they ate in comfortable silence.
An hour later: Lightning was napping when he felt something climbing on him. He opened his eyes to find Charlie sitting on his hood, staring back at him. Hunter was sitting in a lounge chair across from him and Sly was swimming in the pool. There was two other cars sitting with Hunter. In his drowsy state, it took Lightning a few moments to recognize Michael and Zoë.
"I must've dosed off." Lightning said "When did you guys get here?"
"About two hours ago…" Zoë said "We got everything unpacked and decided to go for a swim."
It was only then that Lightning noticed Michael and Zoe was wearing swimming tires.
"Baby!" Charlie said, pointing to the carrier sitting between Michael and Zoë "Baby!"
"Yes, that's a baby." Lightning said "His name is Giovanni."
At the mention of his name, Giovanni pulled himself up to the edge of the carrier and peaked out. He smiled when he saw Lightning. Lightning looked over and Sally was starting to wake up as well.
"Wacecar!" Charlie suddenly said "Wacecar, Wacecar, Wacecar."
He thumped a stuffed toy version of Strip Weathers on his hood.
"Charlie, stop beating up Uncle Lightning." Sly scolded as he rolled out of the pool "Go play."
Charlie got down and grabbed Lightning's tire and started to pull. He made little whiny sounds and pointed to the kiddy pool, which was only a short distance from them.
"You want to go swimming?" Lightning asked, Charlie squealed happily "Ok, I'm coming."
Charlie jumped in the pool, which was only an inch and half deep and happily splashed around.
"I see Charlie finally convinced someone to go swimming with him." Bella said "He's been pestering everyone."
"Hi Mom." Lightning said giving her a kiss on the fender "Where have you been all day and where's Dad?"
"We been shopping." she said "And trying to avoid the media. They have been following us around all day. Riley is here somewhere."
"Sorry Mom." Lightning said "I didn't know that they would bother you."
"Between you and your father, I'm used to it." Bella said "You looked relaxed, did you have a good day?"
"Yes, Sally and I spent the day in the hotel's spa." Lightning commented "It was exactly what we needed."
Sally's parents pulled up alongside Lightning. Charlie squealed happily as he got out of the water and headed over to the sand box. Zoë took Giovanni out of his carrier and sat him down on the sand. Giovanni stared blankly at it; he has never seen sand and didn't know what to make of it. Charlie came over and started playing with him.
"Play gently with him." Lightning said "He can't move around as easily as you."
Charlie shook his hood, letting Lightning know he understood. The two boys played nicely together for about ten minutes until Giovanni started crying. Lightning came over to see what happened. Giovanni's lips and mouth were covered in sand.
"Baby cry." Charlie squeaked "He… he eated it."
"Did Giovanni try to eat the sand?" Lightning asked as Charlie shook his hood yes "Here let me help."
Lightning picked the baby up and tried wiping his lips, which made Giovanni scream with anger.
"Wow, kid." Lightning said "What a temper."
"Yes, Giovanni has his mother's." Michael said "He has a short fuse, so it doesn't take much to piss him off."
He drove over with a bottle of water and rinsed Giovanni's mouth out; it seemed to settle him down.
"Zoë has a temper? No way!" Lightning said "She's too sweet."
"Oh she has one, believe me." Michael said "It takes a while to set her off. Me on the other hand, if I do something stupid, which can be as often as once a week. Zoë will go off on me in an engine stroke."
"What did you say Michael?" Zoë asked "I didn't hear you."
"Caro Niente, solo parlando di Fulmine (Nothing Dear, just talking to Lightning) He said "Sto cercando di sistemare Giovanni. (I'm trying to get Giovanni settled down.)"
"You just dodged a bullet, didn't you?" Lightning asked
"Yeah. I have some married advice for you, always do what your wife says." Michael said making Lightning laugh, Giovanni started to fuss again. "Hai fame, Giovanni? (Are you hungry Giovanni?)" Giovanni squealed.
"I take that as a yes." Lightning commented "Mom said I was a hungry baby."
"You haven't changed." Michael said "For as long as I've known you, you always been hungry. It drives Hudson crazy some days."
Zoë came over to see what her son was fussing about.
"He says he's hungry." Michael said "Do you want to feed him, or shall I?"
"I'll have to." Zoë said "I didn't bring a bottle down with us."
Zoë headed back to her chair and unlatched her nursing bra. Michael sat Giovanni down next to his mother. Hunter covered Giovanni and Zoë's exposed breast up with a beach towel.
"Oh, he's hungry all right." Zoë said "He's sucking so hard, it feels like he's trying to turn me inside out."
As curious as ever, Charlie crawled under the towel to see what his new friend was doing. Zoë started laughing.
"Charlie! Stop that!" Hunter scolded "That's rude, Sorry Zoë he's curious about everything."
She dragged Charlie out by his rear bumper and put him on her hood.
"It's ok, Hunter." Zoë said "I'm surprised Giovanni isn't complaining, he's possessive when it comes to nursing."
"Baby eat." Charlie squeaked "He eats lots!"
"Yes, the baby's eating, so leave him alone." Hunter said as she put him on the ground "Go play in the sand."
Charlie headed back to the sand box and started playing in it. He managed to roll over onto his roof, completely covering himself in sand. Lilly and Lance laughed, then came over and began tickling him. Charlie squirmed as he began giggling and squealing shrilly. Suddenly, he got up with a loud squeak and an involuntary jump. He squeaked and jumped again.
