the jacket with a long-sleeve pull-over shirt under the jersey. Rikko, meanwhile, had on a long-sleeve pull-over shirt, a faded denim jacket, matching denim overalls, and her own pair of hiking boots. She definitely had a rugged, outdoorsy side to her, but didn't always show it. And during the winter months of his stay in Nome, Mika wore a parka whenever he went outside.
Sure enough, when the door opened, the entry bell rang, as it did every time somebody entered or exited the building. John was in the stockroom at the time, so they had to wait.
"Okay, bring those out when you're done," said John as he exited the stockroom.
He was quite surprised to see his former employee waiting out in the store.
"Mika?!" John said, sounding very surprised.
"Yes, it's me," Mika quickly responded.
Karelia barked a "hello" as well.
"Welcome back, Mika!" John said excitedly. The former employee then hugged his former employer.
"So good to see you again," said Mika.
"You too, Mika," added John. "Ah, this must be Rikko."
"Yes, I am," Rikko said as she and John shook hands.
"And you must be Karelia," John said. He then kneeled down and pet the now five month-old malamute puppy. Karelia just sat there on the floor, with a toothy grin on his face, wagging his tail.
"I see the store seems to be doing well," Mika said, noticing a few new additions.
"Yes, indeed," John responded. He then noted the new sections of merchandise. The store already had the essentials: boots, apparel, backpacks, ice axes, survival rations, crampons, and other essential outdoor adventure supplies.
"Oh, before I forget," said Mika. "Look what we present!"
He then showed the jersey.
"Hey, you finally got that jersey I asked for," John said enthusiastically.
"Yep," Mika added. "I knew you had your birthday coming up, so I thought this would be a great time to present it to you."
"And you sure did pick a great time," John concurred. "I had a display box picked out for it, but I didn't know when I would get to use it. Now I can."
Mika then handed to jersey to John, who then placed it in the box. The box was large enough to where the jersey could be displayed at full size, without being folded up. John positioned it with the number on the back facing outward. The back featured Mika's last name towards the collar and a big number 83 adorning the majority of the backside. The box had a large glass-window door on the front with a wood frame around the window.
When John finished laying out the jersey in the box, he then closed the door and proceeded to find a place for it on the shelf behind the counter where the cash register was located. After finding a spot big enough for it, John then leaned the box up against the wall behind the counter.
"I heard about what happened with your shoulder, Mika," said John. "How's it doing?"
"It's completely healed now," Mika replied. "I'm really amazed at that, considering the damage it sustained."
"Was it really that severe?" asked John.
"Unfortunately, yes, it was," Mika answered. "I was out for two months, which meant missing the playoffs."
"He was really depressed at not being able to play," Rikko added. "Even worse, the team they were playing when he had the injury went on to beat his team for the Stanley Cup."
"That must've been hard," put in John. "But seriously, Mika, an injury like that requires rest and time."
"Yeah, well, time was something I didn't have a whole lot of, John," Mika said sheepishly. "I was this close to Rookie Of The Year." As he said "Rookie Of The Year", he held up his right hand with his thumb and index finger having a very narrow gap between them. He continued, saying, "I was back in the game. Man, I was more alive than I'd been in quite some time."
"When was the last time before that?" John asked.
"When I last played hockey in the Upper Peninsula," Mika responded. "Back when I lived in Ishpeming. There weren't very people my age to play with, and no organized leagues there. I usually just played recreationally."
Karelia, meanwhile, was nosing around at all the new stuff to see. He had never been inside a outdoor supply store before, so this was a new experience for him. And he sure seemed to be enjoying it.
"So, how did the staff rebuilding go?" asked Mika, changing the subject.
"Quite well, actually," John answered back.
