Doc Hudson: An Autobiography

Fandom Fan Fiction
#81

Here is the next chapter! :slight_smile:

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

My next months were spent at home, and blissful they were. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s all flew by with the velocity of a Saturday night race. I didn’t see Bonnie again, not even in brief passing at the grocery store or anywhere else for that matter. It was like she was really gone. Perhaps she had left town under the radar, or perhaps she knew very well how to conveniently work her time in public around mine. As much as I longed to catch the slightest glimpse of her, just so I could read the emotion from her eyes, it didn’t happen. It was probably for the best anyways.

It wasn’t long before I started training again. I’d be racing for a more notorious sponsor that season and as Rick told me, that meant there was heavier pressure on me to perform. It felt wonderful to get back into the swing of things, I’d become so restless over the break. Also, I could look forward to seeing Donna again at the track.

That season I entered under the new name of ‘The Fabulous Hudson Hornet’ and quickly turned into a household name with my great number of season wins. I wasn’t simply another car in the pack. I was known. Of course, that equated in more press interviews and photo shoots, but I assumed it came with the title. I was destined to be Piston Cup champion; all I had to do was make it a reality.

“Well,” Donna smiled, “I guess this is it. You could leave this stadium a star, Doc.”

“Yeah, I know,” I replied, even though she hadn’t particularly asked a question. Her eyes grew distant, lost in thought. “Donna?” I asked her, feeling uncomfortable with the way she seemed to look straight into my soul.

“Oh,” she blinked timidly. “I was just thinkin’…”

I started to smile myself and said, “I could tell.”

Donna’s expression softened and she drew closer towards me. Her windshield sunk down and she told me gently, “I’m just stunned. I never thought- well, I did think you could make it this far, I just can’t believe this moment is finally here.” She gazed at me with admiration. “Your family must be so proud of you.”

I wanted to melt with the natural sweetness of her tone. I didn’t hear her words as she said them; I heard them for what they were: I’m proud of you. And she was so close… close enough to kiss. “I think they are,” I answered. “I can’t wait to see them again.”

Donna nodded. “Then I guess you’ll have something to look forward to, whether you win the Cup today or not.”

Before I could think, I said to her, “Yeah, but it’ll mean I won’t be seeing you any time soon.”

Donna beamed at me, her green eyes twinkling. “You never know what the future holds. You never know…” she trailed off and let herself slowly roll forward. She planted her lips on mine with such ease, like she had been anticipating this moment from day one. Everything about it felt so right, completely different from kissing Bonnie. When I kissed Bonnie I felt smug about myself, confident that I’d won the most wanted girl in Illinois. But Donna, she made me feel something else, something more.

We pulled apart instantly at the sound of Rick approaching. I watched her mouth ‘good luck’ before I was hauled down to the pits by my oblivious crew chief.

“Where’s ya mind at today, kid?” Rick barked over the radio.

“Sorry, Rick,” I replied. I knew he was right about my focus being off; I was unusually far behind for how late it was in the race. I had two more cars left to pass if I was to fulfill my prophecy. I’d been shifting my attention between the track and the future that lay ahead of me. Donna would make the perfect girlfriend. Clearly, she was one girl who had no problem with a guy who lived to race.

“Listen,” Rick instructed, “Today there is only you, the track and me. That’s it. Don’t breathe without tasting the exhaust, don’t move without feeling the track and don’t think unless I tell you that you need to, got it?”

I took a quick gulp of air and imagined the fumes inhabiting my body. I trusted Rick with my life, and more importantly, I trusted him to lead me to my first Piston Cup. Until then, the rest of my life was on pause. “Got it,” I returned, and buckled down on chasing the leaders while time stood still.

And it stayed that way; Rick and I enveloped in an alternate world until I crossed the finish line, winning the Piston Cup. Then, the crowd erupted in cheers, the speakers blared with my name and the yelps of broadcasters. I was presented the prestigious trophy, freshly engraved with the name ‘Hudson Hornet’. I was showered in a flurry of confetti. I was thrust into the gossip-hungry press. It was an overwhelming taste of fame, yet I couldn’t deny the thrill of it all.

