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Sally Carrera had what most people considered to be a dream life. She came from a well off family in LA, she graduated High School two years earlier than the rest of her classmates, and by the time she was twenty-two she’d graduated law school, passed the bar, and had gotten a junior lawyer position at one of the best firms in town. All in all she was on her way to have a very successful life.
Sally had no idea when it was she had become so unhappy, it was just that one day she woke up and realized that the life she was living wasn’t one she was enjoying. Sally wanted friends, a community, not people who only cared how much money was in her bank account.
She wasn’t getting what she needed in California so one day Sally packed a bag, got in her car, and started to drive. For the first time in her life she didn’t have a plan or any idea where she was going or what she wanted.
It was thrilling.
Sally spent the first day on the highway, windows rolled down with the radio blasting. That night she stayed at a rest stop motel, ate cheap fast food, and watched the food network on a grainy TV. The next morning she left bright and early after filling up her car and stocking up on snacks and water bottles.
She ended up leaving the highway, heading down Route 66. Sally could remember hearing stories about the old road when she was younger and she had always wanted to drive down it. Sadly it was nothing like its former glory, there were hardly any other cars on the road and most of the famed spots were either abandoned or seriously run down. Still, she was having a good time.
By the time the fourth day rolled around she was in the middle of the Arizona desert and it was slowly getting dark. Luckily Sally had seen a sign for an upcoming town a few miles back and was planning to stop there, hopefully they had a motel she could stay at.
In preparation for entering the town Sally began to gently press her foot on the brake pedal, only nothing happened. She frowned and pressed harder, the speedometer stayed the same. As a last result Sally slammed her foot all the way down on the peddle to no avail.
Crap.
The car continued to move at the same speed, if anything it was speeding up. Sally gripped the wheel, continuing to press her foot on the brake as far as it would go. As she sped along the highway she noticed a town getting closer in the distance.
Sally’s car began to approach a welcome sign and she could see a cop car sitting next to it. Quickly she turned on her hazard lights, the last thing she needed was to be arrested for reckless driving.
The office began to drive behind her, the sirens and lights blazing. It didn’t seem like they were trying to get her to pull over though, more like offering a warning to anyone who might be out that she was coming.
She sped through the town’s mainstreet and Sally was too focused on keeping her car steady than focus on the scenery. The car was quickly getting to the end of the road which was a dead end marked by a large building with a statue out front.
Making a quick minute decision Sally jerked her wheel to the side as far it would go, the car slid and slammed into the statue. Thankfully she had enough sense to make sure it was the passenger side that took the force and not the driver side. The car, thankfully, stopped then and Sally sat in her seat, shell shocked.
Then the airbags went off.
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The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, the officer (who was actually a sheriff) helped her out of the car, sitting her on the curb with a shock blanket around her shoulders to help fight the desert chill. A firefighter came out the building she crashed in front of, hastily dressed and carrying a med kit.
The firefighter, Red, only communicated through ASL and while Sally knew a little she was far too frazzled to focus on it. Luckily the Sheriff translated for her as Red checked her over. Thankfully she seemed mostly unharmed, came out of the whole thing with a few bruises and a light concussion.
The Sheriff brought her inside (it seemed that the building hosted both the local fire department, the Sheriff’s office, and the courthouse) to his office and she did her best to explain what happened. Luckily she wasn’t arrested as it was clear that the whole thing was an accident.
After that the Sheriff called someone to take her car and get it fixed up while a local woman named Flo and her husband Ramone let her stay with them for the night.
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The early morning light saw two men eating breakfast at a small, cramped kitchen table. Well, really it was one man and a man who was young enough to still be considered a boy.
Monty McQueen sat, eating his oatmeal sleepily while his dad, Dr. Paul Hudson, read the newspaper and ate his toast, far too alert for the hour. “Is there a reason why we have to be up at the crack of dawn?” He yawned.
“It’s a training day,” Doc said, barely looking up from his paper.
“But why so early?” He whined “the birds aren’t even up yet!”
“You want to be a racer, right?” Doc said “racers get up early.”
Monty groaned, it was mornings like these that made him almost regret convincing his father to train him. Almost. It hadn’t been an easy task after all.
The young man ate another bite of his breakfast, wondering if he could get away with sleeping at the table for a few minutes. He was jolted fully awake by the sound of someone knocking on the door.
The two glanced at each other and then the door, Monty shoved a large spoonful in his mouth to avoid getting up. Doc rolled his eyes fondly at him, obviously figuring out his ploy, and got out of his chair.
Monty leaned back in his seat to get a view of the door “oh Sheriff" his dad said “good morning, would you like some coffee?”
“No, no” the other man said “I’m fine, thanks. I came to talk to you about a bit of a… Situation that arose last night.”
Doc let him in “is everything alright?”
The Sheriff began to explain how, apparently, some girl’s car gas and brake pedals malfunctioned and she crashed into town last night. “And you didn’t call me?” The town doctor asked, clearly shocked.
“Red checked her over” Mike explained “just a minor concussion and some bruises, if he had been worried we would’ve called you.”
That called Doc a little “where is she now?”
“Staying with Flo, she insisted.” Sheriff said “Mater took her car last night and is going to look it over today and try and fix it up. It’s a bit of a wreck, plus there was a bit of property damage.”
“Are you pressing charges?” Doc asked.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” he admitted, “but I thought I’d bring it up with you.”
“What kind of property damage?” Monty asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“Stanley’s statue got knocked over.”
“Wait, really?” Stanley was the town’s founder.
The Sheriff nodded “it’s not damaged, just came off its pedestal. It’ll be an easy fix. Ms. Carrera seems to feel really bad though, offering to pay for it and everything.”
“Hmm” Doc thought that over “before I decide anything I think I’d like to meet this young lady.”
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By the end of Sally's second day in Radiator Springs she had met with the town's judge (who was also their doctor) after a short conversation the man decided against pressing charges for property damage. Though Sally insisted on paying for the repairs even though it was an 'easy fix.'
Then she had talked with Mater (the tow truck driver and the only mechanic in town) to get an update on her car. She then had a late breakfast at Flo’s Cafe and got to meet the rest of the town folks.
Radiator Springs was a small town with the total number of residents barely hitting double digits. Only a small portion of the business were still open, the others abandoned and closed down indefinitely. According to Flo it hadn’t always been that way, back in its hay-day Radiator Spring had been a place full of bustle and life. But now with the highway built no one came through anymore.
Flo had shown her old pictures of the town lit up in lights and full of people with a much younger Flo and Ramone, a few even held their kids - all of whom had moved away. Sally wished that she could see it, she doubted that the photos did it justice.
Instead the town was lifeless and dull, a stark contrast to its citizens. Everyone was warm and welcoming, they all seemed to breathe life into a place that was otherwise dead. No one even cared that Sally had broken the statue of their beloved founder and after a few days it was back on its pedestal as if nothing had ever happened.
Sally told herself that she would leave as soon as her car was repaired but slowly one week turned into two and then three. Time continued to creep on without Sally making a move, even after she got her car back.
Then Flo had mentioned that the motel needed a new manager since her daughter moved away. Then Doc learned that Sally was a lawyer and commented that the town needed a new attorney. Then she found herself connecting with Doc’s son, Monty, and felt a fluttering in her stomach that she hadn’t felt since the early days of college.
A couple months later Sally woke up and realized that for the first time she was happy, happy in a way she had never felt before. Yes, she had decided. Radiator Springs was where she was meant to be.