Sheriff's Bath Troubles
Life in Radiator Springs seemed so slow it was like the place became a ghost town. The residents longed for the day they could have somewhat regular business again. But they took comfort in knowing that none of the original residents wanted to leave. They were a family, after all, and family sticks together.
So when Paula announced a new member of the family would be joining them soon, nobody could hide their joy. Harley brought new light to their lives. The little tyke certainly had energy to spare, and it sometimes took a lot out of the residents just to keep up with her.
Luckily, Mater was always around to help. It took a while for everyone to trust leaving him alone with the young child, but by the time Harley turned two it soon became necessary to leave them alone together. Mater was often the only one who could keep up with the child, and the two of them romped around and played from sunup to sundown.
Like today, when Mater had the brilliant idea to take Harley out to play in the mud.
A late winter storm brought down torrential rainfall in one night. It became clear and sunny the next morning, but when Mater became trusted to babysit Harley, he immediately took her out to a huge mud puddle he found and the two began romping around in the mud and splashing each other. The two of them ended up having a full-on mud war, with Harley throwing clumps of mud like snowballs while Mater grabbed her with his tow hook and gently dragged her through the puddle.
"Harley and Mater!"
The two of them paused in their play at the stern tone someone called their names with. They shrunk back a bit when they saw Paula and Doc at the edge of the puddle, both looking very unimpressed by the amount of mud that coated the tow truck and little girl.
"Uh oh." Harley cooed.
Mater and Harley followed Doc and Paula back into town, where Red was recruited to gently hose them down. But when Harley refused to step into the cold water, Mater made it into a game with Red to help get them clean.
Paula sighed. "I suppose there are ups and downs to having Mater babysit."
"He's just a child in a man's body." Sheriff chuckled. "Nothin' to really be concerned about."
"Yes, but now I have to worry about giving Harley a bath." Paula said. "It's a two-person job because someone usually has to distract her while the other actually washes her. John and my parents are both out of town visiting friends."
"If you'd like some help, I'd be happy to offer my services." Sheriff said.
"You sure?" Paula asked.
"No problem! I wouldn't want ya to be stuck doin' this alone if it gives ya a hard time." Sheriff assured. "Besides, how hard can it be ta wash a kid?"
Paula laughed. "Well thank you. I really appreciate it." She walked off and managed to catch Harley, announcing it was bath time. Harley whined, but could only frown as she waved goodbye to Mater and Red. Sheriff followed Paula back to her house, promising Harley she would see everyone again at dinner. Harley perked up again after that.
Luckily for Sheriff, Paula's home was plenty big enough for her vehicular neighbors to come inside. He joined Paula as they went to a large bathroom next to the backyard, and Paula began to fill the bathtub with warm water. Harley took off her shorts, shirt, and underwear, tossing it all onto Sheriff's hood. The police car only chuckled and deposited the sopping wet laundry into a basket near the washer and dryer across the hall.
"Sheriff gonna bath with us?" Harley asked as her mother helped her step into the tub.
"Yes, if you can behave." Paula said, picking up a sponge and fruit-scented bath soap from the corner of the tub.
"Okay!" Harley cheered, the two-year-old splashing a bit in the tub. Sheriff chuckled, nuzzling the girl's head. Harley giggled at the affectionate touch. She reached out towards the bathroom sink, and Sheriff glanced over to see a soft sponge attached to a wooden handle. After getting permission from Paula, Sheriff grabbed the sponge in his teeth and handed it to the girl. As Paula began shampooing Harley's still-muddy hair, Harley dipped the sponge end of her brush into the suds around her. Then she took the soapy sponge and pressed it to Sheriff's hood, just above his grill.
"Oh, Harley!" Paula struggled to not laugh at Sheriff's perplexed reaction. "What are you doing?"
"Sheriff gotta be clean too! Be clean and catch bad guys!" Harley said, lightly scrubbing Sheriff's hood.
Sheriff chuckled. "It's okay, Paula. It keeps her occupied."
Paula giggled, continuing to wash her child. Harley kept swishing the sponge around and smacking it gently against Sheriff's grill and headlights, everywhere she could reach from her spot in the tub. "Clean Sheriff. Clean Sheriff." Harley said in a sing-song tone. "Keeping clean Sheriff to keep ev'ryone safe. Clean Sheriff. Beat bad guys, Sheriff."
The Mercury laughed, patiently sitting still while Harley splashed soap onto his headlights. The mind of a two-year-old, especially Harley's, is certainly an interestin' one. Don't think I'll ever be able ta follow her thoughts.
Suddenly, Harley stuck her sponge into Sheriff's mouth. Past the fruit scent came the awful taste of the soap, and Sheriff gagged as he inadvertently reversed. His bumper hit the wall, and he sputtered a few times and made a face with his tongue sticking out. For a fruit-scented soap, it still didn't taste too great.
