It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I got another story now and I hope you enjoy!
The Storm
Even considering that Radiator Springs was in the middle of the Arizona desert, the day was unbearably hot. The residents hadn't even been able to drink their oil outside! Instead, they all parked inside the café, vying to be as close to the air conditioner as possible. Plenty of ice went into their drinks and the only child (and children at heart) were grateful for the supply of ice cream in the freezer.
At four o'clock, the townsfolk decided to disperse and go home, returning to Flo's in two hours time for dinner.
"Let's get you in the bath, Fudgie", Luigi announced the second he, Guido and Fudge were inside Casa Della Tires.
"No fair!" the four-year-old whined. "I had a bath last night!"
"The water will be nice and cold", the Fiat explained gently. "It will cool you down."
Fudge opened her mouth to protests again when, out of nowhere...
BAM! The loudest clap of thunder any of them had ever heard in their lives made the walls vibrate.
Little Fudge burst into tears. Storms terrified her; she didn't like the loud noises they made.
"Don't cry!" Luigi whispered soothingly, picking his daughter up. "Thunder can't hurt you. It was very loud, though, no? It scared me too."
BAM! There was that noise again! This time, it was even louder! Fudge cried harder as a huge downpour rattled on the windows.
"(I think this could be a big one)", Luigi declared.
Guido agreed. "(I will get the storm supplies!)" He raced off.
Luigi drove off too. "(I will get some toys for Fudge. I hope we can calm her down.)"
Fudge didn't know what to do, so she just stood there, crying loudly. When she dared to look out the window, a fork of lightning pierced the sky. The poor girl screamed.
"(It is okay, Fudgie!)" Luigi called out. "(I am coming!)"
But before he could get back to his petrified daughter, another roar of thunder sounded and... just as Casa Della Tires plunged into darkness! The power was out and the sky was as black as night!
"Guido!" Luigi shouted, turning on his headlights.
"(I have the storm supplies!)" the little forklift replied. He was just coming out of the basement. "(I am on my way back up now.)"
Luigi nodded. "(We will all go into my room!)" he decided. "(I am just going to get Fudge!)"
"Okay!" Guido responded.
So, Luigi made his way into the store showroom where he'd left Fudge. Only, he was horrified to find that she was no longer there.
"Fudgie? FUDGIE!"
If Fudge answered, he couldn't hear her; the thunder, wind and rain were far too loud.
"Fudgie!" Luigi yelled again, searching the storage room and his office from top to bottom. The four-year-old was nowhere to be found.
"Luigi!" Guido called. "(What are you doing? We need to board the windows up!)"
"(I can't find Fudge!)" Luigi shrieked hysterically.
Guido's eyes widened in horror. Then he returned to his calm, level-headed self. "(Fudge can't be too far, but we need to board the windows up now.)"
So, they did. Luigi was very quick to get it done. He didn't even care about doing it right; he just had to find his daughter.
The second he was done, Luigi thought he heard a noise. Although, it was hard to tell with the noise that the storm was making. Then, when this other noise came a second time, there was no doubt he'd heard it: a fire truck's horn.
Both Italians raced to the door to find Red and Sheriff parked there. They were both soaking wet and frazzled.
"We're just checkin' in!" Sheriff explained, having to shout because of the storm. "You're the last ones and everyone else is all right. Power's out all across town and the phone lines are down too!"
"I have not seen Fudge since the power went out!" Luigi blurted out. "I have no idea where she is!"
"Well, wev been out on Main Street and we haven't seen her", Sheriff informed him. "So, fortunately, she must be inside. I'll come inside and help you look. Red! You go board up the windows at the courthouse!"
Red nodded and sped off while Sheriff entered Casa Della Tires.
"I'll check your store area." The squad car took action immediately, seeing that the two Italians were in hysterics. "Luigi, you check the living area. Guido, you check upstairs."
"Okay", they both agreed and the three split up.
Just faintly over the sounds of the storm could be heard shouts of, "Fudge! Fudge!"
None of them were having much luck. Sheriff noticed that Guido had left the door to the basement open. Right away, he feared that she hadn't noticed and fell down the stairs. He listened for crying, but couldn't hear anything.
"Fudge!" he called, fearing that she might be unconscious! He made his way into the basement. It was dark, but his headlights and the lightning lit the way.
To his relief, Fudge wasn't lying at the bottom of the stairs, all banged up. However, to his concern, Fudge wasn't there at all. He had to keep looking...
Guido jumped a mile when a flash of lightning appeared just as he was entering Fudge's bedroom. He scanned every corner of the room, but his daughter was nowhere in sight.
Sighing, he was just about to check the bathroom when he heard a noise. It sounded like... a little girl crying! It was definitely coming from somewhere in the room. Guido just had no idea where...
"Fudgie!" the little forklift shouted. "(Where are you?)"
"(Here!)" He still couldn't figure out where her voice was coming from.
"(Where is here?)" Guido questioned. "(Fudge, I can't see you!)"
"(In my closet!)"