Eventually, Rick pried me away from the hectic horde of cars. I’d heard his exclamations and outburst of excitement from the other side of the radio when I had won, but I suspected he wanted to give me a formal congratulation as well. Or maybe Donna had requested to see me. My heart thrummed, anticipating what she would have to say. Was it possible that I’d have a second kiss with her already?

But Rick’s face was oddly grave, reminiscent of the solemn expression my principal had worn so many years ago. I knew in an instant that something wasn’t good, and all happiness drained away from me. Rick ushered me into an empty garage and motioned to a small telephone situated on the back wall.

“It’s your sister,” he said quietly. Even in his low volume, I could hear the strain in his voice.

I briskly made my way to the phone, not caring or noticing if Rick was still in the room or not. “Cindy?” I asked hastily.

A shaky sigh of relief came audibly through the phone. “Doc,” Cindy said so gently and timidly that it made my tank lurch. She sounded as timid as she had when she was only five years-old. “We just watched your win on television, and we’re very happy for you. And I know you probably want to stay a while in Daytona and celebrate before coming home, but please, come home immediately. It’s Mama. We need you here right away. I don’t know how much time is left.”

Just like that, life was back in full swing.

Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter, the story should be starting to pick up again in the chapters to come. Thank you for reading, do comment if you would like!  :smiley:
#82

Oh gosh, poor Doc. What’s supposed to be the happiest moment of his life is now turning out to be probably the worst. :frowning: Congrats on a great plot twist, though! I didn’t expect that one coming! :wink: And yes, he and Donna kissed! I saw it, I saw it. :laughing: I like how you described the kiss and how different it was with Donna compared to Bonnie. (I never liked her much anyway. o_0) One of my favorite chapters! :smiley:

#83

Yes, I love plot twists. :smiling_imp: 8D Of course, because your insight to the future of my writing told you something would happen between him and Donna, therefore you just wanted Bonnie out of the way. :wink: Just kidding. :stuck_out_tongue: I’m pleased this chapter was very enjoyable for you! Thanks for the comment! :mrgreen:

#84

Here is the next chapter, one of my favourites due to how strong it turned out in my opinion. Read on, my friends!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

They say you can’t have the cake and eat it too. Well, I was in a similar situation. I had my glory, but I couldn’t bask in it. It was so hard to hold my emotion inside of me, to keep my expression displaying anything but what I was truly feeling in front of the countless cameras and enthusiastic fans. I did it though; I kept myself contained long enough until I could be whisked away to my hometown. I didn’t even get a chance to speak with Donna, I had Rick tell her that I needed to leave for something important and that was all. She was one of the first cars I wanted to touch my Piston Cup trophy. Instead, it would be taken to the exiled Illinois track where Rick would take care of it and show our friends. It would probably be months before I was in touch with Donna again, and by then the initial sparkle of everything would be gone.

When I arrived at the local hospital, evening was drawing into night. I had one of many milling nurses direct me to the cafeteria where Cindy informed me she would be waiting. To somewhat of a surprise, I found her sitting next to Johnny, both of them dead silent. Cindy’s pupils were large with trepidation, but the rest of her was brave and ready to handle anything. Johnny however, appeared to look both lost and shock.

“Fill me in,” I said, breaking their stone silence.

Cindy looked comforted to see me. She launched right away. “She had an engine attack a few days ago. I would have called you, but Mama didn’t want it to interfere with your final race. She wasn’t well after that, she started getting really weak. I brought her in this afternoon to the doctor; he discovered her tank is failing.”

I glanced over at Johnny; he stared blankly at the cafeteria clock. “So, what can we do?” I asked Cindy. “I’ll be receiving lots of money for my win today; we can afford the best treatment for her.”

Cindy’s heart split in front of me as she took in my words. “I’m so sorry, I haven’t even congratulated you yet, Doc.”

I swallowed the knot in my windpipe. “Thanks, Cind. But forget about that for now, I want to know what we can do.” Then I added quietly, “I want to see Mama.”

I was wrong. Cindy’s heart didn’t break until that moment. She shook her hood slowly. “There is nothing we can do. She can’t keep anything in her system, and she is too weak to go under the anesthesia for a tank or engine replacement. If they put her under then she won’t wake up. We just have to wait.”

