The afternoon was beautiful in town; it wasn’t too cold, and many people were out and about. Balto was walking home from the dog’s restaurant, having been there to inquire into getting a bottle of juice. Sylvie was unable to find what he was looking for at that time, but assured him she could do so the next day. Balto came around a corner behind a few buildings, humming to himself as he walked. He reflected on life, on how good it felt and how big a change that was from what it had been. Nearly two months ago, he and Jenna married, fulfilling a dream he’d had ever since he saw her, and the bliss that had begun the moment they shared their first married kiss had not ceased or faded since. He smiled as he thought of Jenna, knowing how special she was and how lucky he was to be her husband. He knew she felt the same; she had long been in want of someone who would love her heart rather than merely her body, and Balto granted her that wish.

Suddenly, a voice cut into his thoughts. “Hi, there,” someone said off to his right. He turned to look. It was a female dog, leaning up against a wall. “What’s your name, stranger?” she said. “Balto,” he said. “Yours?” “Rita. I’m new here.” “Nice to meet you, Rita. Well, I’m on an errand; I need to go.” She ran up to him as he turned to leave. “Whoa! Hang on, guy, stay a minute.” Balto wasn’t sure he liked how Rita was talking to him, but he didn’t want to be rude. He turned to face her. “Is there something you wanted?” he said. “I’ve heard about you,” she replied, grinning. “I heard you saved the town. You’re such a hero; I’ve wanted so much to meet you.” “Um…thanks,” Balto said, starting to feel embarrassed. “Anyway, I really should be moving on…” Rita cut in. “Wanna go out to eat tonight?” she said, grinning. Balto shook his head. “I’m married. Sorry to disappoint you, though.” He turned to leave again. “Wait a minute,” said Rita. By now, Balto had stopped feeling embarrassed and was getting annoyed. “Look,” he said, turning back toward Rita, but she interrupted again. “Can’t you spare a minute? Please? I really…” Balto saw desire in her eyes. “Don’t even think about it,” he said. “My wife is my only love, the love of my life, and I promised her the day after our wedding that I would never kiss anyone else.” He started to leave again, making up his mind not to stop this time, although Rita protested. “Aw, come on. It can’t hurt!” “No! I…” Before Balto could even finish his sentence, Rita flung her paws around him and, pulling him in to her, kissed him passionately.

A few yards away, Jenna was passing by on the main street, on her way home just as Balto had been. As she passed a haphazard pile of lumber, she happened to catch a look at what was behind it. She stopped, suddenly confused. She thought she had seen… “No, that couldn’t be him…could it?” She stepped back, looked through a gap in the boards…and felt her heart shatter. There was Balto, lips locked with a strange girl, who was embracing him. Unable to look any longer, Jenna wrenched away from the sight and ran for home, tears spilling from her eyes.

Balto was not returning the kiss; her sudden grip on him had come completely unexpected. After a struggle, he was able to shove the over-eager girl away. Rita sat down, smiling wide, her eyes half closed. “Oh, boy… Thank you.” Balto, understandably, was furious. “THANK YOU?” he shouted. “I did NOT say you could kiss me! Beat it!” To make sure Rita would finally take him seriously, he uttered a threatening growl, and she screamed and ran off. “Finally,” Balto thought, taking a moment to calm down before getting back on his way.

At Rosy’s house, Jenna paced back and forth, under complete torture. She wept aloud with agony, not knowing what to think or how to think it. The unearthly pain of what she had seen hung over all of it, and her mental argument, manifesting itself vocally, was a violent one. “I don’t believe it. There’s no way…there must be some misunderstanding.”
“No way? There’s no way? There’s no misunderstanding! You saw him right there, kissing her!”
“Balto wouldn’t do something like that!”
“Well, obviously he would. Trying to convince yourself otherwise is stupid!”
“How could…sob…how could he do this to me?”
“He’s a horrible man!”
“No! NO! Don’t say that! It isn’t true!”
“You know you feel that now! He’s a horrible, unloving, lying, cheating scumbag!”
Jenna stopped talking and merely cried, but now, they weren’t sad tears; they were angry tears. At least for the moment, her anger had won out.
“That dirty, unfaithful…when he gets home, I’m gonna…”
Then, like a saving angel, the voice of reason cut in.
“You don’t know for sure.”
Jenna, wiping her eyes and hiccupping, was able to put aside her emotions and think rationally. “There is a chance that it’s not what you think. You can’t think of how to hurt your husband because of something you think he did! What kind of a wife is that? Shame on you!” She began sobbing again, her anger not quenched, and walked over to a table that had a picture of Balto on it. “But I know what I saw!” she said out loud, confusion and frustration in her voice.

