Kato tumbled and floundered around the dark baggage car of a large train. He had been unceremoniously flung into it, while his owner was in a large, roomy car of his own. While the bumps and turns made him feel sick, there was still a little room in his mind for jealousy and resentment. Whatever was in this town of Yentna, it had better be interesting, after all that he had gone through to get there. They had left Anchorage…. when? It was hard to tell time when one was shut up in a small dark space full of trunks and suitcases. Maybe… two hours ago? It seemed to Kato like it had been days and days. 
	Three times the train had stopped. Each time his car had been opened he had hoped to be let out, but two men had just thrown some more bags in and given him a rough pat on the head. Once, one of the men had taken something out of his pocket, unwrapped it, put it on the ground and said, “Wonder if the dog likes ham sandwiches, eh?” Kato didn’t really know what a “sandwich” was, but if it was this squashy brown thing, then he liked sandwiches. The flavors were mixed together a little, but he could still detect ham and bread. There was also some papery green stuff. Kato didn’t much care for the green stuff, but it was okay with the ham.
	So, after taking a first careful nibble, Kato had devoured the entire sandwich down in two bites. The men had laughed and petted him. Their touch had been rough but gentle. Kato realized that he liked these two men. Then someone had shouted something at the two men, and they backed up with cries of, “Bye, boy!”
	At that moment a trunk, full to the brim with clothes and other possessions, burst open. Kato padded over to it. The catch was broken. Thinking vaguely of how he would probably be blamed for it, he took a good sniff. This person owned a cat; he could smell it on the clothes. 
Oh, he was so tired… Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to lie down, just for a little…
	
	“Hey dog,” someone growled. “What have you done?” 
	Kato opened his eyes to find one of the two men standing over him. It was also rather dark. He wagged his tail a little halfheartedly, and the man glared at him. “Hey, Miss,” he said apologetically to a lady in a brown hat. “This… This dog, he sort of slept on your stuff…” The man trailed away helplessly.
	The woman laughed. She looked about forty. “That’s okay,” she grinned. “I have a cat at home. He gets on my stuff all the time. I’ll just repack it.”
	She set about repacking her trunk. Suddenly, a scent wafted into Kato’s nose. Could it be…? A weather-beaten, brown face showed in the crowd. It was his owner! Kato rushed into his owner’s waiting arms. 
	“Kato!” the black man cried. “Hey, boy!”
	Kato wagged his tail frantically. He put his forepaws on his owner’s chest. The man grinned and scratched him behind the ears. “Daddy!” Kato howled joyfully. “You’ll never dream what I went through!”
	Daddy laughed, for of course all he heard was barking and whimpering. Daddy was called a lot of different names. His wife called him Adam. The people in suits who frequently visited him called him Mr. Tanner, but to Rob, his five-year old son, he was Daddy. Kato preferred this name because it sounded so natural. It also seemed to fit the merry face, the deep brown eyes. And also, Kato liked Rob, so Daddy was the name that Kato associated with the kind, loving man whom he called his owner.
	Daddy gently pushed Kato to the ground. “I heard you got into trouble, boy.” He pushed his way toward the woman with the brown hat. “I’m sorry Kato got into your stuff. He doesn’t like to be enclosed spaces.”
	The woman laughed. “That’s okay,” she said. “The catch usually comes apart. I don’t blame Kato. He must have been tired. It’s about midnight!”
	Daddy laughed. “Thank you for understanding, and again, I’m very sorry.”
	The woman nodded and trudged off, hauling her trunk behind her. “Well, Kato, we’d better get to the house,” Daddy said. “Let’s go.”
	They turned and headed down the narrow street. The spring snow was slushy and wet, making walking difficult. The moon glowed feebly, many miles up. 
Daddy walked briskly along, his suitcase in one hand and a briefcase in the other. The briefcase was probably full of stuff that Kato didn’t understand, as usual. Daddy was a scientist, and even though Kato could read most of the writing, he couldn’t understand its full meaning. He was here in Yentna to spend two months with a colleague who needed some assistance dealing with a problem that he was having. Kato didn’t really know what this problem was, and he didn’t much care.