"Harley!" Paula yelped in surprise.
Harley looked surprised and sheepish. "I was jus' brushing your teeth." She said innocently.
Sheriff chuckled, still trying to get the soap taste out of his mouth. "Well thanks, Harley darlin'. But I can brush my own teeth. Besides, soap doesn't go in your mouth."
"Oh. Sorry." Harley said sheepishly.
"That's okay." Sheriff assured, remaining patient with the child. Harley set the brush aside, still embarrassed. But as her mother continued to wash her, Sheriff kept Harley entertained by talking with her. Harley rambled on and on about everything she did that day (though Sheriff was there to see most of it) and other random topics from the toys she played with to Sarge promising to take her camping for her birthday. Sheriff continued to speak with her, keeping her occupied. It didn't feel like a chore, despite Paula's concerns. Like everyone else in the town, Sheriff loved Harley and would do anything for her, even if it meant spending half an hour talking to her while getting his grill and headlights scrubbed.
"All done!" Paula finally announced. "Sheriff, will you help her out while I go get a towel?"
"You got it!" Sheriff nodded. Paula stood and jogged off while Sheriff drove a little closer to the bathtub. Harley recently took to splashing the sudsy water again, giggling with every slap to the water. "Come on now, Harley. Let's get you dried off."
"Splishy-splashy!" Harley laughed, plunging her fists into the water.
"Harley." Sheriff intoned, trying to be gentle yet firm. "Come along." He dipped down so Harley could grab the top of his hood and pull herself up. But Harley splashed the water again, and this time the water and soap flew right up into Sheriff's windshield. The police car yelped. "Ah! It stings! It burns! Ouch!"
Harley sunk down in the water, sheepish again. "Uh oh."
Paula, hearing the commotion, hurried back into the bathroom. "Sheriff?"
Sheriff blinked furiously. "Everything's good!"
Paula moaned in sympathy when she saw the white of Sheriff's eyes suddenly turn reddish-pink. "Oh Sheriff."
"Is it bad?" Sheriff chuckled weakly.
Paula looked to her daughter with a scolding glare. "Harley. What do we say?" She would always be gentle with her daughter, but she also knew when to be firm to raise Harley right.
"Sorry." Harley said.
"Just don' do it again, okay Harley darlin'?" Sheriff chuckled, helping Harley out of the tub.
"Okay." Harley nodded, giggling as her mother cocooned her into a soft towel.
"Here, Sheriff. Let me help you too." Paula offered, looking for a washcloth.
"Don' worry about it." Sheriff assured. "I'll go git a hose down from Red."
"You sure?" Paula asked.
"You take care of yer kid." Sheriff assured. "See you two at dinner!" He left before Paula could protest, and he quickly drove towards the firehouse. His eyes still stung a lot, but he pushed the pain aside and began searching for Red. He eventually spied the firetruck down at Flo's with the rest of the residents. Oh great. Now I gotta explain it to everyone. Well, at least I have a good excuse. So Sheriff steeled his nerves and drove off to the café.
Of course, the residents immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at the police car. "Good grief, Sheriff." Doc gawked a little, trying to not laugh. "Were you bit by a rabid animal?"
That's when Sheriff realized he probably still had soap on his grill and headlights. The townsfolk saw Sheriff's reddish-pink eyes and the suds around his mouth, making him look (as Doc put it) rabid. "Just had an interestin' little adventure with Harley's bath time."
"Never thought bath time would cause such humorous results." Sarge chuckled.
"Ya look funny!" Mater laughed.
Sheriff rolled his eyes at the townsfolk's laughter. "Yeah, yeah. You try bathin' a two-year-old, and then we'll talk. Red, do ya mind?" Red nodded, gently spraying the soap from Sheriff's mouth and eyes. Sheriff's eyes were still red, but he felt much better now.
Paula and Harley came up some time later, the little girl dressed in clean clothes and ready for dinner. "Hey Paula!" Ramone snickered. "I hear Harley gave Sheriff a hard time with her bath!" Several of the other townsfolk laughed, only earning an eye roll from Sheriff.
"On the contrary." Paula said, coming up to stand next to the police car. "Sheriff was a big help for me. Thank you, Sheriff." She gave the car a kiss on his side, causing him to freeze up a bit.
Harley hugged Sheriff as best she could. "Thank you, Sheriff! Can I eat dinner with you?"
"You bet, kiddo." Sheriff chuckled.
"Yay!" Harley yipped, plopping down on the ground next to Sheriff and waiting patiently for her mother to go get her dinner. The rest of the townsfolk either resumed eating or started grumbling a bit at the attention Sheriff suddenly got from Harley. Sheriff smirked proudly, laughing as Harley leaned against him and kissed his fender.
Sheriff – 1. Rest of the town – 0.