Chapter 23- Reconciliation
The door creaked open, and there, inside, was a bedroom with moth eaten beds and creaking nighttables.
“Oh no!” Perdita gasped sadly. “We’re too late!”
Lady gasped, “They must have done it before we got here.”
“I can’t believe it,” Pongo explained, as he looked through the perimeter of the room, to find that no one was there.
“Maybe… aha!” Tramp exclaimed. “Pidge! They’re hiding under here!”
Lady hurried over, followed closely by Pongo and Perdita, Peg standing slightly behind. Penny and Lucky went under the bed to see them.
There, indeed, under the bed, were the three puppies. They looked bewildered to see their parents.
“Oh darlings, I can’t believe I found you again,” Perdita explained.
“Haha, Patch, you’re here,” Pongo stated happily.
“Want to come home with us, Patch?” Penny asked.
Pongo shook his head. “We have to wait…”
“I want to watch some TV!” Lucky exclaimed.
“We’ll turn it on when we get back to the hotel,” Perdita promised happily.
“Coming, Patch?” Pongo asked.
Patch turned from Scamp and Angel, who buried themselves deeply under the bed, and then he quietly grunted, “Okay then.”
“How could you, Patch?” Scamp asked, horrified.
“Cruella is very dangerous,” Patch explained. “And life with that duchess wasn’t much better. I suppose they like me enough to go out searching for me this far and for this long… I suppose I’ll live their boring life,” Patch stated seriously and somewhat sadly.
“What do you mean by boring?” Perdita asked. “You have a hundred siblings at home, a nice home to live in, a lot of love…”
“But no adventure or excitement,” Patch told her.
“Hey, Patch,” Pongo stated. “It doesn’t need to be like that.”
“Then why has it?” Patch asked simply.
“Hey, listen,” Pongo told Patch quietly, making sure Perdita looked the other way. “We’ve been a bit serious lately… maybe I can, I don’t know… let you explore the neighbood.”
Patch smiled at Pongo, and then he fully emerged from under the bed.
“Come on Scamp, Angel,” Tramp told them.
“Time to go home,” Lady added.
“Never,” Angel stated firmly. “We’re going to break out of here ourselves and without you.”
“Yeah, we already did it once. All you do is lie to us,” Scamp told them fiercely.
“But Scamp, we do care for you,” Lady explained.
“Maybe you do,” Angel scoffed. “But what about your husband?”
“Oh come on,” Tramp asked. “Look, I’m sorry for what I did…”
“Oh? You’re sorry…” Angel told him sarcastically. “Yes… you’re sorry…”
“No really, I am!” Tramp exclaimed.
“You lied to everyone else,” Scamp added. “Why am I any different? You said that we would go down together to the river…”
“Well, I thought we would,” Tramp told Scamp. “But I haven’t been able to find an opportunity yet… your mother would never let me out!”
“No, I probably wouldn’t have,” Lady stated sadly, looking at the ground. “I didn’t trust him,” Lady explained to Scamp. “I was worried about losing your father. But if there is one thing I learned about this trip to find you, it is that your father really cares about me, and I’m sure he does for you also.”
“Trust me,” Tramp told Scamp. “Think of the possibilities and adventures you could have! I’ll open the gate at night sometimes so you can have a night time stroll. How does that sound?”
“Would you really?” Scamp asked, impressed.
Tramp nodded assuredly. “Of course, since I might want to leave myself!”
“Wow, sounds cool!” Scamp stated excitedly. “Okay, I’m coming!”
But just as Scamp emerged from under the bed, Angel, tucked in the back corner of the bed with her face away from the others, stated, “Good bye, tenderfoot. I’m ashamed.”
“But why aren’t you coming?” Scamp asked Angel simply.
“I’d rather die than deal with him again,” Angel stated scathingly toward Tramp. “The way that he hurt my mother with his past…”
Lady abruptly looked at Tramp, “Okay, okay, I’ll talk,” Tramp explained. “We’ve all made mistakes. And I suppose, I uh, dated too many girls and ditched them,” Tramp told Angel. “Once I met Pidge, I’ve been with her ever since. I’ve learned, I promise,” Tramp finished.
“You’ve… learned,” Angel stated suspiciously. “Well… I’m going to go out and live… and… never see… the likes of you again!”
Tramp though, was cut off by a gentle tap on his leg. Looking down, he saw Peg give him an intense look.
“Angel, if you don’t believe me, I can understand,” Tramp explained. “But at least listen.” With that, Peg began to crawl under the bed.
“No,” Angel told him firmly. “I will never…”
“Hiya sweetie,” Peg told her, as she got right up close to her.
Angel abruptly stopped, turned, and then gasped at Peg. “Mama… but I don’t understand…”
“Look, I was smitten with him,” Peg told Angel. “He’s a handsome fellow… but I see that he’s hers now,” she explained to Angel. “And I’m fine with that, really,” Peg drawled. “I got over it.”
“But…” Angel asked, and then Peg stated, “Come on sweetie… why don’t you go find yourself a home? It’s what I wanted to happen to you for ages… life’s miserable being cooped up… if you went back out, you might go to the pound. Look, Tramp and I have moved on,” Peg explained. “So why don’t you come out… and be happy with your boyfriend…”
Peg cried slightly, but then Angel stated, “Mama… you mean…”
“Believe him,” Peg told Angel simply. “And remember I told you so.”
Angel paused, and then reluctantly stood up, and then got out from under the bed, and she stated, “I’m sorry for running off…”
“It’s okay,” Lady told Angel. “But just remember from now on that we always care about you, no matter what you might think. We’re not like Buster, we are your family…and we’ll be there for you.”
Angel looked, slightly teary-eyed at Lady and Tramp, and then to Scamp and Peg. Then, she looked down, nodded, and developed a little smile.
