asked.
Tycha nodded and the two of them walked through a doggie door at the base of the door.
“My… owner’s are out,” she said. “Make yourself at home.”
Tim walked over to a massive pillow on the floor, and he laid down on it.
“This is really soft,” he thought. He looked around at the huge house.
“Tim, buddy you may be outclassed here.”
“Hey, this is great!” Tim yelled.
Tycha appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Yeah, it is isn’t it?”
She ran down the stairs and up to Tim.
“So what do you want to do?” Tim asked.
Tycha looked at the ground.
“Actually, I’d just like to stay here, and talk.”
Tim smiled.
“That’s good with me.”
He scooted over and Tycha laid down beside him.
Balto was standing out in the cold again, thinking.
“I seem to do this a lot,” he thought.
“How am I going to tell her, I’ve got to.”
He tried to remember when Jamie had left.
“That was so long ago.”
CHAPTER XVI
Balto was enjoying himself.
“Maybe everything will be okay after all,” he thought. “I’ve got Mikie now…”
He looked at the beautiful, sleeping, black and white husky at his side.
“…and Jamie.”
He’d gotten a lot closer to her lately. She’d been his only friend, for as long as he’d lived in Applegate, but they’d always been friends.
“Now…”
Now Balto was starting to think of her, as something more.
“We’re young,” he thought, “but we’re old enough to start a family of our own.”
He’d been thinking of this for a little while now, trying to think of a way to tell her how he felt. He felt a little embarrassed about the whole thing,
“No, that’s not it, I’m just shy.”
Balto had always had trouble conveying his emotions to other dogs.
“Maybe it’s the way they’ve treated me.”
Balto was half wolf, and so the other dogs picked on him incessantly about it.
His thoughts were interrupted by Jamie stirring, rolling over, and opening her eyes.
“Oh Balto, I’m sorry. Did I fall asleep?”
Balto smiled and nodded, then he nuzzled her. This was a different feeling for him, something he’d never experienced.
“I didn’t mean go to sleep on you,”: Jamie said.
Balto smiled at her.
“It’s okay.”
She looked… troubled as she continued, but just for a moment, then it was gone.
“I’ve… I’ve just.. had a lot on my mind lately.”
“Does she feel the same way I do?” Balto thought.
“You want to go back into town?” She asked.
“Sure,” he responded, then the two of them, stood up.
Balto recalled the events of the early evening, the two of them, in the snow, playing on the hill. He could picture her face, as she laughed.
The two pups walked down the hill.
“Balto,” Jamie said, as she stopped walking.
Balto stopped as well, they were back in Applegate now, and were almost back to Jamie’s home.
“What is it Jamie?”
“Balto…. I…”
Balto noticed a tear, just one, roll out of her eye.
“I… really enjoyed tonight,” she said.
“And that’s cause for crying?” Balto thought.
“I’m glad, Balto said to her. “I did too.”
“Make your move buddy.” Balto told himself.
“Hey.. uh Jamie,” Balto stuttered. “Would you like to do it again… sometime?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Balto….”
“I’m moving.”
“What?” Balto asked, completely surprised by this information.
She nodded her head, as more tears slid down her face.
“Where to?” Balto said, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“Anchorage.” She said slowly.
Balto took a step back.
“Anchorage? That’s like… six hundred miles away.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
Balto couldn’t think of anything else to say, so it was quiet for a long period.
“When?” He said, finally.
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Balto said, “then this is the last time I’ll…”
Jamie interrupted him.
“No Balto,” she said. “We don’t leave until ten o’clock, I want you to be there.”
“I will be,” Balto responded.
“Balto,” she said, as she stepped up to him, and laid her head on his shoulder, “I don’t want to leave.”
“Well you don’t have much choice in the matter.” Balto said. “We’ve got to go where our humans do, it’s part of being a dog.”
Again it was quiet.
“Balto,” Jamie said, “I never want this night to end, I… I’ll stay with you as long as you want me to.”
“Well Jamie,” Balto said, “as much as I want you to stay.. you’d better get some rest tonight, you don’t want to be tired for the trip.”
Jamie’s eyes filled with tears again.
“I’m sorry Balto,” she choked out.
Then she nuzzled him, turned and walked slowly away.
Balto watched her, unable to believe what he’d just been told.
Then suddenly he made a decision that would affect the rest of his life.
He ran after her.
“Jamie!”
She stopped and turned.
“Jamie I’m…. I’m going with you.”
Jamie smiled/
“Balto what about Mikie?”
“Well..” Balto said, “.. I do… but I don’t care.”
“Now’s the time,” he thought.
“Jamie… I…” Balto couldn’t think of how to say it.
“I want to be with you… forever.”
Jamie smiled again.
“Balto, how will you get there? I mean…. you know humans don’t exactly umm…. accept you. So you couldn’t go with us tomorrow…”
Balto cut her off.
“I’ll walk,” he said, “if that’s what I have to do.”
She giggled.
“Balto… that’s the most crazy thing I’ve ever heard. You said yourself, it’s like six hundred miles away, you’d never make it, not by yourself.”
“It would be worth it.” Balto said.
“So,” she said, “you’re really going to do this, huh?”
Balto smiled.
“No one on the whole world, could talk me out of it.”
“Well you always have been a little stubborn,” she said.
She looked at the ground.
“You realize of course that if we lived together, we’d be….”
“Of course,” Balto responded, “that would be a bad thing?”
“No.” Jamie said, looking back up at him and smiling.
The two didn’t say anything for a while.
“Well you should probably go get some sleep,: Balto said.
“Yeah,” Jamie said, then she turned and started to walk away.
“Jamie?”
She turned back to him.
“I’ll still be there tomorrow.”
She smiled and turned and walked away.
“So much has happened since then.” Balto thought.
Jamie walked out of the shed then.
“Balto, do you have anyplace to stay tonight?”
“Oh great,” he thought, knowing what was coming next, “not again.”
“No,” he said.
She smiled at him.
“You want to stay with me?”
He sighed.
“Here goes,” he thought.
“Jamie, something else happened during those six years.”
“What?” Jamie asked, looking a little concerned.
“Jamie….I’ve got ten kids.”
“Oh… she said, surprised “so you’re….”
Balto nodded.
“Oh well…” she said, a little embarrassed, not really knowing what to say.
“Are you happy?” She asked.
Balto nodded.
“Well then,” she said, a tear coming to her eye, “I’m…I'm happy for you.”
Then she turned and started to walk away.
Balto watched his best friend n the whole world walk away.
“That’s not the way I wanted that to go,” he thought.
“Jamie!” he yelled as he took off after her, “Jamie stop.”
She stopped walking and Balto caught up to her.
She was crying.
“Jamie, I… I never forgot about you.”
“Oh yeah,” she said, “you didn’t forget me, you just went with someone else.”
She paused.
What’s her name?”
Balto sighed.
“Jenna.”
“Well I hope that Jenna is good for you Balto,” she said as she walked around him, continuing down the street.
“Jamie!” Balto yelled as he ran after her again.
“It’s wasn’t like that, please give me a chance to explain.”
She stopped walking and Balto ran up to her.
“Jamie, I was getting ready to leave Applegate when Mikie got really sick…. after he died… I decided to come here, and… there was a storm, and… I didn’t make it twenty miles, when I fell to the snow, freezing to death.
“I thought my last
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