Sally watched and cooked the beef as Minty sliced up some veggies. Minty glanced over at the young lady, dressed a little less perfect this time. "So you like my son?" She asked. Sally's eyes widened as she looked over at Minty and nodded answering. "Oh yes mam. I think Lightning.. Monty.. Is.. great.." She sounded like she was struggling answering that. Why? Sally wondered to herself. Minty smiled asking "You like games?" "Games?" "Yeah. Ever played apples to apples?" "Um.. Sure..." Sally answered with slight hesitation. "We could try that after dinner." Minty suggested. "Can tell you a lot about a person and help us all get to know each other. Though, usually I get to know someone by how they shoot. You ever shot a gun before Sally?" Sally's eyes widened. "Um, no.. Well.. Yes. Of course I have... Duh... Hasn't everyone?" She asked with a fake smile. Minty snickered agreeing. "Yeah. Well good! Maybe we can get some the guns out of the safe and shoot tomorrow." Sally nodded, but reminded "If Lightning-Monty and I weren't going riding.. Darn.. Gonna.. Miss all that shooting.. fun.." She said awkwardly. Minty stared at Sally suspiciously. Shooting fun? Was Sally lying?
Minty shook her head with a sigh and went back to cutting up veggies and placing them aside. Sally frowned and stared at the fry pan with beef. "What are your parents like?" Asked Minty. Sally shrugged answering "Well, my Mom passed away a few years ago." "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that.. I didn't mean to bring up old scars." "Oh no, it's fine. I'm okay now." Sally assured. Minty smiled lovingly and asked "Were the two of you close?" Sally nodded. "What about your Father?" She asked. Sally shrugged and admitted "My Father and I have never had that great of a relationship. He just expects me to follow his rules and live to his standards. Heck, if you think I'm high maintenacce, you should meet him." That made Minty snicker a little. "I'd like to maybe one day." That surprised Sally. Sally just stared at Minty with such a blank expression.
Minty thought that was funny then said. "Stir." Sally snapped out of her frozen moment and looked at the meat. "Oh, OH!" She yelped as she was almost burning the meat into a pattie like structure. Minty giggled quietly then asked. "What did you do for Monty's birthday last week?" Sally looked at Minty confused. "Last week?" Sally asked. Minty nodded. "If it is something appropriate to talk about. I know my Monty and I don't want to hear everything he gets from girlfriends." Sally frowned a bit. Lightning said his birthday was later in the year, but last week. "I.. I didn't do anything for his birthday because I didn't know about it.." Minty snickered and nodded saying "Yup. That sounds like my Monty. Although in his defense, we never really have celebrated birthdays much around here. Mostly just adoption days." Sally stirred the food and shut off the eye as it finished. "Li-um.. Monty told me that you and your husband adopted most of them. May I ask why?"
Minty smiled and happily answered. "Well. I don't know.. My late husband grew up as a foster kid. It was rough for him, but his foster parents gave him a good life and he always said he wanted to foster. So after we got married, we signed up and took the testing and stuff required and became fosters to two kids. One was a teenage boy named Jake and his little sister Joyce. Now.. Jake, being a teenage boy was rough. He hated us from day one and really we didn't know what the hell we were doin! There were a lot of bad times and I mean a lot. But.. We fell in love with them in the end." Sally smiled and had to ask. "What happened to them?" Minty snickered and it felt good thinking back to those memories. "Well.. Their birth father came along and got them back eventually. I hope they did well. So I had one of my own soon after Jake and Joyce left. Neil. And after a year we were asked if we would like to foster again and so we took in this little bitty baby named Allison. We just fell in love with her within a few months and asked to adopt her and the agency said yes. Then we fostered another toddler named Barbara. And after a few months I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were shocked and we were thinking of asking about adopting Barb, but four kids!? That sounded crazy at the time!" Minty said with a laugh!
"But we didn't have a choice at one point. Barb's parents fought to get her back while she lived with us for about two years. I had my daughter Terry at that time and we decided that we needed more room and that regardless of Barbara's outcome, we wanted another kid. So we began trying again and at the same time Barb's parents started showing up and trying to take her from us without permission." "Wow.. Really?" Minty nodded. "What did you do?" Asked Sally.
Minty snickered answering, "Well what any Mother would do. I fought back. In the end, Barb's parents lost all rights and we adopted her. She was already loving it with us and got along with Neil, Allison and Terry. So after adopting Barb, we all moved here. And this place was a fixer upper. We got horses for the kids, re did the entire house and then I got good news and bad news that year. The good news was we were about to come across a little toddler who was put up for adoption. No fostering him. He would be ours from day one." Sally curiously asked "What was the bad news?" Minty sighed answering "I would never have another baby by my husband. He had a low count and it got lower and lower. The chances of having another baby were growing slimmer by the months it seemed. And honestly, I didn't care. I had four children and another we were adopting. Chad was the most quiet little thing." "Chad?" Asked Sally. "The one that lives here with you?" Minty nodded.
