Later, that same day, in the late afternoon, in Nome…
It had been almost a week since Balto and his team had set off for Kaltag. The life in the town of Nome moved on like any other day. While the humans had their business and concerns, some of them faced the absence of few sled dogs and the town hero. It just wasn't the same without them, although they knew that they were going to return home soon.
As for dogs, true to Balto's words about the fact that he couldn't be friends with everyone, some of the dogs actually had a delightful talk about Balto not being in town and how a half-wolf should know a place. That wasn't an opinion shared by many dogs though, namely a certain St. Bernard, Afghan Hound and a Pomerian.
Most certainly, this opinion was openly rejected by Jenna and Aurora. These two missed Balto the most. The former one missed him because she and him were in love and sleeping all those nights, without him by her side or even at the old boat, made her feel a sense of emptiness. The latter one missed her only known member of the family.
"Jenna, tell me again, what was it that I said in my foretelling that morning?" Aurora spoke to Jenna, both of them being outside Jenna's house that afternoon. Even after foretelling the events of Balto's journey, Aurora behaved as if she had no memory of doing such a thing. As for Jenna, she sighed, about to repeat to her for yet another time what it had.
"You have spoken that the three of them seek the past, the three of them seek forgiveness and one seeks the truth to his past. I still don't know about the first two, but Balto has to be the one who seeks the truth. Not to mention, you said that they were going to return with the eighth companion? Wasn't that meant to be their musher?" Jenna recalled the key elements of Aurora's prophecy.
"Look, if I said all that, I can't possibly know any details of it right now!" Aurora grew impatient about trying to explain to the others that she had no memories of her foretelling. Knowing how she almost raised her tone at her friend, she sighed and lowered her view at the ground. She told her: "I'm sorry, Jenna. It's just that I do miss them, Balto the most… he's the only member of the family I have."
"Aurora, I understand. I miss all of my friends there, but I miss Balto and having him by my side when I go to bed every night… It's like my bed feels cold without him." Jenna admitted how much she missed her boyfriend and how she'd do everything to have him back home. She spoke: "It's been almost a week since they left… what if tonight they're coming home?"
"If they are, the better! I really can't stand the other dogs in this town who talk behind my brother's back. It affects me too." Aurora mentioned her problem. She could easily relate because she was a half-wolf and those dogs bad-mouthing her brother made Aurora feel disliked among the dogs in Nome. Just as she was about to say some more…
A howl pierced the air in the distance, right when the last rays of sun vanished below the horizon. That howl… it was the same howl Jenna heard the fateful night when the town needed a medicine! "Balto!" Jenna's voice grew hopeful upon the moment her ears caught that noise. She spoke to Aurora: "That's Balto! I could recognize that howl anywhere! He's back!"
"Huh, speaking of the… what?" Aurora was amazed how the timing was just precise, but Jenna just told her: "Go to the post office! I'll get Rosy with myself!" She didn't mean to interrupt her, but knowing that little Rosy would not miss seeing her favorite wolf-dog coming home, Aurora agreed and so she headed right there.
"At last! I just hope once my brother is back home, those town dogs will not dare to talk behind our backs!" Aurora thought to herself upon Balto's sooner return. She could hope that he'd teach them a lesson, but at the same time, her brother would never resort to violence unless there was no other option. He was going to find out about this anyhow.
More howls pierced the air and Aurora patiently sat near the post office. More dogs started to show up and so did humans. The crowd was sparse, but with Rosy coming with her parents and Jenna and also Seppala coming with his daughter, it was obvious who was coming from humans and why.
"Here they come!" Seppala noticed the shape in the horizon growing larger and clearer with each meter they were passing. The enthusiasm for their return erupted greatly as soon as Kaasan yelled: "HALT!" and so the team dropped down, finally exhaling in relief after hours and hours of running.
"Balto!" Those were the conjoined voices of Jenna, Aurora and even Rosy! The latter one came to hug her beloved wolf-dog and make sure he could breathe, the little red haired girl spoke: "Oh, Balto! I missed you so much! Jenna missed you so much!" So did he when he smiled brightly upon being hugged by his beloved human, muttering: "I missed you too, Rosy."
