EPILOGUE
2011They sat together on that quiet hillside, overlooking the track around Tailfin Pass. The ghosting of old tire tracks marred the surface of the red sands upon it. The sand glittered from the numerous mica deposits in it. She also wondered if still some fractions of that glitter were the small shards of glass from the shatter of her father's lights years before. Little did she know that when Hudson had visited the site of his beloved wife's accident, he had questioned the very same thing years afterward: Did the tailings from her lights sparkle still?
The town had changed – as everyone knew it would – when the old coupe drove his last mile. He had become such a fixture there in Radiator Springs, having been there since around 1955, that every one of them guessed they'd never imagined him to be gone. It would be like waking up one day and seeing the sun snuffed out from the sky. The impact was much the same, given the ways Hudson had lent to the town that was not his place of birth but meant more to him than that real place could. The tragic end he had – the one he knew he would have one day – was the deepest piece of sadness to realize. Grace may not have seen the crash take place, but seeing the after-effects of the car whom had meant the world to her would forever be emblazoned in her mind. A little piece of her heart was left behind that day in a year which had been praised prior for its beauty and perfection.
She wasn't entrenched in the past though and did not spend her days steeped in clinging sadness. It wouldn't have been what either of her parents would have wanted.
After the accident and the ending everyone knew it'd have, small but important changes were made around the town. For one, a group vote was held at the courthouse and all agreed that it would be fitting to have the Ornament Valley Mechanical Clinic turned into a museum specifically dedicated to the legendary car who had plied his trade. The former business markers were taken down and replaced with signage for the Hudson Hornet Racing Museum. The accompanying small residence was taken over by Grace when she moved from her own home and rented it out to Lightning and Sally, an instance of young and happy love that could only make her smile with joy upon seeing it. Being at her place didn't feel right after losing her father. Being back where her life began just was more fitting, and more comforting on those lonely nights of remembering. There she would always feel the presence of her longest-living parent.
Within the new museum the very last part of the tour consisted of what needn't be explained by unnecessary words as visuals spoke far greater. In that large-format photograph – the only ornamentation on one wall – was the effect of a where one version of life ended and another began. The wedding portrait between Hudson and Cornelia on the day she had her dream come true of one day being Mrs. Hornet was simple in a befitting way. It was a courthouse ceremony, lacking the pomp and circumstance other famous racers had chosen upon wedding the declared love of their life, but the fact it did lack this seemed to be the promise needed for a union that never faltered. When Grace (she was the only one who led the guests of this museum) ended the tour in this final, simple room she could always say without a hint of question in her voice that her parents' love had lasted a lifetime, be it long or short. In a time where a marriage had been too short and the second half left behind often so lonely, many others would've chosen to remarry for the sake of quelling the ghosts of the past that trailed them like their very own shadow. Hudson had been true though to the end, placing his "two favorite girls" in the forefront of his mind, even though one of those girls was gone forever.
One younger lady who visited the museum on her tour of the west burst out crying at the end of the tour Grace had led her on, concerning the seafoam-green Cadillac of what she could've said wrong to provoke this. When the rest of the small group cleared out, leaving only the two women in the final room, looked over by that wedding portrait of the 1950s she gave her reasoning.
"It was nothing you said." she had told Grace. "It's just, I went here expecting nothing but some facts on a legendary racecar but instead I found something better." She had to stop here and try to blink back the rest of her tears. "It's the most touching story of honest, true love I've ever known. For your father to have seen his wife be brought in from her crash and… and… is that all true?"
Grace nodded softly. "He knew he couldn't do anything to save her so he did all he could: staying there at her side till the end. He loved my mama beyond words."
. . . .
