Masquerade

          Balto padded into the dimly-lit living room and gazed out the window. Snow fell in white torrents, and starflowers of ice frosted the glass. It was a nasty night storm.

          He shivered, glad to be inside a warm, cozy house instead of a creaky old boat with nothing but a thin brown blanket to huddle under. He had survived nights like that when he had been younger and without a home, but now in his aging years he was perfectly suited to his life with Jenna.

          He looked over his shoulder to find his mate of nearly four years curled up near the fireplace on her blue cushion. A cheery fire swirled and snapped behind the grate, and reflections of the flames danced in her distant eyes. Balto smiled, and padded over to stand next to her. “Mind if I join you?”

          Jenna blinked away her trance and smiled back. “Not at all.”

          He sank down behind her, pulling her to him so she fit perfectly against his side, and together they stared into the leaping ruby flames in companionable silence.

          “What a day,” Jenna sighed happily, “Though it’s wonderful to end it like this.” She leaned against him and ran her nose through his fur. “I wish we’d had more times like these when the pups were here.”

          Balto grinned. “Yeah.” He kissed the back of her neck. “So, what’s up with you?”

          Jenna’s eyes gazed upward as she thought. “Well, Kodi has another mail run tomorrow. But it’s all the way to Anchorage! That’ll be their last stop, and then they’ll race there. I told him to be careful, being so far away, but I know he’ll be fine. Saba’s come down sick with something, I’m not sure what, but I’ve been sending Dingo to check on her everyday. Oh, and Dingo–”

          Balto broke in with a dry chuckle, shaking his head. “The pups are long gone, but you still talk about them like they’re still here. I asked about you, Jen. What you’re doing, not the kids.”

        Jenna flushed, embarrassment darkening her eyes. “Well–” She tried again. “Well–” She sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been Mom for so long, I can’t stop and just be Jenna for awhile.” She looked up at him, and then down at her paws with a shy smile. “Oh, I don’t mind that much. It’s good to see how happy they all are.”

          “But don’t you ever get tired of being a mother-of-all-work?” Balto asked with genuine curiosity, “Wouldn’t you rather have more, I don’t know…excitement?”

          Jenna raised one eyebrow as a wry smile touched her lips. “Balto, I’ve just finished raising ten kids. Excitement is the last thing I need.” She kissed him on the mouth and rubbed her paws across his chest. “It would be wonderful if everything could just stay like this.”

          A faint scratching came at the door.

          Balto and Jenna sat up and looked at each other.

          “That couldn’t be excitement come calling, could it?” Jenna said.

          The scratching continued more insistently.

          “I’ll get it!” Rosy yelled. Ten year old Rosy shuffled from her bedroom to the door in her slippers and a pink robe thrown over her pajamas.

          Balto and Jenna heard the squeak of the turning doorknob and the creak of the opening door. There was a burst of cold air and a thud of something falling to the floor.

          “Mom!” Rosy screamed.

          The stoop-shouldered old doctor bent over the scrawny mutt shivering among the blankets piled on the kitchen floor for a makeshift bed. The dog was brown-gray with green-gold eyes. Those eyes were half open as he thrashed randomly in his state of unconsciousness.

          The doctor checked him over and turned to Rosy’s mother. “He’ll be all right. He’s just very cold and very tired. Keep him warm, and I would place a ‘Found’ bulletin in the newspaper so someone can claim him. Judging by his condition and the lack of a collar, though, he’s been on the streets for awhile.”

          “We’ll take good care of him!” Rosy piped, loosening her hands from her mother’s skirts where she had been clinging. “Won’t we, Mom?”

          Her mother’s smile was a little strained but still kind. “Yes, we will. Thank you, Doctor.”

          The doctor accepted his pay and nodded to her. “Good day.” He let himself out the door and traipsed off through the crisp morning after last night’s storm.

          “Oh, boy,” Rosy cried, jumping up and running off, “I’ll get more blankets. And hot water bottles! And he’ll need food when he wakes up! I’ll take good care of him, Mom! Can I keep him?”

          Rosy’s mother sighed. “One thing at a time, Rosy,” she said before following her daughter resignedly.

          Jenna, who had been standing in the kitchen doorway with Balto the whole time, crept closer to the street dog. She stared down at the stranger who had fallen at Rosy’s feet when she opened the door last night. How had he had the strength to scratch at the door to alert them? He had been nearly frozen through when he had fallen into the foyer. Why had he scratched at the door at all? Street dogs didn’t trust people.

          Balto came up beside her. “He’ll be fine, Jen. The doctor said so.”

          She nodded and bit her lip. Suddenly the dog jerked upwards. His eyes snapped open all the way, and they seemed to be in a distant, dream-like trance. His eyes fastened on Balto, and his mouth split into a wide grin. “Brother! Oh, my brother Soenor! I’ve found her! I’ve found her, just like you said!”

          Balto was uncertain how to respond. Obviously the dog was delirious and confusing him with someone else. “Uh…who?” he asked.

          “Khara!” he burst out, “The perfect mate for me! She’s so beautiful. You simply can’t imagine…But you were right, brother. I found her. I’ll never doubt you again.” Then his eyes became unfocused, and he dropped back down into a restless sleep.

          Balto looked over to see the faintest glitter of tears in Jenna’s eyes. “Jen,” he said gently, “It’s all right.”

          She shook her head. “Khara,” she explained softly, “I wonder where she is now.”

          Jenna softly padded into the quiet corner of the kitchen and gazed sympathetically at the stranger who lay tense and quivering on his nest of bedding. The blanket she was carrying in her mouth dropped to the floor as her brow furrowed in an attempt to figure out how to get the covering over him without disturbing him. Rosy was at school, Rosy’s father was at work, Rosy’s mother was running errands, and Balto was saying goodbye to Kodi before his run to Anchorage. Jenna would have gone to see him off, too, but she felt guilty about leaving the sick dog at home by himself.

          “You go,” she had told Balto, “Kodi knows what I would say: good luck, and be careful. Just tell him I love him, and that I know he’ll win. Okay?”

          Balto’s expression was a mix of surprise and concern. “Are you sure, Jen?”

          She had nodded, and so Balto had reluctantly left by himself. Now she was alone in the house with the stranger.

          Jenna edged the blanket forward with her paw, and then decided to take it up in her teeth and drag it over his shivering body. The moment she did this his quaking ceased, and he opened two bleary eyes that slowly roamed over his surroundings and then found her own.

          Jenna hastily backed up a few steps so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea. His eyes had been so startling, though, it took her a few moments to compose herself.

          “Um, hi. I’m Jenna,” she said by way of introduction, “You looked cold, so I thought you might need something else to keep warm.”

          He stared at her. His eyes were