Chapter 11 – Dewey the Dad
Scrooge sat in the tub of warm water. The temperature is excellent, but because of the situation, Scrooge still feels out of sorts. In the other room, he can hear Dewey sounding a little frustrated now. Apparently, the kids won't stop jumping on the bed while he's trying to put on the fresh sheets.
"Turbo, I said get down!"
"Oh, come on, Tessa, not you too!"
"Guys, stop that! I want to finish putting on the top sheet!"
The billionaire can't help but chuckle. It would seem the shoe is on the other webbed foot for his nephew. The irony of Dewey being the 'Uncle Donald' it's too perfect. Speaking of Donald, Scrooge knows that he would get a kick out of Dewey's predicament right now.
"That does it! You guys are in trouble, now!"
Scrooge can only imagine the comical scene because it sounds like Dewey is trying to catch the twins.
"Ha! Gotcha ya!" Dewey cries out in victory. He successfully ties the twins up in the old sheets before he gets up to brush his hands together.
"Arg, let us out, dad!" Turbo whines in a cranky tone.
"Yeah, please, daddy!" Tessa adds with a sad pout.
"No, not until I finish making the bed." Their father replies. He does as promises and works on tucking the sheets around the mattress corners.
Turbo lets out a frustrated growl, which catches Dewey's attention.
"That's enough!" Dewey warns.
Again, the duckling growls like he's being tormented.
"I said enough, Turbo." The young dad growls back. "Look, I'm done, okay? Are you happy now?"
"No," the little boy cries.
"Seriously, I can't do this with you right now. Come one, let's go."
Eventually, the scene seems to have calmed down some. Scrooge once again is stuck in his thoughts. He brings his arm up to lean against the frame of the tub. He quickly realizes his hand is brushing against the nob to control the jet streams. Curiosity gets the better of him, and so the elder turns the dial.
The sensation of bubbles blowing up against his back starts out feeling odd but soon turns relaxing as Scrooge lets out a sigh of contentment. Dewey's right; this is an excellent way to release stress. He starts to lean back and closes his eyes to immerse himself at the moment fully.
However, the moment didn't last long. A light tap on the door brought Scrooge back to reality.
"Uncle Scrooge," Dewey speaks softly from the other side of the closed barrier. "How are you doing in there?"
"Fine, fine," Scrooge replies, desperately trying to get back into the moment.
"Okay, I'm going to start making dinner now," Dewey explains. "When you are ready, feel free to put on the clean clothes I laid out for you. Also, if you want, you can put your jacket on top of the washer, and I'll get that clean for you later."
"Sounds good," Scrooge nods approvingly but reminds himself he's not in the mansion and adds, "Thanks, Dewey."
There is no actual response, but Scrooge thought he heard a muffled version of 'you're welcome.'
Fifteen minutes later, Scrooge feels he spent enough time in the tub. Apart from him, he wanted to stay longer, but he is also starting to feel hungry. The thought of something to eat brings him out of the tub and dress in the borrowed clothes.
The pajama button top is a comfortable plaid with red, green, and yellow. The housecoat fits similarly to his red and gold one back home, but it's a blue and pale yellow instead. Looking down at his red and black jacket, Scrooge realizes that it is a bit on the dirty side.
Following Dewey's advice, the elder takes his jacket as he walks out of the master bathroom. He reaches the hidden laundry closet down the hall and sees the sliding door is already open, along with the old sheets and a few of the kids' clothes piled on top of the machines. Scrooge tosses his jacket on top of the pile before making his way to the end of the hall.
In the living area, the twins are watching a cartoon while Dewey is in the kitchen. He's boiling some soup while preparing some grilled cheese sandwiches.
"So, you cook too, huh?" Scrooge smirks.
Dewey first turns his head in surprise but relaxes when it's only his uncle.
"I'm no chief, Uncle. We're only soup and sandwiches. Hope that is okay?" He asks, feeling somewhat insecure about what his elder might think of his lack of skills in the kitchen.
Scrooge smiles; he's so hungry right now that anything sounds like a perfect meal. In fact, soup and sandwiches are what he would enjoy at any given time.