	The walk was only about five minutes, though Kato suspected it would have been five minutes longer if they hadn’t been walking so fast. The man and his dog arrived on the doorstep of a small, white, neat-looking house. Daddy strode confidently up to the door and knocked. A blond-haired man of about sixty opened it. He wore horrendous bottle-green pajamas embroidered with orange and red flowers. Noticing this, daddy grinned. The man seemed to take it that the grin was out of friendliness, not humor, which, it might have partly been. He smiled back at him and ushered him through the door. 
	“Welcome, Mr. Tanner! I’m Zack Marlton. You can call me Zack. I’ll just lead you to your room and then leave you in peace. Your dog can sleep with mine, Amber, in the sitting room.”
	As Daddy was led around the corner, Kato began to wander through the kitchen, the room that they had come into. Before he had gone ten steps, he heard a soft, husky voice behind him, “And who might you be?”
He whirled around, getting his legs all tangled with each other so that he slipped and almost lost his footing. Furious with himself, he looked up. He was even angrier when he saw who was standing in front of him. She was a tan and black husky with deep amber eyes. He figured this must be Amber. He straightened up even taller. “My name is Kato,” he said. “I am… delighted to make your acquaintance.”
She laughed. She was even prettier when she smiled. “I’m Amber. You just came on the train, didn’t you? You’re probably so tired! I’ll lead you to our ‘bedroom.’ ” 
She walked past him. The license on her light purple collar sparkled in the lamplight. He followed her. He suddenly realized how exhausted he was. Stifling a yawn, he followed her into a small but tidy room that glowed with firelight. 
“You may have the dog bed,” Amber offered, the fire reflecting beautifully in her eyes.
Kato lay down on the rug by the fireplace. “No, thanks,” he managed to yawn. I’ll be okay here.” And Kato knew no more, because right then he fell fast asleep.

	“Will the dogs be okay here?”
	Daddy’s voice sliced through the tranquility of sleep. Kato opened his eyes but did not get up. Daddy was talking to Zack. Zack grinned at his question. 
	“Of course. I usually let Amber wander around town during the day, but most of the time, she’s back before 8p.m. If she isn’t, I don’t worry. She knows where home is.”
	Not altogether reassured, Daddy allowed himself to be led out the door and away from the house. Kato yawned and stretched. For the first time he noticed how bright the sunlight was and how the room was colder than it had been last night. Amber was still asleep. Kato’s stomach did a flip at the sight of her tan side rising and falling with her regular breathing. He scolded himself mentally. What was wrong with him? Disgusted with himself, he wandered into the kitchen. 
There were two dog bowls on the floor, both full of food. Hesitating only for a moment, he plunged his muzzle into one. By the time he was finished, Amber had entered the room. 
“Good morning,” she yawned. “Did you have a good night?”
He nodded. “Yes, it was wonderful. That’s a very comfortable rug.” It was hard not to wonder if he sounded ridiculous, but he didn’t have any time to think about it. 
“Just let me finish eating, and I’ll take you around town,” Amber said. Her voice seemed to wash over Kato like water, and all he wanted was to sit here and listen to her forever. Shaking himself, he nodded. 
Amber smiled at him. “Okay, then.” She licked the last bits of food out of the bowl and padded over to him. Her sweet scent wreathed around him. It was oddly comforting. Dragging his thoughts out of his head, he followed her out the doggie door. The morning sun had melted a good bit of the snow, and it wasn’t as difficult to walk as it had been last night. 
Kato smiled inwardly as he took in the small buildings and the narrow streets. This was nothing like his home in Anchorage. 
“Come on,” Amber huffed impatiently. “Let’s not wait for the snow to melt.”
He laughed, and she along with him. “Really, let’s get going.” Amber laughed. “I’ll give you a tour.”
Kato swallowed and nodded. At that moment the sun emerged from behind the clouds, making Amber’s tan fur light up and shine bright gold. Kato’s eyes widened and his head spun.
“Hurry up, you featherhead!” Amber called from halfway down the street. Kato jumped and raced after her, embarrassed. 
Amber spoke and told stories as they walked. She told about things like where her friend used to live before she moved away, where a brave sled dog collapsed after being run too hard, and where a criminal who had been wanted statewide was finally caught and arrested. 
“Wow,” said Kato, impressed. “There’s more to this little town than I thought.” 
“Yep.” Amber nodded. “Visitors are always impressed. That’s why us house-puppy like to give little tours to visitors.”
“Uh… I don’t mean to sound stupid, but what is a house-puppy?” Kato asked.
