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“Phone?”
“Check.”
“Wallet?”
“Uh, check.”
“Sunscreen?”
“It’s the middle of February.”
“Crutches?”
Chloe simply gave her younger brother a blank stare instead of answering.
“What? It never hurts to be prepared,” Huey said.
“I’ve been off crutches for weeks now,” Chloe replied. “I think I’ll be fine.”
Dewey jumped down from the top bunk next to Chloe and gave her a side hug. “Darn right she will. Chloe Duck, finally back in action, alongside her estranged mother, the one and only, Della Duck!”
Chloe sighed and smiled, rubbing his head. “Dew, we’re going for lunch and to get some new clothes for you guys. The most ‘action’ we’ll see is Uncle Scrooge overreacting at the price when we get back.”
“Speaking of which, make sure you spring for the hoodie with the shorter sleeves. No offense, but these keep getting all dirty and stuff,” Louie called from his bed.
Rolling her eyes playfully, Chloe shook her head and crossed her arms. “You know, you could always come with-“
“Hard pass!” he interrupted. “Yeah, no, shopping with a teenage girl and her mother, for clothes of all things, not exactly at the top of my bucket list.”
“Aw, what’s wrong? You don’t love your big sister?” Chloe asked, jumping into the bed next to him.
Louie immediately tried to push her away and get away, but Chloe simply lay down on him, wrapping one of her arms around his body.
“Ah! No! Too much affection!” he cried out, struggling in Chloe’s grip.
The door to the room opened, and Webby entered. “Hey, Chloe, Della wants to know if you’re- Oh! Are we torturing Louie with love again? I want in!”
Webby quickly jumped on top of Louie, wrapping him up in the biggest hug she could in the position she was in, followed by Huey and Dewey trying their hand at counter attack against the girls. The debacle ended in nothing but laughs and smiles, and also the triplets at the total mercy of Chloe and Webby in the form of being pinned to the ground by crushing hugs.
“Alight, alright,” Chloe said, getting up and dusting herself off. “I guess I should get going. Don’t wanna keep Dell- Mom waiting.”
“You guys have fun! And remember, short sleeves,” Louie reminded.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Chloe replied, facing the door. She lifted her hand to open it again, but couldn’t bring herself reach for the knob. “Uh… you guys are smart. Why am I so nervous about this?”
“Maybe it’s because when Della got back, you- Wait a second, that’s a rhetorical question, right?” Webby asked.
Chloe giggled a little despite herself. “I guess hanging around Lena so much paid off after all.”
Louie grunted and stretched as he got out from under Webby. “For what it’s worth, I am kinda glad you and Mom are putting your differences aside.”
“They’re not… differences, just… personal issues,” Chloe defended. “A-And we’re past that now! Really, we’re… good, great even!”
Huey shifted his head to look at his big sister. “Are you trying to convince us or yourself?”
“I don’t even know anymore…” Chloe replied dejectedly, her shoulders dropping.
Louie walked up to her and gave her another side-hug. “If there’s anything I’ve learned from you, it’s that no one’s invincible, and anyone who tries to be is just asking for trouble. Just be open and honest with each, and everything will go fine.”
“Everything will go fine…” Chloe repeated. “If you repeat it enough times, it’s gotta be true, right?”
“Totally! Just take a look at Dewey-Dew Night! I’ve been waiting to reach my first milestone, and I finally did just two days ago!” Dewey said. “Ten subscribers, baby!”
Chloe smiled and took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s do it.”
“You sure you don’t at least want a walking stick?”
“Huey, I-!”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Della tapped her fingers on the wheel to fill the void of silence. She’d only just found the old station wagon she and Chloe were using two days ago. It was a miracle it was even working, so she wasn’t exactly complaining about the busted radio. Chloe was in the passenger seat, simply looking out the window at the ocean. They’d just gotten off of Killmotor Hill, and neither of them had spoken a word to each other.
So, being the wild and untamed spirit she is, Della would be the first.