"That sounds lovely, Lad." He says, taking in a deep breath to smell the food. "So, huh, when is it ready?" He asks.
"About five minutes," Dewey answers, focusing more on stirring the soup.
"Very good," Scrooge nodding and looking forward to the meal. He walks over to the dining area and finds a seat at the table.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
During dinner, Scrooge watches Dewey focusing a lot on his kids rather than eating himself. He makes sure each child has enough crackers in their soup and cuts their sandwiches to their liking.
It is defiantly a different side to Dewey Scrooge never expected.
Turbo goes to reach for his glass of milk, but it ends up tipping and spilling over half the table. To Scrooge's surprise, Dewey seems prepared for this. The young father picks up a cloth he had sat beside him and quickly dabs the white liquid.
"It's okay, buddy. I got this." He assures his son.
"I want more." Turbo pouts.
"I'll get you more, Mr. Cranky Pants. Just let me clean this up, first." Dewey grumbles.
Scrooge takes another bite of his grilled cheese sandwich before scooping another spoonful of his soup.
"Everything alright, Uncle Scrooge?" Dewey asks.
The elder looks up to see a worried expression on Dewey's face. The young duck is out of his seat up to get a fresh glass of milk for his son. Scrooge realizes he has been reticent since he started eating.
"Everything is fine, Laddie." He says before picking up the other half of his sandwich and taking a bit out of it.
The twins start giggling and chanting the word 'Laddie.' Obviously believing it to be the funniest thing they've heard at this moment. The twins are so cute that both Dewey and Scrooge join in the joke.
"Yeah, that is a funny word, isn't kids?" Dewey chuckles as he hands his son more milk.
Now that his kids finally have everything they need to finish their meal, Dewey starts on his. The majority of the rest of dinner is eaten in silence.
A few minutes later, the kids took the last bite of their sandwich and finished most of their soups.
"Are you guys done?" He asks before taking a bit of his cold sandwich.
"Uh-huh," the two sing in unison.
"Alright, you can watch one more cartoon while your uncle and I finish our dinner," Dewey suggests.
"Okay," the twins chirp before being excused from the table.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Thirty minutes later, the kids are in their room playing. Meanwhile, Dewey is cleaning up the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. Scrooge still is sitting at the table in thought. He is still in awe of what has happened and the changes his family has gone through. The most important thing on his mind is how will he beat Magica and how will he get his fortune restored? Sure, Dewey mentioned he saved at least a third of it, but will it be enough to not only rebuild Duckburg and his company?
It is at that very moment that Scrooge wonders about Dewey's business. In his experience, the way his company is being run won't earn enough in the long run. Perhaps his nephew wouldn't mind his help? Scrooge looks up at the younger duck as he is rinsing off another plate.
"You know, Dewey, I was just thinking." The elder starts to speak.
"Hm," the younger duck hummed, acknowledging his uncle's voice.
"Perhaps I could help you out in your business – start making more of a profit. Now, I have a few ideas." Scrooge suggests.
Dewey's eyes widen before he slams the dishwasher door. He turns to face his uncle.
"No," he says firmly. "Just, no!"
"I dinnae understand," Scrooge responds in an irritated tone. "You got this company, not to mention a family to support." He adds, addressing the kids in the next room. "Don't ya want to invest into their future?"
"Uncle Scrooge, you don't get it." Dewey shakes his head. "I'm trying to keep a low profile and to survive at the same time. That's all I have been doing the last fifteen years, is surviving! Besides, treasure hunting as 'L'Orange' earns a big enough profit to live and support the company."
In the other room, the kids playing starts turning aggressive. Even though Dewey can hear his kids, he is finding himself in a heated debate with his uncle at the moment.
"Survive? What does your persona have to do with your future? You expect me to believe you want to pursue that for the rest of your life?" Scrooge cries out in shock.
The elder stands up to be at Dewey's eye level. "You cannae begin to tell me that you don't want your company to grow and make more money. It does have the potential to become something more than it is now. Trust me; I have experience in this sort of thing."
