…square on the right cheek. Dale, shocked,
needed only one second to realise who had decided to pay a visit. He looked
at her face. The chipmunkmaid had tan fur, with lighter tones on her face
and neck, a maroon nose, and beautiful lavender eyes. To accentuate her
eyes, she wore a long blue dress that was cut to reveal her right leg.
Her ears and tail clearly communicated how happy she was to see him. Dale
asked,
"Clarice?"
"Dale, you old dawg, you've been pumping
up!! And I'm surprised you still remember me, considering your *new* marital
status!"
"Huh?" The other Rangers padded up at this
point.
"'Ey, pally, who's yore friend?" asked
Monterey. Clarice released Dale while he turned and said,
"Guys, this is Clarice Tamiassara. Chip
and me met her several years ago when we still lived in the forest. She
was our 'first crush', you might say. She worked at a night-club, the 'Club
Acorn', but moved on, and so did we." But as Dale said this, no smile appeared
in his face, and his ears and tail remained stationary. True, he was surprised
to be visited by an old friend, and even glad at this point, but the only
emotion in his face was that of surprise. Chip was surprised at both Dale's
lack of emotion *and* this unexpected visit, but before he could even begin
to ponder on either subject, Clarice padded up to *him*, hugged him tightly
and kissed him—
*Very* deeply indeed.
Dale sighed.
It had happened *again*.
*Another* female had come for Chip.
He felt a little pain, but he was getting
used to that now.
Here, however, a strange reaction was triggered
on Gadget's person. Upon seeing this otherwise unknown—*gorgeous*—chipmunkmaid,
who was obviously an old friend of Chip and Dale (*crush*??!!), suddenly
appear out of nowhere, grab Chip and practically shove her tongue down
his throat and cause his ears to lay flat and his tail to vibrate so, every
muscle in Gadget's body tensed, and her paws closed to form pale fists,
and her ears and tail tensed as well. And she herself was wondering what
was suddenly taking control of her. Not that she hadn't seen a kiss like
this before, because she had, but because she was seeing it happen to *Chip*.
It was a very strange feeling, one she could not identify, for she had
never felt it before…
Or had she?
It wasn't anger, for she had no reason
to be angry, since this was Chip's old friend, and because she was obviously
more than happy to see him and Dale again. But then, a vague memory drifted
from the darkest recesses of her mind, a memory that sought to connect
the present emotion to a similar one she experienced years ago. Suddenly
remembering herself as a cub, of going to school and coming back from school,
of her father taking her to and back from it, and how she saw all the other
animals' parents do likewise, but of *only* having her father do so, while
the others had their fathers and/or *mothers* to do that task, the emotions
connected. She vividly remembered that feeling now, only that when she
felt it twelve years ago, she did not know what it was, but it was definitely
something that was present in the pit of her stomach, and it was exactly
what she was feeling now, *twelvefold*. She sought frantically for a label,
a word, an identity for this emotion, but she couldn't find any. She knew
there was a word to what she was feeling, but what was it? Could it be—
Jealousy?
Clarice released Chip, who took thirty
seconds to catch his breath again.
"Clarice, I see you remember Chip," stated
Dale, matter-of-factly, trying to ignore the pain again.
"Oh, come on, darling, how could I ever
forget him? And who are your friends?" Dale thusly did the introductions,
"Clarice, this is Gadget Hackwrench, Monterey
Jack Colby, and our fellow dipterid: Zipper Lightringer." Clarice proceeded
to shake paws with Dale's friends, or so they thought. She held out a digit
for Zipper and gave him a light kiss on the lips, she shook Monterey's
paw vigorously and kissed *his* lips, and she gently shook Gadget's paws
and kissed her cheek. Gadget, for some reason, felt like turning her off,
like an appliance, somehow. Still, she managed to relax her features
"Uh, Clarice!" exclaimed Chip, after catching
his breath and getting his tail under control. "I'm—I'm happy too see you
again, too!! What brings you all the way here from Vegas?"
