looking over at Dusty.

Dusty dropped her eyes back to the top of Mr. Simpson’s head the second Kodi turned to look at her. She shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably and kept her eyes low. I hope Kirby and Ralph didn’t see me do that. She thought.

Kodi was at a loss as to what had just happened. Had it been some sort of joke on him? Or had it been on Dusty? Kodi shrugged his shoulders. What did it matter? It was just a Joke, right?

Ralph came to his feet and walked after Kirby who was already on his way to the boiler room to melt the ice off his face and get some sleep. Just before Kirby vanished down the alley he stopped and turned to Kodi. “Hey Kodi, you coming or what? Lot‘s of heat to spare.”

Kodi had been lost in wonder at what had just happened. When Kirby spoke it brought him back to reality quite suddenly. “Ahh, yeah. Just a second.” Kodi turned and looked at Dusty. “Hey Dusty, you want us to wait up for you?”

Dusty refused to make eye contact with Kodi. She kept her gaze down at Mr. Simpson and shook her head no. “No, I’ll be along in a little while. Just save a warm spot for me near the boiler. Okay Kodi?”

“Sure thing Dusty.”

Kodi turned and looked at Kirby and Ralph. Both of them had a huge grin on their faces like they were holding secret dog treats under their tongues and weren‘t going to share. Kodi walked slowly towards them. What are they smiling at? He thought.

Kirby must have swallowed his treat as his smile vanished and he took a step down the alley. “Come on Kodi.”

Kodi bound towards the alley and stepped in just after Kirby and Ralph. If Kodi had turned his head before going out of site of Dusty, he would have easily figured out what Kirby and Ralph were laughing and smiling at. Yet Kodi didn’t see Dusty staring at him with mellow eyes as he stepped out of site.

Kodi, feeling the natural tendency to lead, pushed his way in front of Kirby and Ralph. It wasn’t any dominance thing, it was just where Kodi felt he belonged when the team moved. As soon as Kodi walked in front of Kirby and Ralph he could hear them snickering to one another. Why do they keep laughing and smiling? Is it me?It was then that Kodi heard Kirby mention his name under a breath of a whisper.

“Okay,” Kodi said turning. “What is that you guys are laughing at? Is there something on my butt like before?” Kodi curled himself around and looked at his tail, it all looked the same.

“No.” Kirby walked towards Kodi with a very different, and feminine, stride. He bumped his hips up and down as he walked and held his head high and his shoulders tight just like any female dog. Then in his best female voice he smiled at Kodi. “Silly.”

“What are you guys doing?” Kodi asked looking at Ralph with hopes that he had yet to loose his mind.

Ralph copied Kirby’s walk and strolled casually towards Kodi. Then with his deep tone female voice he spoke. “Don’t tell me you don’t know, Kodi.”

With that both Kirby and Ralph fell down at the end of the alley laughing, leaving Kodi dumbfounded. After half a minute of them laughing and looking at him, then laughing even harder, they managed to calm down and come back to reality.

Kodi still didn’t know what the two of them were laughing at, and felt like he was on the outside of some special circle of friends. “Is this some sort of, Joke about, Dusty?”

“Dusty?” Kirby said coming to his feet and looking at Kodi to see if he was serious. “This is about you.”

“Me!”

“Yeah … you mean you don’t know what we’re laughing about?” Kirby looked dumbfounded as to how Kodi could miss all the signs. He looked to Ralph. Ralph’s jaw hung slightly ajar. Both of them were amazed as to how Kodi could miss it what it was right in front of his face. Kirby stepped forward and in a hushed tone spoke. “It’s Dusty man.”

“The Joke’s about, Dusty then?” Kodi asked with confusion all over his face and voice.

“No! It’s Dusty! She likes you and you can’t even see it in front of your own nose!” Kirby yelled jumping around like a puppy. Ralph jumped up and joined him as they both leapt around Kodi smiling and laughing as they started up a song.

“Dusty and Kodi sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then come puppies in a puppy carriage.” When they finished the verse they both broke in laughter and stepped away from Kodi.

If Kodi could have blushed he would have been bright red and feeling stupid. Kodi couldn’t blush, but he sure did feel stupid. “Okay, okay. That’s enough.” Kodi said turning right down the street with hopes that they would just let it drop. “It’s cold out here. Let’s get inside before we freeze our tails off.”

Kirby and Ralph stood up and followed Kodi. For a while they both kept quite and didn’t snicker to one another. Yet Kodi knew that it wouldn’t last.