"And look, Jenna has come to see you too!" Rosy showed with her arm at her husky, who didn't waste a second to deeply nuzzle him and speak: "Balto, oh you're home! You have no idea how much I missed you!" Jenna laughed in joy when she caught in the scent of her one and only in her life. Balto didn't miss a chance to laugh either, despite being exhausted.
"Jenna...! I couldn't stop... thinking about you... all this time...! It's wonderful... to see you again...!" Balto didn't hide his enthusiasm when he was reunited with Jenna. Being hugged by Rosy and nuzzled by Jenna, it truly felt like heaven for him after days and days, that felt like eternity, he was finally reunited with them!
Following the joyful reunion with his beloved Jenna, Balto looked up and saw his sister smiling at him, mainly how she was sure that the only known member in their family was safe. "Aurora! I… missed you too!" She rushed to nuzzle him, knowing that if it wasn't for him, there would be no way she'd ever gain any confidence in this town, or at least some.
"How was it in that town?" Aurora wondered how well he could handle being in a town that he didn't have to save and how the humans would react on seeing him. Either as a town hero or as a wild animal? He caught some more air and answered: "It was actually much better than I thought it'd be. The same thing can be said for Max, Molly and Audrey, but not for Nikki, Kaltag and Star."
"How come?" Jenna was also curious. As they were concentrated on Balto, somehow they failed to notice an unknown dog next to Balto. He spoke about: "Max, Molly and Audrey have their parents living in Kaltag! They were also welcoming to me because I am their friend!" Little did he know that this revelation to the females would unleash the avalanche…
"Aurora, aren't those words you told us in your glowing eyes session?" Sylvie, who along with Dixie, came to greet the team as they returned to Nome, asked her this. These two had grown overly obsessed with Aurora's foretelling that it was the only main topic they were talking about. Dixie reminded her: "The three of them seek their past, those are your words!"
"Huh, Max, Molly and Audrey seek their past… their parents!" Aurora also started solving the puzzle here and as for Nikki, Kaltag and Star, who were more than relieved to be back home, Balto reminded them: "These three had a very hard time in Kaltag. Their parents didn't like them because of what their fathers did, but they were forgiven."
"The three of them seek their forgiveness, that's six by now!" Sylvie observed Aurora's words more clearly, which made Dixie recall the next verse: "One of them seeks the truth to his past… Balto, you have to be that one who was seeking your past!" This had him startled… how did they all know any of this happening? He wasn't in a mood to figure that one out.
"Well, I was technically talking about my past and I brought up Beringo in it, which made them look at me quite curiously." Balto admitted, finally being able to talk without longer skips. Sylvie rolled with her eyes and commented: "Well, we were hoping your words were entirely true, Aurora. Guess that you might have…"
"Hold on, girls, but who are you?" Jenna just noticed a red husky laying next to Balto, clearly noticing that he was next to him all this time, but didn't notice him yet. The husky, Kane was his name, rolled on his paws and noticed many new faces, all females. He spoke shyly: "H-hi! My name is Kane! I am the new teammate here who came from Kaltag!"
"Hold on, Sylvie, maybe Aurora's words are true! He's the eighth sled dog in a team!" Dixie whispered to the Afghan hound, who counted the entire team and also figured out: "Dixie, you're right! The eighth one wasn't a human, but another dog!" Somehow, Aurora spoke: "Nice to meet you, Kane. Welcome to Nome."
At that moment, Kane gazed at the gray female wolf-dog with blue eyes and he remained speechless upon seeing her. He slowly raised on his paws, not taking his eyes off her. Realizing that he had to say something so they'd not look at him as if he were strange, he said: "T-thanks! And you are…?"
"I am Aurora, Balto's sister." Aurora spoke, feeling some oddly positive sensation in her veins when she introduced herself. This further made Kane look at her with more interest now that she mentioned being Balto's sister. He noticed the scarlett red female husky and thanks to Balto telling him about her, he guessed: "And you must be Jenna, right? Balto told me a lot about you!"
"Oh yeah? He did?" Jenna wondered, looking at Balto. His warm smile and hopeful look made her realize that whatever Balto told him about her, it was nothing else but compliments and love he unconditionally was giving to her. She smiled brightly to her boyfriend and then she spoke to Kane: "Welcome to Nome, Kane! Glad to meet you."