*Vegas?* thought Gadget. *As in _Las_ Vegas,
Nevada, gambling capital of the world?*
"Oh, well, what else?" she replied, going
over to Dale once again, holding his left paw in both of hers. "I came
here to wish my old friend good luck!!"
"Good luck in what?" asked Dale, looking
at her a trifle confused-like.
"Why, good luck in your marriage, of course!!"
she replied, squeezing his paw a trifle. "Four weeks ago, I was reading
the socials in the *Vegas Furries*—I *always* read the socials, mind you,
you never know *what* they're going to say about you—when I stumbled across
the announcement of my dear old friend Dale, Rescue Ranger, about to be
married!!"
"Well, Clarice—"
"So I told myself, 'Self, you just HAVE
to go to your friend's wedding'."
"Clarice—"
"I mean, after all the good times we had
back upstate, I just HAD to come and share in your joy."
"Clarice—"
"I mean, Gadget honey, you should have
*seen* the way these two hunks looked at me whenever I was on stage. So,
I just couldn't believe that dear old Dale had finally landed himself a
girlfriend, and a bat, too!! She must be something really special."
"Well, she is, but—" She then turned to
him again and continued,
"Oh, Dale, but I'm so sorry I arrived three
weeks late. I mean, I *pleaded* with my agent to let me off for just two
days, but noooooo, he said," with a mocking low voice, "a contract is a
contract, and you have to live up to it," then with her normal squeaky
voice, "and live up to it I did, that no-good—um, well, you know." She
stiffened her ears and tail here, but only for a moment. She relaxed them,
while Dale tried to explain,
"But Clarice—"
"I know, I know, Dale, I know exactly what
happened," she continued, softly holding and patting his left paw.
"You do?"
"Well, of *course* I do, dear! It was all
over the animal press three days later!! I'll tell you, your fiancée
must *truly* love you to have endured that kidnapping. And right before
the wedding, too! Oh, Dale, it must have been awful!!"
"It was, but—"
"And so you postponed the wedding. Hey,
I made it on time anyway! But don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it
if you don't tell my agent where I am right now, ha ha ha!!" She winked
an eye at him.
"Clarice—"
"Say, where *is* your fiancée, anyway—?
OOPS!!" She then whispered, "I'm sorry, guys, I forgot. She's a bat, so
she's asleep right now, right?"
"Clarice—" She then lowered her ears and
tail and slapped her forehead,
"Oh, where are my manners?! I keep calling
her 'your fiancée'! Her name is, uh, what *was* her name?" Seeking
for a name in her hyperactive brain, she raised one ear and recited, "Uh,
Daisy? Forget-me-not? Magnolia? Rose? Lilly? Buttercup?"
"Foxglove."
"Oops! There I go again. So, when *are*
you having the ceremony, toots?" Dale looked at the others, and then he
looked back at his old friend with sadness.
"Clarice, I'm sorry, but you came all the
way here for nothin'. The weddin' wasn't postponed, it was called off."
Clarice's joviality was suddenly truncated when she heard that statement.
"C—called off?"
"Yes. We—broke up shortly after we rescued
her."
"B—broke up?? B—but—why?? From what I read
in the socials, you two were *perfect* for each other!!"
"Clarice, you—just had to be there. And—it
was somethin' I had to do. I'm sorry you came all the way here for nothin',
but I'm glad to see you again," though his face showed otherwise. Clarice,
being suddenly hit with news so shocking as this, did what every self-respecting
female celebrity did in situations like this: She drooped her ears and
tail, broke down in tears, embraced Dale again, and expressed her condolences.
"Oh, Dale—Dale—I'm so sorry for you—!!!
