Residents
Hudson followed Sheriff across the street to a faded white and brick building with green awnings. A tower of tires was stacked outside the front, slightly leaning, resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Hudson chuckled inwardly at the sight. There were lots of tires outside the shop. There were tires for all seasons, all terrains, and plenty of brands. Hudson didn't even recognize half the brands. They must have been imported.
"GUIDO! LUIGI!" Sheriff yelled, knocking on the door to the store.
There was scuffling inside and then the garage door opened. There were tires all over the floor, the shelves, and countertops.
"Oh, no oh no!" Luigi exclaimed, "Oh Guido, why you open the large door?! Now everyone see in! The tires! Everywhere!" He exclaimed dramatically. It made Hudson stifle a chuckle. Sheriff noticed the chuckle and smiled lightly as he elbowed Hudson. "You'll get a kick out of these tw—"
"—Abbiamo un cliente!" Guido interrupted and barked at his friend. He was in a blue long sleeve shirt, with a pair of old-fashioned corduroy overalls over them. Atop his head, a worn newsboy cap covered up his soft brown hair.
"We have a client?…" Luigi turned around and saw Sheriff and another unfamiliar man standing at the door. "O-oh I am so so so sorry!" Luigi ran over. He was dressed in a pair of brown trousers and a white button up shirt. Overtop his shirt was a soft, lemon-yellow sweater. Nestled under the collar of the sweater was a crisp, grey bowtie. His dark black hair was slicked, combed and clean, and his small mustache was well groomed.
"We are annually spring cleaning!" Luigi said. "We do not want our clients to see us like this! We are so, so sorry. Guido give you a set of tires on us, just for the trouble, you remind me," Luigi said in his thick Italian accent. He looked at Hudson. "And who are you?" He asked.
"Name's Hudson."
"His car had a little trouble," Sheriff chimed in, "Ramone is having a look at it. I figured I'd give him a tour around town until the car is finished."
"Oh oh, yes yes yes, I see!" Luigi exclaimed. He called his little friend Guido over. The smaller man approached Hudson. He frowned up at him but extended a hand.
"Guido," he simply stated, standing tall and sternly. He wasn't very intimidating, in fact, he was more cute than intimidating.
"Nice to meet you," Hudson shook his hand and return, "…eh, Guido…"
There was a brief pause in the conversation, but with Guido and Luigi around, it wasn't long before the taller man dressed in a yellow sweater piped up to talk. "You need tires?" Luigi asked.
"No, no thank you though," Hudson said. "I just got a new pair of white walls before coming out here."
Guido and Luigi's expressions dropped rapidly. They did not look impressed. "You put white walls on your car," Luigi started, "just to drive across Route 66 in the dirt? Oh, those poor tires," he said, slumping sadly. "Those poor, poor tires." He put his face in his hands, continually shaking his head.
Guido stood next to him, and patted his back, to remind Luigi to cheer up, then said something to Luigi in Italian. Luigi nodded, then looked back at Hudson. "Guido says if you want no tire, he wash your tires."
"Ok," Hudson shrugged. He could care less. Tires were the least of his concern, as long as they didn't pop. "Thank you."
"Any day, anytime, well, maybe now is not a good time. Good to meet you, Mr. Hudson!" He waved to Hudson and then ran back into the store to help Guido as a stack of tires fell. They rolled and bounced across the floor. Sheriff started to laugh out loud. Hudson smiled. "They're characters," he said.
"You got that right, Hudson. They're always in a rush, going somewhere, or doing something… Come on now, we'll go meet Sarge and Fillmore." Sheriff started walking, and Hudson followed after him, like a lost puppy.
"How many of you guys live here?"
"Well, including me, ten of us."
Hudson nodded in a quiet reply, as he and Sheriff headed down to the surplus hut down the way…
Sheriff crossed the road about half way and pointed to the Surplus Hut. Hudson chuckled a little bit and followed the sheriff as he stepped inside the building.
"Sarge?" He called out. "We've got a visitor, Ramone is fixing up his car. You around?" Sheriff looked around for Sarge inside his warehouse. Hudson looked around as well, though he didn't really know what he was looking for.
"Yes," said a voice from behind the two. Sheriff and Hudson jumped in surprise. They turned around, and sure enough, Sarge stood in the doorway, standing as straight as an arrow. His arms were tucked behind his back, and his head was held perfectly level. He looked about ten years older than Hudson. Sarge was dressed in a pair of olive-green pants, and a tight, tan shirt. He had a heavy-duty tactical belt around his waist and a stern expression on his face.
