Chapter 4- The Odd Couple
Fillmore's POV
Dear Red, Sheriff and Lizzie,
I'm feeling a lot of love, man! There is so much natural beauty here in the Freewheeler Islands. It's so peaceful here and I feel at one with nature. There are lots of interesting people here too, which is great. I've already made a few friends. If only Sarge would see what great things we have on offer here. Maybe then he would relax.
Other than that, everything's good, man. Wish you were here.
Fillmore
P.S. How's Jennyfur?
P.P.S. Fudge just came in and made me write that.
Sarge needed to relax, man. I must've said that at least ten times in the last twenty-four hours. He acted like I'd committed murder when I stopped to look around at the airport. I didn't see what the big hurry was. Life is long and flights are always delayed. It turned out I was right. Our flight was delayed, but that didn't matter to Sarge.
I'd hoped he'd relax when we arrived at the resort, but I didn't see much chance of that.
"Whoa! Far out, man!" I exclaimed, impressed once we'd gotten inside the suite. The rooms were huge and so luxurious. Out the window, the view of the golf course and the ocean was pretty groovy. "I dig this place!"
Sarge just nodded, but I could tell he was impressed.
Ramone, who was sharing the suite with us, came out of one of the sleep rooms. "You guys mind if we take this one?" he asked, speaking for himself and Flo. "It looks smaller and I think you two'll want more room than we do."
"It's fine!" Sarge called with a sigh.
"Looks like we're sharin' a room, man", I informed him. Everyone else had paired off with each other already, but I didn't mind that. Sarge was my best friend, after all. Besides, we're used to sharing a room on vacation.
Sarge rolled his eyes and muttered something I didn't hear. Then he grabbed his bags from the cart that Gabe had brought up and started unpacking.
I picked up my own bags and left them on one of the beds in our room.
Sarge looked up from putting everything away neatly. "You're just gonna leave those there?"
I shrugged. "Why not?"
"It makes the room look messy!"
"It's only for two weeks, man", I countered. I knew Sarge was obsessed with neatness. I've gotten used to that and accepted it as who he is. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. Still, I hoped he would loosen up while we were on vacation. "And neither of us are humans. It's not like we're gonna need the beds."
"So?!"
"So, it's not the end of the world."
Sarge scoffed. "You just gonna let the maids clean up after you?!"
"'Course not, man. Mess is just a part of life."
He scoffed again. "Not my life!"
"Hey!" Ramone intervened. "Are you two gonna argue the whole trip? 'Cause that's gonna get pretty boring."
Sarge returned to his unpacking. I just watched him. Neither of us said a word.
Finally, he was done.
"We got a whole afternoon in paradise ahead of us", I informed Sarge. "What do you wanna do?"
"I need some exercise after that long plane ride", he answered, making a face. I know Sarge well, so I knew what he was thinking: We'd made the journey feel longer than it really was. He picked up a brochure that was on the bedside table in our room. "There must be some hikes we can take around here."
I studied the brochure. "Whoa! Tyreson's National Park! It's only a twenty minute drive from here. I remember the photos Robert and Julia took there were incredible! All kinds of interesting plants and beautiful animals."
Sarge gave me that same annoyed look he always gives me when I start talking about nature, but he agreed to go with me.
Ramone seemed to have overheard us. "You goin' to Tyreson's National Park?"
"Yeah", I replied.
"Oh. Flo and I are goin' to the spa. It should take a few thousand miles off." He sounded kind of relieved. I think he was just glad to be getting away from Sarge for a while. I know he can be intimidating or even frustrating with his obsession to be neat and organised, but that's just who he is.
Sarge and I left the resort together. The national park was pretty easy to find. The island wasn't very big and there were signs everywhere, so getting lost wasn't even an option. It was a peaceful rainforest with trees everywhere. I couldn't wait to explore the natural wonders held inside.
All of a sudden, I heard people shouting from somewhere above me. That ruined the peaceful vibes. Both Sarge and I looked up to see what it was. Above the trees, I could see a flash of pink. It wasn't until the flash stopped a bit further down that I realised it was a zip line! (The human going across it was wearing a pink shirt.)
"Fudge would love that", I mused, watching another human fly past.
Sarge looked up at the zip line. "She would", he agreed.