Just as Sylvie and Dixie were going to meet the new husky, a human came rushing to the sled team and yelled in joy: "Kane! Kane, oh my boy! I haven't seen you in months!" A blonde man came, ducking down to hug a red husky. Kane recognized the man as his owner by his voice and looks and wagging his tail in joy, he was reunited with his master!
"I see you're the master of young Kane here, mister. He was a very loyal and fast sled dog in my team, I must admit!" Kaasan spoke to Kane's master, who took it as a compliment that Kane was listening to his musher and exceeded any further expectations. He spoke to Kaasan: "Kane has always been a sled dog in his heart, Gunnar! Now I'm taking him home so my wife and kids can finally see our pet back."
"I understand. They're going to be excited as you are now!" Kaasan was glad that he managed to bring the separated sled dog to his masters. "Come on, Kane, we're going home! You had a pretty long day!" Kane was ready to move on, but not before he spoke to his team and the females: "It was nice running among you and it was nice to meet you, girls! I'll see you around!"
"Take care, Kane!" Balto spoke in the name of them all, watching the heterochromic red husky heading with his master home. The Pomerian and the Afghan hound were actually amazed how Aurora's predictions had turned out to be accurate actually! As for Jenna and Aurora, they looked at the rest of the team.
Max, Molly and Audrey had left their harnesses and were ready to head back home with their master Seppala and his daughter. Balto's teammates from Kaasan's team still remained, with Star commenting: "See, what did I tell you, Balto? Kane was that dog who had to move in with his masters, but it took him some time to return to them!"
"Yes, but you asked me if that meant something to me? I am still asking if it actually meant to me or not?" Balto reminded him what he was asked. As for Star, instead of muttering something like: "Nevermind.", he told him: "I think it could mean something to you. Just ask them!" He was looking at Nikki and Kaltag behind him.
"Boys, what is he trying to say?" Balto wanted to know from the chow-chow and chinook if Star was just messing around or not. Nikki asked him: "Balto, did youse notice something on Kane's face when he looked at your sister?!" It would have been weird to him if Balto just overlooked that and it certainly was when Balto let him know: "What? He was polite enough to meet her."
"It was more than that, Balto. I think that Kane might have a crush on her!" Kaltag spoke, without even laughing or teasing his wolf-dog friend. Balto actually found it funny, dismissing his words with his own: "Oh, come on, Kaltag! He was just being nice to her! It doesn't mean that he's already mad about her!"
"That's easy for you to say. I know that kind of look and behavior and I was just like him when I got to meet Aurora!" Kaltag protested, not wanting to be proven wrong. Nikki leaned closer to let him know: "But youse should not have called her with that word on 'b', you know? Clearly she didn't take that kindly!"
"Well, we all make mistakes, okay?! I wanted to impress her, but I didn't know that she'd be offended by that word… now I feel really dumb for ever saying that." Kaltag recalled the real reason why the things between him and Aurora failed and it was all because of Kaltag's poor choice of words. Clearly, Balto was aware of that incident, clearly unhappy about it.
"Oh well, you will find someone who's the right female for you, Kaltag. I have mine here." Balto let him know, turning towards Jenna who took his words delightfully and she whispered to him: "Now come with me home. You've been running for the entire day and I know what you're seeking now." A warm bed with none other else than his beloved Jenna.
"Oh yes. Alright, I will see you all tomorrow!" Balto bid them a farewell before he got to join Jenna and Rosy on their way home. Had he stayed a little bit longer, he would have noticed the looks Max, Molly and Audrey were giving to Aurora. There was still love and respect for her, but a bigger truth surfaced in their memories and it was more than they could possibly imagine!
When they reached Jenna's place, Balto was glad to see the familiar surroundings. Sure, he could have gone to the old boat and meet up with Boris, but deep inside he knew that he had to rest here. Jenna moved in front of him, stroking his chin with her tail, just the way he loved! He knew what this meant.
"Jenna, you have no idea how much I dreamt about being with you again!" Balto spoke about the sense of missing someone. Jenna stood in front of her bed and told him: "Balto, don't let your dreams be dreams anymore! You're home again!" It was their tradition that Balto would lay down first so Jenna would rest on him, providing her with some well deserved comfort.