"You scared me, Sarge," Sheriff put his hands on his hips and chuckled. "This is the kid I was just talking about. His name is Hudson."
Hudson extended a hand and Sarge shook it. "Good to meet you," Sarge said. Hudson nodded in reply, then looked around the store as Sarge stood in silence…
…a few more moments passed in silence. Now Hudson could just feel it getting awkward.
"Well, is that all?" Sarge asked in a monotone pitch. Hudson seemed taken aback by Sarge's reply, so he looked to Sheriff in hopes that he would answer.
"I guess so!…" Sheriff sighed and lead Hudson out. "Thanks for meeting him, Sarge!" He placed a hand on Hudson's back and then headed for the hippie-tent next door.
"Don't worry, he'll warm up to you, he just doesn't really like to talk."
"Well, neither do I so that's understandable," Hudson said.
"I noticed that," Sheriff added before he opened the gate to the colorful, tie-dye tent that was set before them.
Fillmore instantly pulled back the beaded braid-strands that hung from the doorframe of his tent and stepped forward. He was sure a special person. He wore a long sleeve green t-shirt with a rainbow across the front and denim bell-bottom pants. He had soft, brown eyes and jaw-length blonde, shaggy hair. Parked outside his tent was a mint-green, Volkswagen Bus. Painted on it were clouds, rainbows, roads, stars, and peace signs. The car looked like a hippie-mobile. Hudson tried not to laugh when he saw the bumped stickers littered all over the car…
"FLOWER POWER!"
"Take a drive on the wild side"
"Got Solar?"
"I brake for jackalopes"
Hudson extended a hand when "Fillmore" came over.
"I'm Hudson."
"Hey man, I heard about you dude."
Hudson felt his heart start to race. Where did he hear about him? In the paper? On the news? Did people know where he was already? "O-oh…?" Hudson asked curiously, as Fillmore shook his hand.
"Yeah man, I saw Mater tow your car by my place and he came by and told me about it after he dropped you off," he said, slurring his words and swaying a little when he spoke.
Hudson sighed in relief. "Oh, yes, Ramone is looking at my car right now and I should be leaving by tonight."
Fillmore shook his head, and slowly put an arm around Hudson. He lead Hudson towards a few gas tanks sitting outside his tent. Sheriff stood back and watched, chuckling deeply to himself.
"Let me show you this, man," Fillmore pointed to the cans. "See these? All organic. Homemade. I made them right around the back of this tent."
Hudson raised an eyebrow, stiffening in discomfort when Fillmore put an arm around him. Hudson did not enjoy having his personal-space bubble popped. "O-okay?"
"Yeah man. If you want a tank of organic fuel, you can get them here, and then put it in the trunk of your car if you run out, man. It's better for the environment, and your car dude."
Hudson smiled nervously, stepping to the side, away from Fillmore by just an extra foot or two."O-oh, I don't think I need any fuel, but thank you for the offe—"
"—I'll make you a better deal, man," Fillmore insisted. "You buy one can of fuel, and I'll give two dollars of that money to an environmental conservation foundation. "Like GreenPe—"
"—thank you, but no thank you," Hudson couldn't help but smile. Fillmore was already hilarious. Sheriff came over to Fillmore and handed him a twenty-dollar bill. "I'll take a can for my car. Bring it to the courthouse by noon tomorrow.
Fillmore's face lit up with delight. "You got it, Sheriff, I'll bring it tomorrow. Thanks, dudes."
Hudson shook Fillmore's hand once more and then waved goodbye as he followed Sheriff back out of the hippie's plot of land. "That guy is funny," Hudson told Sheriff, chuckling a little.
"Why do you think he had to set up shop all the way at the end of town?" Sheriff laughed.
"That's a good point," Hudson added as he shook his head. "That was funny."
"We'll take yah' over to Lizzie's place now. You can see her little gift shop… It's been there since the late 1910's, I'd say…"
Sheriff walked back up towards the front of town with Hudson at a slow pace. He wanted so badly to ask why Hudson was going out to California, but he also felt uncomfortable asking about it. It wasn't his place to be asking things like that, but maybe it was worth a shot in the end… What did he have to lose? Once Hudson's car was fixed, he'd never see him again. Sheriff looked over at Hudson as they walked. "So what do you do? Do you have a job?" He asked.
