This is the year I finally propose to her. I have been with Liz for over five years now and our love has only grown with each passing day. We first met towards the start of the fall semester while at the university campus. I would gather a couple of friends in between classes and I’d have fun tossing a Frisbee with them. The favorite place to play was the area between the math and science buildings. It was a stretch of land covered with beautiful lawn. Anyway, one of my buddies managed to throw the disk just out of my reach. I followed the Frisbee with my eyes as it landed near this pretty girl. She was sitting near the shade of a tree, totally engrossed with reading a book. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and magenta shorts.

I was about to pick up the Frisbee and leave when I found myself gazing at her bare feet. These were the paws of a large canine, a wolf. I bit my lip when I saw her wiggle eight perfectly furry toes. Her claws were painted with a deep, purplish red nail polish. Oh and those pads were so pink and healthy, they made me want to kiss them with such devoted passion. Man, I was on my hands and knees for what seemed like forever before I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. I reached for the Frisbee when, suddenly, she pressed her foot down on my hand. That foot felt as soft as a baker’s dough! My cheeks were burning bright red. She had obviously seen me staring at her superb paws.

She placed her book aside and I was finally able to see her features. Wow, she had a pretty face to go along with those beautiful paws of hers! That long flowing hair, those wonderfully pointy ears, that delicate nose, and her golden eyes just left me speechless. “Well, hello Mr. Kitty Cat. Where do you think you’re going with my new toy?” said the lady wolf. All I could mutter was “Um… name is Craig… my Frisbee…” She stopped me there and said “Sorry Craig, but it’s mine now and I’m not letting go. Whatcha gonna do about it?” I may have been bumbling at the time, but I still had enough sense to know what to do. I used my free hand to tickle her. Her eyes bulged for a second as I wiggled and ran my fingertips all over the top of her paw. It was so funny to see her whip her head back and howl with laughter “Arooooooo! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!” She yanked her legs back, kicking them in midair, before wrapping her big fluffy tail around them. She continued smiling at me even after her little giggle fit subsided.

My friends had left for class, so I asked her if she wanted to play Frisbee with me. She happily nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, my first throw was a particularly bad one. I was amazed when she did manage to catch it with her powerful wolf jaws. The catch and release was so quick and fluid that I was caught off guard. The disk came with such force, hitting me on the eyebrow, and knocking me flat on my back. I heard her say “Craig are you okay?!” as she came rushing over to help me up. I touched my brow and I felt a stinging pain. “It’s bleeding!” She stole the words right out of my mouth. She applied several tissues to my eyebrow and then she hugged me with such tender concern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I wiped the tears from her eyes and said “I’ll be alright.” She held my hand and said “Excuse me. I’ve been rude to you. My name is Liz.” I kissed her hand and said “Pleased to meet you Liz.” We spent the rest of the day getting to know each other better. She has stuck by me ever since. This is the year I finally propose to her.

---Craig Mewlowski