The little forklift made a beeline for the closet, flung the door open and sure enough, there was little Fudge lying inside. He was so relieved that he almost started crying.
"Oh, Fudgie!" he exclaimed, scooping her up. "(Thank goodness you are okay! I was so worried about you! What were you doing in your closet?)"
Before she could answer, there was another loud crash of thunder, making her cry all over again.
"(It is okay!)" he assured her soothingly. "(The storm will pass. Everything will be okay!)"
"Guido!" Luigi's voice was coming from down the hall.
"(I found her!)" The forklift raced into the hallway, carrying the four-year-old. "(I found her!)"
"Oh, thank Chrysler!" Luigi cried, smothering Fudge's face in kisses. "Sheriff! Guido found her!"
Sheriff was quick to join them (almost blinding them with his headlights) and he, too, was relieved to see that the little girl was all right.
"Hey, Sheriff. How come you're here?"
"I was lookin' for you, kiddo!" Sheriff chuckled, ruffling her hair. He looked up at her dads. "I think you two can take it from here. I'll go see if Red needs a wheel."
Grateful for his help, Guido and Luigi were happy to bid Sheriff goodbye and turn their attention to their daughter.
"(What were you doing in your closet, Fudge?)" Luigi wanted to know once the squad car was gone and Guido had explained how and where he found Fudge.
"(I was scared!)" she exclaimed fearfully.
Just then, another loud clap of thunder made her jump.
"(Let's all go into my room)", Luigi suggested.
So, they did.
Even in the dark, there was enough light from the two Italians' headlights, the few candles they had lit after assuring Fudge that it was okay (she was terrified of fire) and Fudge's flashlight. The three of them just huddled together in Luigi's room.
"So, what do we do now?" Fudge questioned, cuddling both Guido and one of her stuffed animals.
"Now, we just wait for the storm to pass", Luigi replied.
"How long will that take?!" the four-year-old whimpered.
"I don't know", Luigi answered honestly.
Fudge looked up at him in surprise. He had to know. He was a grownup. Grownups had all the answers.
That was when they heard another loud bang: more thunder. Another bolt of lightning turned the sky silver. All three of them screamed, For the second time in under a minute, Fudge looked at her dads in surprise and confusion. Grownups didn't get scared... Did they? They just protected her when she got scared.
"I know, Fudgie!" Luigi sympathised, coming closer to her. "I know it is scary! I am scared too!"
"You are?" the four-year-old asked in surprise.
"Of course!" Luigi confirmed, having to raise his voice in order to be heard over another crash of thunder. "This is very scary, even for us!"
"But I thought grownups weren't scared of anything."
Luigi laughed softly, giving her a kiss. "Oh, we are afraid of things."
"Like what?" Fudge wondered. They didn't seem to be afraid of any of the things she feared: fire, needles, the dark, even their toilet! (It made a really loud noise when it got flushed and she didn't like it.)
Luigi thought for a moment. "Well, I am afraid of storms, insects, heights, flying-"
"Flying?!" Fudge interjected, sounding amazed.
"On a plane", the Fiat clarified.
"Oh." It was obvious that she was disappointed to hear that bit and her dads couldn't help chuckling.
"But do you know what I am most afraid of?" he quizzed her.
Fudge shook her head. "What?"
Her father looked her deep in the eyes. "Losing you."
The innocent little girl cocked her head in confusion. "Why would you lose me?"
Luigi hesitated. Now was not the right time to explain things to her (there probably never would be a right time, but it was definitely not now).
"I probably won't", he lied, "but when you have a child, you start to worry too much." He kissed her. "Because I love you so much!" Well, that much was true. He loved the girl to no end, which meant he worried about her just as much.
"Okay!" Fudge accepted his response easily. She turned to her other father. "What about you, Babbo? What are you afraid of?"
Guido smiled and answered the little girl's questions. She was very fascinated and curious, so she asked all kinds of other questions.
Even though the storm raged on, the three of them had quite the cosy evening, huddled together, eating as much as they could out of the fridge and freezer, talking about their fears. Sure, they got scared a couple of times, but for the most part, it was nice.
It was as they were talking their fears that Guido and Luigi realised that they had been doing something all wrong. They wanted to be role models for their daughter, but they'd always done that by appearing to never do anything wrong and act perfect. Now, they knew that was not the right way to do that. They were not perfect and neither was she. If they held themselves to impossibly high standards, then she was going to do the same thing.
From now on, they were going to make much more of an effort to show their flaws and more vulnerable side to her. Never again would she believe things like adults never get scared.
The following morning, the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining. It shone on Fudge's face as she slept in Guido's arms, cuddling one of her stuffed animals. Both Italians smiled softly kissed her. She may not be perfect, but she was perfect to them.
Ugh! Why are endings so hard? I didn't have many ideas for the rest of the story either.
Anyway, I briefly mentioned the events of this story in Ride? Remember that?
I've got one more written for this story and yet another one in progress, so I hope you're excited for those. In the meantime, please let me know what you think of this one. I know it wasn't much and, unfortunately, I think my next one's even shorter.