Ride

Chapter 16-A New Look for Fudge

Chapter 16- A New Look For Fudge

"Buon giorno!" Guido called, appearing in the doorway and looking into the room. He was followed by Gloria and Mario.

Luigi smiled. He looked tired and unwell as he parked there, like Fudge, hooked up to an IV, but very happy to see his best friend. It was the first time he'd felt slightly cheered since being admitted to St. Wheeliam's. "Buon giorno!" he echoed.

"(How are you feeling?)" the Fiat's mother wanted to know.

"(I am tired)", he responded, "(but other than that, I am doing okay. I think the more important question is, How is Fudge?)"

"(She is fine)", Guido assured him. "(She misses you, but she is fine.)"

That response brought tears to Luigi's eyes. "(I miss her too. I really wish I were there with her)", he remarked. "(She needs me and I am not there.)"

"(Try not to worry about Fudge)", Mario instructed him gently. "(She is just as worried about you as you are about her. She is being well looked after by the doctors and nurses.)

"(I am going to go back and see her soon and McQueen is with her now)", Guido added.

Luigi gave a hard glare.

Guido sighed. "(You are not going to let this go, are you?)"

"(Guido! Every time I look at him, it reminds me of what he did to our daughter! How can you be okay with it?!)"

"(It was an accident, Luigi!)" Guido insisted.

"(And now he has given me an engine attack!)" Luigi went on bitterly.

"(No he has not)", Guido disagreed. "(Your engine attack was no one's fault. It was just something that happened.)"

Luigi had been about to disagree when a nurse came in. The subject was changed as a result and Guido knew that while Luigi had managed to get out of making up with Lightning for a long time, he couldn't avoid it forever.

"Where's Babbo?" Fudge quizzed her family, sans her fathers, and the spies, who were all gathered in her hospital room, for the millionth time.

"He's just gone to see your other father, at St. Wheeliam's, across the street", Holley replied. "He should be back soon."

"Okay..."

"Babbo will be back soon", Sally repeated.

"So, what happened to Papà?" Fudge wondered. "I mean, I know he had an engine attack, but how did it happen?"

"You didn't see?" Sally asked in surprise.

"No. I was asleep."

"It was all so fast, Fudge-O", Lightning explained. "One second, he was fine. The next, he just couldn't breathe."

"Has anybody heard from Babbo recently?" the twelve-year-old wanted to know.

"Yeah, he just came by to give us an update", Sally reported. "He says Luigi's doing fine and he'll be back here to see you as soon as he can."

"I miss Babbo", Fudge commented sadly.

"What about Papà?" Ramone wondered, voicing everyone's confusion. "Don't you miss him too, Fudge?"

"Well, yeah, but he hasn't been coming to see me that much. Even before he had the engine attack. Why hasn't he been coming to see me?"

"It's probably hard for him", Finn pointed out. "You're his daughter. It must be hard for him to see you like this."