Amber laughed. “Everyone always asks that. A house-puppy is just a name for a housedog. It’s what the street dogs call us when they try to sound cool. We’re going to meet one now.”
“A street dog?” Kato asked. He had many street dog friends at home, mostly feminine. Daddy didn’t let him wander the streets, but Kato usually got out by himself, and by the time Daddy got home from work, he was back in the fence. 
“Mmmm-hmmm,” Amber answered absentmindedly. “He’s a friend of mine.”
Kato wasn’t quite sure he liked the sound of he. 

Twenty minutes later Kato and Amber were sitting in the boiler room under the hospital with a gray mutt.
“Dogs hang out in the boiler room under the doctors’ in Anchorage, too,” Kato commented.
The mutt laughed. “Yeah, I’ve been to a lot of places, and it’s sort of a trend. You know, the hospital, always heated, and it provides a good hangout for everyone, not to mention a place to stay for us street dogs. But it’s also important that when the humans come to put fresh coals in the boiler, no one is caught. Did you see Twister, the calico cat at the entrance?” The mutt plowed on without waiting for a reply. “He sits and watches for the humans. When Twister yowls, we all know to scoot on farther under the building, where no one can see us.”
“Cool,” Kato replied shortly. He did not like the way Amber was smiling at the mutt. 
The mutt grinned at him. “I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Tomek. Just ask for my name, and anyone can tell you where I am. Usually,” He added as an afterthought.  
Kato liked this dog less and less every second. Not only did Tomek seem to think that he was top dog, Kato had to compete with him for… 
Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he forced himself to smile. “My name is Kato. Nice to meet you.”
Tomek laughed. “You’re a city slicker, aren’t you? I like you, Kato, I like you.”
Kato felt a growl rumbling in his throat, but luckily Tomek didn’t notice it. He had struck up a conversation with Amber. Kato found his concentration ebbing. How long had they been here? He guessed that he and Amber had been out of the house for about two hours, but it might have been two days, he was so bored!
“What do you think, Kato?”
Tomek’s voice sliced through his thoughts. Surprised, Kato jumped. “Huh?” he replied stupidly. 
“We were just talking about how if the humans can’t get the railroad farther than Nenana, they might as well not have it at all,” Amber explained, saving him. 
“Oh, yeah, yeah…” Kato said. After about forty-five more minutes (though it felt like forty-five hours), Amber stood up. “Well,” she sighed. “It’s time we were going. Bye, Tomek!” 
“Bye, Amber!” Tomek called. “Bye, Kato”
“Goodbye, Tomek,” Kato growled, and he followed Amber out the boiler room door.
“You hungry?” Amber asked as they made their way down the street.
“Starving!” Kato said emphatically, noticing for the first time how hungry he was. 
“Good,” Amber replied. “I was hoping that you’d be as starved as I am! I’ll take you to Jada’s. Her owner always gives away free food.”
Relieved that this new dog was a she, Kato followed Amber down the street. On the way he told her about Anchorage, his hometown. She listened to him, only asking an occasional question. He loved the way that she looked at him.
Soon they stopped in front of a small brick house. “This is Jada’s place. She usually hangs around with her owner,” Amber explained.
She padded down the dirt walkway to the house. The yard was unkempt and overgrown, but Kato thought it looked rather nice. 
When Amber got to the door, she whined and scratched on it a little bit. Soon an elderly lady opened it. She smiled at the dogs. “Hello puppies!” She said. “Come on in and I’ll give you something to eat.”
Kato and Amber walked through the doorway. A chunky, red-colored husky was lying on the carpeted floor. She stood up when she saw them. 
“Hi, Amber,” she said, smiling at them. Her voice was higher-pitched than Amber’s. “Who is your friend?” 
“Hi, Jada.” Amber greeted her friend. “This is Kato. His owner is visiting mine for two months.”
“Hi, Jada,” Kato said. “Pleased to meet you.” 
“Hey, Kato,” Jada replied. “Pleased to meet you, too. I hope you like it here.”
“Oh, yeah,” Kato told her. “It’s great!” He decided not to mention his dislike of Tomek.
At that moment, the woman put three bowls of food on the floor. In them were strips of chicken, just unfrozen, it seemed. While they ate, Amber and Jada talked about the goings-on in town, and Kato gave his opinion on everything. When they had all finished their meal, Amber beckoned to Kato. 
