A peaceful morning sun peaked its way out of the mountains and on the top of Willy's Butte. Then the sounds of Sarge's music were turned up too loud to wake up everyone in the townsfolk in Radiator Springs. Lightning groaned as he heard the sound of his alarm clock going off as he looked tired due to his nightmares.
He groaned softly as he rubbed his head due to his headache from yesterday. He was feeling nauseous as he saw the room was spinning. He shook his head as he still looked tired.
"Will you turn that disrespectful junk off?!" Sarge yelled at Filmore as Lightning heard it from a distance.
"Respect the classics man!" Filmore yelled back at him.
Lightning rubbed both of his eyes as he yawned. He took off his covers on his body as he got out of his bed as he headed to his closet, He grabbed the knob of his closet as he opened it like he does every morning.
He found his black sleeveless turtleneck shirt along with his red jacket with a yellow lighting bolt on its white sleeve, and his black jeans. He then found his black cowboy boots, as he went to the bathroom he started the shower. After he was done he came out of the bathroom while he was wearing his outfit that he found.
His hair was fixed up then earlier this morning of how he woke up.
He sighed as he walked up to his bed. He made it as he didn't want to leave his room a mess, right before he would walk out of his room he saw a picture of Doc and him after helping out The King to win the Piston Cup.
"You got a lot of stuff kid..." The voice that sounded familiar echoed in his mind as he looked sentimental as he looked at the photo. Lightning always gets teary eyed whenever he sees a picture of him and the one person he calls him a father figure.
Lightning sighed as he smiled at the picture. "I miss you old timer... But you're on a bigger racetrack in heaven Doc." Lightning said to himself as he thought he sounded crazy when he thought Doc would hear him. But he sounded like was gonna cry.
He then wiped a tear of his face. As he started walking out of the room of his apartment to go meet up with Mater. As he was walking he saw Flo waving to him.
Flo yelled at him. "Hey baby!" Flo said as she was serving a customer a coffee.
"Morning Flo!" Lightning said back as he gave her a smile as he walked away from her Cafe.
As he kept walking he had noticed that Mater's mailbox was overfilled with a bunch of mail. Lightning stared at the box confused as he was about to open it but it exploded everywhere and on him. Lightning looked surprised then blinked slowly as he looked not phased as he stared at Mater's house.
He shook himself out of the letters as he was in there for a sec. "Mater-Why?" Lightning asked himself as he was getting out of the pile of letters.
As he opened the door he saw Mater sleeping on his couch. Lightning sighed as he rolled his eyes jokingly at his friend who he has known since he ended up in Radiator Springs. He slowly walked up to him as he tapped on his friend's shoulder.
"Mater," Lightning whispered, "Mater!" He quietly yelled out to make him wake up.
Mater woke up as he snorted from the sleep he was in. He rubbed his eyes as he saw his bestest friend in the world. Mater gave Lightning the most toothy grin at him of glee.
"Oh, Morning Lightning!" Mater yelled out as he smiled.
Lightning flinched as he heard Mater yelled.
"Ah-! Y-Yeah... Good morning Mater..." He said as he was still sensitive from loud sounds in the morning.
Mater realized that his friend is sensitive to loud sounds in the morning everyday, Lightning hated it. It was like a curse only in the morning. "Oh sorry pal!" Mater as he looked nervous with a smile. Lightning put a hand on a hand on his friend's shoulder as he smiled, Mater sighed in relief as he looked happy.
"Also Mater," Lightning began, "Your mailbox is overloaded with a bunch of bills and stuff bud..." Lightning pointed out as he looked nonchalant as his eyes darted left as he smiled nervously.
Mater looked flabbergasted as he jumped out of his covers as he raced outside. "Ah Shoot!" Mater exclaimed as he didn't care about putting his clothes or his boots to check his mail.