Those were the only words we said to each other for the whole hike. That wasn't because we were still mad over our fight back at the hotel. (Well, I wasn't. I'm not one to hold a grudge.) It was because Sarge was so far ahead of me. He drove across the trail as if it were mission critical. Me? I didn't forget to stop and smell the roses. There were so many beautiful, colourful birds and flowers that you can't find in the States. There were also some lizards or something. I didn't get a good look at them because they kept running into the bushes, but they were cool too.
"Excuse me?"
I nearly jumped at the sound of another voice. Everything had been so peaceful and quiet once we'd moved away from the zip lines. Now, I found myself face to face with a human family.
"Would you mind taking our picture?" a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man with a large moustache requested, holding out his camera. He was the tallest human I had ever seen (about seven foot) and he had a German accent.
"Sure." I took the camera.
"Wolfgang! Astrid!" a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman called to two children, who resembled their father. They were busy chasing each other and yelling. "Come here, please!" I noticed that this woman did not sound German.
"I'm here, Mom!" an older girl announced. She had long red hair and blue eyes.
It took them a while to gather all three children together, but I managed to get a nice photo of the family.
"Danke. Thank you so much." The man took the camera back and studied it. "Wunderbar."
"No problem, man", I replied. "So... Where are you from?"
"Andy and I are from Canada; just outside of Vancouver", the woman answered, placing a hand on the shoulder of the girl with red hair. "Karl and his kids are from Germany. Hamburg, to be specific."
"I lived in Canada for a year", the man, Karl, added. "Sheila and I fell in love and got married in September. So, we're taking this vacation to get used to our new stepfamily before we all move to Germany."
"Cool, man!" I exclaimed. And I meant it.
I rolled alongside them for the rest of the hike. They officially introduced themselves as Karl and Sheila Blumenthal. The girls with the red hair was Andrea "Andy" Dunn and she was ten. The two younger children were Wolfgang and Astrid, six-year-old twins. Sheila was a real estate agent (it was through her work that she met Karl) and Karl used to be a trapeze artist in a circus! Now, he wrote and illustrated children's books about his time in the circus.
"Far out, man!" I was impressed. I'd never met anybody who was in a circus before. Well, one of McQueen's racing friends, Raoul Çaroule was in the circus, but I've never personally met him. See? This was what Sarge was missing out on. He was too busy being neat and organised and making a physical challenge out of the hiking trail. While I, having stopped to smell the roses, met these interesting people.
Karl told me all kinds of interesting stories about his life in the circus before he realised that he was talking about himself. I didn't mind that. His life was so fascinating, but I guess he wanted to be polite.
"So, where are you from, Fillmore?" he asked me.
"San Francisco, originally", I replied, "but I've spent most of my life living in Radiator Springs, a small town in Arizona. I love it there, man. It's in the middle of the desert, so close to nature."
Sheila smiled. "I assume you like nature?"
"Sure do, man!"
"So do we", she informed me.
"We love birdwatching back home", Andy offered with a small smile. She spoke quietly, almost sadly. I think she was shy.
"That's right!" Sheila agreed.
As if on cue, something flew past us and into a nearby tree. It was a small black and yellow bird.
"It's a Freewheeler flyer", Andy announced, consulting her guidebook. "They're native these islands."
"Whoa!" I marvelled at the beauty of the bird as it called out a harmonious tune.
Sheila got out her camera and took some photos.
"It's so sad", Andy added. "There's only about five hundred left in the wild. Deforestation is a huge problem."
I nodded in agreement. It was so sad. How could people be so heartless to ruin nature like that?
"Back in Canada, I've helped organise all kinds of fundraisers to help save endangered species", Andy went on. "Last year, we had a car wash and a bake sale. We made over two thousand dollars!"
"That's great, man!" I informed her sincerely. It was good to know that tomorrow's leaders were determined to make a change. So, I told her that.
Andy smiled modestly. "I just want my children to be able to enjoy these animals and environments one day too."
I must've talked to the Blumenthal-Dunns for nearly two hours as we made our way through the national park. None of us were in any hurry (except for the twins, who complained that they were bored). So, we just strolled through, admiring nature and stopping to watch some other native species in their natural habitats. It was incredible, man! There was the most breathtaking waterfall in the middle of the trees; we must've stopped there for about half an hour.
"Are you travelling alone?" Sheila asked me at one point.
"Oh, no!" I answered. "I'm on vacation with my friends. My best friend is a bit further ahead than we are."
