Chapter 16: An Apology, Surprise Guests and a Cake

Mater's POV

Dear Finn,

I'm having the best birthday ever with my best buddy! Fudge was a little mean earlier, but she's being nice now.

We done had a really good lunch and then played in the arcade. Now, we is about to have a birthday dinner at the all you can eat buffet. I just wish you were here. Hopefully, I'll see you soon.

Mater

I loved the Treetop Café. It was one of my favourite spots on the whole island. The food is so dad-gum good and the lunch I done had with my best friend was no exception.

"You ready to go, Mater?" McQueen done asked me when I was finished eating.

"Go where?" I asked.

"It's your birthday", McQueen done reminded me. "You decide."

"I wanna go back to the arcade!"

McQueen smiled. "You got it."

On the way back to the hotel, we done went past the pool. Fudge was in there, playing with some other teenagers: a yellow Porsche; a powder blue KA; a purple Fiat; a red Ford Fiesta; a lime green Mustang GT and two humans; one with brown hair and one with black hair. They was jousting with pool noodles.

"Wait a sec, guys!" Fudge called to them, hoisting herself out of the pool and hurrying after me as fast as she could without getting in trouble with the lifeguards. "Mater! Mater!"

I hesitated. I was still upset about what Fudge done said. I couldn't believe that she called me a baby and a selfish jerk. On the other tyre, she was my friend- in fact, she was like my little sister- and I didn't wanna spend my birthday mad at her.

"Look, Mater, I'm sorry!" she apologised.

"C'mon, Mater." McQueen tried to drag me away.

"Wait!" I done stopped him.

"I'm sorry", Fudge done repeated. "I didn't mean what I said."

McQueen still didn't look happy. "You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it."

"I was just disappointed that we had to turn back!" Fudge done explained. "I don't think Mater's a baby or a selfish jerk. In fact, now, I think I'm a selfish jerk. I really am sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay, Fudge. I get it."

I done looked at McQueen to see what he thought. He was smiling.

"Hug it out", he done told us.

So, we did, even though Fudge was all wet.

"And I'm sorry to you too, Lightning." Fudge done hugged McQueen too.

"It's all right, Fudge-O, but let's make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Yeah", Fudge done agreed. "I'd hate to ruin any more of this vacation."

"Well, we is headin' to the arcade!" I done told her. "You wanna come?"

Fudge shook her head. "You need some best friend time, but I'll see you later. I'm not gonna miss your birthday dinner." We all done made plans that morning to meet at the all you can eat buffet at six o'clock that night.

"Thanks, Fudge! You're the best!"

She done blushed. "Thanks, but I'm really not."

"Mater? You coming?" McQueen done called.

"Fudge!" the Mustang in the pool called. "You coming back?"

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Fudge."

"Yeah, see ya!" Fudge done waved as she headed back to the pool with her friends.


McQueen and I done had a blast in the arcade that afternoon. I even won some toys and some candy. Plus, I even done beat the Lightning McQueen at a racing game! Not everybody can say they beat him in a race, but I can.

"We better go, Mater", he done told me after a while. "I still need to get ready for your birthday dinner."

So, we went back to our rooms to get a car wash. I wrote that postcard to Finn while McQueen was busy getting other stuff ready. Then we rode the elevator to the bottom floor where the buffet was. It was time for my birthday dinner to begin.

Almost everybody was waiting for us at the entrance to the buffet. There was Sally, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo, Ramone, Fudge and...

"Holley!" I shouted excitedly. "Finn!"

I was happier than a tornado in a trailer park to see them! The last time we done saw each other was when we showed them how to celebrate the Fourth of July (the year before that, they done taught us how to celebrate an English holiday called Bonfire Night and we done taught them how to celebrate Thanksgiving.)

"Hello, Mater!" Holley done smiled at me. "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday, Mater", Finn added.

"Thanks! I didn't know y'all was gonna be here."

Finn smiled too. "That was the whole point. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"We're only here for a couple of hours", Holley explained. "We just stopped on our way to another mission. We need to be in the Bahamas by morning."

"Okay, but how did you get in here?" McQueen done asked. "I thought the restaurants were only for hotel guests."

Finn was still smiling as he done looked over at our butler, who was nearby. "Gabe Vidlay is an old friend of mine. I was working here undercover in the nineties and I saved his life."

"Vidlay?" I done repeated. "Like the fish?"

Finn nodded. "Vidlay is the native language for south bay. That's where Gabe's family is from and where the fish is most often found."

"Well, I've been craving some vidlay all day!" McQueen done announced.

"Well, are we ready to all get something to eat?" Sally asked us.

"Wait!" I shouted. "Luigi and Guido ain't here yet."

"Yeah, where are they?" Ramone wondered.

We all looked at Fudge.

She shrugged. "Babbo was in the car wash when I left. He told me to just go. I have no idea where Papà is."

That was when Guido done showed up, breathless. He was saying something in Italian, but I didn't know what. All of us had learned some Italian from Guido and Luigi, but I've learned the least. Fudge learned the most.

"He says he's sorry he's late. He and Papà were at the spa and they lost track of time", Fudge done told us.