Lightning jumped as he chased after Mater as he looked worried. As he exited outside as he raced to get to his friend who was not wearing any boots or clothes, Lightning sighed as he face palmed himself while shaking his head, he was trying so hard not to laugh or chuckle at this, as Mater gathered every letter that was on the ground.
"Thanks Bud," Mater said as he walked towards Lightning while holding a handful of letters and bills, "Man, I really need to stop letting my mailbox get overfilled with mail everyday..." Mater said as he pointed a fact.
Lightning scoffed as he let out a chuckle
"You don't think I do that buddy?" Lightning asked him with a smile.
"No?" Mater questioned as he raised an eyebrow.
As they kept talking they saw Sally coming up. Lightning gave her a little smile as he came up to her while Mater gave them a smirk as he slowly got into his house without them noticing, he knew that his friend and his girlfriend would need some alone time with each other. Lightning lightly and gently grabbed his girlfriend's hips, while Sally gently pressed both of her hands on his chest as they smiled at each other. Sally giggled as Lightning gave her a pinch on her rear end. Implying that she gave her love a seductive purr as she looked at him.
"Oooohhhhhh~?" Sally purred in a seductive tone. "So it's like that? Huh Stickers?" She asked as she looked upwards at him with a sly smile.
"Oh you bet baby~!" Lightning said as he matched the tone with Sally.
As they looked at each other with sly grins of lust. Their kiss seemed to go on for too long and, at the same time, ended far too soon. Mater came in on the scene of the couple's moment. Mater coughed as he hoped that he hadn't interrupted the moment, they looked at him as they looked embarrassed. As they quickly stopped to look at Mater, they then nervously smiled at him.
Mater put in. "Uh excuse me," Mater began. "I don't know about this but, Lightning you have mail or if I'm reading it wrong..." Mater put in as he showed the letter to Lightning to him.
Lightning raised an eyebrow as he looked puzzled. "Huh, That's weird," Lightning pointed out as he looked at it as he slowly grabbed it out of his friend's hands. "Nobody normally sends me anything unless I have fanmail from a fan." Lightning added as he looked at the mail with a puzzled look as he ripped the top of the letter with his finger. He looked inside the envelope and there was a folded piece of paper in the envelope as he unfolded it to look at it.
As he looked into it he then saw a familiar hand writing on the letter. He ignored it and tried to continue reading aloud as Mater and Sally could hear it.
"Dear, Montgomery Lightning McQueen," Lightning blurted out as he recognized his real name. Which made Sally and Mater completely confused. "It seems like a life time since I last saw you. Twenty years really speeds up fast huh old sport?" Lightning continued to read as he looked at the words that were in cursive. "I've got some things to tell you, if you want to come over to New York City, in honor of celebrating your victory of not giving up in racing. Sincerely, anonymous?"
Lightning ended the sentence as he raised an eyebrow while his voice raised. He pulled the paper away from him as his voice sounded a little high of a confused expression. Mater looked confused as he rubbed the back of his neck while looking at Lightning.
Mater broke out the silence. "Montgomery? Who in tarnation is 'Montgomery?' Mater questioned as he looked at his friend.
"Oh, it's my real name Mater." Lightning explained as he smiled at Mater nervously. Mater gave him the most puzzled look ever. "What? I thought your real name was Lightning McQueen!"
Mater.
Lightning sighed. "No," Lightning began as he looked more nervous than ever. "Montgomery is my real name. "Lightning" is just a nickname." Lightning explained clearly for his friend Mater to understand quite well.
Mater finally realized it as he looked shocked. "Oooohhhhhh..." Mater said finally realizing. Lightning smiled as he turned his attention towards Sally.
"Hey, Stickers?" Sally asked. Lightning looked at her. Her lovely blue eyes matched the color of the blue sky. "Why haven't you told us your true real name?" She wondered as he used her hand to stroke back his blond hair making him relax. Lightning sighed hastily as he looked even more nervous. Lightning shrugged as he smiled at her awkwardly.