Until what? Wait until what? I couldn’t force her to say it, and I wouldn’t. She wasn’t a doctor that I could blame for not giving me answers. She was my sister, and this would be as hard for her as it would for the rest of us.

I pinched my eyes shut and murmured, “Where is her room?”

I drove past door after door. Behind each of those closed doors could have been a dying car, I didn’t know. Maybe they had a chance at survival, maybe they were only young, or maybe they’d been in that room for weeks. All I knew was that my mother was in one of these rooms and she had a slim chance of leaving her room alive.

As I passed the doors, I started to create stories in my head of what could lie behind them. A girl with hood cancer, an elderly car with pneumonia, the possibilities were endless. I wondered who these cars were to others, what their stories were. After all, everybody was a son or daughter to someone out there. Then it came it me. I could be leaving this hospital as an orphan.

I forced myself to stop looking at the doors and drove faster until I came upon the one I’d been searching for. I entered quietly, unsure of what I would find inside. First there was an empty bed, its stark white sheets pulled taut over the mattress. Then, behind a pale blue curtain, was Mama. Tubes strung out of her hood and underneath her. A tiny beep came faintly from a corner of the room. As I moved towards her, I noticed the walls were painted a warm yellow colour, as if the colour symbolized with happiness could ward off the darkness of death.

I settled myself by the bedside and tried not to let the image of Mama sink too far into my mind. In a way, I was grateful that I had never had to endure this part of my father’s death. Mama mustered a dull smile in my direction, but the pain and strength it required was clear in her fading eyes.

“I watched you today,” she croaked.

I nodded solemnly. The race seemed like a distant memory compared to the realness of what was going on currently. I wanted to ask her if she knew that she was dying. Was it one of those things you just knew was happening? It had to be.

“Doc,” she said, “Please, keep taking care of your sister. I know she’s older now, but she still needs somebody. And don’t worry about Johnny. Don’t let him get in your way. He has respect for what you’ve done, even if he’ll never admit it.” She paused to catch her breath. “That Bonnie girl keeps calling the house, when Cindy is out at work. I should have told you, I’m sorry. She’s not worth trusting though; she’s perfect on the outside but not inside. You should have better than her.”

A minute went by, filled only by the beeping noise. I was considering my final words to Mama, yet, it seemed only right that she be the one speaking. So, I let her.

“Doc,” she finally continued. “I am so proud of you for what you have become.” She exhaled deeply. I had never heard her speak so much in ages. I didn’t want her to speak anymore; to expend what little was left of her on me.

“I love you, Mama,” I whispered.

“I love you, Doc.”

I kissed her gently on the fender and turned to make my departure.

“Doc,” she called out from behind me. When I reversed to look at her she pleaded sadly, “Will you make sure I’m buried beside him?”

My father. I’d forgotten how she’d requested him buried in the local cemetery so that she would be able to rest in peace at his side.

I blinked once and replied soothingly, “Of course, Mama.” And then I left the room, having said my final words to my beloved mother.

I almost teared up while writing this. And I'm the writer!  <img src="//pixarplanet-forums.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/2X/4/4d009dd141f26b0a611a818d8d3d4fc9f50168cf.gif" width="15" height="15" alt="8D" title="Chuckle"/> Anyways, thank you for reading and please comment if you can!  :slight_smile:
#85

Sorry about the late review! Aww, this chapter’s so sad! I didn’t know she was going to die! :cry: I loved the first line of the chapter and your use of the word, “trepidation”. I had to Google that. :laughing: Just like that word in “Here After” with Sally’s office chair, remember? 8D I thought your descriptions of like the hospital room and Mama’s appearance was really good.

^^^ That was when I almost started crying. :frowning: Looking forward to see where the story goes from here. :slight_smile:

#86

No problem, thank you for your review! :smiley: Oooh, I found a word you didn’t know finally? :wink: I actually didn’t know it until I read it a few days ago and thought it was so cool I had to find a use for it. 8D Oh yeah! ‘Ergonomic’, that’s what the other one was. :stuck_out_tongue: Thanks, I don’t normally like doing hospital scenes so I’m glad the descriptions were still good. And I agree, that was the saddest part in my opinion too! Well, thanks again. :slight_smile: Not sure when the next chapter will be, hopefully I can get some work started on it tomorrow before school starts!