“I-I was thinking…” she began when Chloe looked at her. “Uh, I-I mean… we totally don’t have to, i-it’s your choice and all, but…”
“Yeah?” Chloe asked, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
“If, you know, you still wanted to…” Della continued to stammer. “I was thinking we could, uh, stop at a flower market to get some pots and seeds. Y-You know, f-for the garden.”
Chloe’s eyes perked up a little at that. “O-Oh! I-In all honesty, I kinda forgot about that with everything going on lately.”
Della tried not to outwardly deflate at that. “O-Oh, okay… I mean, it’s okay. Like I said, it’s totally your choice.”
“Well, I guess we could if you really wanted to,” Chloe replied.
Before she could respond, Della’s eyes were drawn back to the road when a truck next to her honked its horn, causing her to swerve back into her lane. After thinking on her next words, she said, “I-It’s not really my choice. After all, the garden was your idea.”
Chloe didn’t respond, so Della decided to think of another topic.
“H-Have you practiced driving at all? You’re getting up to that age after all,” she went with.
“Just my motorcycle around Killmotor,” Chloe replied. “Uncle Scrooge said he’d get around to teaching me if he ever found the time.”
Della rolled her eyes. “No offense, but Uncle Scrooge isn’t the best teacher when it comes to non-business or money stuff. He tried to teach Donald and me, but we both just did normal Driver’s Ed behind his back.”
“Really? He must’ve been mad when he found out,” Chloe replied with a small smile tugging at the corners of her beak.
“He never did,” Della said, chuckling to herself. “We just kinda stroked his ego a bit, telling him he was the best teacher we could ever ask for.”
Chloe laughed a little, causing Della to laugh with her.
“Do not tell him I told you that!”
“Are you kidding? How do you think I got him to buy me the motorcycle?!” Chloe replied between laughs.
The two kept laughing, sharing stories of times they managed to sucker Scrooge into doing stuff he wouldn’t normally do for people.
After they calmed down and caught their breath, Della continued, “Still, if you wanted, I could teach you how to drive, how to get a feel for the open road, stuff like that. After all, you’re almost… fifteen… already.”
After one last look at Della, Chloe quickly turned back to the window.
The void of silence quickly fell back over the two as they neared their destination.
"So... what kinda stuff do you do in your spare time?" Della asked, chancing another attempt at conversation.
Chloe shrugged. "Don't really get much time to myself. I've been wanting to learn guitar, but I only know the one song."
"Ooo~ And what would that one song be?" Della asked.
"It's stupid, but... Wonderwall. You know, for the joke," Chloe answered, another smile appearing on her face.
Della put the car in park and undid her seatbelt, turning toward her daughter. "The joke? I know what song you're talking about, but I don't remember any joke."
Chloe undid her seatbelt as well. "You know, 'anyway, here's Wonderwall,' that joke."
"I don't remember that. And that song was huge when I was your age," Della said.
"Must've come up while you... Nevermind," Chloe said, looking away again.
The two sat down and ordered their food, once again not exchanging so much as a glance. When their respective orders arrived, Della picked up her fork and began digging into her food until she saw just what Chloe ordered.
"Can't say I've ever tried that before," she commented, scooping her own food onto her fork.
Chloe blinked, looking down at her plate. “Oh! Yeah, Webby kinda got me hooked on trying exotic food. This is called dragon roll; it’s got a bit of rice, cucumber, avocado, some, uh, soy sauce, snow crab, and unagi.”
Della hummed. “Is it any good?”
“Don’t know. Haven’t tried it yet,” Chloe replied, putting a bit in her mouth. After chewing for a bit and swallowing, she shrugged. “It’s an acquired taste.”
Della chuckled, taking a bite of her burger. “Never been one for trying the local food on adventures. I get there’s something to be gained in the new experiences and all, but I’m more about the thrill.”
Chloe didn’t respond, simply tried to eat the rest of her dragon roll without gagging.
“What about you?” Della suddenly asked. “What’s your favorite part of adventure?”
