Up: 10 Themes

       # 1 - Ice Cream

       "What flavor did you get?" Carl asked, turning around to look at Russell as he walked out of the dairy parlor.

     Russell licked his lips happily and sniffed in the minty scent of his ice cream. "Mint! I thought I'd try something new."

     "How's it taste? " Carl asked, stealing a lick on the other side. "Mm, minty!"

     "Hey!" Russell held his ice cream away. "Get your own!" He gasped as Dug knocked him onto his back and devoured the dairy treat – cream and all. "HEY!"

     Carl sighed and dug into his wallet, pulling out another bill. "Go buy another one."

     "Thanks," Russell muttered sheepishly, trudging back into the shop. He came back out; this time with a beige colored ice cream.

     "What flavor is that one?"

     "Cookie dough!" Russell said cheerfully. "It's got chocolate chips an' dough, an'- ACK!" He suddenly tripped over the curb and the cone went flying from his hands – and finding a target smack dab on the middle of Carl's head. "Oh, oops...." He nervously twiddled his fingers. "How'zit taste?"

     Carl stuck out his tongue a little and caught a drop on his tongue. ".....Like cookies."

      # 2 – First Dance

     "Hunny, come on, no one will laugh," Ellie promised, trying to tug her young husband out of his chair.

     "No, Ellie, I can't dance!" Carl flushed and wrapped his arms around the chair. "I-I have two left feet!"

     She smirked and pulled her husband into her arms. "Well, we'll have to train it into a right foot." She kissed him full on the lips and tightened up his loose tie. "Let's dance!" She spun him around, and his face whitened as he clutched tightly to her shoulders and stayed stiff.

     "Ellie!" he whispered fiercely. "Everybody's watching us!!"

     His wife merely laughed, holding onto his hands and spinning him. "Well, let's give them a show then!"

     It took a few minutes for Carl to get comfortable with the barrages of stares, but his eyes soon locked into the beautiful eyes of his wife. She's so beautiful....And we'll be spending the rest of our lives together..

     "Carl, look out!" Ellie's voice broke his thoughts.

     "What? AUGH!!" The next thing Carl knew his feet were tangled in the rug and he was falling forward. "Yagh!!" He quickly grabbed onto something for leverage – and pulled the maid of honor's dress down.

     "AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

     When Carl opened his eyes, he saw he was holding part of Susie's ripped skirt in his hands. "Ummm.....I like your skirt."

      # 3 – Last Dance

     "Mr. Fredrickson!" Russell pulled eagerly at Carl's tie. "Come dance with me, dance with me!"

     Carl's eyes went wide. "Oh, Russell, I can't dance at this age!"

     The eight year old was busy tapping his feet and and twirling around with Dug. "Ya can fly a blimp an' run an' stuff...so why can't you dance?"

     Carl sighed and pushed himself out of the chair. "Oh, alright you two," he chuckled. "I'll bite."

     "Yay!" Russell did a happy little bounce on the spot and pulled Carl onto the rug with him. "Try twirling like this!" He made a motion, which Carl followed. He bent down to the ground, and Carl copied...

     SNAP!

     "AUGH!" The old man crumpled to the ground, groaning and holding his back.

     "Mr. Fredrickson!" Russell yelped, falling to his knees beside him. "Are you alright?"

     "Call an ambulance!"

     # 4 – Birthday Gift

     Carl walked up to the club house with his hands behind his back. Today was Ellie's birthday and it had taken all his money to save up for her gift.

     "Adventure is out there!" Ellie shouted from the window, turning her toy steering wheel. She smiled when she saw Carl walking up to the door. "Hey, kid!!" She grinned and surprised Carl by running to the door. But what REALLY surprised him was what she was wearing. Rather than the tomboyish overalls she usually sported, she wore a green silk dress tied by the waist with a silky emerald ribbon and green dress shoes. Even her hair which was always loosely flipped about and looking like it was struck by lightning was neatly falling over her shoulders. "Glad ta' see ya!"

     Carl just blushed and bowed his head. Compared to Ellie's beautiful dress, his little tuxedo looked lame. "Umm.."

     Ellie swung around on one of the wooden poles. "Anyways, I was thinkin' we'd go somewhere else than the club house today!" She grabbed him by his hand and started pulling him in the direction behind the house. "Here! I though we'd go to my special spot today." She grinned. "It overlooks the ENTIRE city! Pretty amazing, huh kid?"

     Carl shyly nodded.

     Ellie giggled. "Hey, you know, you've been quiet today – even more so than usual. Something up?"

     "Ummm.." Carl reached behind his back and retrieved a red parcel with a golden ribbon around it.

