Mi Casa es Su Casa

[El Tirador]

After hours of walking and asking directions, Panchito finally found the home he was searching for. There was the name on the mailbox for all to see: D. Duck.

At last! Though they were great friends, they sometimes went their separate ways for many months at a time without any contact at all. When the travelling Wild West show had brought him to the very brink of the American border, Panchito had suddenly longed to see his old amigo once more.

For this vacquero, the deed followed immediately on the thought. He quit the show, sneaked across the border and worked his way eventually to Duckburg.

The rooster knocked the trail dust from his clothes as best he could before rapping on the front door. Donald seemed to be taking a long time to answer the door. Or was that only the rooster's naturally short attention span?

[Duck Avenger]

Being a superhero had its perks. It also had its detrimental effects. For example, sleep deprivation. Donald Duck found keeping up both his life and the life of his alter ego (the Duck Avenger) more difficult as each day passed. Most of the time, he managed just barely, but some days like today was relentlessly tiresome. Donald felt his energy nearly completely drained, and all he wanted to do was to slip under his bed's blanket and nap until the cows came home.

Donald had changed out of his costume and stored it in the super secret compartment of his closet. No one could ever possibly find it unless they knew it was there, because activating the compartment required a very precise procedure to activate the unlock mechanism.

Satisfied that his costume was safe, Donald changed into his black sailor shirt, jumped on his bed, and--

--he heard the sound of someone rapping on his door. Donald winced with each knock, and was already losing his temper. "Doggone it! It's gettin' that you can't sleep around here!" He sprang out of bed and lumbered downstairs, to the door. He opened it swiftly and was ready to shout at the uninvited guest to go away.

But that wouldn't be any way to treat one of your best friends in the whole word, and a friend you haven't seen in almost a full year. Donald forgot his fatigue and smiled widely. "Panchito! Hey!" He opened his arms to allow a hug. "Well, don't that beat all! I didn't know you were in town!"

In the back of his mind, Donald was thankful that he took care of his Duck Avenger costume before Panchito arrived.

[El Tirador]

Just when Panchito was about to give up, the door was flung open and there stood the familiar duck. "Donald, mi amigo! How you doin', kid?"

The rooster threw his arms around Donald's neck for a suffocating hug, then held his chum at arm's length, the better to look him over. This cycle was repeated three or four times, accompanied by uproarious laughter and an abbreviated explanation of Panchito's recent tour with the travelling wild west show that brought him to the Texas border.

"An' I could no come so close to los Estados Unidos without payeen' a visit to mi compadre!"

Stepping past his friend, Panchito gazed around Donald's middle-class digs with undisguised admiration. "You have done very well for yoursel', amigo."

To a Mexican peasant, Donald's house looked pretty swanky. Panchito hardly dared to touch anything, dropping his saddlebags onto the floor. "I did not know you are so rich as this!"

[Duck Avenger]

It was only too late when Donald was reminded of Panchito's infamous hug. He struggled to breathe for the few seconds he was hugged. He caught his breath when Panchito pulled back to get a good look at Donald. The duck smiled as he listened to his boisterous friend, about his traveling wild west show south of the border. Truthfully, Donald would have liked some kind of warning, but it was hard to stay mad at Panchito. In addition, Panchito was always one to arrive by surprise.

The rooster was impressed with Donald's very humble abode. "Thank you," Donald said while scratching the back of his head. "But I'm not rich. Uncle Scrooge is rich, but not me. I struggle to make ends meet as it is."

It's true. Duck Avenger was paid for his services only very rarely, and thankful monetary tokens of appreciation from rescued victims barely covered the cost of band-aids and bandages. This sad thought only reminded Donald how tired he was. His time with the Dream League, on top of a job which he works too hard for and is paid too little, on top of his demanding relationship with Daisy Duck... it was enough to drive a duck stark raving quackers!!

Donald shook his head to clear his thoughts. "How long are you visiting? Have you found a place to stay while you're here?" He offered his two-person couch to Panchito, before inviting himself to sit down on one end.

[El Tirador]

Panchito only shrugged at the duck's modesty. Where he came from, this was really living high.

As to Donald's other questions:

"Plans?" Planning wasn't exactly his style. "I don' know, amigo, we shall see, no? I do not need anyplace fancy to sleep. Just mi manta...a blanket under the stars."

Panchito regarded his friend with a bright smile, wondering to himself how long it would take Donald to realize there was now a 'Kick Me' sign affixed to his back.

"What I really need is for to find a job. Maybe, amigo, you could show me to the nearest stable, si? I will have a job then muy pronto."

"And then, we will...how you say, paint the city, just like the ol' days! And you can introduce me to some pretty girls, eh?"

As his eyes wandered around the room, they fell suddenly on a framed photo standing on a small table. The vacquero let out a long wolf-whistle, scooping up the picture in both hands. "Caramba! Who is this?" It was a beautiful duck with a long ponytail and a saucy smile.