“Thanks, Jada,” Amber said. “But we should get going.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. Always glad to have company!” Jada replied. “See you ‘round!”
“Bye, Jada!” Kato called. “It was nice meeting you!”
“Goodbye, Kato,” Jada responded as the door shut. 

Kato and Amber spent the rest of the afternoon in the park, running around and exchanging words with other dogs. At dusk, Kato and Amber began to make their way back to the house. 
“Thanks,” Kato told Amber. “You didn’t have to do that. I had fun with you.” Against all his better judgment, Kato added “with you” on purpose.
Amber smiled radiantly at him. “You’re welcome. My pleasure. I had a lot of fun, too.” 
Kato smiled back at her. “I’m glad I have another two months here. I’m really not looking forward to leaving.”
Amber continued to smile, but there was a guarded look in her eyes as she answered, “I’m glad, too.”
The rest of the walk was spent in silence. Kato wondered if he had said too much. Beside him, Amber walked slowly, setting the pace. She looked as if she was thinking. Kato was uncomfortable. He wished that home was closer to the park. 
They arrived home at about 6 p.m. An unfamiliar car was in the driveway. Amber bristled. “Who’s that?” she whispered. 
A very familiar scent wafted into Kato’s nose. He struggled to name it. At last he remembered. “Pizza!” he laughed, relieved. “It’s the pizza man!” 
Amber looked confused for a moment, and then burst out laughing. “All that fuss,” she laughed. “About a pizza man! Let’s go!” 
As they padded up to the door, someone walked away from the house and got in the car with a cry of, “Thank you! Have a nice night!”
The two dogs headed into the house, where they were given a warm welcome and pieces of pizza crust. Daddy and Zack both looked exhausted, and they both ate slowly, making Kato wonder what they had been doing all day. 
After dinner, Daddy and Zack stood up and went up the stairs. They didn’t come back until around 9:30. “Doing more work,” Kato whispered to Amber. 
Daddy just patted Kato on the head and went into his room. Then Zack picked up the two bowls and bustled around a little bit. When the bowls were down on the floor again, they were full of food. 
Kato gazed down at the bowl and realized that he wasn’t very hungry. He said so, and Amber nodded. “All right. I’ll meet you in the room in a sec.”
	Kato padded into the room. He lay down on the rug, but he wasn’t very tired. For what seemed like a while, he lay on the rug, waiting for Amber. At last she came in the room.
	He cleared his throat. “I’d like to do this again. I’m glad Daddy took me here.”
	The same guarded look entered the amber eyes that Kato found so beautiful. “I… I am, too. That was fun.” Frowning slightly, Amber buried her nose under her paws and closed her eyes, but Kato could see that she was only pretending to sleep. 
	
	For the next month and a half, Kato and Amber’s routine was simple. Walk around town, read the latest news on discarded newspapers, go to the park, visit Tomek and Jada… Tomek sometimes went so far as to accompany them on their walks. Kato hated this, but he learned to deal with it. 
	
	Then, on the second week of the last of the two months, disaster struck, and Kato and Amber were right in the middle of it.
	They were walking in the park when it began to snow. “Odd,” Kato commented. “It doesn’t usually snow this late into spring.”
	“Yeah,” Amber added. “Odd…”
	They walked around for another ten minutes, but Kato had a sneaking suspicion all the while that they should have been getting home.  
	Soon it began to snow harder. The ground became covered in snow alarmingly fast. Soon the two dogs could see nothing except swirling whiteness.
	“Let’s get back,” Amber suggested, a trace of fear in her voice. 
	Kato nodded. He tried not to panic, but this proved to be very difficult. A horrible thought entered his mind. 
“Uh, Amber?” Kato asked quietly.  
	“What?” she snapped, fear making her annoyed.
	“Which way is home?”
	Amber stopped dead. She turned her head slowly to look at him. “Excuse me?” she squeaked.
	Kato stopped, too. “I said: which way is home? I have no idea which way is which in this snow.”
Shock would have been visible in Amber’s eyes, if anything had been visible at all. Kato could tell that she was doing some very quick thinking. “Ummm…” she hesitated. “This way! Follow me.” 
She turned in a random direction and began to walk. Kato followed her doubtfully. Soon, Amber stopped. Without saying anything, she turned sharply and went the other way. Kato’s tail brushed up against a tall metal thing, and he knew that she had hit a fence. This happened about five more times, and all the while snow blew in their faces, and they bundled into snowdrifts. Kato began to wonder if they would ever find their way out at all. 