"Yup. We adopted Chad." she said. Sally curiously asked "Do you know what happened with his parents?" Minty looked at Sally and hesitated answering. "I don't know the whole story. Not technically aloud to have it by the state. But I know his parents used drugs a lot. So I'm guessing something another around that lead them to lose him or something." Sally couldn't believe this. It was actually kind of cool to hear. "What about Lightning?" Sally asked. Minty giggled saying "Getting there darlin. Let's see... Neil, Allison, Terry, Barbara, Chad.. Robert. Now he was a foster child. Came here a few years after Chad at about seven years old. So he and Chad were pretty much the same age. They just clicked and then my husband introduced Robert to racing and the boy just got along so well. His grandma got him back, but.. I had to personally see how he was doing living with her and when I saw how Robert was living, it just broke my heart. His grandmother hated his mother and took it out on the child. I mean a child for Chrysler's sake!" Minty snapped in anger. Sally raised her brows and Minty had to take a deep breath, calming down.
"So I fought for Robert hard and I won.. We adopted him and we were actually done. We had six beautiful kids and were done adopting and fostering. The agency asked us a few times, but we said no.. "Then about...Hmmm..Five? Yeah, sounds right. Five years later, I get a call from the agency and they knew us pretty well at that point and when they brought out this..." She paused. "This young woman.. A kid really. She was very pregnant and looked so helpless.. She wanted to meet someone to take her baby." Sally stared a moment before muttering. "You met Lightning's mother?..." She asked. Minty nodded and admitted "Lightning doesn't know that. She was just young and wouldn't even tell me about the father. She seemed so scared and alone. She didn't want the baby and the agency knew I couldn't say no to some newborn baby." Sally became confused.
"But.. Lightning told me that he grew up in foster care?" She said. Minty snickered snapping "Well he lied. Lightning actually tried that on a few other girls to." "He what?..." Asked Sally, turning a bit pale. Minty nodded explaining "He's used that line before as a teenager. Thinking they'd feel bad or somethin probably. Boys do it all the time. Say something a bit out of context. Technically yes, he did grow up in foster. Bur he personally was adopted before he was even born really." Sally grew a little angry. He lied to her just to get in her pants clearly! Minty started the soup up and added "I love my son. Monty has a good heart, but he is a trouble maker.. Gotta watch him Sally." "Obviously..." Sally whispered to herself.
Minty snickered with a smile and stared at Sally. She saw what Lightning saw somewhat. She was a pretty little thing. Sweet little voice and her classy style was quite exotic to someone like Lightning. "So what do you do on the down time Sally?" Asked Minty. Lightning walked in and griped "Mom... Stop probing." Sally looked at him and part of her wanted to scold and snap for the stupid lie she had just found out about, but then realized. "What about Kristine?" Sally asked. Minty looked at the young woman answering "Well... My husband passed away shortly after my son's accident.. Um.. That's a story for another time.." Minty warned, not knowing Sally already knew it. "I re married eventually and had Kristine. A few more years passed and I divorced that lazy man." "Yeah, he was a jerk." Lightning butted in. Minty glared at Lightning as if scolding him silently.
Lightning noticed and whined. "What?.. He was..." Minty rolled her eyes admitting "Okay, sure. He might of been.. But he is Kristine's father." she defended. Lightning snickered and shook his head then walked over behind his girlfriend and wrapped his hands around her waistline. "What?" Sally asked him. Lightning shrugged answering "Nothing. Just like seeing you and my Mom getting along." Sally frowned a bit as she wasn't sure she'd call this getting along. Minty smiled and said "Sally here is going to shoot with us sometime." "Really?" Asked Lightning. Minty nodded. "Yep. Says she's shot a gun before." Lightning looked at Sally confused. "I didn't know that." He added. Sally just faked a nervous laugh. "I have.. Yup.." She had before technically. Minty wasn't sure if she was lying or not though, but changed subject and asked "So? Honest now. What do you like to do Sally?"