That's when I realised I hadn't really thought about Sarge since I met the Blumenthal-Dunns. I felt bad for him. I was willing to bet that he hadn't seen any of the spectacular sights we had seen.
I was proven right when I found him waiting for me outside the gift shop. He looked annoyed.
"Where were you?!" he demanded.
"I was actually looking at the national park", I replied. "And I made some new friends."
I tried to gesture to the family I'd met, but they were already in the gift shop. Andy was gushing over a stuffed animal she thought was cute and how good it was that the money would go towards helping endangered species. The twins were begging for ice cream.
"Well, I was starting to think that something happened to you!" Sarge snapped.
"What made you think that, man?" I wondered.
"How about the time we were in Hawaii and you managed to lost in every national park there?!" he responded. "Or the time in Las Vegas where you wandered off without telling anyone and you got stuck in the elevator?"
His answer went on for quite a long time. I kinda tuned him out after a while.
"Well, nothing like that happened this time", I pointed out.
Sarge rolled his eyes. "You're missing the point, hippie!"
I decided to change the subject. "You ready to go?"
"I have been for two and a half hours now", he muttered, rolling off.
I followed him. I felt bad for not saying goodbye to my new friends, but I hoped I would see them soon. Karl mentioned that they were staying at the Rearview Mirage too, so I was sure I would.
I knew Sarge would be determined to get back to the resort right away, but on the way there, I spotted the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. The sky was orange, pink and purple and the sun looked like it was dropping right into the ocean.
"Whoa!" I exclaimed, stopping to admire the view.
Sarge rolled his eyes. "I hope the others aren't waiting for us!" he snapped.
"I hope they're admiring this sunset", I countered. "We're on vacation, man! We're supposed to be taking it easy. Remember when we went camping and you didn't wanna roll over the pinecones? Well, you loved that. This is the kind of thing you're missing, man."
Sarge just rolled his eyes again, but stayed with me while I watched the sunset.
"You know, you don't have to stay with me, man. You can go if you want."
"Like hell I can!" he retorted.
Finally, the second the sun disappeared, he announced, "All right. We've seen the sunset! Let's go!"
I actually kinda wanted to stay a little longer. Even though the sun was gone, there was still a beautiful view. I knew what Sarge was like, though, so I didn't protest. I guess you could call it compromise. Besides, I knew I'd have plenty of time to admire the scenery. We were going to be here for two weeks.
The first person we saw when we got back to the resort was Gabe.
"How did you like Tyreson's National Park?" he asked us affably.
"It was spectacular, man!" I informed him.
He smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Those national parks are some of our islands' most treasured sights."
"I can see why", I agreed.
"Well, is there anything I can help you gentlemen with?" Gabe offered.
"Yeah", I replied. "Do you remember what our room number is?"
"You're hopeless!" Sarge scoffed, pushing me forward. "We're fine, thank you, Gabe!"
Gabe smiled again. "I'll leave you then, but if you require my assistance, please don't hesitate to ask."
"We won't", Sarge assured him, quick to hurry me along. "Thank you."
"And don't worry!" he called after us with a twinkle in his eye. "Every single day, I have people forget their room number."
By then, Sarge and I were in the elevator. Sarge pressed the button for the twenty-third floor and we were moving.
Then he started on me again. "It's a good thing I did stay with you, isn't it?! You wouldn't have even known where to go!"
I shrugged. "It's not the end of the world, man. Gabe would've told me where to go."
"Gabe probably has his work cut out for him as it is! It's about time you started acting like an adult!"
Man, he really needed to let go of those negative vibes!
"Hey, I'm starving, man!" I realised abruptly. I said it partly to change the subject and partly because it was true. "What do you wanna do for dinner?"
"I don't know. Let's see what the others wanna do", he suggested.
It turned out the others were tired after a busy day and just wanted to order room service. So, that's what we did.
We all met in McQueen, Sally and Mater's suite and looked over the menu. I was struggling to find many vegan options, but in the end, I did find one. Everyone else decided to get a bunch of options and just share them around. Except for Sarge, who didn't want anyone else touching his food.
"So", Flo began once the food arrived, "how was everyone's day?"
There was a short silence, so we weren't all answering at once. Then McQueen answered.
"Great! Sally and I went down to this beach. Very secluded. So beautiful." After a pause, he added, "Wow! This food is good!"
