DuckTales: As We Grow Older...

11

The boys didn't leave their room for days. Donald would often call them to eat something, but their bedroom door remained locked. He would occasionally attempt to listen to their muffled conversations, but they must notice his shadow by the door, because the sounds immediately stop when he gets close.

It had been about a week after he grounded them that he made the attempt to persuade them to get out of their room. He knocked on the door.

"Boys, you can come out now, you're not grounded anymore."

Silence.

"Boys, come on out, please. I'm not mad."

Still silence. Donald proceeded to kick down the door before Huey opened it. He just barely missed his head, and Huey's hat was knocked off.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Donald said hurriedly.

"You're fine," Huey said, picking up his hat.

"Boys, when I said you were grounded, I didn't mean 'stay locked up in your room.'"

"That's what you usually meant, all those other times when we pulled pranks on you or tricked you into doing something...or asked about Mom and Dad too many times in one day."

"We just want to know about Mom, why is it so wrong to be curious?" Dewey asked.

"She's somewhere else, just accept that," Donald said. "I honestly don't know where she is, exactly, I just know she works in another place, far away. She'll come back."

"When?"

"Next year, maybe, if she doesn't keep getting called back for more work. I promise you, she'll return someday."

"What if she doesn't?"

"Trust me, she will. I'll call her later today and tell her to come back soon."

"Can we call her, too?"

Louie grabbed Donald's phone from his hoodie pocket. He went through the contacts before Donald took it back. He went through the contacts himself and dialed a number. He held it to the triplets.

"Hello, who is this?" a woman's voice said.

"Mom, it's us," Dewey said. "Huey, Dewey, and Louie!"

"Who's calling me?"

"Your triplets, of course! When are you coming home?"

"Who is this? I don't remember having triplets!"

"Maybe you forgot a bit, Mom?" Louie said.

"Oh......."

There was a static-y sound from the woman's end. It sounded like she was saying "Why the heck do I have 'Quack Master's Sailor' in my contacts, who the heck is this?" However, the triplets couldn't make out what she said.

"Look, kiddos, I'll come home in a while, I have tons of work to do, you'll just have to wait a few...months, because I have tons of paperwork and grown-up things to do. I'll see you later, but only if you don't call me again; that'll only slow down my work, and I won't be able to come home, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," the triplets chirruped in unison, and they hung up.

"Mom's coming home soon!" they sang, dancing around and hugging each other.

"Yes, but only if you don't disturb her," Donald said. "Now, will you stop asking about your mom now that you know she's okay?"

"Yeah!"