Scarlett awoke to an unfamiliar view. After a few moments of initial confusion, she jumped out of bed with more than her normal amount of enthusiasm for the new day.
She dressed quickly, throwing on several layers and three pairs of socks. Unaccustomed to the bulky clothing, she lumbered out of the house like a purple and green Stay-Puft Marshmallow creature.
Outside, Lauren stood waiting in jeans and a big jacket with unlaced boots to match. She was already making her rounds with the dogs. When she looked up and saw Scarlett, she couldn’t hide her laughter.
Not that she tried, though.
Already starting to sweat after less than a minute outdoors, Scarlett waddled down to where her friend now sat on the snow laughing while one of the dogs licked her face.
“Oh, my gosh! What are you wearing?”
“Too much?” Scarlett did a little twirl. It was not graceful.
“Well, it looks…warm?” Lauren said as she struggled to catch her breath. “Yes, it’s too much. I mean, c’mon, it’s almost 30 degrees out here. That’s practically shorts weather.”
“Oh yeah, like you’re such an Alaskan already,” Scarlett said, bumping Lauren with an over-fluffed hip.
“Oh, girly. Just you wait! A thousand miles on the back of one of these sleds and you’ll want to relish in all the warm weather, too.” Something nostalgic flashed through Lauren’s bright eyes, and Scarlett wondered what untold memory was playing on the private screen of her friend’s mind.
Lauren shook her head and stood back up. “Tell you what—let’s make a game of this. We’re going to go through all the regular duties of a handler and if you can make it through without removing a single layer, I’ll eat slurry for breakfast tomorrow.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you have to eat it.”
“That’s gross.” Scarlett stuck out her tongue, practically able to taste the mushy dog food already. “I like it.”
“So it’s a deal then?” Lauren removed her hat just to really show off.
“Yup. Prepare to taste dog breath!”
“Oh, you think so?” Lauren laughed and led Scarlett to the supply shed. “First we have to feed the dogs, you guessed it, slurry. Difference is they actually want to eat this stuff. Sink’s in the corner. Go fill up, buttercup.”
Lauren patiently explained everything they did, and Scarlett listened intently despite sweating bullets.
“Now, we just ran through the icy tundra to Nome, so the dogs aren’t going for any real runs yet, but we can’t let them sit on their tails and get frostbite on their butts.”
“Okay,” Scarlett said, now panting like one of the dogs. “So what are we doing?”
“We’re going to harness them up and give them a nice, easy walk.”
“Why does that sound more ominous than it sounds?”
Lauren smiled so wide that Scarlett could see every one of her teeth. She looked crazy, and it didn’t take long for Scarlett to find out why.
In a few short moments, Scarlett found herself holding a leash behind Fred, who was almost the size of Liz’s Samson. Lauren stood at the top of a short hill with a small bowl of the slurry mix.
“I don’t understand what we’re doing.” Scarlett shouted up to her friend. “Is this normal handler stuff, or are you just being a butt?”
Lauren laughed menacingly. “Do you have a grip on Fred?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Hike! Hike! Hike!” Lauren shouted into the valley.
In an instant, Scarlett’s feet left the ground as Fred took off up the hill. She felt like an oversized kite as she struggled to get her feet back under herself.
By the time she finally found her footing, Fred was noisily slurping at his bowl.
“All right, great first go, Scar.” Lauren snorted in an attempt to hold in her laughter. “Once he finishes his food, run him around the fence line and back to his hut. See you in a few seconds.”
“Where are you going?” she asked as her friend jogged back down the hill.
“To get the next dog.” Lauren called up over her shoulder, not even slightly short on breath. Meanwhile Scarlett had lost her breath from the heat alone. Still, she refused to lose their bet. Seeing Lauren eat dog food after today’s torment would be especially sweet.
“Okay, it’s official,” she said later between breaths once all the dogs had run up the hill. “I now, officially, hate you.”
“Aww, c’mon now, I only had you do one at a time. And I helped. It’s better than I got on my first day. Besides,” she said, gesturing to Scarlett’s jacket on the ground near one of the food buckets. “I really wanted to win the bet.”
“What? No fair!” Scarlett hadn’t even remembered taking it off.
“Just getting you ready. I doubt Henry Whatever the Turd will play fair on the trail and I want to make sure you kick his butt.”
Scarlett groaned and picked up her discarded coat, struggling back into the sleeves.
Lauren winked. “You don’t really have to eat dog food, Scar. I may be mean, but I’m not a monster.”
“Yeah, yeah. So what’s next?”
“We’re going to fulfill your dream. Darling, we’re building your sled,” Lauren said as she led the way back to her she-shed.
She opened the door with a flourish, revealing a barebones wooden sled.
“Technically, this was Shane’s old sled. He had practically buried it under a heap of junk. But it was the one he started with, and I figured since we’re training you to be a champion, you’ll need a champion’s sled.”
Scarlett waved her hands in front of her face, trying to keep the tears at bay. “It’s too much, I can’t—”
“Nonsense. You can, and you will. Otherwise, you’ll eat dog food, Miss!”
Both women laughed and hugged.
When they pulled apart, Lauren looked back toward Scarlett’s new old sled and said, “We’re rebuilding this not just so you have a sled to use, but so you understand how your sled feels and moves. Now get over here and step onto these skids.”
A smile spread across her face and she hopped up onto skids.
“How does that feel, Miss Scarlett Cole-Hara?” Lauren often teased her about her namesake, combining her last name with the heroine’s from Gone with the Wind as she did now.
“Frankly, my dear…” Scarlett started responding with her line, then sighed complacently. This moment was too wonderful to be lost in silliness. “It feels perfect,” she finished after a deep, satisfied exhale. “Thank you for making all my dreams come true.”
“One good turn deserves another.” Lauren wrapped an arm over Scarlett’s shoulders and hugged her again. “Now that I’m living my dream, I need my BFF to join me in hers.”