Fudge On the Road

Chapter 11: Show Time

Lightning, Mater and I had been taking turns picking stops. Now that Ivy was tagging along, she had a request of her own: another car wash! She wanted to look a little more normal after being cooped up for ages. Still, by the time we got there, it was obvious that she was having doubts.

"Ivy, you don't have to do this", Lightning informed her tentatively.

"Yeah, it's up to you", I added. I wasn't sure that meant anything, though. My decisions about my future were up to me and I didn't know what to do. (Of course, I didn't want anybody to decide for me, but I was just so lost.)

"Oh, I am doing it!" she insisted. "I've been hiding out in the woods way too long. I gotta rinse off this old baggage... right through this ridiculous car wash!"

It was a little ridiculous (it was shaped like a submarine), but that was why I loved it.

"Hey, mister!" she called out to the attendant, a blue and orange forklift. "Is this thing even safe?"

"It's a perfectly safe revitalisation, with a squirt of minty freshness to brighten your day", he recited in a bored monotone.

"Shoot, I'll go with you!" Mater offered.

"And I'll... catch you on the other side", Lightning added.

"Me too", I spoke up. After what happened last time, I was not about to get in another car wash. Besides, all humans avoided them, unless absolutely necessary.

Slowly and tentatively, Ivy rolled inside with Mater following, whistling casually.

"We may have to wait a while, Fudge-O", Lightning pointed out apologetically.

I shrugged good-naturedly. "I don't mind. Look at all these leaves I found!" I held them up and commenced ripping one.

Lightning laughed. "I should've known!"

The leaves kept me occupied while we waited for Ivy and Mater to wrap it up. Occasionally, we heard exclamations like, "Not in the eyes!", or, "That's weird", but for the most part, she seemed to be doing okay...

...And when she rolled out, oh, man! She was unrecognisable! She was shiny blue with a flame job and gold rims. My jaw practically hit the floor.

"Whoa!" Lightning exclaimed. "Look at you!"

I smiled and nodded. "You look good!" I added, thinking how inadequate the word was.

"How do you feel?" Lightning questioned.

"Brand new and ready to roll!" Ivy proclaimed. That was how she looked too.

"Well..." Mater charged out of the car wash, looking like his usual, lovable, rusty self. "What about me?"

Lightning looked Mater up and down before breaking out into a smile. "Can't mess with perfection."

"That's true", I began in a serious tone, but with a grin on my face. "Why d'you think I didn't go in there?"

"Fudge!" Lightning laughed, giving me a playful shove.

Mater and Ivy laughed too.

A comfortable, companionable silence fell over us when we reached Kansas. We just stopped talking and focused on the farmland we passed. It seemed to stretch on forever.

"Wow! A whole lot of nothing out here", Lightning commented, ending the silence.

"Nothing?!" Ivy repeated. "Are you kidding? Speaking as a one-time hermit, I'm ready to soak it all up."

"I know how you feel", I remarked, recalling how good it felt to get out of the hospital after my accident. I was so miserable after four months of being cooped up that when I got out, everything I saw, no matter how mundane, seemed more beautiful than ever.