     Ellie blinked. "What's this?" When she unwrapped the present, her eyes moistened a little. "Ohh.." She pulled out a little porcelain bird with multicolored wings and a red body. "Oh...Carl.." It was the first time she called him by his name.

     "Ummmm.." Carl twiddled his fingers. "You like it?" he asked timidly, and his face went beet red when she threw her arms around him.

     "Thank you..." She kissed him right on the cheek.

     Carl's eyes rolled into his head, love struck. "Ouuu.." He fell on his back in the grass.

      # 5 – Father

     Russell turned to Carl; excitement in his face. "Mr. Fredrickson, do you mind if I use your phone to call my dad?"

     Carl hesitated, secretly worried. He had spoken with Russell's mother, and found out some info on Russell's father. "A-alright Russell." He stepped aside so the eight year old could dial.

     Bouncing happily, Russell picked up the phone and pressed a few buttons. "Hi, dad!!.....Oh..Phillis." His tone quickly took a sense of disappointment. "Umm...is my dad there?"

     The woman on the other line sighed, exasperated. "Kid, when are you ever going to stop calling us?"

     Russell narrowed his eyes. "It's my dad, an' I got a right to talk to him!"

     The woman gave another sigh and Russell could tell she was rolling his eyes. "Look, kid!" She finally snapped. "You're dad ain't here, and he's not coming back for a while, why don't you just stop calling, yer nothing but a nuisance!" She slammed down the phone.

     Carl didn't hear the conversation, but he could tell by the raw anguish on Russell's face that it hadn't gone well. He and Dug both exchanged worried looks. "Russell...?" He reached out to him, and was taken aback when Russell slammed the phone in it's receiver, ran to his bedroom and slammed the door.

     Carl sighed sadly, and he and Dug both made their way to Russell's door. Carl quietly knocked on the door, and there was no answer. "Russell?" He opened the door, and his heart broke at the scene. Russell was lying face down on his bed sobbing quietly into his arms. He sat on the bed, and put a comforting hand on Russell's back, surprised by the way the eight year old suddenly clung to his shirt, instantly soaking it with tears. He wrapped his arms around the shaking boy, rubbing his back. "I assume....the conversation didn't go very well?"

     "Phillis answered," Russell sobbed. "She said I was nothin' but a nuisance to my dad!"

     Carl felt a boiling anger deep within him. How dare she! He pulled back, holding Russell by the shoulders. "You aren't a nuisance, Russell," he said gently, wiping his tears. "I don't care what that horrible woman....or even your father thinks. Don't listen to them."

     Russell sniffled. "Really?"

     "Yes.," Carl said softly. He smirked, fondly giving Russell a small tickly poke in the stomach. "And hey, if you were that much of a nuisance then I would've left you at Paradise Falls."

     Russell giggled a little, then smiled at the old man. "You know what Mr. Fredrickson?"

     "What?"

     "You're a better dad than he ever was.."

      # 6 – Kids

     "Woot!" Russell cheered as both he and his friends reached their destination: the park. "We're here!"

     Carl smiled and breathed in the fresh air. "So we are. The park is as beautiful as always." He sat down on the park bench. The grass shone with dew, and the sun beams illuminated the beauty of everything – from the flowers to the pebbles lining the sidewalk. "Oh, how I love this place." He watched fondly as Russell, Dug, and Kevin played. All was peaceful; as it should be. "Having fun, you three?"

      Russell was laughing and being chased by both the giant bird and Dug. "Hey, quit it! Go away!"

     Kevin caught up to him easily with his long legs, and nudged the boy forward with his beak.

     "Eek!" Russell gave a yelp, toppling forward onto his back. He shrieked with laughter as Kevin tickled his neck and stomach with her beak. "Kevin!!" Dug joined, licking his neck and face playfully.

     Carl laughed, witnessing the adorable scene.

     The wind blew gently through the trees, and Carl could make out a small sigh through the clouds.

     He chuckled, looking up into the clouds. "You wanted kids, Ellie."

      # 7 – Young Love

     A party had been held to commemorate the new Senior Wilderness Explorers, and Russell and Carl had both come, Carl watching proudly as Russell was surrounded by other senior explorers. He was one of the youngest boys to ever be promoted into a Senior Wilderness Explorer and therefore was very popular.

     "Alright, little explorers!" one of the camp instructors instructed, "in a few moments we're starting up the music! And we want you all to dance your tails off!"

     Russell scratched his head, confused. "But I don't got a tail, Mr. Fredrickson."

     Carl chuckled lightly. "Just go have fun, Russell."

     A young little girl looking to be about Russell's age or perhaps older with curly black hair and a little pink dress was smiling bashfully at Russell.