They did just that. Jenna laid her head on Balto's chest and breathed in his scent, knowing how much she missed him. Balto took in her scent, being so sweet and innocent. It also made him feel even sleepier than he could possibly imagine. A blanket was put on both of them thanks to Rosy. She knew what was the best for them.
"Welcome home, Balto!" Rosy cuddled him by his head when she placed a blanket on them before leaving them be. Jenna even muttered him: "Sleep well." Her words felt enchanting when she muttered them and he replied to his beloved scarlett red female husky: "You too, Jen, you too…" Little did he know that he was descending to sleep faster than he thought.
By the time he figured it out, he realized that he was no longer in a warm living room in Jenna's bed under the blanket. He was outside, on the streets of Nome and it was a broad daylight. "This must be a dream." He thought to himself, knowing that even if he'd been so exhausted, he was still able to perceive the dreams from reality.
"But where's Jenna? Where's Max, Molly, Audrey? Where's everyone?" He asked himself that, wandering around the streets in hopes of getting the answers to his questions. Thankfully, people were on the streets and some dogs. It was just that he came across a human holding papers in his hands, followed by two dogs. One was a tan female husky, the other was a gray male husky.
"Hello?" Balto asked those two huskies, wondering if they were going to respond. Much to his confusion, he received no reply. "Hello? Excuse me?" Balto asked them again, but no replies. He moved in front to look at their faces. There was nothing wrong or extraordinary about their faces when he looked at them, but somehow these two weren't able to realize a wolf-dog was in front of them.
Balto looked at the human, who also didn't perceive him. What caught Balto's eyes were the newspapers in his arms. It was the edition of Nome Nugget, but both the name of the newspapers and the main headline were blurred, no matter his excellent sight. But only one thing remained sharply clear: November 11th, 19-. The last two numbers were hidden by human's fingers.
"November 11th?" Balto wondered if that meant something. He knew that it was late October. Was this something to happen in two weeks? Who were these huskies and who was that human. What if this wasn't the future, but… a past? The town looked less lively and this could mean that he returned back in time by the looks of it…
He blinked. Instead of being on the street, he was back in Jenna's bed, laying down and having her cuddled to him. However, something felt off. He still could remember that when they went to bed, it was evening. Looking at the window, the first sun-rays were seen shining through the window… was it morning already?!
"Good morning, Balto…!" Jenna yawned lazily. She must have had a pretty good sleep. As for him, he was still deeply confused how short this dream was and it was already morning?! He hid that from her and spoke: "Good morning, Jenna. How did you sleep?" She spoke to him in a seductive tone: "Much, much better, now that I know you're back home."
He didn't mind that, nuzzling her deeply in the morning and answered her: "Oh, Jenna. I feel much more relieved now that I am back and you're next to me. Seeing Max with Molly really made me… feel empty." Saying those two words it was obvious that being separated from someone he loved was the hardest.
"I know, I felt lonely sleeping without you. I only hoped nothing bad happened to you when you were out there!" Jenna didn't hide how much it affected her sleeping those nights apart from Balto. Sure, there were once in a while days when Balto was sleeping on the old boat and speaking of which…
"Jen, is it alright if I go see Boris now? I know that you'd love for me to share breakfast with you, but I told him that the first thing I come home to is to go see him." He knew his priorities, but at the same time, he could not just ignore someone who raised him all these years. She sweetly told him: "Don't worry, you should go see him. You know how thrilled he will be to see you."
"Oh I am sure. I will be back as soon as I can!" Balto raised from bed and headed outside, breathing in the fresh air in Nome. He had in mind to see Boris and tell him everything about his days in Kaltag. Moreso, he had to pass near the house where his friends were living and just in time, he got to see Max heading outside.
"Hey, Max. How did you sleep last night?" Balto greeted him. Max stretched his body and noticed his friend coming, replying: "Morning, Balto! I slept like a little puppy. In fact, I don't remember the last time I slept this long!" He laughed at this as if it were a dad joke, then he cleared his throat and asked him: "And how about you?"
"Oh, same here. Curious, my dream was pretty short, but when I woke up… it was morning already!" Balto made it clear to him that his "blink sleep" actually made him feel more lively than a whole day nap. Balto continued walking, with Max tagging along as usual. He spoke: "You know, that's pretty funny now that you mentioned it. Are you heading to Boris?"