She turned to Lightning where they sat upon that sun-drenched hillside. He met her gaze instantly as if he had already expected her to seek it. Her inherently soft, sweet smile adorned her features. There wasn't enough room to allow sadness to creep over her like a dark cloud and linger. "You became so much to my father, Lightning. I know you've heard me say this a thousand times already, but he meant it when he called you 'son,' and when you called him 'Dad?' It was like he'd been waiting his whole life to hear a boy call him that, and finally it happened. I guess it's not wrong to say he did wait his whole life, just about. Except he wouldn't call it 'waiting.' After Mama died and my little sister and brother with her, he gave up, knowing there'd never be a chance. You may've come here like a rebel and torn up our road, but after you got past that griping, you gave him back something he'd lost."
She leaned over to give him a friendly nudge. "Something I'd lost too. When I was a little girl I was so excited at the idea of becoming a big sister and pestered my mother about choosing names from almost the very moment she told me about the baby. I was so excited when I got the news. But I didn't lose my chance to pester a little brother after all." At this she laughed, joined by the young racer.
"Well hey, I never thought I'd have an older sister either." he said, grinning. "You're a pretty great one too, Grace."
"I'm trying to be the best I can be." she promised. "Being your sister though comes with some strings."
"Strings?" he asked. "Meaning?"
"Meaning… you'd better make notes right now to invite me to your wedding, you know. If you don't, I'm not going to be speaking to your sorry hood for a year." she warned. He pretended to seriously contemplate this.
"Wellll, if you don't speak to me for a year that also means that I don't get teased, or pranked. For a year. I don't know, Grace… sounds like an idea."
"Don't you dare!" she fired back, laughing. "You'll be real sorry if you do that."
"Like how?" he asked.
"Next time you go get a do-over on your paintjob, I'll be sure Ramone knows to put sparkles in it." she said, smirking. Lightning wailed uncle at this. "Gotcha on that one."
"Yeah, you sure did. Okay, okay. I'll invite you." he grumbled, putting on the show that the Cadillac found so humorous.
The pair sat on the hilltop till the sun courted the horizon, enjoying a pleasant day while talking about things current and things old; things very old that Lightning could never know with his youth. Things that caused laughter, things that could bring wistfulness and things that would forever bring tears. There was so much goodness though in remembering. They talked until the sun began to set and then unanimous silence fell over both. The oranges and pinks and golds switched and changed every second, tinting the cacti, the sands, Tailfin Pass, and ultimately the peaks of the mountains around Cadillac Range. Sunsets marked an ending for many, being what they were at the day's close. For Grace though, they symbolized beginnings.
A sunset at the town park in Thomasville was one of the things to herald in her parents' eventual marriage. It was the time of day many of the most lasting talks between father and daughter had taken place. It was also the last gift of a day before a new one would start. Grace never saw them as something foreboding or sad. She turned to Lightning.
"I think I'm in the mood for a little company on a cruise down Main Street tonight. Up to that, punk?" she teased, using the name her dad so often had. Lightning scoffed.
"A cruise? Really?"
"I was born on Route 66 before it became such a big thing. Of course I like going for cruises. If you haven't figured that out about me by now, I'm disappointed!" she retorted. He knew he was caught, but didn't care.
"Okay, okay! I'll do it." he gave in. She turned over her motor and slowly began to reverse from her valley-overlooking park.
"Well, you'd best get a move on, little brother, because even though I'm a Cadillac, I could leave you in the dust for just a little bit if I wanted to. You want to get all dusty tonight?" she jested. He followed suit, turning and pulling up alongside her.
"No way, sister."
She smiled brightly at him, the gentility and sweetness in that expression so like her lost mother with traits of her father as well. She had received the best from both which would always shine through.
"Well, come on then. It's another day. Let's drive one more mile."
THE END
This story is dedicated to Kelsey, AKA ClassyContour. Sister. Confidante. Bestie. You've given me encouragement when I've faltered; ideas when I have flailed, and the honesty I am forever grateful for. Your dedication to this jumble of words that is my very first fanfic sticks with me always and I know I am insanely lucky to have the gift of your company in my life. I love you with my whole heart, sister. Let us, too, drive one more mile.