Well, this is well overdue. This is a very short, but important ! :)
Chapter 17- What Happened After Dinner
Flo's POV
Dear Sheriff, Lizzie and Red,
I hate to admit it, but maybe Sarge was right. Maybe it was a mistake to come on this vacation. I mean, the weather's perfect and the activities are fun, but all we have done is argue. First, it was Sarge and Fillmore (not surprisingly). Then it was Luigi and Ramone. Then I heard that Fudge and Mater had had some kind of spat, but they seem okay now.
Now, if you can believe it, Luigi and Fudge are having problems. So, something is very wrong here. Why did we ever think this vacation would be fun? I can't wait to go home and see you all soon.
Love,
Flo.
Unlike a lot of things on our vacation in the Freewheeler Islands, I considered Mater's birthday dinner to be a success. Even if Luigi failed to make an appearance. According to Guido, he had claimed that he wasn't feeling well.
"I hope he's okay", I commented worriedly to my husband.
Ramone shrugged, unconcerned. "He's probably fine. Then again, it must be somethin' serious for him to not be shadowing Fudge."
This was exactly why I couldn't completely enjoy my time in the Freewheeler Islands. The others would not stop arguing. It was just a shame that such a beautiful place seemed to be bringing out an ugly side of most of us.
When Mater's birthday dinner was over. we decided to head outside where Gabe had told us that some kind of celebration was taking place.
When we got to the beach, we found locals in colourful dress, dancing and twirling torches.
"It's a traditional celebration in the Freewheeler Islands", Finn explained. Nobody was the least bit surprised that he knew all about it. He had travelled everywhere. "It occurs on the twelfth of every month since twelve is considered a lucky number here."
"Oh, yeah. I remember reading about that", Fudge recalled. She was very interested in geography and different cultures around the world. "Twelve twelve-year-old girls survived twelve days, twelve hours and twelve minutes lost at sea, right?"
Finn smiled. "According to the legend, yes."
Ramone watched as locals invited tourists to dance. "Looks like fun." He turned to me. "Wanna check it out, baby?"
I grinned. "You know it."
So, we all went to check it out. Sarge was just happy to observe, but the rest of us got into it. Ramone and I found the dance pretty simple and were having a lot of fun. Lightning struggled a little, but dancing with Sally made him look good. Fillmore, Guido and Finn looked really good too. Fudge, who- I'm sorry- had two left feet, was being shown the steps by a local. She couldn't seem to get the hang of it, but she couldn't stop laughing. The local smiled before giving up and going to assist someone else.
It was just wonderful. For a while, I was able to forget about the various arguments that had been going on since we got here. I even felt like I was transported back to my honeymoon. It was a long time ago now, but I still have vivid memories of dance on the beach all night long with my new husband. It was truly magical and simply unforgettable.
How could I not want to be here? I wondered. Who cares if everyone else is fighting? I shouldn't let that stop me from enjoying myself here. And I decided then and there that I wouldn't.
However, what happened later that night was something I couldn't ignore.
It happened after we all got back to our respective rooms and just as we were getting ready to go to sleep. It was late by then- almost midnight- so, I was exhausted and couldn't wait to fall asleep.
Unfortunately, that was when I heard a knock at the door.
"Can one of you get that?" Ramone called from the bathroom.
"I got it!" Mater hollered from the other room.
Curious, I made my way to the door too. So, when Mater flung it open, I saw Fudge standing there in her pyjamas, with a pillow and a blanket in her arms and a sad, bewildered, even scared, expression on her face. Even though she had always looked younger than fifteen, her wide eyes made her look even younger than usual.
"Could I sleep on your couch?" she asked in a small voice.
Mater turned to look at me, unsure of how to answer.
"Honey, what happened?" I questioned, concerned.
"Papá won't even talk to me!" The poor girl started to cry.
Instantly, I felt sorry for her. Fudge loved her papá immensely and was not just very close to him, but also very dependent on him. Besides, we all knew that Fudge had major abandonment issues, so obviously, she was talking this pretty hard.
I gave her a big hug. "Oh, honey!"
Fillmore had come out of the room he was sharing with Mater and stared at Fudge in disbelief. "Luigi won't talk to you? Why not?"
"I have absolutely no idea!" Fudge replied miserably.
I led her to the couch and a curious Mater and Fillmore followed. The poor girl collapsed onto the couch, pulling her feet up and sitting there with crossed legs. Ramone must've figured out what was happening because he emerged from the bathroom with a box of tissues.
"Thanks!" Fudge took one gratefully.
"Start from the beginning, chica", Ramone requested gently. "Tell us what happened."
