She paced the floor with a steady rhythm.

Back. Forth. Back. Forth.

He was late.  Not just a few minutes, either.  He was over an hour late and that wasn't like him.  Usually he would stride through her door with five minutes to spare and ask her why she wasn't ready yet.  He hated being late.  But it was quarter past nine and he still hadn't shown. 

The automated voice on the other end of her cell phone informed her that the customer she was trying to reach couldn't be located.  Obviously.  If he could be located she wouldn't be wearing a pattern across her pine floors. 

With a great sigh she tossed her phone onto the cushions of her couch and landed beside it with a grunt.

Now she was worried.

She didn't know what to think first, but none of the thoughts flitting through her over active imagination were comforting.  She had tried to convince herself that he was doing this on purpose, but even he didn't have enough patience to stretch it out this long. 

She forced herself off of the couch and down the hallway to her bedroom.  If she was going to be worrying, she was going to be comfortable.  Shedding the snuggly fitting dress she had chosen for their night out, she grabbed her favorite pair of sweats and his t-shirt.  It still smelled like his soap and cologne.

A noise from the corner of the room drew her attention to her black lab, Frankie.  He thudded his tale against the floor a few times and looked up at her with big brown eyes.
     "I know, I'm worried about him too.  We can worry together."  At this, the Labrador stood from his bed and stretched out, first his hind-end, then the front.  After letting out a luxurious yawn he padded after his mistress and into the living room.

The pair took up residence on the couch which had a view directly out the front window.  Every time a car passed by Frankie’s ears would perk up and his mistress’s eyes would dart across the yard and toward the driveway.  But he still hadn’t showed.

Hours passed with agonizing sluggishness and eventually both canine and human had drifted off to sleep.  Both were restless in their slumber, twitching at every small sound.  She clung to her four-legged friend with a fierce need for something warm to keep her hopes alive.

This was the scene he tip-toed into.  She was stretched the length of the couch, her head propped upon the armrest that faced the window.  Frankie was similarly placed, but instead of the armrest, his head was settled upon her stomach, rising and falling with each breath she took.

He knew he had made her worry.  He hadn’t meant to, but it had been inevitable.  Someone had stolen his phone so he had had to disconnect it that morning and that was his only way of getting in touch with her.

He toed off his shoes one at a time before sliding across the wooden floors over to the couch.  He brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes before placing a chaste kiss across her forehead.  She stirred instantly.
            “What? Who…Where have you been?  I’ve been worried sick!”  Her hands quickly made their way up his arms, across his shoulders, and over his face.  It was as if she couldn’t believe her eyes so she needed to feel that he was really there, and in one piece.
            “I’m sorry to make you worry.  I had something I really needed to take care of downtown, and I needed to shut off my phone because it was stolen…”

She interrupted him with a hard kiss to the lips followed but a swift smack to the shoulder. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

He chuckled slightly before catching her death stare.  Clearing his throat he gained his composure before dropping to the floor on one knee.
            “I was late because I was waiting for a very special delivery.  I’ve been waiting for this to come in for a few days now, and I got the call this morning that it would be here.  I guess there was a mix up with the shipping, so I had to track this thing all over town…”

She stared at him as he trailed off.  He had removed a velvet box from his pocket and he was looking increasingly nervous.
            “Hey,” He stopped babbling to look up at her, “Spit it out.”

With a shaky smile he lifted the box to eye level and cleared his throat again.  “Will you marry me?”

Tears formed instantly in her eyes as she slipped off the couch and into his arms.  With and exuberant “Yes!” she grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him passionately. 

 After a moment or two he pulled back enough to slip the shiny diamond on her ring finger before wrapping her up in a bear-hug and swinging her around the living room.  Frankie sat up from his place on the couch and his barking could be heard in between their laughter and declarations of love.
            “Hey.  Promise me that you’ll never make me worry like that again.”  Her tone turned serious when she remembered the hours of waiting she had endured.
            “I promise.”  He acquiesced with a smile and a kiss.