"Looks like you've got the hiccups Kiddo." Lightning said "Personally, I hate them."
Charlie hiccupped again as he tried to climb up on Lance. He lost his hold and fell back to the soft sand with a thump. His eyes filled with tears and began crying.
"Somebody is tired." Riley said pulling up the group of cars, he kissed his wife lightly "And so am I."
"Yeah, he didn't get his nap this afternoon." Hunter said as she picked Charlie up "Sly, your son looks like a sand monster."
Charlie had so much sand on him you could only see a little of his coloring. Sly took him and headed to a cabaña to get cleaned up. Everyone could hear Charlie protesting. A few minutes later: Sly came back with a bundle of whimpering towels on his hood. Charlie peaked out and started to cry. Hunter picked him up and put him in his carrier. She pulled out a bottle and put it his mouth. He stopped crying and started sucking on his bottle. He was asleep in moments. Doc and Sophia rolled up.
"Hey guys!" Lightning said "Did you have a good time sightseeing?"
"Yeah for the most of the time." Sophia said "I had to behave. I couldn't put my tires all over Doc like I wanted to, because the media followed us everywhere."
"The wedding rehearsal is in three hours. Sheriff Duncan and Scarlett just got here." Doc said "The security team will arrive in two hours to escort us to the church. I need everyone in the lobby then."
Two hours later: The wedding party was assembled in the lobby.
"Dunkin, Scarlett." Lightning said "Thank you for doing this."
"No problem Kid." Scarlett said "Dad and I are happy to help."
Mack and Abby were waiting outside, along with the other transports.
"Ok everybody." Duncan said loudly "We are going to start loading up. Scarlett is going to call your names in the order you are going to board the transports."
He then headed to the parking lot to help with controlling the mob of people outside the hotel.
"Doc you and Sophia are first to load, then Lightning and Sally." Scarlett said "We are going to do this quickly as possible, so no backing into the trailers, just drive into them as quickly as you can."
Scarlett let Duncan know that they were ready to start loading. Duncan signaled to Abby to head to the hotel's front door. As soon as she pulled up to the door, she lowered the trailer's ramp. Hundreds of flashbulbs went off as soon as Doc and Sophia appeared at the door. Doc quickly escorted Sophia into the trailer. Once Abby had the trailer door shut, she rolled out of the way and Mack pulled up. Lightning and Sally headed to his trailer. Fans cheered and honked their horns when Lightning and Sally appeared. Lightning let Sally load first and he followed. Once Mack had the trailer door shut, he rolled out of the way and the first of two transports moved up to the door. Rest of the wedding party came out and started loading.
While they were waiting:
Sally's rear bumper was right in Lightning's face and he started kissing her below her tattoo.
"Don't get any ideas." Sally warned "I hate trailer sex. Mack is also attached to the trailer. As soon as it started rocking, he would know what we were up to, not that he would care."
"I know, your bumper is right here." Lightning said as he kissed her one last time "I couldn't help myself."
Just then they heard Sheriff and Scarlett's sirens start waling
"Ok Kids, we're heading out." Mack said over the intercom "Oh and Lightning… keep your tires to yourself."
A half an hour later: They arrived at the church. There were just as many fans and reporters as there was at the hotel. The park across the street had massive TVs set up. So, the average car could watch the wedding ceremony. Mack stopped in front of the church and let Lightning and Sally get out. As the security cars escorted them in, Lightning waved at the fans. Mack moved out of the way and Abby took his place.
"Welcome Mr. McQueen, Ms. Carrera." Robert, the church's minister said "Everything is ready for tomorrow, go have a look around. If there's anything that you need, please let me know."
The wedding coordinator, Jake was there as well. Jake led them to the chapel. Sally and Lightning was speechless as they looked around. The chapel looked like something out of a fairytale story book.
"Is everything acceptable?" Jake asked nervously "Everything is as you want."
"You'll have to ask the boss. Sally planned this, so she's the one to ask." Lightning said "Everything looks good to me."
There were a few things that Sally wanted changed, but either the church didn't allow it or Jake explained why it wasn't a good idea. However, he did agree to a few of her suggestions and said that the changes will be made by tomorrow morning.
COMMENTS:
Guest 2
OUCH! Horrid aftermath poor Sally's dealing with here. I know what it really is but I won't spill it. Funny moment with Lightning getting in the shower.- I argue with my body parts all the time.
It can be frustrating being stuck in bed but it gets better with your lover next to you. Doc and Sly maintain their strict sides as doctors. Doc's warning sunk that message in to Sally's hood.- We all have that one person we listen to no matter what... for Sally that is Doc.
Lightning and Sally still have energy for banter.- No mater how tired they are. Sally and Lightning always give each other 'a hard time.'
Sweet little Charlie's come to have some fun with his Aunt and Uncle.- There was more cuteness in this chapter. I hope you liked it
That media circus has to of been Harv's doing. As much a celebrity Lightning may be it's good to at least have the decency to respect their personal life. Lightning needs a new agent here.- Lightning will get a new agent, I just know how I'll wright it in.
Lightning's frustration needs that cure with a spa treatment. Lilly's touch has some effect as a mother.- You know mother's they know what you need even before you do.
I do not own Cars or any of its characters. PIXAR AND DISNEY CLAIM THAT RIGHT. READING ENJOYMENT ONLY
Please read and review! I need criticism and encouragements! Rated M for language and sex.