"Babbo and I got back from dinner and I went to offer Papá a piece of cake", Fudge began, sniffing, "but he didn't answer. He wasn't asleep. I know he wasn't. I thought maybe he didn't hear me, so I asked again, but he still didn't answer."
"Maybe he wasn't there", Fillmore suggested hopefully.
Fudge shook her head. "That's what I thought, but I saw him when Babbo went in there. He was just reading."
"So, then what happened?" I asked.
"Babbo told him that I was talking to him, but he said he didn't want to talk to me!" Fudge cried harder.
"And he didn't say why?" Ramone assumed.
Fudge shook her head again. "He said I know what I did, but I really don't."
"Oh, Fudge", I murmured sympathetically.
"Are you sure you don't know why?" Fillmore quizzed her. "It must've been something serious to make him act like this."
Fudge thought for a minute or two. "I can't think of anything", she insisted.
"He didn't see you at all this afternoon", Ramone pointed out. "So, it was probably this morning."
"I don't know! I don't understand it! What could I have possibly done to make him so upset?!" she wondered. I didn't understand it either. "What if- What if he doesn't love me anymore?"
That was a very big fear of Fudge's. Even though it would never happen and even Fudge herself knew that, she couldn't help fearing that her fathers would flat-out abandon her, just like her mother did. This was why Fudge tried to stay out of trouble as much as she could. She did not want to give them a reason to do that. The poor girl looked so scared as tears rolled down her face.
"Oh, Fudge, your papá loves you very much", I assured her. I wiped a tear off her cheek. "Whatever this is, I'm sure it'll pass."
Fudge didn't look convinced. All I could do was hold her and let her cry.
Finally, Ramone sighed. "Sadly, I don't think this is gonna be resolved tonight. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted."
I nodded in agreement. "I think we could all do with some rest now. Fudge, are you gonna be okay sleeping on the couch?"
She nodded and tried to dry her eyes.
Mater and Fillmore each gave Fudge a hug and went to their room for the night. Ramone and I stayed with Fudge for another fifteen minutes to make sure that she was comfortable and really would be okay. During that time she was very sheepish as she admitted to throwing a piece of cake at Luigi's door.
"I was just so upset!" she sniffled. "I wasn't really thinking. I just did it."
I couldn't help smiling just a little bit. I decided not to tell her that was wrong; she'd obviously figured it out herself. She'd made it very clear that she wasn't proud of it. All Ramone and I told her was, "Don't worry about that right now. You need some sleep."
She stopped crying once she'd set up her pillow and blanket, but she still looked miserable.
"Try not to worry too much, okay, honey?" I told her gently. "I'm sure this'll all work out somehow."
Fudge nodded, but she still didn't look convinced. I think she was just too tired to argue. So, I just gave her a kiss on the forehead and Ramone and I went back to our room to get some sleep ourselves.
Ramone shook his hood in disbelief. "Poor kid. I can't imagine why Luigi would just stop talking to her all of a sudden."
"Nor can I", I agreed, switching out the light. "I hope she'll be okay."
She wasn't. I could tell that she had fallen asleep, so I tried to as well. However, I couldn't because I was too worried about the poor girl and what was happening to all of us here in the Freewheeler Islands. What was it about this gorgeous place that made us all not get along? Of all the arguments going on, though, this one seemed to be the most serious.
Somehow, some time after one, I managed to fall asleep, but I was awake just after two when I heard a thud.
Beside me, Ramone stirred. "What was that?" he murmured.
"Fudge!" I realised, making a beeline for the couch.
Ramone followed me and we found Fudge on the floor, breathing heavily. Most of her blanket was on the floor as well.
"Bad dream?" Ramone guessed. I should've known. Fudge tended to have a lot of bad dreams, especially when she was going through something.
She nodded. "Papà didn't want me anymore. I'm not sure he really does." She was close to tears again.
"Oh, honey, I'm sure he does!" I insisted one more time, giving her a hug. "In fact, I know he does." I sighed. "Would you feel better sleeping with us tonight?"
Fudge nodded again. Then she asked in a small voice, "Are you sure that's okay?"
"Of course!" I assured her. "We're not gonna leave you like this."
"Thanks." I could tell that she was fighting very hard to keep her voice steady. It broke my heart to see her so upset.
"You don't mind, do you, Ramone?" I asked my husband.
"'Course not", he assured us, already helping Fudge up off the floor.
As Fudge got settled in our room, I couldn't help thinking that maybe this vacation really was a mistake. If Luigi would just stop talking to Fudge, whom he loved with all his heart, who knew what else could happen?