#87

Great job! This chapter might be the best so far, I almost teared up during it. I really enjoyed. (Sorry for the late review, by the way, I haven’t been on in a few days).

#88

That’s fine, I don’t mind late reviews at all. They are still great to see. :smiley: Also, thank you! I agree, I think I might be doing some of my best writing in this story so I’m glad I didn’t give up on it. I’ll update as soon as I can!

#89

Sorry for the late update, I’m back in school now. :stuck_out_tongue: Here you go though!

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The funeral was held only four days later. There was lots of planning to do, things from where the wake would be hosted to what colour of flowers would be ordered. Most of this responsibility fell on Cindy and me, but it was a burden we accepted without any fuss. Johnny became his usual clammed-up self, always retreating to empty rooms where he lingered like a spirit who had failed to cross to the other side. I finally understood that it was his only way of dealing with grief, and for that reason I let him be.

It turned out to be quite an event, with more cars showing up than we had predicted. Mama hadn’t been out in the social scene for years, but there was a large crowd who came to pay their respects, and that said something to me. Even Cord made an appearance, flying all the way from France with his wife and my first niece. The day was difficult, yet it brought some healing too. The service helped to ease the pain of a wound that would undoubtedly take many, many years to heal.

Shortly after the burial, Cord took off back home with his family when his wife pleaded homesickness. She was a beige, foreign car, with sharp features and spoke only in French. I got the notion that she didn’t take much of a liking to our side of the family, but my oblivious elder brother obliged with her decision and left us as promptly as he had arrived. Once they were gone, life slowly regained some sort of normality. Cindy had been given possession of the family home through Mama’s will, and Johnny moved into the house with her. I lived with them as well, temporarily until the next race season would begin. I spent my days frequenting the track, visiting with my long-time friends, while Cindy worked and found herself a nice guy by the name of Mark. Life was definitely progressing.

Things really started to change with the emergence of my third racing season. Suddenly, Rick didn’t want to talk very much about training or tactics, or anything to do with racing at all. I found out why later on, when the offers began rolling in. Not only was I being bargained for when it came to sponsors, I was also being begged for by crew chiefs.

“It’s what is right for you, Doc. I didn’t know how to tell you.” Rick said when I confronted him about it.

“What are you talking about?” I argued. “You led me to my first win. I don’t need a different crew chief!”

“These guys are professionals,” he explained, although I knew he didn’t want to have to push me away. “They can guide you better than me. You’re a big, winning racer now. They know how to keep you that way.”

“But they didn’t make me like this!” I exclaimed in upset frustration. I felt like a child, one who wanted to deny a blatant truth. “I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you.”

I could see the hurt in Rick’s eyes, how badly he wanted to side with me. He held steady though and drew one long, sad breath. “I would rather you let someone else be your crew chief than to allow me to be the one responsible for your downfall. You have too much talent for that.”

And with that, the discussion was over. I knew I couldn’t persuade Rick in any way. He only wanted the best for me. He wanted it so much that he would give up his position as my crew chief. I had no other choice but to trust in his instinct and do as he wished. I would never forget him though, because my life was partially indebted to him and his belief in me. I had to prove to him that I could succeed further, even if that meant he wouldn’t be alongside me at every race.

I met my new crew chief and agent several months before the racing season was set to commence. My crew chief was named Walter. He was a stout, wide kind of car with dull green paint that reflected the detachment in his personality. He didn’t seem to have much interest in me and left after only briefly consulting with me to discuss a training regime. Then, I was introduced to Briar, my agent. I’d never had an agent in my prior racing seasons. But then again, I hadn’t been ‘fabulous’ back then. Briar was a relatively small car with intense, keen brown eyes that were set off by his red colouring. Unlike Walter, he seemed very aware and self-assured. His mind was quick and everything he said spilled out of his mouth at a similar pace to keep up with his thoughts. He spoke to me on and on about managing publicity, the importance of creating an identity, or an ‘image’ as he called it, and how he would take his pay as a percentage of my earnings; 12% to be exact.

“Now,” Briar continued without a pausing for air. “We need to make an important decision here; your sponsor.”

“Well,” I interjected slowly, “I raced for Gasprin last season. I thought it would be a good idea to just stick with them.”