Suddenly, Amber’s steps faltered and Kato heard a cry of pain. Despite the snow, he was at Amber’s side in one bound. 
“Amber!” he yelped. “Are you okay? What happened?” 
Amber tried to stand up, but she fell back down again. “I twisted my paw. I didn’t see the hole.”
“Can you walk?” Kato asked, shoving a howl of despair down his throat. 
“What does it look like? Help me stand up. Here, get on that side of me and let me lean on you.”
Kato did as he was told. Wincing in pain, Amber put her injured forepaw across his back. It was slow work, but Amber and Kato finally made their way out on to the street. Amber took her paw off of his back. Still walking, Kato looked back. 
“Amber, are you-“ 
His last word became a screech of terror. He was sinking! There was cold all around him. He couldn’t breath! Panicking, he struggled violently, but that only made him sink deeper. 
Then he felt teeth close around his scruff. Going limp, he was hauled up onto the solid ground. Panting, he looked up into his rescuer’s face. A growl of disbelief and anger almost escaped him. Tomek stood over him, grinning. 
“That was quite a fall, there.” He added more seriously, “Really, you could have frozen.”
Kato forced himself to act polite. “Thank you so much. You saved my life.”
“No trouble, no trouble!” was the reply. “I’ll walk you home.”
Kato had been expecting this, and he had already braced himself for it. 
“Oh thank you, Tomek!” 
It was the first time since his fall that Amber had spoken. She was looking admiringly into Tomek’s eyes. He smiled slightly at her gaze. “No problem. I’m glad to assist you.”
Amber limped on her three good legs to stand beside Tomek. To Kato’s horror, she pushed gently into him and buried her nose into her fur. Smoldering with rage, Kato turned a headed down the street. How dare Amber? How dare she? he thought angrily.
“Come back, featherbrain!” Amber called. “Our house is the other way!”
Laughing, she and Tomek left him standing in the snow, anger burning in his brown eyes. He followed them more slowly, kicking up clouds for powdery snow as he went. What did Amber see in that excuse for a dog? He was annoying and conceited. But, said a snide voice inside his head. He did save you from freezing in a snowdrift. And what’s so bad about him, anyway? He imagined throwing the snide voice out a window. Then he could loathe that stupid Tomek in peace. 

During the next two weeks, Kato found himself keeping away from Amber and Tomek. Instead he visited Jada. Talking her somehow calmed him, and sometimes she walked around town with him. He enjoyed this. She was fun to be around, and her jokes made him laugh, something that he was otherwise unable to do. She seemed to enjoy his company, too. 
Tomek didn’t seem to miss him, but Amber was always huffy and irritated with him now. One night she asked him, “Why aren’t you coming with me any more?”
The question had caught him off-guard. He had known that getting angry with her wouldn’t help, but somehow he just couldn’t help himself. 
“Why do you ask?” he had snarled. “You’d rather be spending time with Tomek, wouldn’t you?”
Then he had stormed out of the room, leaving her looking shocked and angry behind him. He had apologized later, but she still had seemed annoyed with him.

When it came time for him to leave, he found himself relieved at the return to Anchorage. At the sight of Daddy’s packed bags, a bubble of anxiety that had been in his chest since the snowstorm seemed to get a tiny hole in it and deflate. He was really leaving!
But when he heard Zack say to Daddy, “Thanks, Adam. I’ll see you in another month,” the bubble blew back up again, bigger than ever. He was coming back? 

The month that was in-between visits to Yentna passed all too quickly for Kato. He spent most of his time shut up in his house brooding anxiously about his return to Yentna. What would Amber say when he returned? How would Tomek react? He went over those questions over and over again in his mind, including possible answers. He would then go over what he would do in each given situation that he made up in his mind.
When it came time for Daddy to leave again, Kato wished with all his might that he would be left at home, but Daddy clipped on his leash saying, “I bet you want to see your friends you made in Yentna, don’t you? Good boy.”
Once again Kato was flung into the baggage car. This time he sat in the back corner, silently cursing to himself. At one stop, a suitcase had been flung on his back. He had whipped around, growling. The men had shut the door quickly with mutters of, “Stupid dog.” He had returned to his corner, angry at the men for their carelessness and angry at himself for his unneeded reaction.