"I'm going to California to look for one," Hudson said shortly.
"Huh, all the way to California just to find work? Is it really that bad out in the east?"
"I guess so."
Sheriff frowned a little. Those were not there replies he wanted, so he continued to ask.
"So, what are your hobbies? Is there anything you really enjoy doing? Besides being the sheriff, I also enjoy writing."
"Huh, I wish I was a better writer," Hudson added, avoiding the question in the beginning. When he looked up at Sheriff, he realized the man still wanted an answer.
"I…" Hudson paused. "I like to read."
"Reading is good, good indeed," Sheriff kicked a stone off the barren road as he walked. "Maybe you can read what I write," he laughed.
Hudson smiled but did not answer Sheriff as they approached Lizzie's store. In front of Hudson was an old, rickety, wooden store. There was a big sign outside, and it big painted letters it said, "HERE IT IS," with a flat painting of an old Ford Model-T next to the writing. There were little signs posted all over the porch of the store, with quirky and clever statements. The main sign above the store was painted in a fading yellow, with writing that read, "RADIATOR SPRINGS CURIOS" in tall red letters. Hudson followed Sheriff up the old rickety steps into the store. Sheriff pulled the door open and a bell clanged when he did. The shop owner, Lizzie, jolted a little and looked up. She had been napping at the front counter. When she saw it was Hudson and Sheriff, and raised an eyebrow. "Well, now look who's back. Did you enjoy meeting Fillmore and Sarge?"
"I suppose so. Fillmore was definitely interesting…"
"Yes," Lizzie replied quietly.
Sheriff came over and leaned on the counter next to Lizzie. Hudson wandered around the store, looking at the unique trinkets and treasures.
"You should tell him about the town, you know, and Stanley. He deserves to know a little town history before he goes," Sheriff said out loud for Hudson to hear. Hudson came to the counter. "Where is Stanley?" He asked.
Lizzie shrugged. "He passed away about twenty years ago," she said gently. "He was the sweetest man you'd ever meet," she said. Hudson wasn't a fan of story-time, but they had already helped him so much, the least he could do was show some respect for the town and its history.
"Oh?" Hudson asked in curiosity. He knew Lizzie would probably keep talking if he at least showed some interest.
"He came here back in the early, early 1900s. There was a natural spring here. Crisp, cool water," she adjusted her glasses and looked at Hudson. "The radiators on those old cars would always heat up, so the people used the cool water from the spring to cool the cars' radiators."
"So that's how you got the name, Radiator Springs?" Hudson asked.
"Yes," Lizzie began to giggle. "You figured that all out on your own, yes?"
Hudson flashed a smile and then fiddled with a row of key chains on the counter. "So he stayed here and made a town?"
"He founded it and slowly started developing the town. He finished the main set of buildings around 1916, but of course, things were always being improved through the years. It has a lot of charm to it. Over fifty years of love and history has been poured into this place. This is home for me, no matter what everyone else says."
"How did you meet Stanley?" Hudson asked curiously, after a moment of silence.
"I was driving through, on my way to Texas. My car broke down and Stanley let me stay in town until it was fixed. Oh, he really knew how to treat a girl," she said dreamily. "He spoiled me while I was here. He paid for my car repair, and took me out to dinner every night! I suppose the rest was history," Lizzie shook her head and smiled.
"Well ain't that a perfect love story," Hudson gave her a smirk. "I appreciate you taking some time to tell us about Radiator Springs," he said. When Hudson opened his mouth again, he realized that he was genuinely thankful for Lizzie and the others. He didn't feel that his thank you was "robotic" or "unsympathetic." It felt real. "It's very kind of you to open your doors and be so welcoming."
"We always have been, dear," Lizzie smiled and gave Hudson a playful bump on the shoulder, "let us know if you need anything. Now, an old lady needs her beauty-naps, shoo-shoo boys." She gave the two young men a wave. Sheriff and Hudson headed out and quickly went back down the stairs and onto the street once again.
"Hey," Hudson said, trying to quickly get Sheriff's attention. "Can I go thank Mater for the tow?" He asked.
"Sure," Sheriff put a hand on his shoulder and started walking back down the road, towards Sarge and Fillmore's places. "I'll come with yah."
Hudson walked next to Sheriff and took a deep breath. "Thanks again."