Sally knew something was going on. She knew that her Stickers were lying to her face, as she placed both hands on her hips and gave him a strict gaze as she looked at him. Lightning's eyes widened as he looked at her, his expression changed into a flabbergasted expression while looking directly into her eyes. This is Sally Carrera and she is always serious about stuff, if it meant getting the answer out of him, she knew what and how to say it... Always.
Sally began to speak. "Stickers," She said in a real serious tone making him stand up straight to face her. "Why haven't you told us about her past life?" She asked again making sure he understood the question.
Lightning swallowed hard, trying to make an excuse to make her believe. He started to tremble as he tried to hide it but of course he can't hide anything from his love of his life. Why? Because she means a lot to him.
He sighed as he began to speak. "Because eh," Lightning said nervously. "Because it's-Uh Classified!" Lightning said as he looked at her with a nervous grin and ran off.
Mater and Sally looked at Lightning as he ran off. They looked confused as they watched him walk away awkwardly to Flo's cafe. They both looked at each other as they nodded their heads to see if they can get answers from Lightning.
A little while later Lightning looked so trepidated and confused as to why and how anybody knew where he was. He kept it a secret for twenty years. As he heard Flo approaching up to him she had handed him his latte with a big smile on her face.
"Here you go!" Flo said as she gave the latte to Lightning.
Lightning smiled. "Thank you Flo." Lightning said as he smiled at her.
Flo gave him a quick smile before giving the next customer their coffee. Lightning watched her as she walked away, he then looked down at his latte as he gave himself a hastily sigh of sorrow. He couldn't believe that he faked a smile in front of Flo. He wished that he didn't do that. But, nothing mattered now, after staring at his latte with reflection of himself, he lifted the cup and took a sip out of it drinking the latte. He then felt a hand on his shoulder, he then almost choked on his coffee as he sat the cup down on the table of the Cafe.
Mater then realized the error that he made. "Ah Shoot!" Mater exclaimed as he helped him out.
Sally helped out as well. "Mater!" She yelled and rushed to her loved one's side immediately.
"Sorry Miss Sally." Mater said as he looked apologetic.
Sally gave him a small smile before helping Lightning. "Stickers, breathe!" Sally said as she
helped him out.
Lightning then stopped coughing as he inhaled sharply as he started breathing heavily. He then calmed down in a matter of minutes. He thought it was gonna be the end of him. But it wasn't. He then looked at Sally as he started violently blushing due to the love he felt. He trusts Sally, Sally has always been there for him when he needed it. But he couldn't tell her the real reason he was so distraught. Even if he did tell her, she would understand fully and will be there for him. But why couldn't he tell her now. Lightning gulped as he looked at her. Sally chuckled as she hugged him, which made him feel more comfortable and relaxing. He hugged her back as he felt his cheeks burn up more.
Mater was just letting them have their moment as he remained quiet for them. As they ended the hug Lightning looked at Mater. Mater began to speak.
"So about that letter?" Mater asked.
Lightning took a deep breath. "Well," he began. "It came from New York City, my hometown." Lightning explained.
Sally's eyes widened as she looked astonished.
"New York City?"
Sally echoed as she questioned.
Lightning nodded as he faced Sally. Mater was surprised that she was more shocked than he was.
Lightning McQueen. The Lightning McQueen. Used to live. In New York City? How? When? And why? This was more confusing than after Lightning read the letter out to them. Was he a big-shot race car driver there? Or was he a business person there when one of his family passed away? How?!
Sally didn't say a word. She was so shocked. "Yup," Lightning said as he looked at them. "I used to live in New York City." He said as he sighed.
"Well dagum!" Mater exclaimed as he grinned at his friend.
Lightning chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I know! Me Being a big-shot race car driver living in New York City!" Lightning said as he didn't look pleased at all.