     Carl chuckled, and elbowed the boy gently. "Looks like someone's sweet on you, Russell."

     Russell's face flushed. "What?"

      The girl walked shyly over to Russell. "Umm....do you want to dance with me?" she asked timidly.

     Russell turned to Carl, his eyes wide; he wasn't sure how to respond. "Um..I......I.."

     Carl smirked a little. "Why, he would love to dance with you....umm.."

     "Emily," she smiled, and took Russell's hands into hers, pulling him out into the dancing circle with her.

     When Carl watched them dance adorably in the circle he immediately saw himself dancing with Ellie when they were that age. "Ah, young love....nothing like it."

     # 8 – Surprises

     "Ya know something, Dug and Dolly have been acting weird lately," Russell pointed out, "and I haven't seen either of them in a while." He hesitated. "You think they're alright?"

     Carl hesitated. Looking around the corner to see if he could sight them. "I'm sure they're fine, Russell. They've got puppy love, that's for sure."

     "But they're not puppies."

     "Well, no, but-" He was cut off by the sudden sound of whimpers coming from his bedroom. Slowly, he approached the bedroom door, and the whimpers became louder. "What on earth..?"

     Dug and Dolly walked out of the room, each were holding squirming balls of fluff in their mouths.

     Carl fell to his knees, stunned, as Dug plopped a tiny female pup into his hands. Like her mother, she had rich brown colored fur, and curly long floppy ears – but the same body as Dug.

     Russell had two tiny little male pups dropped into his lap, one had every feature of Dug, and the other one looked exactly like their mother. Both he and Carl exchanged looks of pure amazement and shock, and both could only whisper,

     "wow.."

       # 9 – Illness

      Alpha had hoped to be able to give a good word to Carl, but when saw the state the young boy was in all that hope sank away like a ship at sea. The boy looked dead. His once healthy rosy cheeks had become a ghastly white – almost gray. His breathing was so shallow to the point you couldn't even see his chest rise, and every ice pack Alpha put on his forehead to calm the fever melted to water within seconds. If the bag was left there long enough, the fever could probably boil the water for a stew.  The Doberman gave a sorrowful whine and licked the eight year olds' cheek, before walking out into Carl's room, his head low.

     Carl turned to Alpha; his face held nothing but distress and concern. "H-how is he, Alpha?" he whispered.

     Alpha's head hung low and his ears went back. "The boy is in critical condition, Master...The illness is far to severe. We-we did everything we could....but if that fever does not go down then there will be no hope." He let out a grieving whimper. "I...have estimated he will be dead within the course of this day."

     Carl was silent and he turned his back to them.

     Dug's eyes were wide and glassy as he advanced towards the elderly man. "Ch-cheer up Master......at least he will get to meet your Ellie.."

     At that point Carl gave a snarl and spun around; there were tears in his eyes. "I don't want him to meet Ellie!" he yelled. "Not now! Not here! Not while he's so young!! For Pete's sake he's eight years old! He's still a child!" His eyes clouded and he clutched a hand to his heart. "I look in that kid's eyes....and I see everything I always wanted to be....and more. I see myself when I look at him. I see Ellie as well. He's like Ellie in every way. That determination....that courage...that persistence.." He turned to his dogs, mouth set in determination. "And I won't let any of it die..."

     # 10 – Thanksgiving

     Carl tapped his glass before everyone dug into their dinner. "Hold on, everyone, before we eat we need to carry on the old fashioned Thanksgiving tradition. We each have to say the one thing we're thankful for." He bowed his head and put his hands together at his forehead. "I am thankful for my wonderful family." His eyes roamed over every member at the table. "From a certain little explorer..." He smiled affectionately at Russell and squeezed his hands. "To dogs...to squirrels...." He grinned down at the young newborn pups that were nestled into their parents. "To...our new additions." He looked back at everyone else. "I love you all.."

     Russell was next, he closed his eyes. "I'm thankful for family as well.." He scooted his chair closer to Carl. "Especially you, Mr. Fredrickson....I could have never gotten through my training and tests without you.."

     Carl smiled, wrapping an arm around him in a one arm hug.

     "I am next! I am next!" Dug's tail wagged excitedly. "I am thankful for my Dolly.." He nuzzled her nose with his own and licked her cheek. Then he gently nudged the pups. "And my pups."
     
     Dolly smiled and nuzzled Dug gently; it was clear she was thankful for her love.

     All eyes were on Alpha.

     Alpha rolled his eyes a little. "Oh, alright...I guess I am thankful for family as well...." He chewed on his dog bone. "And dog bones.."

     Carl chuckled gently. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.."