Life Could Be a Dream

Chapter 22- California, Here We Come!

Chapter 22- California, Here We Come!

"I can't believe he's gone", Fudge remarked, snuggling down under the sheets on her bed. "At first, I wanted him to leave. Now, I miss him."

Luigi sighed as he finished folding up the dress Fudge had been wearing that night and put them away in her closet. "Me too, Fudge."

It was way past her bedtime. Once they'd gotten inside Casa Della Tires, Luigi had tried to calm her down. That took hours. Finally, when she was just sniffling, the Fiat got some Neapolitan ice cream out of the freezer and spoon fed his daughter to try and cheer her up.

"It looks very red where your stitches are, Fudgie", Luigi had observed, digging into the ice cream tub with the spoon he was holding. "Have you been scratching again?"

"No", the five-year-old had sniffled.

"Have you?" Luigi had repeated suspiciously, leaving the spoon hovering just out of Fudge's reach. That way, she couldn't get any ice cream till she told him what was going on.

"No!" she had insisted.

"Then why is it red here?" the Fiat had questioned.

"I don't know..."

"Fudge", Luigi had warned, raising an eye frame at her.

A pause followed. Fudge didn't want to talk about it, but she wanted Luigi to be sympathetic.

"Uncle Doc hit me!" Fudge had shouted.

Luigi paused. "What?!"

"He hit me, he hit me!" she had wept as her tears started up again.

"Sssh, sssh, sssh, sssh!" her father had whispered soothingly, placing the spoon in Fudge's mouth, allowing her to eat the ice cream. "It is okay, baby. Tell Papà what happened. Why did Doc hit you?"

"I... I think he was mad at me!" With tears spilling down her cheeks, the little girl recounted the whole story as Luigi fed her ice cream. "Papà?" she finished. "That mean lady asked me if anybody had ever smacked me... and... and you said that would never happen to me! And now... now Uncle Doc has!" She cried even more, having a huge coughing fit in the middle of it.

"Oh, Fudgie!" Luigi had exclaimed. "Is that why you are so upset?!" By that point, he was surprised to learn that everything Fudge had said about Doc being a race car was really true and that Doc had sent Lightning away. However, in that moment, he had to focus on his crying, upset daughter.

She had nodded.

"It is okay, angel!" the Fiat assured her softly, using the spoon to clean up a bit of ice cream that was dribbling down his daughter's chin. He gave her a kiss. "That was not your fault. Sometimes, people say and do things they don't mean when they are angry. I think this is one of those times."

She nodded again. "Okay..."

All of a sudden, Luigi tossed the spoon into the sink. "Okay", he announced. "Time for bed."

So, once the ice cream was safely returned to the freezer, Luigi took Fudge up to her room where he peeled off all of her stickers and changed her into her pyjamas. Then he took her to the bathroom to make sure she brushed her teeth before carrying her back to her room and depositing her in her bed.

Now, the child glimpsed out her window. She saw the same thing she'd always seen whenever she looked out her window at night: a dark and quiet town. But it was different this time. After seeing the town lit up like it had been before, it didn't seem right to have it this dark and quiet. Or for everyone to be this upset. In fact, Guido had taken himself off to sleep without seeing Fudge off to bed.