“Mater, it’s so good to see you!” Lightning exclaimed as soon as he knew Mater was okay.
“You, too, buddy!” Mater shouted. “Oh! I got something to show you! You’re gonna love it.”
“Actually,” Lightning said quietly, “I’ve got something to show you first.”
Lightning and Mater drove to Doc Hudson’s former garage. The town had converted it into a racing museum in Doc’s honor. Lightning placed his trophy—the first-ever Hudson Hornet Memorial Piston Cup—in the case alongside Doc’s and his own Piston Cups.
“I know Doc said these things were just old cups…but to have someone else win it just didn’t feel right, you know?” Lightning said quietly.
Mater nodded. “Doc would’ve been mighty proud of you,” he said. “That’s for sure.”
The private moment ended as the two friends took off to join the rest of the Radiator Springs citizens.
“Boy, I’ll tell you what, pal,” Lightning said to Mater as they drove along together. “It’s been a long day. All I want to do is—”
“Stay up all night and party?” Mater asked excitedly as they moved toward his salvage yard.
“No.…” Lightning hesitated.
Mater grinned. “Go tractor-tipping, then stay up all night long?”
“No, Mater. I want to go out for a quiet dinner,” Lightning said.
“That sounds like fun, too!” Mater agreed. “Exactly what I was thinking!”
Lightning paused. “I meant with Sally, Mater,” he managed to say.
“That’s a great idea!” Mater’s grin got even wider. “You, me, and Miss Sally going out for supper! Where we gonna eat? Hey, I know—how about that new restaurant at the water park down on the interstate—Kersploosh Mountain?”
Lightning was hoping he wouldn’t hurt Mater’s feelings, but he really wanted to spend special time alone with Sally. “I was kind of thinking it would be a romantic dinner.”
“Well, dadgum. You can’t get more romantic than Kersploosh Mountain. I hear tell they got slides where two cars can ride down together!” Mater said as they reached the salvage yard.
And with that, Mater got ready to connect the battery to his big surprise. It was a “Welcome Home” display he had made especially for Lightning. He was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.
“Mater,” Lightning blurted out. “I meant it would be just me and Sally.”
Mater stopped short. His smile dropped just a bit. Trying to hide his disappointment—and his light-up sign—he looked down at his tires.
“Oh.”
“It’s just for tonight,” Lightning said gently.
“Uh, okay,” Mater said, glancing at his big sign in disappointment. “Yeah.”
“Thanks for understanding.” Lightning revved his engine. “I’m going to go tell Sally.”
“Right now?” Mater could hardly keep his lower lip from quivering.
“Yeah. Oh, wait! You wanted to show me something.”
“Oh, no. It was nothing. It can wait.” Mater faked a grin for his buddy. “You go on and have fun!”
Lightning sped away.
Alone now, Mater let out a big sigh. He had worked for days to create Lightning’s surprise. He couldn’t help himself. He turned, attached some jumper cables to a battery, and watched his contraption come to life.
A car horn played a celebratory song as an elaborate sign rose from behind a pile of tires. The sign read WELCOME HOME, BEST FRIEND!
As a final touch, two panels dropped and revealed two oilcans—one labeled with Lightning’s name and the other with Mater’s name. Mater’s disappointment disappeared in a flash. Those old oilcans gave him an idea!
Later in the evening, Lightning and Sally left the glow of Radiator Springs’ soft neon lights and drove up the moonlit mountain to the Wheel Well Motel’s newly decorated restaurant.
They had just settled down and were enjoying the view from their table when their waiter appeared. Lightning looked up and did a double take. It was Mater. He was dressed in a waiter’s uniform!
“Good evening,” Mater announced carefully. (He had received some quick training to ensure that he served Lightning and Sally their dinner just right.) “My name is Mater. I’ll be your waiter this evening.” Then he chuckled. “Mater the waiter. That’s pretty funny right there.”
“Mater, do you work here?” Lightning asked.
“Yeah,” Mater answered, grinning widely at the couple. “What’d you think? I was pretending to be your waiter just to hang out with you?”