"Oh you know him. I told Boris I'll see him the first thing I return to Nome. I can't just lie to his face." Balto knew what his priorities with Boris were. His friend just let him know: "I'll tag along to see how that lovable grump of ours is right now. Besides, I don't mind a decent morning… stretch!" He literally stretched himself when he said it.
"So, when are you planning your great night with Molly? Something tells me it was a normal date between the two of you in Kaltag!" Balto asked him smugly and clearly Max wasn't going to go to details about how he knew it and he answered him: "Well, I obviously didn't go with her last night because we were too tired, but I believe it is going to be any day soon. How about you and Jenna?"
"Well, I…" Balto started, but then he remembered from his dream "November 11th" flashing in his head. He started again: "Well, before I say that, what day is today?" He felt awkward asking him that because the dogs weren't used to reading the dates on the calendar, but Max said it: "It's the 28th of October, why?"
"October 28th? One, two, three, four… fourteen. November 11th is in fourteen days! Max, that's the date I saw in my dream. Could that mean something?" In the entire history of Nome, there wasn't anything significantly that happened on this exact day so his answer was: "I don't know. Maybe it was a random date you saw in your dream?"
"Maybe so." Balto whispered. If that was merely a random date he saw in his dream, then it was meant to be that way. However, he didn't give up on it yet. The two canines were already on the beach and the wolf-dog's mind was fixed on it - if he were to see that date again and anywhere possible, then that day had to be the same day he and Jenna were going to have their night of the nights!
However, as the day progressed, November 11th didn't just fade away from Balto's head. In fact, some humans, especially men at least 30 years old, were talking about that date and some of them looked weary and stressed upon the mention of that same date. Balto didn't know why that date meant a lot to them anyhow. He decided to postpone his romantic night with Jenna again.
His dream repeated again, November 11th and those two numbers after '19' remaining unknown. What if November 11th of this year was meant to be the night of the nights for Balto and Jenna. Was she aware of it? If this dream was going to repeat, then Balto knew how to prevent that - by having that grandiose night take place on November 11th!
Much to his surprise and delight, Max also decided that he wasn't going to ask Molly for a date until that same night. Sure, he knew that he was independent from Balto and that he could ask at any time, but seeing him as his little brother figure and protecting his back all this time back, he also decided that his romantic date with Molly ought to be a double romantic night!
Just a day before the day that changed everything, Balto and Jenna were outside. In fact, Jenna was chatting with Molly, who just could not stop telling her the stories from Kaltag and her scarlett red friend was interested. Clearly this was meant to be a time for two females, who were unaware about the next night, to get along with each other.
As for their boyfriends, they had their sisters giving them company and also, they could make sure that neither Aurora or Audrey would spill beans to Jenna and Molly. These four were seen on the town docks, which was secluded from these two who were seen on the other side, minding their own business.
"So, girls, you know how the two of us have been pushing ahead with Jenna and Molly respectively for the last few months?" Balto asked both Audrey and Aurora, the latter answering her: "Well, I know actually less than her, but we do." It was more or less a month or two less than Audrey, but good enough anyhow.
"And we have been thinking about this for a while… making a major step ahead, both of us!" Max let them know what their next plan was. Aurora seemed oblivious to this, but Audrey was getting a hint: "Are you saying that you and Molly will make it official?" The smile on Max's face was saying enough.
"Mhm, that's correct! I wanted to do so when we returned to Nome, but for certain reasons, which Balto will explain, tomorrow night will be that night!" Max handled it to his wolf-dog friend. At first, they were rather reluctant to discuss Balto dreaming of tomorrow's date, but in Aurora's presence, it wasn't like that.
"I kept seeing in my dreams November 11th as the day that will change everything and at first, I thought it was a random dream, but it kept repeating and instead of asking Jenna out the night after we returned to Nome, I have been waiting for tomorrow's day! Max also decided to wait for me, even if he could have asked Molly out before." Balto revealed the game plan.
Aurora remained confused about this, but the joy on Audrey's face blossomed and she nuzzled her brother, whispering: "Congratulations, my big brother! If it goes all well, does that mean that I will become…?" She didn't finish it, but Max whispered back: "Yes, you will!" The husky siblings didn't hide their joy.