"So, where's Luigi now?" I asked.

Guido answered in Italian. Fudge frowned and spoke to him in Italian. So, Guido done answered her.

"What's wrong?" Sally wanted to know.

"Apparently, Papà said he wasn't feeling well and just wanted to go to bed", Fudge done told us. "He's been upset about something all afternoon, but won't say what." She looked even more confused. "I haven't seen him all day. He hasn't come and asked me if I've had my medication or put on sunscreen or aloe vera."

I thought about that. "That's weird."

Guido spoke again in Italian and Fudge done looked even more confused. "Apparently, Babbo asked him about that earlier and Papà would just say that I'll be fine. He sounded pretty annoyed."

Sally frowned too. "Something's going on here."

"I'm sure we'll find out later", Sarge done spoke up, "but right now, we have plans for this evening, so let's get them underway. Luigi can always join us later if he feels like it."

I was a little disappointed that Luigi wasn't gonna be at my birthday dinner, but if he wasn't feeling well, I could understand that. "All right. Well, I'm gettin' hungry. So, let's all go get somethin' to eat."


So, we did. The rest of us lined up at the buffet and started making our selections.

"So, Mater", Flo began once we'd all sat back down, "did you have a good birthday?"

I nodded. "Except for my fight with Fudge, yes."

Everyone turned to look at Fudge and she done blushed. At least, I think she did. It was hard to tell because she was still pretty sunburned.

"Once again, I'm sorry", she done told me.

"Well, the important thing is, we is friends again", I added.

"So, what did you do today?" Holley wanted to know.

I told everyone about the helicopter ride and the Treetop Café and the arcade. Then I asked, "What did everybody else do today?"

"Flo and I went to the arts and crafts place on Sanchez Island", Ramone done told us. "I made a plate just like yours. I'll show it to you later if you want."

"Sarge, Fillmore and I had fun with the Blumenthal-Dunns", Sally added. "We found another very nice national park to explore with some protected ocean life. You can't fish there."

"What about you, Fudge?" McQueen done asked. "I noticed you've made some friends. Who were those kids?"

Fudge smiled. "Oh, yeah! I was hanging out with some kids in the pool."

She done told us about them. She said that the yellow Porsche was Avery Proudwheel from England and she was Sir Tobias Proudwheel's daughter. (Finn done nodded and said that he knew all about Sir Tobias Proudwheel and that he was nothing more than a stuck-up snob.) The KA was Samantha, also from England. The Mustang was David-Michael William Christopher Archibald Montgomery Alexander Mustangburger-O'Shaughnessy IV. We was all looking at her funny, so she added, "We just call him Dave." He was American too, from New Hampshire. So was the Ford, Claudia, from South Carolina. The humans were Yu-Mi from Korea and Antonio from Italy. The Fiat's name was Carlotta and she was from Italy too.

"Yeah, well, the Staceys were giving me a hard time again, so they asked if I wanted to join them", Fudge done explained. "They were jousting with pool noodles, which looked like fun, so I said yes."

"I'm sorry", Finn interrupted, confused. "The Staceys?"

Then we done started telling Finn and Holley all about our time in the Freewheeler Islands so far. They got our postcards, but my writing's so big, I couldn't fit all of the details onto them. Now, since they was here, I could tell them everything.

Holley done smiled when we was done. "Sounds like an interesting holiday."

That was one way to describe it.


We all talked about our lives since we last saw each other. There weren't much that Finn and Holley could tell us because they is secret agents and don't tell nobody much about their work. So, it was exciting just to hear a little bit. We even done played some games right there at the table. Fudge had brought Cards Against Auto-manity with her. Then we played a couple of other games like I Spy; Kiss, Marry, Kill; Would You Rather? and Never Have I Ever. We was making quite a lot of noise, but so was everybody else at the buffet, so nobody really cared. As we talked and played, we done ate our dinner and then had seconds. Then some of us even had thirds.

Ramone gave me and Fudge a funny look as we returned to the table. "Are you sure you should be eating that much?"

"Oh, Ramone!" Flo laughed. "It's a birthday dinner! Let them eat whatever they want."

"Besides", McQueen added, "we do have to kill some time until seven-thirty."

"Seven-thirty?" I repeated. I looked at the clock. It was seven-twenty. "What's happenin' at seven-thirty?"

"Fine", Ramone answered before anybody could answer my question. "I just don't want them barfin' all over the table."


But nobody barfed all over the table. I guess that was a good thing because by the time we was finished, it was seven-thirty. Something was gonna happen. I didn't have to wait long to find out what.

First, I heard someone singing "Happy Birthday". I done turned around and there was a white and purple forklift heading towards our table with a giant cake. It was a rectangular chocolate cake with whipped cream and cherries on it. As it was placed in front of me, I could see the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATER on it.

As my friends and the forklift started singing, everyone else at the buffet joined in. They was all smiling at me, knowing it was my birthday. I always wanted a great big room full of people to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. And now, I finally got it.

"Okay, blow out the candles, honey", Flo done told me.