“I… I’m not really sure,” Chloe replied slowly. “I guess, more than anything, I love that no matter how hard, or tedious, or just plain not worth it the whole journey is, everyone leaves closer than they did when they started.”
“Oh, I know what you mean there,” Della agreed, leaning back in her seat, looking up at the sky. “There were times when I was flying the Cloudslayer that I was afraid Donal and Uncle Scrooge would tear the plane apart before we even got there. But every single time, whenever they saw that treasure, it made the whole journey worth it. Did Uncle Scrooge ever tell you about the time we got these time-traveling jelly beans?”
“He… actually hasn’t told me about any of your guys’ adventures,” Chloe replied.
“Really?” Della asked. “Anyhow, long story short, Donald ended up in a giant cookie. In fact, now that I think of it, a lot of our adventures ended with Donald being used as bait. Should probably apologize to him about that…”
“I guess that’s why he’s always so overprotective of the boys,” Chloe said, laughing. “Well, that and… you… you know…”
“Oh… yeah… that,” Della agreed. “Anyhow! What’s, uh, what’s been your favorite adventure with Uncle Scrooge? If you can even choose a favorite.”
Chloe shrugged. “I guess I’d have to go with Atlantis, our first one. Uncle Scrooge wanted us to wait by the submarine, but Dewey-“
“Rushed right into the traps? Hah! I love that kid,” Della finished. “Although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t severely worried about his safety ninety percent of the time.”
“Believe me, you’re not the only one,” Chloe agreed.
Della finished her burger and leaned forward. “I also heard that was his first adventure since… yeah… What- What made him decide to go, do you know?”
“He won’t admit it, but it’s because the boys made a big deal about how big a deal he used to be, and… you can probably put the rest together yourself,” Chloe replied with a smile.
“Ohohoh, I would not wanna be around for that outburst,” Della said, resting her head on her palm.
Chloe laughed. “He tried to put on a diver uniform by himself! If it were anyone else, I’d have fallen over laughing. That adventure, though… it’s also when I saw Uncle Donald again, a-and also started getting to know the boys.”
Della suddenly looked away, rubbing her arm. “E-Ever since I got back, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about everything I put him through. Y-You and Uncle Scrooge too, of course, but-“
“He’s fine,” Chloe interrupted. “He, uh… he did a really good job of raising the boys.”
“I can tell,” Della agreed. “He really earned that vacation.”
The bill came, and was split fifty-fifty, despite Della’s insistence she pay full. They continued to talk until they got to the only clothing store in Duckburg, which was luckily quite large. Della was quick to pick out a number of new outfits and began to model them for an amused Chloe. The highlights of said modeling included an all white tuxedo, a metallic grey vest that matched the shade of her leg, a suit which looked like it belonged in a Broadway musical, and a light blue, casual one piece dress that actually looked quite nice… and that Della hated.
After that ordeal, Chloe quickly found all the clothes her brothers had requested and picked out a few new shirts for herself as well when she met up with Della again.
“That’s all you’re getting? Come on, I thought we came here to get some new outfits!” Della asked. “Like, over there. Isn’t that the kinda jacket you’ve been wanting?”
Chloe looked toward where Della was pointing and saw a dark brown leather button-up jacket. Indeed, she had asked Uncle Scrooge multiple times to buy one for her, saying it would make her look cool on her motorcycle, but he insisted that if she wanted it so bad, she could buy it for herself. But instead, she looked at the handful of clothes she already had and shook her head.
“Nah, maybe another time,” she replied. “We have more than enough already. It’d be a miracle if we could afford that on top of it all.”
“Oh, I’m sure Uncle Scrooge wouldn’t mind us spending a little more,” Della insisted. “And you deserve something for yourself!”
“No, really, I’m fine without it. I-I’ll just get it another time,” Chloe argued, trying to walk toward the cashier, only for Della to step in front of her.
“Hey, sweetie, a-are you okay? I-Is this about…” she quieted to a whisper. “Is this about that guy-“
“No!” Chloe yelled. “Not everything is about that, De- Mom! I just don’t want the stupid jacket, okay?!”
