Sodor's New Worker

Duck and the Harsh Truth

   Duck had known what was going on longer than any engine on the island had. She was crystal clear with him about what was going on. He knew all too well how important this information was, and had he told those at Tidmouth the truth from the beginning, he'd jeopardize her trust in him and possibly the rest of the island. The same went with the rest of the Little Western when she eventually told them all. They swore to secrecy, to not tell anyone else, and that was that. 

  Now that the secret was out, the Pannier now had to adjust to dating Maddy. Even if he knew the whole time, she was an entirely different person. Bonnie had different interests than Maddy, and while some were certainly the same, there was no way for Duck to know which was which. He knew her, but he didn't know her. Before the entire fiasco happened, she wasn't around the Little Western much. Of course he still loved her either way, but going along with a lie for so long wasn't something he could just change over night.

   The only thing he knew for certain is that Maddy didn't want a public presence, so her time as a music artist was over. She had donated or packed away all the equipment. He never argued, it was her choice, not his. That, however didn't stop her from putting on her own private concerts for him. She knew he liked hearing her voice and wasn't going to stop that any time soon. No matter who she was, she knew she loved Duck. Unfortunately for Duck.......he still knew little about what Maddy actually liked. Besides cats, she was very open about that when she brought her cat Snickerdoodle from Tidmouth Sheds. 

"So...you want to go on a date with her...." Oliver mused. "But you have no idea where..."

"Not a clue. Just because Bonnie liked one spot doesn't mean that Maddy will."

"Well how does that work? They're the same person.."

"May I remind you how committed she was to the bit of having no connection with her former self? If Maddy likes red, Bonnie likes blue. Bonnie likes spring, Maddy likes winter. That is how that works, Oliver."

"Well," he huffed. "Pardon me for not knowing that. Why can't you just ask her what she's like?"

"Do you listen to yourself?" Duck sighed. "That's silly, almost insensitive. 'Hey anwyl, I know nothing about you now that the cat's out of the bag. What do you really like?'"

   Rolling his eyes at the absurdity of the situation, Oliver slowly came to the conclusion that none of this was his problem, but he knew exactly how to make it someone else's problem.

"Ask someone who does know. Just because she doesn't associate herself with the engines at Tidmouth doesn't mean you can't. That lot knows her better than any of us do."

"I'm not asking James about his ex-wife."

"I did not say James, Duck!" Oliver laughed. "I said someone at Tidmouth!!"

"Well who else would know Maddy better than her own ex-husband?"

"Oh, I don't know.." Oliver knowingly hummed. "Maybe Nate? I'm positive that he knows things about Maddy that not even James knows about."

"...Do I have to talk to Nate?" Duck whined. 

"Only if you want to know the real woman you're dating."

"Of course I know her!" he snapped. "I...think."

"You and I know damn well that all you know about Maddy isn't about Maddy. Most of what you know involves Bonnie. While they are technically the same person, that doesn't mean they will share the same interests. We've been over this."

"Maybe I can trial and error this.."

"You are not subjecting her to that. You know more than anyone that she has no patience for bullcrap anymore. Same goes for you."