"I had fun at the pool", Fudge offered, munching on some fries. She had just had a shower and now, Luigi was brushing her hair, to Sarge's annoyance. (He thought Fudge should be able to do that herself.) I noticed that she was wearing long, fluffy pyjama pants, even though it was kind of warm.
"You are sure you are not too warm in those pants?" Luigi wondered.
"Yeah, I'm fine", she assured him.
"How was the spa?" I asked Flo and Ramone.
Flo smiled happily. "Heaven!"
"Except for Sir Tobias Proudwheel!" Ramone added, putting on a very fake and not very good British accent. We all laughed. "Oh, man! When we got there, we found this silver Jaguar. All he could do was complain. The masseur's forks were too cold, the essential oil was the wrong scent. Thank Chrysler he left five minutes after we got there. Otherwise, I don't think I would've been able to enjoy it!"
"Luigi? Guido? What about you?" Flo asked.
"We were tired, so we had a nap once we unpacked and then we spent the rest of the afternoon supervising Fudge in the pool", Luigi explained. He put down Fudge's brush and took the lasagne that Guido was offering him. "It was very relaxing, enjoying the warm weather."
"Well, the national park was incredible", Sarge added.
"I'm surprised you even saw it!" I argued. "It was more about a workout for you than appreciating nature!"
"So, did you see anything interesting, Fillmore?" Ramone questioned, most likely to prevent an argument.
"I sure did." I described all of the cool plants and animals I saw. Then I told them about my new friends.
"Cool!" Ramone sounded genuinely interested.
"Dad-gum! That Karl fella was in a circus?!" Mater repeated, amazed.
"Well, it sure would be nice to meet them", Sally commented.
"What did you do today, Mater?" I wanted to know.
"I just stayed here", he replied.
"Stayed here?" Flo repeated, looking up from her salad in surprise. "You didn't wanna go out?"
He shook his cab. "Not really. I guess I was tired too."
"Is everything okay, buddy?" McQueen asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" the tow truck insisted, but we could all tell something was bothering him. "I was just tired. Maybe I'll go out tomorrow."
"Well, I think we're gonna have an awesome two weeks here!" Sally remarked cheerfully.
"Definitely!" most of us agreed. Only Sarge and Mater were silent. I could guess why Sarge didn't say anything, but I wondered what was wrong with Mater. Normally, he's full of good vibes. Maybe even too many good vibes. (I never thought I'd say that about anyone.)
I never did find out what was wrong with him. I think we were all getting kind of tired then. So, we put on a movie. It wasn't easy finding something we'd all watch since Luigi didn't want Fudge watching anything rated higher than PG (she was only allowed to G-rated movies until she was thirteen; don't tell Luigi, but we all let her watch PG movies before that). Sarge thought he was coddling her and any movie rather PG or lower seemed babyish to him. Finally, we found a compromise, but it didn't matter. Fudge was asleep before the movie was half over.
Even I fell asleep towards the end. I didn't even realise until I heard Sarge's voice. "Wake up, hippie! McQueen, Sally and Mater wanna go to sleep!"
The door was opening and the others were calling, "Good night!"
"Yeah, g'night", I muttered groggily, practically sleep driving out the door after Sarge.
Flo and Ramone were quick to say goodnight and roll into their sleep room. I think we were all tired.
"I can't wait to go to sleep tonight", Sarge commented.
"Me neither", I agreed.
"Well, you've already had some sleep", he pointed out.
Before I could answer, loud music started up outside. Lots of young people were shouting and laughing.
Sarge groaned. "No respect for people who want to sleep!"
I laughed. "Come on, man! You were their age once!"
"I was", he acknowledged. "But I was in the military then! I never partied all night."
"You should've, man. Maybe you'd be a bit more chill."
Sarge's only response was to mutter something I didn't hear.
We both rolled into our sleep room and chose our spots.
I yawned. "G'night, man."
"Good night, hippie." Sarge switched the light out.
I tried to fall asleep, but I saw Sarge leave the room a few minutes later. I didn't know where he was going, but I noticed when he rolled over one of my suitcases. He yelled some pretty unrepeatable things.
"Why couldn't you have just put your things away neatly like I did?!" he demanded.
I pretended to be asleep. I was still holding onto hope that Sarge would relax on this vacation, even if it didn't happen on the first day. I'd waited over fifty years for Sarge to relax. I could wait another two weeks.