Sally looked at him again, her eyes still widened due what she had heard was so unbelievable that she wished she knew and why but she remained silent for the remainder of the story that she had to listen to. Mater encouraged him, Lightning sighed as he calmed down.
"Yup, I used to live in New York City Sals but it wasn't easy..." Lightning said. Mater came
in. "Why?" Mater asked.
Lightning darted his eyes away as
he looked anxious.
He smiled as he shrugged nervously as he looked at him. Sally could see that something was wrong, just because she was an attorney and lawyer, doesn't mean that she couldn't tell anything was wrong. Mater thought for a second as he thought of something that would cheer up Lightning. Then all of the sudden he had gotten an Idea for some reason, with a smile that was brighter and bigger with an idea.
Mater said as he nudged his elbow into Lightning's arm. "How about we take a trip to
New York City?"
Mater asked with a smile.
Lightning looked at him with a shocked expression. Sally smiled at the thought of the idea. "You know Mater," Sally input, " That's not a bad idea!" She agreed to the idea.
Lightning looked surprised that Sally agreed to Mater's request. He started to shutter due to how much anxiety was creeping inside of him. But he hid it. He swallowed hard and sharply, then looked at Mater as he gave him a thumbs up, with a nervous grin that he ever had. Mater looked advantageous as he smiled with joy as he tapped his fingers on the table before he got up out of his chair as he kept smiling at Sally and Lightning as he was gonna get everything ready. Mater was gonna get airplane tickets, because he had enough of traveling in their cars. Since they did cross the country to get to Mater's sister's wedding a few months ago. Lightning was very grateful that he has Mater as a friend and Sally to be there for him to deal with his nonsense and shenanigans ever since Doc passed away three years ago.
Afternoon arrived as Lightning was cleaning Sally's office as Sally was working. Sally thought it was unfair that Lightning had to clean but she couldn't. For the past few weeks he was acting a little bit strange. Sally was gonna call out his name but it had been compromised by Mater's yelling.
"I got the tickets to go to New York City!" Mater shouted as he looked at them.
Lightning almost fell off the ladder while he was dusting the shelves of Sally's office in Cozy Cone Hotel. Sally is also a receptionist for the Cozy Cone Hotel in Radiator Springs. Lightning grabbed the handles of the ladder as he almost jolted off the ladder. He then swiftly turned his head and looked at Mater with an astonishing look in his eyes and on his face.
Lightning sighed in relief. "Mater," Lightning said in an exasperation tone, "Don't do that! I almost fell-!" Lightning said but he was cut off.
Mater pressed his finger on Lightning's lips to make him be quiet as he shushed him. Lightning's eyebrows raised as he looked down at Mater's finger. Lightning's eyelids slid down halfway through his eyes, and his eyebrows fell down as he groaned softly. He grumbled a bit as he looked frustrated.
Lightning pushed Mater's hand away from his lip as he looked at him with a confused look on his face. Sally chuckled as she turned to Mater as she got up out of her seat as she approached the boys.
Sally cheered calmly. "That's great," Sally said,
"I can't wait to see what New York City would look like!" She said as she looked happy while Lightning looked uneasy. But he didn't show it.
Sally whooped as she went to go pack her stuff and get ready for the trip. Lightning started rubbing his arm as his eyes darted to the right as he looked more anxious from it. As he did Mater looked at him with a curious look, Mater touched Lightning's shoulder, Lightning jumped slightly as he looked surprised. He lifted his head as he looked at Mater with a worried expression. Mater asked.
"What's going on bud?" Mater questioned as he
looked at him. Lightning shook his head as he gave him a look of surprise as he looked from side to side as he gave him a small smile and shrugged.
Mater looked at him with curiosity, but he shrugged it off as he smiled. "Alright! Just let me know if you wanna talk about it!" Mater said as he walked away as he spoke to him as he went to his house to tell his girlfriend Holly Shiftwell that was a secret agent, and soon to be wife in the future.
"If you only knew..."
To be continued...