Della blinked and backed away. “Oh… okay. I-I-I mean it’s your choice and all, just thought you’d like it.”
Chloe stopped and looked down at the clothes in her hand and back at the jacket. “Oh, who am I kidding, I’m never gonna get another chance.”
She handed the clothes to Della and made for the jacket, grabbing it at the same time as another customer, a hound who was… much, much taller than Chloe.
“I think I grabbed this first, little lady,” he slurred almost unintelligibly.
Chloe only stared for a few seconds, her grip on the jacket tightening.
“I said,” the hound barked, pulling the jacket out of Chloe’s grip, “this is mine!”
“Hey! What’s the big idea here?!” Della asked angrily, storming over to the scene. “This is my daughter’s jacket!”
“Your daughter’s? Shouldn’t she be wearing skirts or dresses or whatever?” the hound joked.
Della fumed and growled. “How dare you speak to her like that?! Gimme that jacket!”
Chloe stepped back and put a hand on Della’s shoulder. “M-Mom, it’s okay, let’s just go-“
“No! He can’t speak to you like that!” Della argued, her glare at the hound hardening as she grabbed the jacket. “You will give us that jacket, and you will apologize to her, or so help me, I will-!”
“Please, Mom, can we just go home?” Chloe pleaded as she pulled on Della’s sweater.
“Give. Me. This. Jacket. Now!” Della all but yelled as her game of tug-of-war with the hound continued.
At least until something in Chloe snapped, causing her to step in front of Della and put her away from the hound. “Della, stop!”
The hound rolled his eyes and walked away as Chloe glared at Della.
“I-I thought you wanted it, s-so I-“ Della stuttered.
“Ugh! It doesn’t matter! Let’s just go home already!” Chloe interrupted, storming out of the store.
The car ride back up Killmotor Hill tense to say the least. Chloe wouldn’t stop staring out her window, and Della was too afraid to try to make conversation. It wasn’t until she saw the manor come into view that she cleared her throat.
“So… are we gonna talk about-“ she started before getting interrupted again.
“No, we’re not,” Chloe said with an attitude that seemed to trigger something in Della, causing her to pull over to the side of the road.
“Okay, that’s it. What’s wrong? Was it something I did? Because I am tired of walking on eggshells with you!” Della said.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter, okay? It was just a stupid jacket.”
“I’m not talking about the jacket! I’m talking about us! Our relationship!” Della yelled before taking a deep breath. “It just feels like every time we start to make some progress and begin to get along, you shut me out.”
“What do you want me to do? Just… forgive you for everything? For leaving me when I was three for an adventure that almost killed you? For causing a riff so big that I didn’t get to meet my brothers until they were ten?” Chloe asked, trying to hold back tears. “For… For just coming back and thinking everything could go back to the way things were, w-without thinking that maybe I was finally happy with my family finally all together, a-and I didn’t wanna deal with more change? Is that what you wanted?”
Della felt her own eyes fill with tears. “I… I had no idea you still felt that way. I… of course I want you to forgive me, but not… not if it would hurt that much. I… Tell me, please. What can I do to make you forgive me? What… What can I do to make you stop hating me?”
“I don’t know, okay?!” Chloe shouted back, tears finally running down her face. “I’m just so tired of being mad at you, and I want to forgive you, but… every time you try to be my mother, I just can’t help but get so angry.”
“Maybe… Maybe we’re just not cut out to be mother and daughter then, not if it hurts this much,” Della said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I-I’m still figuring out how to be a mother, a-and you’re definitely not used to having one. Just… please, Chloe. Please forgive me. I-I just can’t have you mad at me anymore, e-even if you have to call me Della, o-or can’t see me as your mom.”
“I… I-I… I forgive you, Della,” Chloe stammered. “God, that felt so good…”
Della squeezed her eyes shut and held onto Chloe’s arm, Chloe doing the same.
She felt lighter somehow, like something had finally been taken off her shoulders. As she sat in the car, crying, she felt good for what felt like the first time in months.