When the train stopped, it was late afternoon. Kato scrambled out of the baggage car. Clipping on his leash again, Daddy began the now-familiar walk to Amber’s house.
When they entered the door, Kato hesitated, not sure of a welcome. Daddy yanked him into the house. While he was catching up with Zack, Kato entered the room where he and Amber slept. She wasn’t there. Not surprised, he curled up on the rug. Grateful for the peace and forgetfulness that sleep brought him, he closed his eyes and let himself sink into nothingness.

Kato looked into Amber’s mocking face.
“So naïve,” she crooned. “Thinking that we actually liked you, when all we really wanted was to deceive you.”
Tomek suddenly appeared, laughing scornfully. “Amber is right,” he chuckled. “You were so stupid to think that she would ever look twice at you. You are nothing, always nothing, compared with me.”
Amber raised her head to Tomek’s, licking his nose briefly with tongue. Then she turned back to Kato, her eyes glinting with malignant laughter. “Listen to Tomek,” she advised him. “He can tell you things that your mediocre mind wouldn’t think of, normally. You are nothing special, but he is wonderful, amazing.”
She reached her head up to Tomek again, her mouth way too close to his for Kato’s liking…

Kato awoke, panting. His dream had seemed so real. Swallowing, he took deep calming breaths. Annoyed with his mind that it made up such stupid things while he was asleep, he reassured himself that Amber would never say such things… would she?
Forcing his mind away to something else, Kato drifted off to sleep again, but it was fitful and disturbed.

A door opening awakened him. He heard Zack’s voice say, “Hey, Amber, you’ve got a friend in the sitting room,” before Amber padded into the room. He took one look at her and knew that something was terribly wrong. 
“Hey, Amber,” he greeted her tentatively, remembering his dream. “I-I’m glad to see you.”
Sighing tiredly, she sat down a few feet away from him. “Hi, Kato,” she returned quietly.
Kato swallowed. That something wrong that he had seen in her was becoming clearer. Looking at his paws, he said, even more hesitantly, “You look…” He searched for the right word. “…Different…than when I last saw you…” He trailed away. 
Amber looked up sharply. “What do you mean?” she asked curtly.
“Uh… nothing… It just seemed like-“
Amber cut him off. “I’m expecting Tomek’s pups,” she said harshly.
Kato narrowed his eyes. “I should’ve known,” he snarled. “You selfish idiot!” He hurled the insults at her, raising his voice. “You couldn’t see...” he swallowed before continuing. “You couldn’t see that there was someone, right in front of your stupid face…” His voice was quite soft now, almost pleading. He continued, “…who…loved you-“ His voice broke. He ran from the room, leaving Amber looking confused and upset behind him.
Kato hurtled through the house, not caring how many things that he broke. How could Amber let this happen? Why did that stupid Tomek have to take everything from him that was most important to him? Slowing his pace, he wandered into Daddy’s room. Daddy had left the window opened, letting the warm summer air drift through the window. Kato carefully climbed over Daddy’s sleeping form. Lifting up the screen with his nose, he squeezed out into the night.
		As soon as he was out, he pushed the screen down again. No one would know of his nighttime excursions. He took a confident step forward and, with a squeal of fright, tumbled down into some bushes.  Cursing himself for his stupidity, he realized that he had been standing in a window box. When he had stepped forward, he had simply stepped out onto thin air. Luckily for him, Daddy’s room had been on the first story.
	Kato set off down the street, his paws remembering the path to the park. His first glanced at the old trees, bathed in moonlight, and at the familiar landscape, slightly eerie in the black of night, brought back bittersweet memories that he didn’t want. Pushing them away angrily, he went to lie down under a tree. Pushing his nose into the cold grass, he tried to sleep, but somehow, he wouldn’t let himself. He remembered Amber’s face when he had shouted at her, and he felt anger welling up inside him once more. How could she, when he had loved her?

	Kato awoke the next morning, wondering how he could awake when he never remembered going to sleep. He supposed that he had drifted off without knowing it. As he breathed in the fresh, leafy smell of an early summer morning, he began to panic. Where on earth was he? Why wasn’t he tucked safe and warm in the crook of a bent knee back at home? Then he remembered the events of the previous night, and his heart sank. 