A tiny smile made itself present on Briar’s lips. He shook his hood lightly and quickly, like everything in his nature. “Lightyear is making you a huge offer. Five times better than what you were getting with Gasprin! Clearly, it would be in your best interest to go with them.”

I eyed my agent in distaste. In my best interest? Was this guy thinking at all about me, or what would generate him the biggest pay check? I decided he was going with the latter. I sighed. “I guess that makes sense…”

“Excellent.” He flashed me a grin. He lowered his voice dramatically and leaned closer towards me. “I’m going to take care of all of this for you, Doc. Just leave it to me. I’m going to launch you so far into fame that you won’t be able to fall without looking like a shooting star.”

Not the most exciting chapter, but essential to the story. Hopefully it was still a nice read! Thanks for reading, comments are always welcome.  :slight_smile:
#90

Decent chapter! It’s sad to see Rick go, but I knew it’d have to happen. I’m interested to read more.

#91

You predicted that? Good for you! Thanks, I’ll get to work on the next chapter as soon as I can! :slight_smile:

#92

Nice! I think they were a lot of good things in this chapter. :slight_smile: I liked your descriptions of what happened after Mama’s death and your mention of Cord. I’m bummed to see Rick leave and I’m surprised that he was the one to accept it and push Doc to get another chief. :frowning: Great job introducing the new characters, though.

^^^ I liked that description, it’s really easy to picture that “ghostly” behavior.

^^^ Nice. :sunglasses:

#93

Thank you. :smiley: Yeah, some people on FF were sad to see Rick go too which is nice to hear because I wasn’t sure if he was a likeable character at all. And I’m quite fond of that last line too, so thanks again. :mrgreen:

#94

Sorry for the wait and that this chapter is shorter than normal! It’s just how it has to be so it’ll fit with the story.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I became a different car right from the start of my third season. I don’t know exactly what it was, but an accumulation of factors was most likely to blame. Or perhaps it was a phase I needed to go through before I could truly understand myself and who I was. I was warped into someone else, and I had to strip away layer upon layer to find the Doc Hudson my parents had raised me to be.

It was the fourth race of the season when I told my new crew chief, Walter, that I wanted to visit with Donna. Things had been so busy and hectic, but I was used to seeing Donna after nearly every race and I didn’t want that routine to change.

Walter blinked at me, his eyes glazed over dully. “What are you talking about, kid? You don’t got time for that, you have to be at a press conference in ten minutes.”

I tried again, the next time with my agent instead.

Briar laughed his sickening laugh through the telephone receiver. It was the kind of laugh that made you feel like he took your entire life as a joke. “What do you need to visit her for? You’ll lose your status if you’re off chatting with some girl instead of feeding the press. I’m sure we can find time to squeeze her in elsewhere, like during your downtime.”

That was a real joke. The only ‘downtime’ I had was spent training with Walter or sleeping. Neither which I really had the option to give up. And that was layer one of the new me, the one that cast Donna outside the realms of my life.

The rest of me was lost when I was completely cut off from my family. Briar monitored many of my personal calls closely; for fear that they could escape to the public and be churned into some kind of scandalous gossip. I thought the whole idea was absurd, but what choice did I have anymore? Briar and Walter were in charge of me, and it had to be accepted that with fame also came the necessity to take great care in security. So, I did as I was told. The next layer of my altered life concealed me and all contact with home slowly drifted away to nothing.

The only cars I had were the reporters and fans. The reporters were typically pushy cars, always flashing their camera lights far too close to my eyes. I adjusted though, and soon the blinding lights became as natural as the sun slipping out from behind a cloud to enlighten the world. My answers to questions were always concise and diligently tailored to what the fans would want to hear, or twisted into a form that the media could use for news headlines. Then there were the fans. Sometimes I felt truly bad for them, the way they fawned over me with admiration. I was everything they wanted to see, everything they wanted to be or the kind of car they wanted to marry. Little did they know, I was a hollow hunk of metal and that I was only portraying myself to support their fantasies. They didn’t know the real me, they weren’t looking up to me at all. They loved me for the hope it gave them that they could someday aspire to be the cars they wanted to be. And at the end of the day, they were gone. Most of their faces sat in my mind as mere blurs with very vague features. I couldn’t identify one from the other; I had no connection with them on a personal level. I was absolutely alone.