"Balto, what are they talking about? What is Audrey going to become?" Aurora still couldn't figure out what was going to happen tomorrow on Balto's romantic night with Jenna and Max's with Molly. He sat down to explain to her: "Tell me, do you know what aunt means?" She tilted her head in confusion and replied: "Ummm, no?"
"From what I have heard, mainly from Jenna's humans, it means the sister of father's little ones!" Balto let him know the meaning of the word "aunt" and in a few seconds, it came to her: "Wait… you and Jenna…? And if you do, then you'll have your own family?" The candle was lit above Aurora's head and then she squealed in joy: "Oh, Balto, that's amazing!"
"I know, right?! It was about time I asked her out for that romantic night! Now all I need is a flower for her… but where do I find one?" Balto thought about giving a humble gift to his life-long love and if it wasn't for Audrey, this would have been mission impossible: "Do you know about that flower shop at the corner of the Main Street and butcher's?"
"As far my memory serves, I think so?" Balto wasn't sure where that was, but she and Max knew, the latter saying: "Follow us!" That way the wolf-dog siblings followed husky siblings to the flower shop Molly was talking about. It was cold out there so they had to be fortunate enough to find any of the flowers inside the shop.
Thankfully, the doors were open to that shop, but only one by one they could be inside. They made a deal - Max was heading inside first. While he was looking for the one he would give to Molly as a crowning moment of their relationship, Aurora asked him: "Balto, what flower are you going to give to her? There are lots of them inside!"
"There was the one I gave to her when we were on a date months ago and the flower had the name begin on 'c'... I didn't remember what the name was though, it was pretty long." Balto couldn't take the mind off the flower he tried too hard to remember. Audrey suggested to him: "If you want to keep your muzzle safe, just steer clear from the rose and its thorns."
"I wasn't actually going for roses. Besides, what if your brother chooses a rose?" Balto made it clear that the flower he'd given to Jenna that time was the same one he was going to give to her again! Then, Max was seen coming out, carrying a bunch of small violet-petal flowers in his jaws and with his voice muffled for a bit, told them: "I've found the right flower! It's called freesia."
"Oh, that looks pretty!" Audrey liked the flowers her brother chose. Sure, they weren't that big, but they looked so charming with their small size. Balto was next to find the right flower. Once he snuck inside, while the shop clerk was talking to his next customer, Balto took a good look on the flowers in their vases, from irises, gladioluses, peonies, daisies, tulips to roses.
Then he finally saw the flower he'd given to Jenna the other time. Thick, with long and hanging petals, in violet, red, pink, yellow and white, the joy was seen on his face! He saw on the vase a paper saying "chrysanthemums". He chuckled, realizing why he couldn't remember the name and it was because of them unbelievably long and tongue twisting word!
Still, he took a few pink ones and headed outside all while the clerk wasn't paying attention. Sneaking outside, he announced to his friends and sister: "I've found it! This is the flower I'd given to Jenna that time and I'll give them again! It's called chrysanthemum!" Those looks on their faces clearly showed what kind of tongue twister name for the flower was. At least they were glad to know that he had found the right flower!
The next morning, Balto was at Jenna's place. Having her rest on his side, he waited for her to wake up first. This was it, he was going to ask her out and it wasn't going to be one in line of dates, but a very special night. Everything was going to change from that night on and it'd mark both of their lives to the end. He heard her yawning.
"Good morning, Balto." Jenna muttered, coming to her senses after having a warm night. "Good morning, Jenna. Can I ask you something?" She opened her pretty eyes and looked at his, asking: "Yes, what is it?" It was on him to speak out, knowing that he'd been waiting for a long while to ask her.
"What are your plans for tonight? I mean, you're not busy or anything?" He wanted to make sure nothing was going to stand in her way and much to his relief, she answered: "No, nothing at all! I assume you want to ask me out?" Her guess was pretty accurate because there was nothing else these two could do at night when free.
"What else would it be, Jen? And it's a special night too! Well, it will be another double date, but that's not the special thing about it, it's much better." Balto let her guess what he had in mind for their date tonight. Jenna stretched in her bed and knew that if Balto had a surprise for her tonight, it was going to be good so she replied: "Okay, I am in!"
He nuzzled her for accepting the offer. A warm smile was seen on his face as Jenna's head was nuzzling his neck fur. It was love, he felt it. He was madly in love with her ever since he met her in the alley as a puppy and he had taken enough time to settle things down once and for all! He made sure their flower was safe in the shed.