	Kato stood up and stretched, his muscles stiff from sleeping on the ground. His forepaw throbbed. He guessed he had slept on it the wrong way. He hobbled around the park, taking in familiar sights and saying hello to dogs that were adventurous enough to wander the city this early. 
	After making his rounds, he set off down the street. After walking about a block, he heard the very last voice that he had expected or wanted. 
	“Kato! I didn’t know that you were back!”
	Tomek’s voice sounded from behind. Kato turned around, wanting nothing more than to rip Tomek’s ears out. Instead, he tried to smile. “Hey, Tomek. How’s it goin’?” 
	The mutt laughed. “Oh, it’s goin’,” he answered. “How’ve you been?”
	Kato made a valiant effort not to sound aggressive. “Oh, I’ve been fine, you know…” Thinking that this was probably the hardest thing that he ever had to do, he said, “Look, I heard about you and Amber, and-“ (He forced the word out of his mouth.) “Congratulations.”
	Tomek puffed out his chest proudly. “Yeah, she’s great. I’m glad to have her.”
	Thinking savagely that Tomek standing there was the sickest sight that he had ever seen, he choked out, “Yeah, you’re lucky.” At least one thing he said he meant. “Look, I’ve got to be somewhere,” he lied. He expected Tomek to be offended that he was leaving so soon.
	Instead, Tomek winked knowingly at him. And then he said the oddest thing: “Yeah, she’s been missing you. See you ‘round!”
	 “Bye…”
	Confused, Kato began to wander down the street. What in the world had Tomek meant? He couldn’t heave meant Amber, obviously. But then, who was the dog that Tomek had referred to? He automatically began the long trek to Jada’s place. 
	Jada was sitting on her front porch when he arrived. Joy sparked in her ice-blue eyes. “Kato!” she breathed. “I didn’t expect to ever see you again!” 
	She raced toward him, eyes gleaming. Brushing her tail along his flank, she reached up to touch noses with him. Quite unprepared for this warm welcome, Kato was at a loss for anything to say. Instead, he flicked his tail over her ears affectionately, playing for time so he could think up a suitable response. He didn’t have to.
Jada looked into Kato’s face, and the depth of emotion in her eyes startled him. “I’ve missed you so much!” 
Kato wondered at the fierce intensity in her voice. She added more playfully, “Although, I haven’t missed the way you ate up my owner’s food in one sitting!”
Grinning, something he hadn’t done in a long time, he swatted at Jada with a forepaw. “Don’t forget how every time I looked away, you would sneak a bite of what ever was in my dish!”
As she laughed, he realized how much he trusted her. Suddenly, he decided to confide in her. “I’ve missed you, too,” he told her. “Please walk with me.”
Looking almost indecently excited, she padded along with him, matching his pace. “I- I did really miss you, Kato.” She hesitated before adding bitterly. “I bet Amber missed you, too.”
They had arrived at the edge of the town. Looking into her eyes, Kato saw anger, resentment, and sadness there all at once. 
“Come on.”
He pulled Jada into an alley. Looking confused, she faced him. “What is this about, Kato?” she questioned. “Why have you got me in here?”
Kato swallowed. “Jada,” he began. “You know how Amber is expecting Tomek’s pups?” He swallowed again. Why was it so hard to talk to her? “I… the last time I was here…”
“You’re feeling jealous of Tomek?” she suggested shrewdly.
He nodded helplessly. “I… I suppose…”
Jada looked at him gently. “Did you really love Amber, though?” Her blue eyes gave away nothing. 
Kato scuffed the ground with his paws, embarrassed. He sighed, playing for time. Then, slowly, very slowly, but with all of the truth that he possessed behind the movement, he shook his head. “I suppose that I could learn to love her, maybe, but I suppose that I’ve always known that the only dog for her would be Tomek.”
Jada’s face was unreadable. “Then why are you so jealous?”
Kato looked at her. When she asked him all of these questions, it seemed like he had no reason to be jealous at all. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, embarrassed. “But I still feel angry.”
	“Why do you think that is?”
	Why did she have to ask him all of these questions that he couldn’t answer? “I guess because… because…”
	Jada had an odd look on her face. “Because you weren’t in control of the situation?” She was looking straight at him. 
	Kato didn’t like the way her eyes seemed to see through him like he was made of glass. “Yeah, yeah I guess. I think I’m so angry because I thought that maybe, I had a chance with Amber, but Tomek snatched it from me.” He was embarrassed that he was letting someone in on all of his deepest thoughts.
