Chapter 5

When they got to the boiler room they found the room empty and vacated for some time. For a while they sat around and waited for Dakota to come, but finally Jenna figured he had run out on them. Jenna decided they would just take Quin back to her house and go see Balto, much to Benson's delight.

Quin looked notably let down from the whole ordeal. She walked back to her house with her head hung low and talked listlessly about nothing in particular.

Once they got Quin home, Cleo began to complain about her hips and how she didn't think she could make the walk to meet Balto. She then asked for Jenna and Benson to bring the young boy by just so she could lay her eyes on him.

Jenna didn't particularly want to go see Balto with just her father. She saw some event breaking out and somebody getting hurt emotionally or physically. But Jenna knew she couldn't push her mother to do something more than her body would allow her. So Benson and Jenna took Cleo back to the house. Cleo bid them farewell with a smile as she scratched at the door.

Benson and Jenna walked along side by side like they had done long ago in a place far away. The sun had fallen even further towards the horizon and the shadows of the buildings stretched further and further towards the east. They strolled on together through the alleys and streets as Benson told Jenna a story like he had a million times before.

"So Sam and I are walking along this ridge. Now we're up high, real high up. We're way up above the trees, we're even up above the clouds. Now ..."

But Jenna couldn't really pay attention. Every now and then she could give her father a smile and nod and say things in an agreeing way. "Yeah, okay, wow." She found herself repeating them over and over again and feeling like a robot permanently trying to be happy.

Jenna's thoughts kept going to how much she didn't want to do this. If only she could do something different than just introduce her dad to Balto. Maybe they could set up some sort of act and Balto could save Jenna and everything would be okay? Maybe then Benson would have a fondness for Balto. But this only sounded childish and went against everything Jenna was trying to avoid.

Suddenly the thought of lying to her father didn't feel like such a bad thing. Besides it would only be a little-white-lie, right? It didn't matter now; she couldn't go back and change anything. She could only chug forwards and hope for the best.

"Jenna?"

Jenna looked up at her father. The sudden realization she had been caught not paying attention dawned in her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just thinking."

"What about?"

Jenna looked away from her father. A young lady walked down the other side of the street with a little boy following her. "About you."

Benson laughed. "You were thinking about me, but couldn't pay attention? What was it you were thinking about?"

"Papa," Jenna looked at her father. "Do you still hunt wolves?"

Benson's eyes went up in his head and his ears flattened as if he hadn't expected the question at all. He chuckled uneasily "Why do you want to know?"

"I just want to know if you do."

Benson smiled halfheartedly. "I don't hunt wolves any more. I haven't in a long time. My hips are to shot to be running in the snow. I just don't have the body to do it any more. I used to be able to keep up with any wolf. Then I couldn't keep the lead for more than a mile, than I could keep it at all. Eventually all I could do was follow everyone else. … It's just a pain growing old." Benson's face fell to the ground as if sick. But from somewhere there came a smile

The answer wasn't the one Jenna wanted exactly. "What I mean dad, is if you could hunt wolves today, would you?"

Benson didn't hesitate. "Yes. Nothing gives me such a thrill as hunting wolves. Why?"

"No reason." Jenna looked away as if a knife had been thrust at her. This wasn't going to go well and she knew it.

Benson and Jenna went out from the town and headed along the coast towards the boat. Neither of them spoke as they slowly walked along after their shadows in the sand. As they drew under the back end of the boat and the next several miles of coast opened up before them Benson began.

"So where does Balto live? I don't see any houses out here." He stopped and looked around. "Am I just not seeing what I'm supposed to?" He smiled.

"No." Jenna cringed inwardly as she searched the deck of the boat for with a casual glance. She didn't see him. "You see what I do. He lives on the boat." She pointed her nose towards it.

Benson looked at the boat above them, an old and decrepit thing wasting away into the dirt and the sea. He turned back to Jenna. "Are you joking? You got to be joking." He smiled, Jenna didn't, and Benson lost his smile. "So why does he live out here if he's such a town hero?"

Jenna shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't know. "Well, he's kind of a … stray."

Benson suddenly began to laugh loudly. "Is that what you've been hiding?" He chuckled. "I've been noticing you've been acting rather strange since we got here." He laughed more. "I thought you might be hiding something from your mother and me. If you thought I would be ashamed of you for loving a stray, don't worry." He looked into Jenna's eyes. "The way you described Balto I thought he was living in a house like you." He chuckled. "You never said he was a stray living on this boat." He smiled. "I would still love to meet this boy." Benson noticed Jenna's eyes hadn't changed as he tried to reassure her. "Is there something else you need to tell me?"

Jenna noticed Balto peeking around the backside of the boat. He stood in the shadows, his yellow eyes shining bright.

"Well, sort of."

"Well then spill it. I think I can handle it." Benson noticed Jenna looking behind him. He turned his gaze towards the boat. "Is he over there?" Benson walked briskly towards the boat.

"Yes, but papa." Jenna said bolting after her father, but before she could stop him he moved around the edge of the boat and stood looking. "There's something you should know. It's something you might not be comfortable with…"

Benson stood and looked down the boat's length, nothing. He turned back to Jenna. "There's nobody there."

Suddenly the gangplank above them rattled as feet ran up it's length. A shadow moved across the ground. A set of feet landed on the deck and neither Benson nor Jenna saw who had done it.

"Hey Balto." Benson said moving to the bottom of the plank. "Come out here. You don't need to be shy."

Nothing moved on the deck. Benson moved to go up it when Jenna jumped in his way.

"Please Papa, there's something you need to know."

Benson looked flustered at his daughter. "Well then out with it."

Jenna sighed. She stepped off the plank and sat next to her father who sat back as she did. "Balto, you can come out now."

From up on the deck there came movement, followed by a figure coming out from behind the deck and looking down at them with his bright yellow eyes. "Hello." He said meekly.

Benson looked at Jenna with his jaw slack and his eyes wider than they had ever been. "Is this … Balto?"

"Yes, papa I wanted to tell you he was-"

"-A wolf!!!" Benson screamed at his daughter. "Of all the mates you could choose from in this town you chose a bloody wolf!!! What would posses you to do such a thing?"

"Papa he's not a full wolf, he's only a half wolf, he just looks like he's a full wolf. And I love him, and he loves me. Please papa can you just accept him?" Jenna pleaded with tears growing in her eyes.

Benson said nothing more. He stared at his daughter for a long time, and then took one final look at Balto who still stood above him. He then stood and turned and went walking around the edge of the boat towards the town.

Jenna moved to the edge of the boat and watched him go down the beach in silence as Balto joined her side. Balto nuzzled the side of his mate's face. "That didn't go so bad." He tried to joke, but Jenna didn't want to joke.