Rikko immediately knew what Mika was referring to. He had told her about how he worked at the store alongside a man named David Stoner. When the Bolshevik invasion nearly destroyed Nome, Mika and David were the only two able to resist them and fight back. Unfortunately, David was killed in that battle when he was stabbed right through the sternum by a spike bayonet attached to a rifle. Mika had just finished off two adversaries and was en route to helping David out. Alas, he was too late, having been delayed in his previous skirmish. The Finn was very angry with himself for not having gotten to David's aid in time. He often kept thinking that he could've done something to help. For weeks afterward, Mika was tormented by nightmares of that battle. They still flared up on occasion from time to time, but they were far rarer than they were in the weeks after the battle.
"Well," Mika said after a bit of a pause. "I believe some more rounds to make around here. I promised Rikko I'd show her around town."
"Okay," John replied. "You've never been here before, right?"
"No," Rikko responded quickly. "It's my first time here."
"Well, hope you enjoy your time here," added John.
"That's what I'm hoping," Rikko said.
"Well, what's the holdup?" Mika asked. "Let's go. Come on, Karelia."
With that, the threesome exited the store and headed out to take a look around.

Several buildings down from Outdoor Outfitters,  Kodi, Dusty, Ralph, and Kirby were relaxing in front of the post office. It was unusually warm that day, and they were all desperately trying to keep cool. There wasn't much shade available, so they were left to pant like crazy as their only feasible option. Their thick fur coats weren't exactly of any help to them.
"Man, what's with this heat wave?" Ralph asked no one in particular.
"I have no idea," Dusty replied. "Good thing we're not doing any mail running today."
"Yep," Kirby added. "Can you imagine how often we'd have to stop to recover from heat exhaustion?"
"I can imagine a lot of stops involved," Kodi responded. "But yeah, I'm glad we don't have to do anything in this heat."
"You said it," said Kirby, who then sighed in relief.
Suddenly, something up the street caught his eye. Initially, he thought he was having a hallucination, but after quickly shaking his head, he noticed, he wasn't having one.
"Oh, boy," he said quietly.
"What?" Ralph asked.
"Don't look now, but I think I see a certain Finnish athlete we know very well coming out of Outdoor Outfitters!" Kirby said, his voice elevating in volume from what he had last said.
Sure enough, at that moment, Mika, Rikko, and Karelia had exited Outdoor Outfitters. Kodi, Dusty, and Ralph had also looked down the street towards the store to see who Kirby was referring to, and sure enough, they all recognized him. None of them, however, knew who the girl was that was with him. Or the dog, for that matter.
"Mika's back!" Kodi exclaimed. He stood up and was grinning from ear to ear, wagging his tail.
"Who's that girl over there with him?" Ralph asked.
"I don't know, but she sure is cute," Kirby replied.
By now, all three of the guys were staring at Rikko off in the distance.
"Oh, come on, you guys," Dusty cut in. "Stop staring, that's just rude, you..."
But before Dusty could finish her sentence, she too caught a glimpse of the of the threesome down the street.
"Whoa, she is cute," Dusty said, unable to keep from agreeing with the guys.
Sure enough, Mika, Rikko, and Karelia were heading towards them. Karelia had managed to hear Kodi's exclamation from down the street, His ears perking up upon hearing it.
"Oh, boy," said the malamute puppy. "Don't look now, Mika, but I think some canine groupies of yours are waiting a few buildings down."
"There's four of them," added Rikko, who also spotted the dogs, then asked, "Mika, do you really know these dogs?"
"Yes, I know them," Mika answered back. "No need to proceed with caution."
With that, the two Finns and the malamute puppy approached the four adult dogs on the walkway in front of the post office. Mika wasn't the least bit hesitant, although being her first encounter with them, Rikko was a little hesitant. But she sure didn't let it show.
"Hey guys," Mika said as he was first greeted by Kodi. "Hi there, Kodi!"
"Welcome home, Wild Child!" said Kodi, happy to see his dad's Finnish friend.
"Whose the new dog here?" asked Ralph as Karelia approached him.
"I'm not technically new here, genius!" Karelia said unleashing a snappy response. "I was born here during the past winter. The name's Karelia, by the way."
"Ah. Pleased to meet