	Jada stared at Kato so intensely that he looked away. “So,” she concluded. “You’re not jealous, you’re angry. You’re angry because you didn’t have a chance to get what you thought you wanted.”
	Kato looked at Jada in amazement. She had worked through the tangled mess that was his feelings, and she had explained them so they made perfect sense. Kato didn’t know how to put this into words that didn’t sound dumb, so all he said was: “Thanks.”
	Jada laughed. “No problem!” She added as an afterthought, “I can’t believe you dragged me out here just to tell me this! We could’ve just gone inside my owner’s house and discussed it there!”
	A little abashed, Kato laughed along with her. They talked as they walked back to Jada’s. Kato found himself having the best time that he had had in more than a month. As for Jada, she was absolutely ecstatic. Frisking around, catching the raindrops that had begun to fall, she was as carefree as a puppy during its first time out of the house.
	When they arrived at Jada’s house, Kato said, “I think that I’d better go. I have to apologize to…”
	Eyes glowing with understanding, she tucked her head under his chin. “That’s brave of you,” she whispered. “Admitting that you’re wrong. I’ve never been able to do it.” 
	Kato again found himself unable to speak. He touched her tail to her flank. She padded into the house. Unable to make neither head nor tail of her behavior, he began to make his way toward Amber’s. Ducking behind some trashcans when he saw Tomek, he recalled Tomek’s parting words, “Yeah, she’s been missing you.”
	Suddenly, it hit him. Could it be that Jada was interested in him? Confused at this odd new turn that his life was taking, he puzzled over her for a few minutes. That would explain her odd behavior today. Did he love her, too? He discovered that he thought he did, maybe. He could definitely try to learn to. He felt a grin spreading over his face, and the dogs that saw him from their house windows would have noticed a new spring in his step.
	When he got to Amber’s house, he felt reluctant to enter. Uncertainly, he ducked through the doggie-door. Amber was lying in the sitting room, talking to a black dog that Kato didn’t know. When he entered, her eyes met his, and when she gave him a tiny nod, he understood that she had accepted his unspoken apology. Relieved, he sat down. 
	Amber smiled rather stiffly at him. “Hi, Kato,” she greeted him. “I was just talking to Merla.”
	“Hey, Amber,” he mumbled, looking at his paws. Scolding himself at how undignified he must look, he straightened up and looked at Merla before saying politely, “And you’re Merla. Nice to meet you.”
	The she-dog smiled kindly at him. “Nice to meet you, too, Kato.” Kato caught a trace of sympathy in her eyes. Had she guessed what had passed between him and Amber? 
	Unable to join the conversation, Kato just nodded and said, “Mmmm-Hmmmm…” periodically. A lump was in his throat, and he didn’t know why. He waited until Merla left before he padded from the room. He went into Daddy’s room. Jumping up on the bed, he let only a small whimper escape him. He felt unwanted tears burning in his eyes. Blinking them away, he buried his nose in the pillows. There seemed to be a weight in his chest, pushing down on his heart so he could barely stand it. He took, deep steadying breaths, trying to chase away the sadness that threatened to overwhelm him.
	“Kato?” Amber’s voice asked hesitantly.
	“What?” he acknowledged her, his voice tight with suppressed tears.
	“Are you okay?”
	He looked down at her, struggling to hold back his howls of misery. “I’m sorry for what I said this morning. I didn’t mean it, either. I’m glad for you and Tomek. I talked to Jada…”
	Eyes glinting with hostility, Amber looked up at him. “How do I know that you mean it?” she snapped. “How do I know that you aren’t just trying to win favor with me?”
	Anger filled him up so completely that there was no room left for sadness. “My question now is,” he growled, not able to keep all of his anger out of the words. “How you could think that I would do that? After you and Tomek are already mates? What do you think that I am?”
	Amber flinched. “I’m sorry,” she told him. I misjudged you. I accept your apology. So we can be friends?” 
	Kato nodded, but he just couldn’t bring himself to smile. “Friends,” he said firmly. He walked out of the room behind her, glancing at the weak rays of sun falling upon the bed, realizing that they lit the way for a new life for him. He had no future with Amber except to be very good friends with her, and now he realized that he didn’t want anything more than that.