Sally sighed answering "Um.. I.. I really just work all the time and then wait for Lightning to get back from his races. His busy schedule keeps us from spending too much time together usually." "Well that's not exactly a bad thing." Minty said. Lightning butted in saying "Yeah it is. This is the only time of the year I have more than a week off. I usually don't even have that and it's about to only get even tougher to fit in any time for each other with Wheel Well." Sally frowned as she never really thought about that to much yet. Wow.. Three jobs. Minty raised a brow asking "What was Wheel Well again? I feel like you told me already." She admitted. Lightning shrugged answering "Maybe. It's just the new motel and bar that Sally is trying to open for Christmas." Minty's eyes widened. "So wait, you own two motels?" She asked. Sally nodded answering "Yeah. Two motels, one with a bar inside and little formal dining and I'm also the attorney for Radiator Springs." "Awe... Workaholic. I always admire a hard worker though. That's a good attribute in a person. I like her more and more Monty." Minty complimented. Sally was NOT expecting to hear that.
Minty nodded and smiled saying "I am glad you came back home during your break Monty." Lightning agreed with a happy smile. "Well you can thank Sally for that. I wasn't planning on it, but she really wanted to meet you and the family." He explained. Minty was a little surprised at that and looked at Sally and her son curiously. "What?" The Mother asked. Lightning nodded again before further admitting. "I wasn't planning on returning home anytime soon Mom.. I was.. Just after the last time I was here I"-"I get it, I guess.." Interrupted Minty. But hearing that Sally wanted to meet her and the family changed some of how she viewed Sally here.
"Well this is hardly the family." Minty joked. "I could invite the others." She assured. "Though Neil is a hard one to catch. He works a few hours away and is always busy. He's a doctor." "OH." Sally replied. "I know how doctors can be busy all the time. I was.. Knew.. A doctor well a few years back.." She blushed and felt so stupid. Why did she begin to bring Ben up just to make conversation? She wondered. Minty smiled answering "Oh well, Neil is a doctor in family medicine I think. Allison is a nurse there, but she's never nearly as busy and Neil." Sally fell curious and asked "What do your other kids do for a living?" Minty snickered then bragged "Well, Chad owns and runs that shop. He got the idea from their father, my late husband who managed a repair and customs shops before he passed. Um.. Barb doesn't.. She is in rehab again and Monty here, well you know him." She giggled. Lightning snickered and bragged "I'm the cool one." Minty shook her head disagreeing. "No son, you're the one that's going to give me a heart attack. Chad is the cool one." Lightning glared at his Mother for that one.
Sally giggled then brought up, "Lightning says you work in the food industries?" "I did. Back in my younger days. Now a days I just live off retirement money, savings and the kindness of other folk round here. Round here everybody cares for each other. We maybe small here in Small Town Texas, but it keeps the town close." Sally smiled warmly hearing that. "You know," Lightning added in "This place is a lot like Radiator Springs." "Think so?" Asked Sally. Lightning nodded answering. "Sure. I mean minus the crazy tow truck driver, bossy judge, and quirky motel of cones." He joked. Sally snickered and rolled her eyes to that. Minty liked seeing Lightning seem so happy. He really did seem better than he had been with say Mollie.
"Has Monty met your Father yet? I don't want to push, just curious." Minty explained. Sally and Lightning glanced at each other before Lightning answered for his girl, "Yeah, I have. He's a dick." "STICKERS!" Sally scolded! Lightning sighed continuing "He was and you know it, but I'll be nice again next time." Minty caught that and asked "What's Stickers about?" Sally and Lightning looked at Minty wide eyed and Lightning even chuckled a bit answering "Just a dumb nick name or pet name Sally gave me." Sally giggled and nudged Lightning adding in that "I gave you that name the moment we met." "I Think you actually called me Stickers before ever calling me my real name for the first week or two now that I think about it.." He replied. Sally thought about it and wasn't to sure. Lightning snickered saying "You called me that to be mean at first." Sally rolled her eyes. "I called you that to tease.. See, he was wearing his race suit and it had patched and a shiny lightning bolt on it that looked like a sticker, not to mention the race car had a bunch of stickers all over it. So it just sort of stuck." Sally explained. Minty smiled hearing the story.
"You hated me when we met." Lightning reminded. Sally laughed and reminded him with "You literally tore up the town that I loved and Doc didn't exactly like your arrogant attitude either." Lightning smiled and gazed at his girl and only reminded her that "Didn't take but a few hours in that cone to make you fall for me." Sally blushed and snapped "OH ho!.. That is not why I fell in love with you." "Or maybe it was my fame." he asked with a sly smile. "No." "My charming good looks?" Lightning asked with a flex of his arm. Sally snickered answering. "Um, no." "The Bolt?" Lightning asked curiously now. "Nuh-uh." Sally answered again.