[Duck Avenger]

Donald had yet to notice the 'Kick Me' sign on his back, and knowing his luck, he probably wouldn't notice it until the worst possible moment.

The American duck, seated on the couch, tried his best to stay fully awake. He barely avoided dozing off twice. The couch wasn't a good idea, so he stood up and yawned as Panchito expressed his desire to find a job in America. "Good luck with that, Panchito. I can barely feed myself in this economy."

Panchito then brought up their past, which fully woke up Donald. Donald didn't want to be reminded of his days with the Three Caballeros before he met Daisy. Only Panchito, José Carioca, and the cute girls below America knew Donald's darkest secret: he used to be a wolf. During his days with the Caballeros, Donald would ogle any and every pretty woman, duck or human, and even chase ladies who didn't have a man. Or maybe they had men and they just weren't there--Donald didn't care about that, only that they were pretty ladies! But as Donald aged and settled back in Duckburg, he dropped this dubious trait, and focused on Daisy... who was sometimes enough to kill the desire to be with as many ladies as possible.

Donald scratched the back of his head as he recalled the memories, and examined the photo that enticed Panchito. "That's Daisy. She's my girlfriend... last time I checked." He added the last part as a whisper. His romantic relationship with Daisy was interesting, to say the least.

[El Tirador]

Donald's girlfriend? That was a let-down; Panchito was hoping it was his sister and his friend would fix them up together. And yet, Don's voice when he spoke her name...it was not the way Panchito would speak of the woman he loved. Maybe there was some trouble between them.

Replacing the photo, the rooster sat himself on the coffeetable, mindless of his spurs, and regarded his American host. "You are lookeen' muy cansado...so tired. Out on the town las' night, no?"

"I tell you what, amigo. Go and sleep it off, an' don' worry about me. I will find the job on my own, an' then we will have plenty of pesos. Jus' look at this!"

Fishing around in his pockets, the rooster came up with a handful of coins which spilled over onto the floor. "You see? An' this is only for singing on the street!"

Panchito's needs were few, and he would support them both, if necessary. After all, what are amigos for?

[Duck Avenger]

Donald's fatigue must have been more blatant than he thought, because Panchito brought it up. The duck rubbed the back of his head for a second time and grinned nervously when his friend asked if Donald was out on the town the previous night. "Uh... you can say that." It wasn't an outright lie to mention everything except, "as Duck Avenger," was it?

The duck was glad to hear Panchito's suggestion to sleep. That's not a bad idea at all! But he, of course, would wait until the rooster was out of the house before he would retire to bed. He watched as his friend emptied his pockets, and a fistful of coins clattered onto the floor. The American smiled, amused. "Not bad! You might wanna look for a job with a higher pay, but singing's not bad on the side. But if you need my help, you know where to find me."

He covered his bill and yawned again, but this time a little differently--it was a bit forced. "How 'bout tomorrow we have lunch together, or breakfast? I'm kinda tired 'cause of last night." Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, he chanted mentally.

[El Tirador]

Donald, it seems, could not stop yawning. Well, you didn't have to hit this rooster over the head with a piano.

"Hokay!" He jumped at the suggestion of lunch. "You go to sleep, an' I will see you mañana!"

With that, Panchito threw his arms once more around Donald's neck in a bone-crushing hug before scooping up all his worldly possessions and heading for the door with a cheery "Adios."

******

It was a very different Panchito who returned to the house many hours later. Not many things could discourage the rooster's natural exuberance, but 6 fruitless hours of job hunting threatened to do just that.

Panchito could do so many things: riding, roping, cliff-diving, bullfighting...he was a first-class vacquero, but sadly, there were not many openings for cowboys in Duckburg. Besides which, so many people asked to see his green card! If he wasn't carful, Panchito might find himself deported by los los Federales.

Not wanting to disturb his friend with sad news, the rooster made his way to the fenced-in back yard, where he quickly built a small fire to cook a can of beans for his supper. Pillowing his head on a saddlebag and rolling himself in his old blanket, Panchito lay for a while gazing at the old familiar stars before drifting off to sleep.

[Duck Avenger]

Donald smiled in relief when Panchito enthusiastically accepted his offer for lunch. "Then it--URK!" He wasn't prepared for an extremely tight hug. "Don't mention it," he said, barely audibly, through his choked throat. His eyes bulged until Panchito released him, and the duck rubbed his sore spots. He watched Panchito leave cheerily, and he waved. "Seeya later!"

Satisfied to hear the door click shut, Donald immediately turned and started for his room. Oh, how his bed was his best friend right now. If Donald was offered either a thousand bucks or just an opportunity to nap on his bed... he would probably take the money. But it'd be close! But, seeing that there was no money to accept, the bed would have to do.

As chance would have it, Donald would inadvertently inspire Panchito to take up a different kind of occupation, in the very near future...