So—sorry—" Gadget calmed down at this point, her questionable feelings
subsiding. Still, for some reason, she thought that this chipmunkmaid was
faking it, somehow. Or maybe it was the celebrity atmosphere about her…
About five minutes later, they were all
sitting on the couch, but it appeared that it was *Dale* who was consoling
*Clarice*.
"Clarice, it's over. Foxglove had to leave,
and I'm sorry you never got the chance to meet her. I'm sorry for all the
trouble you went through to get here, and if there is anythin' we can do
to make it up to you, well—" Clarice looked up at him and sniffed,
"Oh, will you look at me! Here I am, thinking
I'm comforting an old friend, and it turns out he's comforting ME!! I'm
sorry Dale, I really am. But, as long as I'm here, we might as well catch
up from old times. Let's see, the last time I saw you two was about six
years ago, just before my big break in Atlantic City. What have you guys
done in the meantime?" As she dried her tears and raised her ears, Chip
explained to her how after rescuing an injured beaver, he and Dale decided
to follow up on a dream they both had of becoming detectives. He told them
of their time alone, their time with Plato, how they met Monterey, Zipper,
and Gadget, how they met Foxglove afterwards, and how they had helped countless
animals and humans all over the world. She, in turn, told them of the celebrity
life that took off from Atlantic City, and how she made the rounds to Orlando,
Miami, Austin, Nashville, Hollywood, and finally Las Vegas, where she practically
had every male animal drooling whenever she went out on stage. "And tell
me, Chip, I don't suppose you found yourself a dame that could make you
drool more than *I* could?" Chip blushed a trifle.
"Um, well, this job doesn't leave much
time for that, especially since I'm the leader—"
"Oh, nonsense, Chipper, if Dale here almost
landed himself a wife, I'm sure you can, too."
*Hmm. Maybe this chipmunkmaid isn't so
imposing after all,* thought Gadget. But then she saw that Clarice was
batting her LONG eyelashes at Chip. And he, for some reason again, was
not responding. She had to act quickly.
"So, Clarice, are you going back to Las
Vegas, then?"
"Eventually, yes." Gadget quietly sighed
in relief. "But there's another reason why I came to New York." Gadget's
tension arose again. "My agent brought to my attention that there were
a few clubs here that wanted me for several nights, AND that some casting
directors were playing the rounds, too. Hey, I *might* end up in Broadway!!
In fact, Dale, tonight at eight, The Nutshell Club is having an open mike
comedy night! You can have everyone rolling on the floor and wetting themselves—"
"Uh, sorry, Clarice, but being a Rescue
Ranger is kinda hard work, and when we're not solvin' cases, we're usually
lookin' for them. Besides, I—I don't do comedy anymore—"
"You WHAT??" she chattered, lowering her
ears again.
"I don't do comedy anymore. It—it got in
the way of the detective business. I had to change my name, too. I had
to drop Segoleh. I'm now Dale Hastahah." Clarice could not believe her
ears. Never had she heard of such a radical change in name and personality,
ever, not with anyone she knew, at least. "And we *are* kinda busy right
now, so—"
"Uh, Clarice!!" exclaimed Chip. "We'd be
glad to see you at The Nutshell tonight!! After all that's happened here,
we need a break, AND we could use a laugh or two." Chip looked at Dale
with anger and disappointment, while Dale looked at Chip with a you-can-lead-a-horse-to-water
face, and both had their ears down again. Clarice, meanwhile, recovered
a trifle from her previous shock and raised her ears again.
"It's settled, then!! But Dale, are you
sure you don't want to go on stage? I could save a place for you."
"Clarice, I appreciate your help, but,
no thanks, really." She smirked a trifle at him and replied,
"It's your loss, then, honey. Well, I'd
better be getting to The Nutshell myself. I'll see you all there!!" They
stood and she kissed all of them good-bye, making a special emphasis on
Chip, which almost made Gadget's eyes turn yellow. With that, the gorgeous
female chipmunk pranced out the door and left, and for some reason Dale
did not let her out of his sight until the door was closed…