agreed resignedly. “Let’s go.”

 When they came to the crossing spot, Kato saw fear glittering in her eyes. She lifted her chin. “I’ll go first,” she said, and her voice shook with suppressed terror.

 Kato watched, shaking, as she jumped and landed directly in the middle of the moss-covered rock. Gasping with relief, he followed her.

 “That was ten times scarier than it had ever been before,” Jada commented. “Now that I know what can happen… if I miss.”

 “You can say that again,” Kato muttered.

 Jada laughed, and the two of them again followed the creek to where the town lay, like a vast patchwork quilt, waiting to receive the two wanderers with open arms.

 Now used to sleeping outside, Kato slept outside Jada’s house for the next month and a half. He rarely visited Amber, but when he met Tomek on the street, he asked about Amber and the pups.

 One morning of the rapidly approaching fall, while Kato was walking with Jada, Tomek hurried up to them.

 “The pups have opened their eyes!” he howled excitedly. “They’ve opened their eyes!”

 “Great!” Kato exclaimed as Jada echoed him. “When may we go see them?”

 Tomek’s eyes gleamed. “Now, if you want! And Kato,” he added quietly. “Thanks for giving Amber and me a little privacy, you know, with the pups and each other.”

 Kato looked at his paws, smiling ironically. “It was no trouble,” he muttered. “Always glad to…”

 “How many are there?” Jada questioned, changing the subject.

 Tomek puffed out his chest proudly. “Eight,” he answered. “Five girls, three boys.”

 “Wow,” Jada murmured. “You must be proud.”

 There was no question about that, Kato thought. Judging by the way Tomek strutted down the street, standing up tall with his head raised.

 Soon they came to Amber’s house. Amber was lying on the grass. Eight little puppies tumbled around her, climbing all over her.

 “Hi, there,” Amber called happily. “Come on up. This is the pups’ first time out of the house.”

 The three dogs padded up to Amber.

 “Hi,” Kato mumbled shyly.

 “Hey, Amber!” was Jada’s enthusiastic salutation.

 Tomek sat down behind Amber and licked the top of her head by way of greeting. Kato expected the familiar pang of jealousy, but there was none.

 A pretty gray pup, smaller than the rest of the litter, bounced up to Kato. “Who are you?” she squeaked curiously. “You smell familiar, but I’ve never seen you before.”

 Amber grinned. “That’s Kato,” she told the little pup. “He sometimes sleeps at our house.”

 “My name’s Rachel,” the pup informed him. “Let me tell you a secret.”

 “Okay,” Kato said, utterly bewildered.

 He bent his head down to listen. Rachel stretched up to his ear. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m awesomer than my brothers and sisters!”

 A puppy that had been listening nearby jumped on top of Rachel. “You are not!” he howled indignantly. “I am!”

 All of the other puppies joined the fray until Rachel detached herself from the mass of pups, wailing, “My tail hurts! Flip bit it off!”

 At the sound of his name, a tan and black puppy went to stand in front of Rachel. “She made me!” he yelped.

 Rachel growled. Her high voice made it sound funny. “I did NOT!”

 “You did, too!”

 “DID NOT!”

 Amber rolled her eyes at her bristling pups. “It doesn’t matter,” she explained. “Just try not to be so rough with each other.”

 “He did bite my tail off,” Rachel muttered.

 “Try wagging it,” Kato suggested.

 The tan pup waved her tail slowly back and forth. “Hey,” she exclaimed, sounding surprised. “It’s still on!”

 “Amazing,” Flip said sarcastically. “I bet I can beat you to that tree!” The pups rushed off.

 “They’re pretty cute,” Jada commented.

 “Yeah,” Amber agreed. “I’m lucky to have them.”

 They talked for a while about the pups before Amber called, “Pups! Why don’t you come introduce yourselves to Kato and Jada?”

 They scurried over in twos and threes, and then formed a crooked line. The first pup stepped forward. She was a tan and black pup like Flip, though with slightly different markings.

“I’m Jasmine,” she said shyly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Don’t you know your manners!” Jada told her. “I’m Jada, and this is Kato.”

Kato inclined his head. “Hello, young lady. I am delighted to make your acquaintance,” he told her with a grin at Amber.

 Shining at his praise, Jasmine stepped back in line. The pup beside her looked remarkably like Tomek, except his ears stood straight up. He was Noah. The gray and black one beside him was Sasha. Then came Flip and Rachel. Beside them was a tan and gray puppy named Libya. Asia, who looked a lot like Libya, except her ears were floppy like Tomek’s, stood beside her. There was another tan and black one beside her. He was Ryan. The last of all came Kate. She was a pretty gray puppy that resembled Rachel.

 After playing and laughing with the pups, Kato and Jada decided that they had better go.

 “I think I should get home,” Jada announced when they were alone again, sensing that Kato wanted time alone.

 She pushed her head into his in a gesture of farewell. As she walked up the street, Kato thought wryly that only one thing could make this day perfect: the return of his family.

 He walked a while longer. He looked up at a shout. The words were hard to decipher. It sounded faintly like, “Potato!”

 Then, he saw a small figure rushing toward him. Could it be? No, he was kidding himself. They were far away. Suddenly, he smelled something.

 A little like peanut butter and jelly, a little like milk, a little like hand sanitizer. The achingly familiar scent caused him to tremble. There was no doubt now.

 Without consciously deciding to, he began to run. It did not feel like he was running. Wings bore him toward the ones he loved most: his family.

 Kato saw Rob clearly now: a small five-year old, running like his life depended on it, toward “Tato”, his wonderful doggie.

 Only ten yards remained between them now. Five. Two. Then they collided, a whirlwind of happy giggling and joyous howling. Kato’s family was back! There was Daddy, his person, and Momma, his reading companion! Love for them gushed up inside Kato. Whatever happened later, he knew that they would be there, waiting for him.