"I don't want it to become more than it is. It wasn't even my idea to start a business in the first place." Dewey briefly froze upon saying that.
Again, Dewey frowns. Just by admitting the company wasn't his idea makes him remember the one person that did. He instantly shakes himself back and adds, "I honestly don't expect you to understand."
"But why?" Scrooge is frustrated in all of this.
The kids in the other room start getting louder as their aggressive playing starts turning into a full-on fight.
"Because Magica is probably still searching for the Dime. If I start attracting attention as Dewey Duck, then the word might go all the way to Duckburg. I don't want to take that chance. What if Magica figures out I'm still alive? She will then conclude that I still have the Dime. Not only will she come after me, but she might go after my kids too." Dewey quickly glances to the hall. His kids are now screaming at each other, and the sound of objects, probably their toys, is being thrown.
"Speaking of my kids, I really need to go take care of that!" He shouts before storming towards the room.
Scrooge is in brief shock. He can tell by the tone of Dewey's voice and his words that he's terrified. He reminds himself that Dewey had to live out in the real world all on his own. However, that shouldn't deter him from building a more secure future for his family.
Curiosity leads him to sneak over and eavesdrop on the conversation Dewey is having with his kids.
"Guys, guys, stop this fighting right now!" Dewey demands.
"Turbo started it!" Tessa insisted with tears running down her cheeks.
"Did not you stupid," Turbo spewed back.
"Don't call your sister stupid," Dewey defended his daughter. "That's not cool. You've been in a mood all night. What is going on with you?"
Turbo angrily picks up one of his toys and throws it across the room, nearly hitting Dewey in the process.
Dewey is near the boiling point of his patience, so the young father places his fists on his hips and glares down at his son.
"Turbo, you do not throw things when you are angry. Use your words!" He insists on the hot-tempered child. "Now, tell me what's wrong!"
The boy is so furious he is on the brink of tears. He starts pointing to the toy he threw before speaking.
"Gizmoduck promised to fight the bad guy, but he wasn't here. He lied and didn't keep his promise! And Tessa is dumb because she rather play with her Prancing Ponies!" Turbo accuses.
"I am not dumb; you're dumb!" Tessa cries.
Dewey analyses what his son said; he scrunches up his eyebrows as he comes to a disturbing conclusion. With a heavy sigh, he lowers himself to his knees, bringing him at the boy's level. Dewey reaches his hand out to Turbo's shoulder. Turbo refuses to look up, so he glares down at the floor.
"It's not Gizmoduck or your sister you are mad at, is it?" He says softly. "It's really me you're mad at."
Turbo eventually shifts his gaze up to his father. His eyes shimmer with guilty emotion.
"I said I was going to be back yesterday, and I wasn't. I promised we would go to the Ice Capades, but we missed it because of my work. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to break my promise." Dewey explains.
The young boy turns his whole body towards his dad, showing Dewey he has his full attention. Tessa moves closer to her father as well.
"Sometimes work gets in the way of what's more important, and what's important to me are you guys." He says, gliding his hands down either side of his son's head, much like how his mother used to do to him and his brothers.
"You guys are the greatest treasures of my life. Don't you ever forget that," Dewey adds. He starts pulling both of his children in for a genuine hug.
"Daddy, I'm sorry." Turbo sobs.
"I know you are, buddy," Dewey says soothingly. "Sometimes life isn't fair, is it?"
"Uh-huh," the little boy agrees.
Hearing the way Dewey talks to his kids makes Scrooge realize more now than ever that all he's doing is protecting his family. The alter ego he portrays as the pirate Duke L'Orange is a method to protect his identity.
"Come on; it's time to get ready for bed." Dewey finally announces.
"Are you going to read the next chapter of 'Adventures of Duckaberry Finn'?" Tessa asks with hopeful glee.
"Of course, we just have to know if Duckaberry will successfully rescue his friend or not." Dewey answers.
Scrooge doesn't want to get caught eavesdropping, so he quickly sneaks into the living area and takes a seat in the armchair. The Scottish billionaire sits until Dewey finishes putting his kids to bed. Scrooge defiantly feels he should apologize.