Lightning's brows lowered as he asked "Than what was it?" Staring at her lost. Sally smiled a little and took a second before answering "Your heart. You have a good heart. When you listen to it." She added like a joke. Lightning snickered. That felt good to hear. And Minty loved getting to hear that, then cleared her throat. Snapping these two love birds back in the current time. She was really just curious as to see how much the young couple had done together really and to see how close they were. "Want kids?" Minty asked. Sally felt that was to personal and inappropriate, but answered anyway "Well.. Yeah, one day.." "MOM! Stop it.' Lightning growled.
Minty's brows lowered as she snapped back, "Now I'm just trying to get to know her and get to know you two as a couple. You know I only knew your Father for a few months before I married him! Besides! I was just askin if she wanted kids, and you BETTER give me kids while we're young! But that's all I was doing. I could have started yappin on about silly baby stories or potty training like how you didn't want to wipe your own ass when you were younger because it was gross. I could tell her about how you thought no brakes on your go kart would increase the speed. I could tell her about what happened the first time you had bad chillie, I could tell her about how you ran away then got lost and tried"-"ALRIGHT! I GET IT! I'M SORRY! I WANT KIDS, OKAY!? ARE WE DONE!?" He asked loudly! Sally was trying not to laugh as she held it together.
Minty nodded then turned to Sally asking "How many kids you want baby?" Sally glanced at Lightning with his red flushed cheeks and giggled quietly before answering. "I don't know.. I never thought about it to awful hard, but Lightning once told me he wants a big family. What was it you said? Lots of kids, right?" She asked him. Lightning's eyes widened as he turned a little more red in the face. Minty looked at her son a little shocked saying "I never knew that about you." Lightning smiled nervously answering "Yeah.. Uh.. Well.. One day." Minty giggled adding in that "I never knew you even thought about having kids one day really Mon." Lightning was still blushing at this point. "Well.. I wasn't until Sally kind of brought it up." Minty looked at Sally who smiled proud like up at Lightning. Minty was learning something now. That Sally was bringing out a new side of her son that she had never seen before. A more gentle and caring side rather than the rough and wild boy she raised...
Minty watched closely as the family ate dinner. Seeing Chad taking a liking to Sally. The young couple talking about things they had done together and things they really didn't have in common, but compromised a lot. How busy they both were and what they liked to do as little dates when they could. Lightning talked about his training methods with Doc, Sally talked about her ideas and dreams for Wheel well, showing how passionate she could be. Talked about Lightning's future in Radiator Springs and how he planned to live there and maybe get his own place next season after saving up more from winnings and such. Minty was proud of her son and happy to see he seemed to be doing so well in every part of his life right now...
Sally was out of the room, back in her room she was staying in and getting ready for bed. Showering and brushing her teeth, setting out clothes for tomorrow while Lightning and Chad were helping their Mother clean up from dinner. Lightning went ahead and announced that he and Sally were going to grab breakfast early and head out to the trails to ride for a while. Chad followed with "I like her Monty. She's different from the usual stuff you bring home." Minty heard that and scolded her son, "Chad, not nice. Monty has just had a little.. Not picky taste in women before.."
Lightning rolled his eyes. "What do you think Mom?" He asked. Minty stared at her youngest son and smiled asking him the very same question. "What do you think Monty?" Lightning took a deep breath before answering "I've made a lot of mistakes, but.. Sally's not one of them." Minty smiled and agreed. "I'll say this Mon, you're doin somethin right to get a girl like that. I don't know if it's her or just being on your own and racing or what, but you've grown up a lot and I can see you and that girl, Sally, have chemistry." "I'll bet.." Chad muttered. Lightning heard that and slapped Chad on the shoulder. "Ow." Whined Chad and rubbed his shoulder.
"Baby." Snarled Lightning. Chad glared at his little brother. Minty giggled seeing her boys act like that then said. "I hope you keep this one around for a while. I really like her." Lightning loved hearing that, though he wouldn't admit to wanting his Mother's approval. Minty finished up cleaning then added 'But if she ever breaks your heart, you just tell me and I'll fix her up real good." "Mom.." Growled Lightning. Minty shrugged replying. "What? You're my baby boy. I am not gonna let another girl trample your heart." Chad laughed a little there when Minty defended her youngest with "What you laughin at? At least he's got a girl. What are you? Gay?" Chad's laughing stopped as he glared at Minty for that. Lightning laughed at that. (Not trying to be offensive! Just in this family, Minty is not one to approve of that lifestyle/love life. Anyone who reads these stories. know that I have no problem with other sexual identities and even write lesbian, gay, etc..) So with that, Minty went to bed, followed by her sons.
