Adventure 7½

Disclaimer - I do not own The Three Caballeros or any part of the Walt Disney Company.

Panchito paced the periphery of the room for the tenth time, shouting, "You have to be kidding with me!" His waving arms knocked the sombrero off his head, and he stooped to pick it up, brushing the hat with jerky motions before placing it back on his head. Pacing interrupted, the rooster turned to his friends with his arms crossed and a betrayed look on his face.

Obviously trying not to smile, José admitted from the couch, "No, my friend. I am sorry. Donald and I both finished our Christmas shopping nearly a week ago. We assumed you had as well, or we would have reminded you that the holiday is approaching quickly."

Sitting beside the parrot, Donald did his best to keep a straight face. If there was one thing Panchito couldn't stand, it was shopping. Donald actually agreed with the sentiment, but he had sucked it up and shopped for his friends and family early in the month. The last thing he needed was to somehow be convinced to join his friend for another day wandering a local mall, scavenging for meaningful presents. No, Donald fully intended to spend the day comfortably at home.

Heaving an impressively frustrated sigh when neither of his friends volunteered to join him, Panchito retrieved his house keys and wallet, whistled for Martinez, and left the house, muttering something about true friendship braving all obstacles. Donald started to feel a little guilty about staying behind, but before he could get too worked up, José turned to him excitedly. "Pato Donald! You are thinking what I am thinking, yes?"

Perplexed, Donald stared into his friend's wide eyes for a moment. "…Yes? I- I think so?" José continued staring at him and Donald shook his head. "No. No, I'm not. What are you thinking?"

The parrot smiled widely. "Well, I have found out that Panchito's birthday is this upcoming Monday and I thought it would be nice of us to plan for him to have a surprise birthday party! I know what you are thinking: we just had everyone over for Thanksgiving. You are correct about that, but it does not have to be a big party. I was just thinking that we could invite a couple of characters. Make it a small event so there is not much cleanup…"

Donald stopped paying attention to José's rambling to consider the idea. No wonder José hadn't joined Panchito, even though the parrot loved shopping with a fervor Donald found utterly bizarre. In any case, it would be nice of them to throw Panchito a birthday party. They could invite just a couple of friends. Maybe Pete? Plus, it had been a while since Donald had seen Daisy. It would be great to invite her so they could spend at least a little bit of time together…

He tuned back into José in time for the parrot to cut off. "So, Donald, what do you think? Should I go ahead and plan a party?"

Donald shrugged. "Sure. I mean, we'd celebrate Panchito's birthday either way. It doesn't really matter much to me if there are other people here or not. Was there anyone in particular you wanted to invite?"

José waved away Donald's question. "We have many other things to discuss before we worry about the guest list, my friend."

With a sinking feeling, Donald wondered what exactly he had missed while he had zoned out. What had he agreed to? José began talking about a variety of color schemes and decorations before moving on to cake designs and flavors. When he took a breath after mentioning potential party favors, Donald cut in.

"José? You sound like you've got a pretty good handle on all of this stuff, but do you have a present for Panchito yet? Because I don't. I got him something for Christmas, but I know no one with a birthday near Christmas wants one present to count for both holidays. Have you gotten him anything?"

The parrot's eyes popped open. "No! I had not even thought about that! I have not gotten him a present yet! There is not very much time! We must go shopping immediately!"

Disliking the sudden gleam in his friend's eye, Donald tried to change course again. "But maybe we should wait for a different day. After all, Panchito is at the mall today. How would we explain if he sees us after we made a big deal out of telling him all our shopping was done?"

But José would not be dissuaded. If anything, his smile only got wider. "You are correct! We will need disguises!" Donald groaned. "Oh, Donald. You must admit that we need to find our friend his presents before too much longer. And it cannot wait for a different day. We know he will be at the mall all day, so we can get there, shop, and return home before he even knows we were gone. Go get ready! We leave in half an hour!"

Donald came downstairs. He wasn't much for disguises, so all that he could come up with was a tan shirt, dark sunglasses, and a baseball cap. Maybe it wasn't too late to talk José out of going to the mall…

When Donald turned the corner, he had to stifle a laugh. José stood in the middle of the room, wearing an outfit that was an exact twin of Donald's, but with a dark shirt. The parrot turned around with a discontented look on his face. It deepened into a frown as he took in Donald's outfit and sighed, "My friend, we are not so good at the disguises."

Donald nodded his agreement. "I don't know about you, Joe, but this was the best I could find. Do you have any magic that would disguise us?"

The other bird shook his head. "I have a limited number of magical disguises for myself, and Panchito knows all of them. Besides, it is nearly impossible to make someone who uses no magic look different. I am afraid we are stuck with only what we have on now."

Donald looked down at his clothes before shrugging at his friend. "Well, if that's the case… Maybe we should just go in our normal clothes? If he sees us, we'll just say that we felt guilty for abandoning him and came to join him."

José smiled. "That sounds like a good plan. We should go change now if we hope to return before he gets home. If he does not see us, of course."

The two quickly changed back to their regular clothes before walking out of the front door.

Author's Note - Thanks for reading! What does everyone think about the shorter in-between chapters? If you think they're a good update on the Caballeros, I'll keep them. If not, I won't be offended. It would make things easier for me if I cut them out, but I don't mind writing the chapters if anyone's enjoying them. Just let me know! Have a great day, and keep enjoying the holiday season!