I didn't hesitate. I blew out all the candles in one go and everyone cheered for me. Then we all got a piece of the best cake I have ever tasted in my life. And it was so big, there was even heaps left over.

"We better save some for Luigi", Sally done told us. "And we can each have some more tomorrow."

I nodded happily. "Sounds good to me. And I wanna thank y'all for makin' this the best birthday ever!"

McQueen done smiled. "It was no trouble, buddy."

"You deserve it", Holley done added. "You make all of us feel so happy every day."


Since we was all done with dinner then, I thought we was all gonna head back to the room. But I was wrong.

"So, Mater", Holley began, "do you wanna go for a drive on the beach with me?"

I lit up brighter than a high beam in the night sky. "Sure!" McQueen and Sally had taken moonlight drives on the beach while we'd been here. So had Flo and Ramone. It made me wish that Holley had been here, so that we could do that. And now, she was.

So, Holley done told everyone where we was going and soon, we was driving down a real quiet part of the beach. It was so pretty, seeing the moon reflecting on the ocean. Not as pretty as being up there, like I have, and definitely not as pretty as Holley, but it was still nice.

We was silent for a long time. Sometimes, I do just like to talk and talk (ask anybody; they'll tell you!), but sometimes, I just like to enjoy my time with someone. Like right now. I don't get to see Holley anywhere near as often as I'd want, so I was just happy to be with her, whether we was talking or not.

After a while, though, Holley done started to talk. "So, McQueen tells me he's been worried about you."

I was surprised. "He did?"

She nodded. "Apparently, you've been really worried lately?"

I was a little embarrassed to be talking to Holley about it, but I done told her about that TV show I saw about world's scariest vacations and how I was worried that something like that was gonna happen to us.

Holley nodded understandingly. "That must be hard for you."

I was surprised again. "You think?"

She looked surprised too. "Of course I do. I know what it's like to be afraid. Remember the World Grand Prix? That was my first time in the field and I was so afraid I was going to make so many mistakes."

"Really? But I thought you spies weren't afraid of anythin."

Holley smiled at me. "Oh, we are. There's a difference between brave and fearless, you know. Being brave means being afraid, but doing the right thing anyway."

"So, even Finn gets scared?" That there was something I couldn't imagine.

"Of course he does."

"What's he afraid of?" I wanted to know.

She didn't answer. She just told me, "You know, Mater, sometimes, it's smart to be a little afraid of things. If you weren't, you might take a lot of unnecessary risks."

"Yeah", I agreed.

"But", she continued, "if you're too afraid, sometimes, you miss out on things."

"Like a helicopter ride", I done murmured.

Holley nodded.

"But what if it done crashes into the ocean?" I wondered.

"What if it doesn't?" she done asked me. "You'll enjoy a nice helicopter ride with your best friend. Accidents like that are very unlikely."

"It happened to Fudge!" I done reminded her. I remembered seeing her in the hospital, hooked up to lots of wires and machines, covered in bandages. It was horrible.

"And how many times has it not happened to people?" Holley pointed out.

I guess I never thought of it like that.

Me and Holley done talked a little while longer before we found the others. There was some kind of party going on at the beach. Island music was playing and locals had their traditional costumes on (at least, that's what Holley done told me) and people was dancing, twirling torches. Apparently, twelve is a lucky number in the Freewheeler Islands and they do this on the twelfth of every month. So, I guess I'm pretty lucky to be born on the twelfth.

Holley done smiled at me. "Mater, do you want to dance with me?"

What kind of question was that? "Of course!"

So, me and Holley joined our friends (I wasn't surprised that they was so far away from the torches; Fudge is so scared of fire) and we started to dance too. It turns out, Holley is a really good dancer. I wasn't that good, but it didn't matter. Everybody was having fun and not really caring how anybody else danced. That's why I didn't mind when McQueen done cut in on us and wanted to dance with Holley. I just danced with Miss Sally while I done waited for them to finish.


I don't know how long we was dancing for before Fudge got out of breath. That happens sometimes after her accident.

Guido said something in Italian. He was probably asking her if she was okay. She nodded, but she was still a little breathless. "My knee hurts a little", she done added.

"Maybe it's time to call it a night", Flo done suggested. "It's getting late anyway."

Everybody else agreed, but I didn't. "I got one more thing I need to do."

I done moved away from the rest of my friends and looked at Holley.

"I guess y'all is gonna be leavin' soon, huh?"

"I'm afraid so", she done replied. "But I really had fun with you, Mater. I hope you had a wonderful birthday."

"I did, thanks to you. And McQueen."

Me and Holley done had a nice, long kiss before Finn done showed up.

"Miss Shiftwell? I'm afraid we have to leave. Siddeley's waiting for us." Then he done looked at me and added, "Happy birthday, Mater."

"Thanks, Finn."

That was when they done drove away to meet Sid. I saw him take off a few minutes later and he, Finn and Holley done disappeared into that perfect night.

I hope I don't sound too whiny when I say this, but I have been getting a little discouraged by the lack of reviews lately. So, if you want to see this story continued, then please review, so I know people are actually enjoying it. Thanks for understanding.