Suddenly, Jenna heard the dog door open. She dried her eyes and hurriedly lay down on a couch, acting like she was just relaxing. As Balto walked in, she couldn’t help but stare at him. “Hi, Jenna,” he said pleasantly. His voice sent a pang of sadness through her, simultaneously causing her anger to spike. Somehow, she was able to keep it out of her voice at first, but it started to creep in with each word. “Hi, Balto. Where have you been?” “Oh, I just went to the restaurant and came home. Other than that, nothing.” “Liar!” Jenna’s mind screamed. She averted her eyes, trying to get a handle on her rising temper. “Ah,” she said curtly. “I see.” Balto could hear in her tone that something was amiss. “Are you alright?” he asked. “I’m fine!” Jenna snapped. The venom in her voice startled Balto, but he kept it to himself and continued. “Anyway, I wanted to see if I could get some cherry juice or something for us. I knew you had wanted some, so I was just looking because I love you so much.” “Yeah, sure you do,” Jenna muttered sarcastically. Balto froze, his mouth hanging open. He couldn’t have been more stunned if Jenna had walked over and slapped him, to say nothing of hurt; he was utterly heartbroken. “Jenna…” he said softly, his voice thickening and full of pain, “…how can you say that? I love you. Don’t…don’t you know that? I thought you did. I really hope you do.” Jenna heard what Balto was saying, but at first she didn’t respond, completely dumbstruck by what she had just heard herself say. She finally turned her head to face Balto, still so shocked at herself that she didn’t even blink. When she saw Balto’s eyes, she wished she hadn’t; in them, she could see how badly she had wounded him. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. Balto tried bravely to smile and actually succeeded, if only a little. “Ah, hey…” he said, his eyes brimming and his voice cracked, “…no problem.” His emotions were on the verge of escaping his control. “Um…I’m going to go to bed,” he said, departing the room with subdued haste.

Jenna lay there for a few seconds, looking after Balto. Then, it hit her, a pain ten times worse than what she had felt earlier, as she realized she had just deeply hurt her beloved husband, who cared for her over everything in the world, deliberately. Feeling like her senses had been half dulled, she got up and walked slowly to the door of the family room. It was somewhat dark inside, being as evening was approaching and the curtains were closed, but in the light from the door, Jenna could see Balto sitting next to their bed, hanging his head, his ears drooping, weeping as quietly as possible. She was stricken so badly by the sight that it felt like a kick in the chest, going straight to her heart. A heavy tremble ran through her body, and the pain and sadness swelled beyond her control. “Balto,” she said, her voice broken. He raised his head to acknowledge her, and she began to cry openly at the sight of his pain-laden face. “Oh, Balto, I’m sorry!” she cried, hurrying to him and embracing him. He wrapped his paws around her, sobbing chokingly into her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she wept. “I didn’t mean it. I don’t know why I said that.” She tried to be strong to comfort him, but the attempt was ruined as the thought of what she had done crossed her mind again. “I’m so sorry. Oh…” She sobbed and rubbed his ears with her muzzle. “I know you love me, I know. Please forgive me, Balto! I’m sorry I hurt you! Please…forgive…” She couldn’t talk anymore; it had become too difficult. She laid her head on Balto’s shoulder, silently begging him to stop the agony. Balto raised his head, speaking through his sobs. “It’s…it’s okay, my darling,” he choked. “I forgive you. Don’t…sob…don’t worry. It’s okay.” He nuzzled her tenderly, and they held each other, offering some comfort to each other’s devastated hearts. Balto spoke softly into Jenna’s ear, having regained control over his emotions. “Hey, it’s okay. Calm down, honey. You’re alright. I forgive you.” Jenna raised her head and somehow found the courage to look into Balto’s eyes again. “Are…sob…are you mad at me?” “No, no,” Balto said comfortingly. “I’m not mad; don’t you worry about that. It’s okay. I’m not mad, and I forgive you.” He embraced her again, and her tears finally slowed. “We should get some sleep,” he said. Jenna nodded, trying to pick up the pieces of her emotions. They both lay down in the bed, and Balto licked the tears off of Jenna’s face. She was very grateful for this; it soothed her tremendously, and she took shaky breaths as the awful emotional torrents inside her gradually calmed. “I love you so much,” she whispered. “I love you too,” Balto whispered back. He kissed her, and she returned it, but…it felt so different, knowing what she had seen earlier that day. She lay down, feeling Balto’s body