The Runaway Adventures

Chapter 26:Patch's Decision

There was a pause as the runaway puppies continued to glare and growl at Pongo. Pongo stood still and looked down at the four puppies. He tried not to get discouraged by the bad welcome he got from them, and he tried his hardest to smile. "How are you all doing out here?" Pongo asked brightly.

The puppies didn't answer Pongo. Instead, they hurried over to a couch in the middle of the yard with a small hole underneath, and they crawled under the couch into the hole. "We're not going home," Scamp told Pongo fervently. "You can't make us! We'll never leave!"

"Dad, why are you even here?" Patch asked. "I'm not coming home with you. Maybe you got Lucky to come back. But at your place, it's always Lucky this, Lucky that anyway."

"Patch, what do you mean?" Pongo asked.

"You guys always favor Lucky," Patch complained. "You let him get the front spot when watching TV, you carry him when the rest of us have to walk and you didn't even believe it was him who pushed me into the fireplace first!" Patch complained. "He gets away with everything! And I know why you took us to the show. You guys wanted Lucky to be the star once again and just have us be there because we're his brothers and sisters. That's why you paid all that attention bathing him and everything, isn't it? And that's why you blamed me and locked me up in the dark and not him! Well I've had enough. Dad, I just don't belong with you guys. The four of us belong together," Patch indicated to Scamp, Angel, and Danielle. "We all want to stay here, have adventure and fun, and live on our own."

"We don't favor Lucky, we love all of you very much. We try our best, but sometimes we don't see things the same way. I understand that you might get upset at us sometimes," Pongo said gently. "But Patch, if you stay here, well... remember that you'll never be able to see us again. We're going back to London in a couple of days. You'll never be able to see your ninety-eight brothers and sisters..."

"That's the problem," Patch explained to Pongo. "Dad, I just can't be my own puppy at your place. I'm just a number, one of the ninety-nine puppies. I want to be somewhere where I belong, and I found it right here with Scamp, Angel, and Danielle. We're staying here. And we're not leaving."

Pongo then told Patch, "Penny would miss you very much."

"Yeah, well then she shouldn't have betrayed me," Patch told Pongo bitterly. "If she cared about me, she wouldn't have gone with Scamp's mom."

Pongo sighed and shook his head. He then cleared his throat and said, "Look children, your parents..."

"I've had it with my parents!" Scamp shouted. "Every day at my place, it's rules, rules, rules, don't do this, don't do that... and I'm lied to every day!"

"They're not even my family!" Angel told Pongo angrily. "They don't care for me at all! My mama told me all about that Tramp. He broke her heart! And mine too!"

"Your adopted parents care for you like you were their own daughter," Pongo explained to Angel, who just sighed skeptically. "And your mother..."

"Look!" Danielle interrupted. "Why can't you just all leave us alone! We can just have fun here, you know!"

"Well, at home, you can..." Pongo began, but he was interrupted by the gate doors opening again. Entering through the gate was Tramp. He was being closely followed by Lady and Perdita. They all hurried into the yard and joined Pongo, who looked relieved to see them arrive.

"Oh Pongo! I'm afraid we're too late!" Perdita gasped.

"Don't worry Perdy," Pongo told Perdita consolingly. "They're right here under the couch."

"Oh, thank heavens!" Perdita sighed in relief. "Pongo, may I talk to them now?"

"Sure Perdy," Pongo answered, and he moved away from the couch, allowing Perdita to take his place. Perdita nodded gratefully to Pongo, and then she walked over to the couch and bent down to talk to the puppies.