Thank you all for your patience! Life has been knocking hard lately, so it was difficult to write this.
CHAPTER TWO
"My-my what?" I asked. Did he just say what I thought he said?
"Yer uncle, lad. I'm yer uncle. You can call me Uncle Scrooge." The duck said, looking a little pleased for some reason.
I wasn't sure what to think. This duck was...my uncle? All I had ever known were Ratmeat and Crazyhair, and I had only just now realized they weren't even related. And then the duck in front of me...
"Now Huey," I heard him say, "You've been missing from your family ever since ya were kidnapped, many years ago. I've only just now tracked ye down."
I was listening very carefully now.
"Your legal guardian is yer Uncle Donald. Donald Duck." The duck, er, Scrooge McDuck, said. "That makes you Huey Duck."
"Duck." I repeated. It sounded good.
"Donald's been responsible for you and your brothers ever since ye were wee babes."
"Wow."
Wait.
"Did you say brothers? I have brothers?!" I was so surprised by this that I started using my hands to wring the sealtbelt I was wearing, like it was laundry.
"Yes." Scrooge said patiently, "You have two brothers, Dewey and Louie. And ya all look alike, because you are triplets."
"Tr-triplets?"
This was too much. Way, way too much!
"Aye," Scrooge said, "I'm sure they'll be glad ta see you again. It's been a long time."
Y-yeah. So long that I don't even know them.
I slunk down in my seat. This was really...a lot to take in, wasn't it?
Something out the window caught my eye. We were finally out of the mountain, but instead of turning left towards the small town I had known all my life, we turned right. I had never been in this direction before, and all those buildings were brand new. In fact, there was something weird on top of that small one.
"What was that!" I shouted, jumping up. The seatbelt stopped me, so I unbuckled and raced to Scrooge's window to see the strange roof better.
"Now wait just a minute!" Scrooge said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back, "Ya can't just unbuckle while the car is moving, Huey! Now sit down and stay in yer seat!"
He sounded strict, but I could tell right away that he wasn't going to hurt me. I sat down like he wanted but couldn't help shaking with excitement. "I've never been down this road before, Scrooge! What was that?"
"Scrooge?" He said, sounding offended as he buckled me up again, "That's Uncle Scrooge to you, boy. Respect your elders. And that was just a large ice cream cone. It's what the place sells."
"Ice cream cone? I've heard of those! Are they tasty?"
Scrooge looked surprised and for a second I thought my new uncle was angry, but the look quickly passed away and, unlike Ratmeat, he answered my question. "Of course," he said, then after a slight pause, "Driver, pull over. I want tae make a quick stop before we head back to Duckburg."
A few minutes later, Scrooge handed me my first ice cream cone inside the small store.
Mine was chocolate, and Scrooge-er, Uncle Scrooge, got vanilla. I don't think he originally was going to get one, but when I said I didn't know what chocolate or vanilla tasted like, he said we might as well get both so I could taste-test both of them. I don't think the car driver got any ice cream cones, but he seemed to like sitting in the car, so everyone was happy.
The ice cream was really good.
"Now Huey," Uncle Scrooge said, licking his treat, "What do ya like to do for fun?"
"Well," I said, thinking more about the ice cream I was eating than the question, "Mow the lawn, I guess. It beats working in the house most of the time."
"No no no, I'm not talking about chores," Uncle Scrooge said, "What do ya like to do? Play outside, games, marbles, that kind of thing."
"Oh." I said. I hadn't done much of any of that.
"I guess I like to read," I finally answered, after giving the question some careful thought.
The nice lady who used to live down the street taught me how to read and write. Before she moved away, she even gave me two of her books. Ratmeat sold them, though. I really liked that nice lady.
"Good lad!" Uncle Scrooge said, "And did ya have much time ta read?"
"No, not really," I said, "But sometimes, I used to sneak outside and read at night. You know, when the moon was bright enough."
He kept asking me questions, and then surprisingly would let me talk for as long as I wanted. This felt really great. I found myself opening up to him more and more, and by the time we were done eating, I think I told Uncle Scrooge practically everything I knew about myself.
I really liked him. He was the first adult to listen to me this way. And even if he didn't, I was just amazed that he would actually answer my questions when I asked them.
We finished our ice cream and got back into the limo. This time Uncle Scrooge did most of the talking, pointing out many of the things we saw on the road and telling me all about them. This was great because I had been wondering about some of the stuff for a long time, but Ratmeat and Crazyhair would never tell me about them. Whenever I asked them they'd say I could learn about it on tv, but I never did. So now I knew what the pictures on the road signs mean, why the flag on the flagpole sometimes goes all the way up and sometimes only halfway, and a lot of other things. Uncle Scrooge seemed especially interested in buildings and businesses.
Then, suddenly, we were driving through Duckburg.
"Welcome to me home city, lad!" Uncle Scrooge said, gesturing with both arms, "I practically built the place from the ground up. What do ya think?"
What...what? This was a city? It was amazing! I had seen them on tv before, but never like this. There were buildings on top of buildings on top of buildings, and street after street. Coming from the mountains, I had never seen so many buildings or people in my life.
Uncle Scrooge must have been pleased at my reaction, because he started chuckling.
"There's a lot ta do in a city," he said, "You can come visit me here whenever you like."
"Really?" I asked, "Does my new family lives close to you?"
"Well, 'tis a fair distance, but ya can always take the car."
"Really? I can drive?" I asked, getting excited, "I've always wanted to drive! Hey, can we pull over? Can I drive now?"
Uncle Scrooge tapped me on the head with his cane. It wasn't a hit, really. There was no anger or power behind it, but dang, that stung.
What'd I do?
"Where'd you get that idea?" He asked, "You're only ten. Ten year olds cannae drive a car. You'll have ta ride with yer uncle until ya turn old enough."
Okay, whatever. A new family means new rules, I get it.
Then something he said struck me, and I couldn't help unbuckling to go closer to my uncle and face him directly.
"Ack, lad! I've told ye before, buckle up when the car is moving!" Uncle Scrooge said, pushing me back to my seat and buckling the strap.
"I'm ten?" I asked him, "Am I really ten? Is that my age?"
Uncle Scrooge looked me in the eyes. I think I was grinning ear to ear, and maybe that's why he looked a little startled?
"Aye," he said slowly, nodding, "Yer ten."
So, to sum it up, today I got a new uncle, a new family, Ratmeat and Crazyhair are in jail, I ate ice cream and I finally learned my age.
Best. Day. Ever!