The months dragged on and the unhappy layers of my life slowly bogged me down. I sought refuge, aching to know that I was more than just “The Hudson Hornet” to someone. One night I found it, in a side alley beside the hotel I was staying at. A female appeared from alongside the building, her eyes heavily swept with mascara. Her body was coated in a brilliantly bold shade of blue, her lips shaped as curvaceously as the structure of her body. She didn’t bother with petty conversation. Instead, she drawled in a soft whisper, telling me all the things I needed to hear before taking her up to my room.

I never knew how these females found me. But every city I went to, they were there and I burned through enough of them in my time. They were a temporary relief to me. They would listen to me and said nothing of my racing career. For a brief moment, in their presence, I could feel as if I were loved again. But they would slip away before the morning light, and suddenly I was back to feeling empty with the layers of false identity weighing me down yet again. And after a while, even the faces of those beautiful girls bled together until they became just as undistinguishable as the fans.

That’s when I began to wonder; how was it possible to be so surrounded and yet so alone?

Don't really have any post-chapter comments for this one. Hopefully it was enjoyed despite being short! Thank you for reading, comments are welcome and loved.  :slight_smile:
#95

Even your chapters where not much is going on are still great. Like this was a more informative chapter but I still thought it was exciting. :slight_smile: I love your descriptions of all of Doc’s feelings throughout all of this and there was a lot of great literacy and pacing. His thoughts and emotions remind me a lot of Lightning’s, how he feels alone and empty inside. Knowing you, it was probably on purpose. :wink: Ahh no, Donna! I hope Doc doesn’t completely lose her! I know from Doc’s history that she’ comes back so I’m looking forward to see how she’s worked back in. o_0 :laughing: I’m really starting to not like Walter and Briar, they remind me so much of Harv. :unamused: I love the last line of this chapter, it was actually exactly what I was thinking while reading this.

^^^ Ugh, that laugh always gives me chills. I know exactly what you’re talking about and I hate it. >_<

Gasp! Doc’s getting into some shady stuff with all these strange women. :open_mouth: An interesting addition, I totally know where you’re coming from and why it’s included. It’s a great dynamic. Update soon! :smiley:

#96

Thank you sooo much! Yes, of course I did intentionally try to make some connection between Doc and Lightning in this chapter. :wink: When I watch the movie I really do get the impression that Doc would have a good understanding of those feelings Lightning has. Haha don’t be a spoiler! You will see shortly. :wink: Yes! Glad you got that impression of Briar and Walter. And I’m happy you liked the closing line as well. :slight_smile: And yeah, who hasn’t heard a laugh like that before? Thanks very much for all your comments! I’ll keep working away!

#97

Sorry for the long wait everyone. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I really do have a lot going on in my life which slows down the process of updating. I hope there are still some readers here though and here is the next chapter for you! (Last chapter Doc became similar to Lightning and got lost in fame. He cut contact with Donna, Rick and all his family. He was in his third racing season after winning the Piston Cup the previous year. He started to get involved with groupies but was still lonely in the end.)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I won my second Piston Cup that year. I shouldn’t have been surprised, not with all the pressure and intense training I’d endured. So, I accepted my trophy as expected and played around in the glitz and fame of it all. After all, I had earned it, hadn’t I? But I wasn’t happy about the conditions which had led me to win.

Eventually, when things started to die down again, new thoughts began creeping around my mind. I would envision the old days, the ones where I raced lap after lap at the dusty stadium in Illinois with the other guys who sat chewing their balls of tobacco. Many times I saw Rick in the background, always watching me with the expression of a silent guardian. Flash forward, to when the dirt turned to asphalt and the light of the moon to stadium lights. I could see Donna with her bright, alert eyes. I could hear the quip of her voice with an undertone of Southern sweetness. All of these things, these moments, were locked into a special part of me. What I remembered most of all though was the feelings I’d had. The pride of my family, the excitement of my crew chief and the love of Donna, I’d had it all. Yet, I’d gone and thrown it all away for a chance to further my career. I had achieved in doing that, but perhaps I hadn’t needed to. I’d fooled myself into believing that I needed cars like Briar and Walter to succeed.