The door creaked open, and there, inside, was a bedroom with moth eaten beds and creaking nighttables.
“Oh no!” Perdita gasped sadly. “We’re too late!”
Lady gasped, “They must have done it before we got here.”
“I can’t believe it,” Pongo explained, as he looked through the perimeter of the room, to find that no one was there.
“Maybe… aha!” Tramp exclaimed. “Pidge! They’re hiding under here!”
Lady hurried over, followed closely by Pongo and Perdita, Peg standing slightly behind. Penny and Lucky went under the bed to see them.
There, indeed, under the bed, were the three puppies. They looked bewildered to see their parents.
“Oh darlings, I can’t believe I found you again,” Perdita explained.
“Haha, Patch, you’re here,” Pongo stated happily.
“Want to come home with us, Patch?” Penny asked.
Pongo shook his head. “We have to wait…”
“I want to watch some TV!” Lucky exclaimed.
“We’ll turn it on when we get back to the hotel,” Perdita promised happily.
“Coming, Patch?” Pongo asked.
Patch turned from Scamp and Angel, who buried themselves deeply under the bed, and then he quietly grunted, “Okay then.”
“How could you, Patch?” Scamp asked, horrified.
“Cruella is very dangerous,” Patch explained. “And life with that duchess wasn’t much better. I suppose they like me enough to go out searching for me this far and for this long… I suppose I’ll live their boring life,” Patch stated seriously and somewhat sadly.
“What do you mean by boring?” Perdita asked. “You have a hundred siblings at home, a nice home to live in, a lot of love…”
“But no adventure or excitement,” Patch told her.
“Hey, Patch,” Pongo stated. “It doesn’t need to be like that.”
“Then why has it?” Patch asked simply.
“Hey, listen,” Pongo told Patch quietly, making sure Perdita looked the other way. “We’ve been a bit serious lately… maybe I can, I don’t know… let you explore the neighbood.”
Patch smiled at Pongo, and then he fully emerged from under the bed.
“Come on Scamp, Angel,” Tramp told them.
“Time to go home,” Lady added.
“Never,” Angel stated firmly. “We’re going to break out of here ourselves and without you.”
“Yeah, we already did it once. All you do is lie to us,” Scamp told them fiercely.
“But Scamp, we do care for you,” Lady explained.
“Maybe you do,” Angel scoffed. “But what about your husband?”
“Oh come on,” Tramp asked. “Look, I’m sorry for what I did…”
“Oh? You’re sorry…” Angel told him sarcastically. “Yes… you’re sorry…”
“No really, I am!” Tramp exclaimed.
“You lied to everyone else,” Scamp added. “Why am I any different? You said that we would go down together to the river…”
“Well, I thought we would,” Tramp told Scamp. “But I haven’t been able to find an opportunity yet… your mother would never let me out!”
“No, I probably wouldn’t have,” Lady stated sadly, looking at the ground. “I didn’t trust him,” Lady explained to Scamp. “I was worried about losing your father. But if there is one thing I learned about this trip to find you, it is that your father really cares about me, and I’m sure he does for you also.”
“Trust me,” Tramp told Scamp. “Think of the possibilities and adventures you could have! I’ll open the gate at night sometimes so you can have a night time stroll. How does that sound?”
“Would you really?” Scamp asked, impressed.
Tramp nodded assuredly. “Of course, since I might want to leave myself!”
“Wow, sounds cool!” Scamp stated excitedly. “Okay, I’m coming!”
But just as Scamp emerged from under the bed, Angel, tucked in the back corner of the bed with her face away from the others, stated, “Good bye, tenderfoot. I’m ashamed.”
“But why aren’t you coming?” Scamp asked Angel simply.
“I’d rather die than deal with him again,” Angel stated scathingly toward Tramp. “The way that he hurt my mother with his past…”
Lady abruptly looked at Tramp, “Okay, okay, I’ll talk,” Tramp explained. “We’ve all made mistakes. And I suppose, I uh, dated too many girls and ditched them,” Tramp told Angel. “Once I met Pidge, I’ve been with her ever since. I’ve learned, I promise,” Tramp finished.
“You’ve… learned,” Angel stated suspiciously. “Well… I’m going to go out and live… and… never see… the likes of you again!”
Tramp though, was cut off by a gentle tap on his leg. Looking down, he saw Peg give him an intense look.
“Angel, if you don’t believe me, I can understand,” Tramp explained. “But at least listen.” With that, Peg began to crawl under the bed.
“No,” Angel told him firmly. “I will never…”
“Hiya sweetie,” Peg told her, as she got right up close to her.
Angel abruptly stopped, turned, and then gasped at Peg. “Mama… but I don’t understand…”
“Look, I was smitten with him,” Peg told Angel. “He’s a handsome fellow… but I see that he’s hers now,” she explained to Angel. “And I’m fine with that, really,” Peg drawled. “I got over it.”
“But…” Angel asked, and then Peg stated, “Come on sweetie… why don’t you go find yourself a home? It’s what I wanted to happen to you for ages… life’s miserable being cooped up… if you went back out, you might go to the pound. Look, Tramp and I have moved on,” Peg explained. “So why don’t you come out… and be happy with your boyfriend…”
Peg cried slightly, but then Angel stated, “Mama… you mean…”
“Believe him,” Peg told Angel simply. “And remember I told you so.”
Angel paused, and then reluctantly stood up, and then got out from under the bed, and she stated, “I’m sorry for running off…”
“It’s okay,” Lady told Angel. “But just remember from now on that we always care about you, no matter what you might think. We’re not like Buster, we are your family…and we’ll be there for you.”
Angel looked, slightly teary-eyed at Lady and Tramp, and then to Scamp and Peg. Then, she looked down, nodded, and developed a little smile.
