My Heart Will Go On

Chapter 3- Good News

I have no idea how it happened. One second, everything was fine and the next, the elevator just stopped very suddenly and very roughly. At first, I thought were just stopping on another floor to allow more people on, but for a long time, nothing was happening.

"Why have we stopped?" I quizzed Papà, confused.

"I think the elevator has stopped working", he replied.

Indeed it had. Great! We were supposed to be seeing Uncle Doc and we were stuck in this stupid elevator. The wait for help was a long one and all that time I was thinking about how worried I was about Uncle Doc. Was he going to be okay? It had been frustrating having to wait for morning to come to begin the long ride to the hospital. Now, this?! I really hoped nothing bad was happening to Uncle Doc at that moment. I would be so mad if that was the case and we couldn't be there.

By the time we got out of the elevator after waiting in there for close to forty minutes, I was practically tearing down the halls to Uncle Doc's room.

"Slow down, Fudgie!" Papà called after me.

"I can't slow down!" I responded. "We need to go see Uncle Doc."

Once again, when we got there, Uncle Doc was lying there, looking weak and tired, but not like there was much else wrong with him. His eyes were closed, but they opened when we came into the room.

"I thought you were never gonna show up", he informed us with a smile.

"We got stuck in the elevator", I explained, coming closer to the bed with the card and the get well soon balloon I'd purchased downstairs.

"Come on, Doc", Lightning laughed. "You can't think we'd ever forget about you, the Doc Hudson, can you?"

Uncle Doc let out a laugh too. "So, you got stuck in the elevator, did ya? Sounds like quite the ordeal."

We all nodded. "It was."

Mater, the storyteller of the group, described our elevator ordeal for in great, exaggerated detail. Doc was laughing and I took that as a sign that he was getting better.

"So, are you okay?" I wanted to know once the room was quiet.

"I'm feelin' a lot better than I was", Uncle Doc answered.

"So, do they know what's wrong yet?" I ventured.

"Not yet. All the tests came back negative."

"Oh."

"But I'm gettin' better and that's what's important", Uncle Doc reminded me. "I'm sure I'll be home in a couple of days."

That made me feel a little better. So, I managed a smile as I brought forward the balloon. "I got you this!"

The old car's grin expanded as I placed them on his bedside table. "Thanks, Fudge-O." He ruffled my hair, but it was a very half-hearted motion. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

I didn't answer. I thought it was a rhetorical question, but Uncle Doc repeated, "Hey. I asked you a question. You're a good kid, you know that?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I... I know that."

"I hope you do."

I was a little confused and grew even more so when the others announced that it was time to go and get some lunch in the cafeteria while Uncle Doc ate his own lunch.

"Fudge, can you stay here for a moment?" the Hudson Hornet requested. "I wanna talk to you."

I hesitated. What did he want to talk to me about?