The day passed without any unusual activities for both Balto and Jenna or their friends. As the sun had set, the night sky was splattered with stars. However, they weren't to be seen long enough as the first clouds shrouded the sky and eventually it started to snow. This still didn't interrupt Balto's plans.
While Jenna was grooming herself for this date, hoping it was going to be good as Balto spoke of, he headed to the shed. In a small vase, filled with water, was the bunch of chrysanthemums he had taken from the flower shop. Their scent was still strong and they had not lost their beauty. With a smile on his face, he carefully grabbed the bunch.
He waited for her outside. Sure, he was always welcome to stay at her place, but this was a very special date and he learned that a proper way to greet his love was to stand outside and carry a meaningful gift. That was the exact same thing he was doing and it didn't take him long enough to see her coming… the most beautiful dog in Nome.
Her red fur never looked more beautiful, combined with her lightly tan underbelly. Her sweet hazel brown eyes were a grand standout for anyone else's eyes he'd ever seen. Her bandanna looked clean and neatly dried. He could feel the sweet scent of hers from the doors and as if he couldn't wish for anyone else but her.
"Jenna, you look so beautiful!" Balto spoke, holding the flowers down on his paws. She descended from the porch and nuzzled him by his neck, being very fortunate that he had inhaled her scent. He lowered his head and grabbed the flowers with his muzzle. Soon enough, he spoke in a muffled tone: "These are for you."
"Oh, Balto! It's those flowers you had given to me the other time! What are they called?" Jenna was flattered upon seeing a bunch of flowers she admired. "I finally remembered! These chrysanthemums are for you, Jenna." She gladly accepted the flowers, tucking them on her bandanna's knot so she could hold them closely, giggling upon hearing the name.
"Shall we?" Balto offered her his paw and instead, she moved ahead, stroking his chin with the tip of her tail. He loved when she was doing that. The two were seen laughing and giggling as their night was going to be marvelous. First off, they were heading to the outskirts as they were going to meet up with Max and Molly for their double date.
In fact, it were these two who'd been waiting for them, hearing from Molly: "Oh, there you are!" Like Jenna, Molly was also groomed neatly and admired a lot by Max, standing next to her. She had a flower tucked by her ear and it was that freesia Max had chosen. Jenna commented: "That's a nice flower, Molly! Max had given it to you?"
"Oh you bet! This freesia is so beautiful and you too have flowers! Uhhhh, what's the name of it again?" Molly wondered, clearly not being able to memorize a name of a flower with a long and complicated name. "Chrysanthemum." Balto reminded her, to which she responded with: "Right." Then she had given that wide-eyes look upon figuring out the name of it.
"So, where do you two have in mind to be tonight?" Max asked his scarlett husky and wolf dog friends. Balto whispered something to Jenna's ear and then answered: "Well, Max, the two of us are going to be on that clearing where we had our first date. That place is very special to both of us! And you?"
"Well, we had a change of plans. We will be below the clearing, close to the sea. I hope that it doesn't bother you two?" Max let them know what they had in mind. In fact, the males were aware that this wasn't just a casual date tonight so Balto answered: "Oh, don't be sorry! After all, this is special for both of us!"
"And us too! Well, we better get moving!" Max admitted, beckoning Molly to come with him. Balto and Jenna walked on the right side whereas their sled dog friends took the left side. Max was whispering something to Molly, Balto was to Jenna and there were occasional giggles from both females until they had reached the "crossroad".
"Well, our place leads us up there behind the trees. Max, Molly, you two enjoy your night!" Balto wished them all the best when they figured out that after their romantic nights were over, nothing was going to be the same. Jenna also told them: "I hope this is going to be a night for you two to remember!"
"I hope so too!" Molly let them know, wishing all the best to these two as they moved on, leaving the two huskies alone. He spoke to her: "After you, Molly. I know the place." She was frankly amused by his words and she just walked towards the place he was pointing at. In the end, it was a smoothly chiseled cliff that had a good view on the vast ocean in front of them, covered in snow.
"Well, it isn't really the most beautiful spot, but it's the best I could find." Max blushed, hoping that Molly wasn't going to say something like: "This is the best place you could find?!" Instead, she felt the smoothness of the cliff below the snow layer and let him know: "Are you kidding? I think I already like this place, Max!"
