The day after they visited Scrooge, Fenton came home from work and knocked on Ava's bedroom door. She opened it, and Fenton asked, "I'm home, Ava. Whatcha' doing?"

"Cleaning your room."

"It's your room now. Anyway, I'm going on a date with my girlfriend tonight, and I want you to meet her."

"You want me to come along?" Ava asked, skeptically.

"Yeah!"

"Mr. Crackshell, that's weird."

Fenton giggled. "No, it's not. I just want the two most important people in my life to meet in person. This would be the perfect opportunity."

"Okay, I guess."

Smiling, Fenton said, "You'll love Gandra Dee! She's a wonderful woman! I think you two will get along really well."

Ava wasn't so sure. She was a stranger in this new and unfamiliar town, living with a father she never knew about. He seemed nice enough...too nice. He had already bought her things to redecorate the bedroom, and since he didn't know what she liked, he got her a little bit of everything: posters, paintings, bed sets in different colors, fabrics, and patterns, flowers and vases, knick-knacks, a jewelry box, and even a new stereo and dozens of cassette tapes of different genres of music.

Getting these gifts was quite a change from when she lived with her mother, who only got her what she absolutely needed most of the time. Both extremes made Ava feel uncomfortable. At least Fenton meant well.

Fenton also wanted to introduce Ava to everyone in town that he knew, which were a lot of people. She had already met a few of those people, and to every one of them, he had introduced her with a big smile and pride in his voice, which she didn't understand. She hadn't done anything special to deserve that warmth, so she simply shunned it.

Reluctantly, Ava went outside when Fenton called out that the cab was there. He was already by the cab, stuffing a large heart-shaped box of chocolates and dozens of flower bouquets inside of it.

"Are we going to fit with all that stuff in there?" Ava asked, skeptically.

"No problem!" Fenton answered, struggling to push the items inside the car. "If I have to, I'll ride on the roof."

Finally, he got the gifts in the cab, and miraculously, the two of them were able to get inside and ride away with few problems, except for the flowers tickling the cab driver's ear and the limited space to move around.

Once the cab stopped in front of a house, Ava got out as quickly as she could, stretching. Fenton managed to carry the chocolates and flowers in both arms, and they walked up to the front door. Fenton struggled to ring the doorbell, so Ava did it.

Gandra Dee opened the door, and the numerous gifts were the first things she saw. Seeing them didn't seem to make her happy, however, and she greeted Fenton by heaving a heavy sigh.

"Hello, my little chickadee!" Fenton exclaimed behind the giant box of chocolates. "These are for you." He handed his girlfriend all of the items.

"Fenton, you shouldn't have," Gandra stated, struggling to hold the presents.

"Nothing is too good for you, my delicate flower!"

"Won't you come in?" The woman invited them, staggering inside with the gifts. She immediately set them down on the living room floor of her house, exhausted. Then, she sat on the couch, while Fenton sat by her. Ava stayed standing.

"Gandra, I've been waiting for this moment for more than a week. I'd like you to meet my daughter, Ava."

Fenton had informed Gandra of Ava's existence while they were in New Stork, but this was the first time they were actually meeting. Gandra said, "Hello, Ava."

"Hello, Ms. Dee."

"See? You're friends already!" Fenton said, joyfully.

"Mm, hm," Gandra stated. "Fenton, didn't you say you just found out you had a child?"

"Yep!"

"I see."

Ava became more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. It was obvious to her that Gandra didn't enjoy her presence, and she felt unwanted and out-of-place there. Ava felt that way everywhere else she had gone in Duckburg so far, but the feelings were much more intense right now.

Fenton didn't seem to notice the tension in the air and continued chatting, pleasantly. "I'm so happy you two have gotten to meet. I've got an idea. Why don't we all go to the park on Saturday and have a picnic? We could bring sandwiches and chips and dip and vegetables and cookies and-"

"Fenton," Gandra interrupted, "could we go into the kitchen for a moment?"

"The kitchen? Sure, but I thought we were eating at the restaurant."

Gandra rolled her eyes and took his hand. They went into the kitchen while Ava stayed in the living room.

The preteen waited for what seemed like forever before Fenton returned, alone. His entire demeanor had changed, right down to his posture. His shoulders slouched, and he held back tears. "Come on, Ava. We're going home."

Ava knew something bad had happened but didn't want to bring it up until they got home. "What did she say?" she asked Fenton when they went inside.

"Gandra broke up with me," Fenton answered, sighing, sadly. He sat on the couch with his head in his hands.

Ava became sick to her stomach. "I'm sorry," she told him in a quiet voice.

Fenton raised his head. "It's not your fault, sweetheart," he assured her. "I guess we just weren't meant to be."

Ava didn't want to ask anymore questions. She couldn't even bear to look at Fenton, so she just went to the bedroom for the rest of the night.