I didn’t.

Things changed greatly in the year that followed. I slowly peeled away the layers that fame had put on me and I started by firing both Walter and Briar. I offered Rick the position of crew chief; however, he gracefully declined and suggested that his role as my agent would be better. With that settled, I moved on to find George, a kind car whom Rick referred me to as a suitable match for the crew chief role. He was right, and the pair of us hit it off right away. I could feel a mountain of pressure and tension lifted from my body. My heart was still heavy though, locked up with the amour of Donna. I knew I had to mend things with her if I were to ever open the deadbolt.

It was after a Sunday race that I found the courage to approach her. Only a few weeks of the season had passed and at first I had feared so greatly that she had disappeared from the racing scene altogether. What relief came to me when I spotted her, but it quickly gave way to other worries. While I would watch her day after day from the corner of my eye, I still wondered things. Had she moved on from me? Was she too angry to spend time on my anymore? Was there someone else? I had to fight it all back and remind myself that there was no backing out; that my feelings would never diminish if I didn’t hear her thoughts.

“Doc?” Donna said my name with surprise, although I knew she was faking it. There was no way she couldn’t have seen me driving over to the pits where she was chatting with her father.

I cleared my windpipe. “Yeah. Donna, I was hoping I could speak to you for a minute?”

Donna’s father, whom I had only met a few times over the years, shot me a sidelong glance. If Donna wasn’t bitter than her father sure made up for it. But she followed me quietly to a secluded area near the parked trailers. It was getting later and most of the lot was empty, so we parked parallel to my personal trailer and stared at each other for a moment in silence.

I took a deep breath and grasped one last chance to organize what I wanted to say. I hardly even knew where to begin. We both looked the same as we had the year before, yet so much had changed between us. Empty space where we were strangers, living separate lives that couldn’t cross.

“It’s been ages, hasn’t it?” Donna’s voice split unexpectedly into the air.

I tried to read her eyes but the signals were too mixed. “Yes, sure has…”

“I never stopped watchin’ you though. I was there for every race.”

My insides melted with both guilt and delight. “I never stopped thinking about you,” I said gently.

“You won. Without Rick and me, you did it.” She forced the statement insolently.

I sighed. “I know. Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t the same? That I was unhappy almost every moment of it?”

Donna searched my face and I dropped my eyes. Finally, she responded softly, “I think I could believe it… because nothin’ was the same coming here without you either.”

After that moment, I became not only myself but a better version of myself. I started to exchange letters with Cord, I officially became Donna’s boyfriend and I called Cindy regularly. Rick, George and I worked phenomenally together as a team and I couldn’t have been happier.

Around mid-season, I received a joyous call from Cindy inviting me to her wedding with Mark. As expected, I invited Donna to accompany me to the event in my hometown. Cindy looked absolutely beautiful, the natural grace and innocence of her personality exuded from every part of her body, notably her eyes and smile. I was overcome with cheerfulness for her and honoured to be the one who led her down the aisle in place of my father.

Once I returned to my seat beside Donna, I heard the ramblings of the priest fizz out to background noise in my mind and I let myself gaze upon the car next to me. Donna’s eyes were focused forward, her full attention on the words binding Cindy and Mark together. Her lips rested in a line, but I could see the contentment for them behind her green eyes. She wasn’t related to Cindy or Mark, but she was so pleased for them. And as the early morning rays shone down on us, letting our bodies warm with our hearts, I resolved right then and there that Donna was the one.

I always love to hear feedback and I would like to thank you for reading.  :slight_smile:
#98

I really enjoyed the latest chapter! I’m glad that Doc decided to go back with the people he cares about. You write every chapter so well, it’s impossible not to enjoy them.
I can’t wait for more.

#99

Oh yay! Doc is back! :slight_smile: I’m glad he fired Briar and Walter! And got his family and Donna back! Aww, I love how Cindy got married. Now, I’m interested in what’s going on in Johnny’s life now. The ending of this chapter was so cute! I smell a proposal on the horizon. :wink: Great chapter! :smiley:

#100

Thank you very much guys! :smiley: I enjoyed bringing things back to the lighter side for a bit. I’ll keep trying my best to get the next chapter completed and you shall find out! :wink: