So another longer chapter, Smokey really wanted to have his say.
He had been trying to convince himself for years that his brother was dead, and that he was never going to know what happened to him.
If his brother was dead, it would explain why he never tried to contact him through letters or with a phone call. If he was dead, it meant he was alone and there was nothing he could do about it. Convincing himself that his brother was dead, seemed like better closure than having the false hope of him being alive and then finding out he was dead.
That all changed though, when the articles started breaking.
His brother was alive.
Not only was he alive, but he was married, and he had unknowingly heard vague updates on him before.
He was positively livid and felt completely duped. He couldn't believe he didn't see past the thin veil that was put up, he should have seen through it, or at least questioned it, but he hadn't.
He was mad at himself, but more to the point he was mad at his brother. He had seen the very first article that started it all and it hadn't clicked in until the other articles started coming out.
Yes, he had heard that Emily Piston had gotten married, and that her married name was now Hudson. Odd coincidence? Maybe, but then how many times did people think Jesse and he had relations to the Hudson Motor Company when they didn't.
Maybe it was because before he saw the name, he had read that Emily's husband was studying to be a doctor on the west coast at the time they got married. Maybe that was why he didn't get a red flag at the name Aaron, because really, Aaron Hudson should have given him a red flag, or at least a hint of one.
They had been referring to Jesse by his middle name; his middle name which was often thrown out whenever his siblings were playfully bantering or scolding each other.
Then near the end of March, an article was printed that said the name of the town that; the Hudson couple, as the articles had started referring to them as, lived. Radiator Springs, Arizona; a couple of hours away from Flagstaff.
He would have left immediately to track down his brother and give him a piece of his mind for deserting him and for letting him think he was the only Hudson sibling left. Except, he was too busy, and with Easter coming up, near the end of April, he had to wait until May. Though that was probably for the best. It let his anger and betrayal settle down a bit. It gave him a chance to talk over his plans with Joan and time to let people know that his garage would be closed for a period in May.
They both agreed that it would be best if he went alone and that they wouldn't tell the others that he was going; because if River, Junior, and Lou knew, they'd want to come and confront Jesse too. This was something he needed to do by himself; besides if he still knew his brother it meant he was going to be in a right mood about everything and he doubted that had changed.
His original plan was that he was going to be gone for about 2 weeks, maybe less depending on his brother. He figured that he'd need approximately a week to travel and figured he'd be spending a week or less in town.
That wasn't what ended up happening though.
He had spent the entire drive there stewing over what he was going to say to his younger brother. Truthfully, what it sounded like, even in his mind, was a parental scolding rather than a brother berating a brother. He still hadn't let go of those parental feelings about his brother.
He arrived in the small town at about supper time; he couldn't hold back his huff of amusement. Out of all the places his kid brother could have ended up in the country, he settled down in the town that not only had connections to the Piston family, but was car themed.
He ended up staying in a motel called The Cozy Cone; where each room was a giant caution cone. One of the town's restaurants was a Flo's V8 Cafe, there was a tire place that had a leaning tower of tires and a few other places as well that had taken inspiration from vehicles.
Once he was booked into the motel and put his belonging in the room he was staying in, he went across the street to eat. He would confront his brother tomorrow, when he was less tired from driving, so he'd have the energy to wring his brother's neck, like he so wanted to.
The people in town were polite and friendly, if not a little wary of him. He had been asked a couple of times since he had entered the town if he was a reporter looking for his next big scoop. He had a feeling that if he had admitted to being a reporter they would have run him right out of town.
As it was, he told them part of the truth. He told them that, no, he wasn't a reporter. He owned a garage back east and that he had come this way in hopes of reconnecting with his brother, who he hadn't seen in years. That seems to put them more at ease. Those articles were certainly effecting a lot of people since they had obviously put a whole town on edge.
While eating at the cafe he had unintentionally heard a conversation concerning his brother.
"No Jesse this evening, Emily?" He heard the woman who served him ask.
"No Flo, and I'll take our usual to go. I would have phoned it in, but he's talking to Lyn. She wishes she could be here with us and probably would be here more often but she just got married last year and doesn't want to leave her husband's side. Not that I blame her, I didn't like being apart from Jesse when he was in school once we were married either. There's not much she'd be able to do here anyway."
"She's holding up okay though?"
"She's pretty much cut ties with Alex, only getting second hand information about him from a friend who has to work with him. I think she's just glad she doesn't have to hide who her uncle is anymore."
"And what does Stephen think about all this, sugar?"
"He's been looking into ways to try and fight all this. It's going to be a long road no matter what happens. Alex just keeps stirring up the pot anytime it seems to even start to tapper off in the slightest. If that doesn't say purposeful, I don't know what does."
"Well, honey, you've got all of us in town here behind you two. If anyone bothers you, we'll run them out of town if need be." That certainly confirmed his thoughts from earlier, They would be willing to run him out of town, if they thought he was disturbing them.
"Thanks Flo."
"You're welcome sugar. But you better tell that man of yours I expect to see him in here, no excuses, you hear me."
"Alright Flo, I'll make sure he gets the message." She grabbed the food that was now ready and left with a goodbye.
So, that was his sister-in-law Emily Piston. She didn't seem to much like her brother. He wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but it would be something.
He would have tried to contact him before he came if he didn't think that might make him run, that and he didn't know how to contact him.
Then, that next morning he walked over to where he assumed his brother worked. He didn't know what to expect when he entered the building. It was neat and organized which didn't surprise him; what did was Emily Piston sitting behind the front desk.
"Can I help you? You seem a little lost." She asked him.
"Not so much lost as overwhelmed. I'm out this direction looking for someone." He replied.
"Michael would probably be a better person to ask then, seeing as he's the sheriff in these parts."
"I'm sure he's good at his job, Henry Hudson by the way." He said leaning on the counter extending his hand to be shaken.
"Quite the coincidence, Emily Hudson. I could give Michael a call and see if he could come over to help, if you'd like?" She shook his hand.
"I don't think that will be necessary. It's not as much as a coincidence as you'd think either. I'm actually looking for my brother, a certain Jesse Hudson. I've been lead to believe you might know him."
"Well in that case, I probably will be more helpful than Michael, seeing as I most definitely know him. Wouldn't exactly be a Hudson otherwise, now would I." She smiled a bit ruefully at that.
"No, I suppose you wouldn't." He said with a quick shake of his head.
"I've been waiting a long time to get to meet you, but I just couldn't get him to get in touch with anyone back east." She admitted while having gotten up from behind the desk and started over to a door.
"He always was stubborn like that." He agreed.
"He's hiding in the apartment, right through here, I'll get him for you. I'm sure the two of you have a lot to talk about. This evening we'll take you to Flo's, everyone is expecting to see him again." Emily said leading him through the door.
"Nice place you've got here." He said as he entered, looking around.
"It was in disrepair when Jesse got here, he fixed it up. Looks like he's hiding in the garage instead. Make yourself comfortable in the living room, I'll go get him." She said as she continued through her home.
He looked around the living room taking note of some of the pictures that were sitting around. There were pictures of Jesse and Emily, there were some of three kids, and there was one of his brother handing a bride over to whom he thought was probably the groom. Jesse was shaking the grooms hand, while he still had an arm around the bride. It had been taken so that no one's face was clear in the shot. It left him wondering if they were his kids, then he could hear Emily in the background talking with someone.
"Jesse, really. Would I let a reporter into our home? The answer you're looking for should be no. What if it was daddy? Would you be putting up such a fuss?" She sounded exasperated.
"You would have told me if it was your dad though." He could hear the eye roll from where he was, in that statement.
"Not if I knew he was going to try and beg for you to take over again."
"It's not your dad though, is it?"
"No, it's not daddy, but you do need to speak with him."
"Fine, where is this mystery person?"
"Thank you, he's in the living room." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before he went to find his brother unknowingly.
Emily knew this had the possibility of getting loud or at the very least, heated. She'd leave them be, let them sort everything out themselves at first, and get the venting out of their systems. She left through the garage and went to Flo's to waste time until the two brothers talked out Jesse's little disappearance act.
Henry was still looking at one of the photos of the three kids standing with Jesse in front of a very familiar and dusty Hudson Hornet, when his brother entered the room.
Henry knew as soon as Jesse entered the room, it was him. He didn't want to jump right into the hurt that his brother left him with, so he asked about the kids in the pictures instead. "They yours?"
"Nope, Alex's, but the youngest and oldest might as well be ours, as we ended up practically raising them. Even got to give Lyn away at her wedding last year. You're not hear to talk about my niece and nephews though."
"You've got another couple back east, but you're right that's not why I'm here." He finally turned to look at his brother, he was older which was to be expected when you hadn't seen someone in 29 years. He looked weary and run down, which he could only assume was from the stress of having all the media attention to deal with. He knew he originally came to give his brother a reprimand, but there might be a better time for it.
"I came to give you a good what for, and you deserve it for disappearing like you did, but I can't find it in me to add more to your stress. You're not getting out of it, just... today you look too much like you did before you left."
"Hurt and broken?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Stressed and world weary. Why'd leave Jesse? You're leaving was like dealing with your crash all over again. Didn't know where you were, how you were doing, if you were dead or dying. I've been trying to convince myself for years that you were dead, so I could expect it and not be taken completely by shock. But look how that turned out." He paused a moment before continuing on.
