sup, party people!

“This might have worked twenty years ago, but Della Duck would be forty-five now, if she’s still alive. You should pick a missing person in your age range next time you wanna try to scam a grieving family.” As soon as he said it, though, Louie doubted himself. Would his uncles have even reported Della as a missing person if they knew she had gone into a whole other dimension? He tried to think about that fateful day at the hotel as little as possible, but he couldn’t forget the note she had left, saying that she was going through a portal with no other explanation or goodbye for the babies she was abandoning. It was possible she wasn’t actually on any missing persons list, which meant this imposter would have had to already know about her personally to choose Della Duck to impersonate, in which case she should also know how old Della was. It didn’t make any sense. Louie stayed half-hidden behind his brother, mentally calculating the chances that this woman wasn’t as much a would-be scammer as someone who had lost touch with reality.

Louie’s words echoed as his brother spoke over his shoulder. And that was another point, even if this woman was their mom, she physically couldn’t be due to her looking no more than a few years older than them. For one, he remembered Donald telling them how young their mom was when she had them, and since she definitely hadn’t been that young when she got pregnant, that alone made it impossible for this woman to be her. And secondly, Della was Donald’s twin sister, and their Uncle Donald very clearly wasn’t a man in his twenties anymore. Plus, the fact that not only was Scrooge away on business, but the fact that both their Uncle Donald and Aunt Daisy had recently left the isle on a birthday trip for their uncle as well, leaving the McDuck Manor mostly devoid of anyone who could confirm the truth on who this woman was, didn’t help ease the elder triplet’s suspicion. If anything, Huey crossed his arms at her before speaking with a tone of distrust. “First thing, what he said— you should’ve picked someone more believable if you want us to think you’re Della Duck.” Huey began. “Secondly, this scam would’ve worked best if you showed up when both Dewey and Webby were searching for you, so you’re months too late for that. And thirdly, it’s just us here.”  

On top of that, they mentioned her middle son’s name with another unfamiliar name so casually, but it still didn’t make sense. Her heart sunk at the idea of a little Dewey looking for his mom, still not fully connecting the pieces that he wasn’t little. None of them were. It took Della a moment to process and gather her thoughts. “Okay, who’s Webby and where is Dewey?” She began in an almost demanding tone. She continued, feeling a need to defend herself since they thought she was scamming them. “Look, I know I was gone longer than expected…" Much longer than she truly knew. "I had planned to be back for the boys’ first birthday, but things happened out of my control and I got stuck there and lost track of time…" Literally. "I have their presents with me and everything!” She motioned to the raggedy bag that rested on her back for emphasis. “I don’t know who either of you are and why you don’t believe me, but you can’t keep me from my family just because I took a little longer to find my way home. I lost my leg in the process, for god's sake!” She was practically in denial, not doing the math or realizing that time may have moved differently where she had gotten stuck — that if they were correct and it had been twenty years, two-thirds of her boys were standing face-to-face with her. She repeated her question again more sternly. “Now tell me where my sons are and when my brother and uncle are coming back.”

It was weird that she was apparently on a first name basis with his uncles, though, without even being certain if they still lived here. So maybe he was a little curious about the stranger on their doorstep…Louie finally looked up from his phone long enough to get a look at the woman. She looked a bit familiar, but in a distant way—like she’d been a side character in some movie he watched a few years back. Maybe she was some second cousin a few times removed that Webby had shown them in explanations of their family tree? He noticed her leg next. Did he recognize her from physical therapy? He didn’t remember seeing anyone with such a makeshift-looking prosthesis—his own, the best money could afford thanks to Uncle Scrooge, stood out in stark comparison. The fact that it was her left leg and his right made them almost a clumsy mirror-image of one another as they stood across the threshold from each other. Who was she?

At her sudden greeting, Huey stared at her with sheer confusion, but then that transformed into curiosity once she took note of the both of them before questioning if either their uncles was home. That confused Huey even further. It was one thing for her to know this was where his Uncle Scrooge lived— everyone within the isle knew this was the McDuck Manor, but it was the way she formed her question that confused him the most. ‘They still lived here, right?’ Who was this woman, and what connection to their uncles did she have? Taking a step towards the side, his body shielding Louie behind him before Huey inspected her. Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn’t figure out why. Had they seen her before? Was she an old colleague of Uncle Donald’s back when he tried working for an office? But how did she know their Uncle Scrooge if she was? Maybe she conducted a past business deal with him? Somehow, neither of those suggestions felt right to Huey, which is why he instead cocked his head at the woman. “You’re at the right house….” He slowly responded, before narrowing his eyes at her. “I’m sorry, but who are you and how do you know them?” 

Her eyes lit up as the second stranger confirmed she was at the right house. Hallelujah! Still, it didn’t explain who these two were, especially answering the door instead of her brother or uncle. Perhaps they were babysitting the triplets for them while they were busy… That would explain who they were, why they wouldn’t know who she was, and why she didn’t know them! What else could possibly explain this strange interaction? “Great, are they here? Does that mean my boys are here too?” She asked eagerly before she began to answer his own question. “It's me, Della! You know.. the triplets’ mom? Donald’s sister? Please tell me they’re here, I’ve been dying to see them!”

Lemme just be clear

Her