"Not as much as you're going to love our night!" Max honeyed his words, letting her lean on his shoulder and the two took in each other's scents, with Molly's freesia further empowering her beautiful scent he could always remember. At first they looked like they were going to fall asleep sitting and leaning against each other, but Molly's dreamy tone prevented that.
"Max, this place is beautiful. It's snowing and yet the sound of the ocean is so relaxing. You really thought of this well." She wasn't hiding it. Her dreamy tone and her empowered scent was already giving Max high hopes and he finally spoke: "I know, my love. I have always planned our romantic night to be with the most beautiful ambient."
"Mmmmhhhh." Molly let out, feeling the warmth from her boyfriend and then she spoke: "Max, can you believe that we've been friends ever since you helped me out of that bed? How we grew up together with each of our parents under the same roof? How we both get on the same team?" So many memories flooded and flashed in front of Molly's eyes.
"I know, and I will never forget them as long as I live, Molly." He whispered in her ear, both rocking and cradling forth slowly. Now he had his moment: "You know, as you mentioned our parents, can you believe that when they were puppies they grew together in the same house? How we shared the same destiny as we both were born in the same house?"
"It is amazing, I must say. Do you think we were destined to continue their legacy?" Molly couldn't think of anything else but to carry on where their parents left off from. Max brought it up: "I do think so. In fact, what if we do continue their legacy? I mean, what if you and I had our family like they had with us?" There, he finally said it.
"You mean…? You and I to become mates?" Molly made sure she heard it right when he said "our family". His warm smile and even warmer look in his eyes was everything she needed to know. She breathed in his scent and so did he from her flower. It was obvious that she also wanted it and so did he… after all, it was about time these two had made it official!
As for Balto and Jenna…
"What do you think, Jenna? Isn't this place as beautiful as it gives?" Balto didn't want to miss his chances with this clearing to be a perfect spot for their romantic night. Sure, the sea was hidden behind the trees, but Jenna always admired the scenery of this clearing - snow, trees, cliffs, mountains, icicles and night sky. Her answer was: "Balto, this is a wonderful place! I mean, no wonder why we keep coming here again and again!"
She found it funny when she said it. They had other dating places, but this was the one they could come back again and again and never get tired of. They were sitting in front of each other and admired one another. If Jenna wasn't beautiful enough, then a bunch of chrysanthemums was making her the most beautiful husky ever.
"Jenna, have I ever told you how beautiful you are or should I say, when I meant it for the first time?" Balto toyed with his words before she had a chance to say her opinion. When he made it clear, she had given it a thought, but figuring out that it could have been before he had brought the medicine to Nome at the beginning of the year, she asked: "Since when?"
"Ever since I met you. When I was a frightened and frail wolf dog pup and was hurt… and when you came to me… I felt like I had met the most beautiful dog in the world! And I even almost said it when you first wore your bandanna!" Balto let those puppyhood memories flood back to him, knowing that he was very close to say it back then.
"Oh, Balto! You're so sweet. Truth to be said, I always liked you in some way and ever since Rosy has been cured, I realized that me liking you… was actually me loving you. If someone would taunt me for dating a wolf-dog like you, I couldn't care any less!" Jenna didn't hide it. In fact, when she admitted to her friends about her seeing Balto in the boiler room, she didn't hide it either.
"I am glad you think so. Do you think you and I have a future together? Do you see our lives being bound into one?" He made his move to indicate the real reason for their date tonight. She even dared to ask him: "I do, but how do you mean it?" Thus he had offered her, quite subtly: "You know how your masters have Rosy as their little one?"
"I do." Jenna replied, which had given Balto his advantage: "Would you like to have a family with me, Jenna? You and I, have little ones like your masters have Rosy?" When she had found out what he had in mind, she was touched by those words. Her eyes widened at first, then she leaned to take in Balto's scent and sweetly replied: "Oh, yes!"
Balto raised his paw high enough to her cheek and he felt something wet on his paw. It was her tear of joy she had let out. After waiting for two weeks to ask her out, Balto didn't regret waiting for this exact same date. He had the most beautiful female in Nome and as of tonight, both of them were going to become mates and have their futures to the end!