A Wild Goose Chapter 1 - Gladstone
A bottle of Advil rattled to the floor, accidently knocked off its perch on Gladstone’s table. The gander winced at yet another unwelcome noise, a wave of pain barreling through his skull. Gladstone couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a migraine, but of course this morning he had to wake up with one.
If that was the only thing that had gone wrong, maybe this day - no, week - could be salvageable. It was time to accept it. Gladstone’s luck had gone down the drain. The milk had been expired, the car had broken down, he was getting kicked out at the end of the month, and worse of all, Gladstone hadn’t found a 20 dollar bill all week. Living like this was preposterous. Gladstone could hardly go on.
20 minutes later, the gander was sitting in a comfy leather chair across from his uncle, sipping nutmeg tea.
“A curse, you say?” Scrooge frowned. “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.” Gladstone let out a weak laugh. His uncle couldn’t know about him and Magica. There was no way. “Luckily for you, I have just the thing!” The older duck stood up and began rooting through his drawers with a passion, mumbling to himself under his breath.
“Aha!” Catching the light from the window, a silver medallion on a chain was hoisted into the air. “I knew the blasted thing was around here somewhere. Wear this, Gladstone, and your luck will be back in the blink of an eye.”
“Sweet! Thanks, Uncle McMoneybags.” The silver was cold in Gladstone’s grip. He stood up, but was yanked back into the chair by Scrooge’s cane.
“Not so fast, lad. You have some explaining to do.” Gladstone’s stomach dropped.
“But Uncle Scrooge,” he whined, “I haven’t done anything!”
“That seems to be the problem. You don’t do anything. Ever. You just show up and mooch off the rest of us whenever it’s convenient for you. And you owe Louie an apology.”
“The last time I saw you, you put my family in danger - “
“ - which you do all the time - “
“ - hurt Louie’s feelings, and never even uttered so much as a thank you!”
“That doesn’t sound like me,” said Gladstone innocently.
Scrooge sighed. “Do you have a job, son? You mentioned earlier your lease was getting up. Couldn’t pay for it?”
“No!” The gander lied. Gladstone hadn’t worked a day in his life, which he was very proud of. Who needed to when money dropped into his lap? But charming his landlord out of the last few months rent on top of his curse got him kicked out of his apartment.
“In any case, you owe me. I’m a reasonable man, Gladstone. I won’t ask much of you.” Scrooge sat down and met Gladstone’s gaze. “150,00, please.”
“You’re crazy, old man!” The younger fowl shouted. “What even for?”
“The medallion, of course!. It’s very valuable, and I adventured in the dangerous, dark, forests of Germany to get it.”
“Big deal! You almost die like, every day,” Gladstone said, leaning back in his chair.
“How’d you like a job?” Scrooge asked, drumming his fingers on the desk.
Shaking his head, Gladstone replied, “I’ve never worked a day in my life, and I intend to keep it that way.”
Scrooge shrugged. “You’ll just continue to be cursed, I guess. It isn’t my loss.” Rolling his eyes, the gander stood up again, clutching the chain tight in his hands. “No money, no fancy cars, no dinners at The Ritz or dates with models…”
“Fine!” Gladstone snapped, mostly to make his uncle shut up. “I’ll go be an accountant like Donald or something. Is that what you want me to say?”
“Don’t use that tone with me, young man. I happen to have a position for you - confidential, of course - and I happen to know for a fact I can get you the job.”
Leaning forward in the chair, the goose said, “tell me more.”
“Well, I do happen to fund a number of organizations, as you know.”
“Actually, I don’t know.” Thinking about it, Gladstone really didn’t know that much about his Uncle Scrooge. Growing up, Gladstone lived with his Grandma Elvira and cousin Fethry. Although Della and Donald visited often, Scrooge rarely accompanied them.
“Anyway,” the older duck continued briskly, “in the past, I’ve given money to the government in exchange to gain access to a particular department.”
“Is that allowed?” Gladstone asked, raising an eyebrow.
Scrooge shrugged. “I suppose if it was such a problem, someone would have stopped me. Have you heard of the TSM wing?”
“The time travel one? That’s fake!”
“In that case, I’d like to know who I’m paying monthly, lad.”
“But...what do you get out of it? Reading files?”
At that, Scrooge looked slightly offended. “Actually, yes. And priceless artifacts, too. Things you couldn’t even imagine exist.A position opened up recently, and I think you should try out for it.”
“Uhh….” Scrooge frowned. “I’m not exactly clear on that, but I suppose you’d find out at the interview. Are you interested?”
“Can I have the medallion?” Gladstone asked.
“Pay me back for it,” said Scrooge. “And I’ll get you the interview.”
“You want your luck, don’t you? It’ll be a breeze.”
“Well…” Gladstone pondered for a moment. He did want to be lucky again, but work? He’d never worked! And yet, at the same time, it probably wasn’t much longer until something really bad happened that typically his fortune could save him from. He was backed against a wall here. Slipping the amulet’s chain over his head, Gladstone felt he was being submerged in relief like warm water, a weight lifting off his shoulders. Scrooge was right. His luck was back. “Fine,” he grumbled, “I guess. If it’s the only way.”
“It is,” Scrooge said. “Wear for a week, and don’t take it off before then.”
Nodding, Gladstone touched the chain. He would be fine. How long would it take to make 150,000 dollars? Besides, he was the luckiest duck in the world.