Never had Kodi actually thought about Dusty in, that way. They had been friends since puppies training to be on the mail team. And as far as Kodi knew, that was all they ever were. But did Dusty like him more than a friend? Did Kirby and Ralph both see the signs that he missed? Dusty had been acting ’weird’ for several weeks around Kodi. Although she had always acted weird around Kodi since they were both pups. When Kodi thought about how she had been acting recently, he realized that she had been, ’different’ than normal. Had she liked him when they were young and now she was making a move on him?

Kodi lead the way down the street past the third alley way to the fourth. There Kodi turned down a garbage strewn alley and out onto a flat plane. The boiler room was just ahead on the edge of the ocean down in the bowels of the gold dredge. During the winter it was kept running by the owner so the stray dogs of town would have a warm place to stay and sleep. Every three days a man with a beard would come and shovel it full of coal and let it slowly heat. Kodi lead the way across the flat plane and stopped at the door of the dredge that had scratch marks of dogs all over it. With a creak loud enough to wake the dead, Kodi pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It had been a while since Kirby and Ralph had spoke and maybe they had finally decided to let the thing about Dusty and Kodi drop. So Kodi opened his mouth. “Ah, home sweet home.”

“You can’t raise the pups here. Ralph lives here.” Kirby joked to himself and was the only one to laugh.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Ralph said turning and looking at Kodi who smiled. “I would only teach your pups all my secrets of life. Oh, especially that one way to scratch your right ear with your left leg” Ralph began to try and show Kodi his neck twisting, precariously balanced skill of reaching his left back leg up under his belly towards his right ear. It failed almost instantly as Ralph rolled onto his side and lay there looking at Kodi with a long grin across his face.

Kodi sighed and walked towards the shelf where he turned around and lay down next to an upright.

Kirby was the last one through the door and he pushed it closed with his shoulder. The door groaned shut and the steam of the cold began to dissipate from around the rafters above. “Oh Kodi, Dusty’s a nice girl.”

“Yeah Kodi. You know it could be worse, she could be fat.” Ralph said unenthused over his shoulder in front of the boiler door where he began to melt the ice on his face.

Kodi cast a sidelong glare at Ralph before looking away from them both.

“Ah Kodi.” Kirby walked over beside Kodi and lay down. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about when feeling that special thing for a girl. And personally, I think you should end your bachelor life and settle down with her.”

“What?”

“I think that you should know me and Ralph have been thinking about this for a long time -”

“We have?” Ralph said turning.

“Zip it Ralph, I’m trying to help Kodi here.” Kirby barked. Ralph turned his face back towards the stove as a piece of ice fell. “Anyway, as I was saying, you and Dusty should settle up together. I can tell that you two are good for each other, even if you don’t see it.”

Kodi sighed angrily and came to his feet to get away. “I don’t think I need you to tell me what is good for me. I’m a littler older than I appear.”

“I know that Kodi. But you certainly don’t seem to act like it.”

Kodi growled bitterly and walked a good ten feet towards the door before lying down again with a grunt. Kirby let the room grow quiet for a while before standing and walking towards Kodi to go for round two.

“Listen Kodi.” Kirby said standing above him. “We just want to know if you like her.”

“Yeah,” Ralph turned away from the stove. The ice on his face had melted away and the fur around his eyes and down his muzzle was wet. “So we can tell her.”

“Ralph, you’re not helping in any way at all.” Kirby growled over his shoulder. “So either zip it and sit down, or try and actually help.”

“Hey, I thought I was helping.”

Kodi sighed and looked at them both. “Listen, I’m flattered that you two want to help me, but I would prefer to just … not do anything. Me and Dusty are friends”

“Oh come on Kodi! Not do anything? You can’t be serious? Dusty is nuts about you. We just want to know if you think the same thing about her.”

Kodi remained silent as Kirby stared straight at him waiting for an answer. After several seconds of staring coldly at one another Kirby spoke up again. “So Kodi, do you like her?”

“Yeah, come on Kodi, just tell us. I was only kidding when I said that thing about telling her.” Ralph pleaded.

Kodi sighed, “You guys, listen. I don’t want, or need, your help. So could we just move on to another subject?”

“Don’t need our help?” Kirby scoffed, stepping back and away. He then turned back. “Listen Kodi, I know all about this. You may say you don’t need our help but you do. You need to realize this. I know that if me and Ralph don’t do something, you won’t.”

Kodi slowly rose to his feet. “What are you saying? Are you saying that I’m not dog enough to talk to Dusty?”

Kirby thought on the question for a moment. “Well,