"You've certainly ended up in an interesting place, and the people here obviously care for you. They keep asking me if I'm a reporter trying to my next big scoop. I take it there's been a few of those trying to get an exclusive with you."
"Ever since that article in March, which is how I assume you found me."
"Yep, would have been here sooner but life was too busy until after Easter. I shouldn't have had to though."
"I know." This time Jesse paused, he sighed before expanding his thought, rubbing his hand through his hair.
"It's guilt for not contacting you sooner that's kept me away. I couldn't be back there anymore, not then. It had gotten to be too much with everyone asking constantly about when I was going back; when I wouldn't be. I needed to get away. Not claiming it was right to the rest of you, and as Em's been telling me for years, to just phone or write a letter, even so you'd just know I was alive and unharmed." He paused again.
"Do the others know you're here?" Then as an afterthought asked another question. "Are you still in contact with them?"
"Unlike you, I am. They're all still around Thomasville, actually. And no, they don't know I'm here. Joan and I thought it would be better if it was just me at first."
"Joan, as in Joan Williams?" Jesse started to smirk at that.
"Did I know any other Joan's?" He just raised his eyebrows in return.
"No, and I am grateful that everyone's not here to gang up on me all at once, even though I deserve it."
"You do, at least you can admit it, and I'm sure you won't get out of being mobbed by them."
"I'm sure Em will enjoy that, when it happens. She's always wanted to meet everyone."
"How'd you end up here anyway?"
"A flat tire just outside of town at about 2 or 3 in the morning. Michael came across me as I was going to change tires, gave me a right scare and hit my head on the trunk while trying to not let him see the shine I had in the trunk at the time." He winced at that, while his brother talked on.
"Ended up meeting Emily that night too. She was looking after The Cozy Cone Motel for the owner. It didn't matter that she had been woken up to deal with me, she recognized me immediately. I can't say the same for her though, not until she told me who her brother was anyway. The next day she lent me her father's car, learned she didn't know how to drive and got into a bit of a spat with Alex. Ended up staying obviously. Taught her how to drive, became the go to handyman for around here, got this place here, while Em and Michael encouraged me to go to school for law and medicine. The rest I'm sure you've heard in articles."
"So, you ended up in the town that just happens to have a connection to Piston and just so happens to be heavily influenced by car culture, with the caution cone motel, and restaurant called the V8 Cafe."
"Life's funny like that. Em likes to point out that everything happens for a reason, just like Ruth did."
"Well, she's certainly not like her brother."
Jesse shook his head before responding. "She's not, she hasn't even spoken directly to him since about '66."
"What happened then?"
"He tried picking up his daughter drunk, and accused me of being unfaithful and other accusations. It wasn't a good situation. You heard about their divorce? It was rough, those kids were always being bounced around and more often or not ended up here with us."
"That why they're practically yours?"
"That's why. Didn't help that neither of them are particularly good at being parents either. You said you have a couple though?"
"A boy and a girl, both legal adults already. Rebecca Anne, and Daniel Aaron."
"You named them after Ruth and I?"
"It only felt fitting, since Ruth is gone and had been thinking you were too."
"How long you planning on staying?"
"I figured that would depend on you. The plan was for a week give or take on how things are going."
Before he knew it a couple of hours had passed and there was a knock on the door.
"That's probably just Em checking up on us." He got up from the couch they had ended up on, and went to greet who was at the door.
The door opened and Emily poked her head in. "Jesse?"
"Yeah Em, we're doing fine. No arguing at the moment." He motioned her in.
"Good. We're taking your brother to Flo's tonight, our treat. He deserves it since he's made such a drive to confront a very stubborn man. I told him that earlier that, that's what we were doing." She said once she was away from the door.
The three of them had then spent the rest of the day together, having lunch in their kitchen and in the evening they went over to that same cafe he had gone to the night before.
The time was well spent, getting to know his sister-in-law and catching up with his brother. That evening at the cafe he was introduced to the Sheriff Michael that kept being mentioned. By the end of the week he had been introduced to everyone his brother was closer with.
He realized when he was driving home he never did quite have that stricter talk with his brother. Between meeting his brother's wife and friends and one of the worst articles to be released yet, he nearly had forgotten how much he had wanted to wring his brother's neck. At the very least it seemed like a less important thing.
He had also ended up staying longer than the week he had originally planned on, which had left him privy to an altercation with Alex. It had almost ended up in a fight, before the town rallied around his brother. It was in that moment that he had realized just what a pillar in the small community his brother had become; that even here, his brother had fallen into a leadership role, just like he had at home.
He knew that when he made it home, the others were going to be over as soon as they realized he was back. When he had phoned Joan the one time she had told him that the old crew had stopped by looking for him and it hadn't taken much deduction on their part to figure out where he had gone.
He knew he'd be facing lots of questions about his brother when he got home.