Irene bounced upon the top most point of her toes in eagerness and anticipation. If she hadn't the well-mannered decorum of a sophisticated breed she might have been drooling. She traced circles of wetness on the trouser legs of her master, nudging him again and again with her nose until his fingers were drawn away from the sticks of black and ivory white.

"Irene, I-"

Her master looked down at two big brown eyes. He feigned checking his pocket watch.

"Oh, of course! How could I have forgotten? Thank goodness you reminded me!"

Irene's lips spread over her teeth in as much of a smile as could be managed. Her master tugged a red leash from a hook on the wall.

"What ever would I do without you, Irene?"

He strung them two together with a clip and strode happily across the living room littered with unfinished verses. He threw open the heavy wooden door and a large gust of wind sent the papers snowing over their heads.

Irene yapped at them angrily as her master ran a hand through his untidy blonde hair. He turned and surveyed the mess.

"To be honest, Irene, it doesn't look much different."

He looked down at her.

"What do you say, girl? Should we give the park a miss?"

Irene gave a sad pout. His faced remained unchanged and Irene began to think he was serious. She let out a low growl. He broke into a laugh and he gave her a scratch.

"Miss the park? Us?" He chuckled as they left the apartment. "Why, the ducks would send out flyers!"

Irene trotted happily down the path. In her joy, the ends of her claws scraped a constant rhythm on the concrete. Scrape, scrape….scrape, scrape. Her master walked beside her, bobbing his head and listening to the rhythm. He began tapping his fingers on the clasp of her leash. As they turned down the street with the park on it he began a hum, then took off his cap and began to sing;

"O, it's a beautiful day and the sun is shining! The birds all sing and the-"

He paused as a giant decker sounded its horn.

"-And the buses too! It's a wonderful day for a walk. Oh yes, a wonderful day for a walk… with me and Irene!"

He laughed joyfully as he placed his cap back on, tipped it to a passing lady then turned into the park gate.

Irene swung her head back and forth playfully to the tune he had created from her scraping steps. Her master was a very clever man. His name was Arthur. He lived with her in London and wrote songs all day. Sometimes, Irene thought that dull but he always took her for a walk in the park each day. They always had fun. Arthur enjoyed listening to all the sounds of the square. Sometimes he would write them down in his notebook, with a pen he kept behind his ear, and when they returned to their apartment, Irene would recognize the sweet jangling of a bicycle bell in the jubilant tune he beat out on his piano. The park goers always enjoyed watching the beautiful spotted dog run happily through the green, yapping playfully by the pond. Irene always ran straight for the pond. She loved watching the ducks swim around. She was doing this, and Arthur was scrawling when the most astounding thing happened.

One second Irene was dipping her nose in the cool water of the pond, and the next she was in a tangle with the most charming male Dalmatian she had ever laid eyes on.

"Louis! Where are you…ooof! Oh, I beg your pardon, Sir."

Irene could hardly pull her eyes away from the dog in front of her. She glanced quickly up at her master. The dog- Louis had tugged his master all the way to Arthur and Irene at the edge of the pond. In his haste to be beside Irene he had caused both masters to collide heavily with each other. Irene watched as they bent down and picked up each other's pen.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I think this one's yours-"

"Indeed, thank-you. And yours."
The pens exchanged hands and each was placed behind an ear. Arthur smiled.

"Terribly sorry for bumping into you," the other man said. "Louis saw your Dalmatian from across the park and took off! There was no way of stopping him. My name is Merlin, by the way."

"Arthur Pendragon." They shook hands. "And it's no problem about Louis. He and Irene seem to be getting along anyhow."

They looked at their pets. Irene nuzzled her snout into the neck of the dog, Louis. She had found her perfect mate. She hoped Arthur could see this.

"Oh dear!" Merlin exclaimed. "It's not alright at all; your notebook, it's there- floating by that duck!"

Arthur was staring dreamily at Merlin.

"Huh? What?"

"Your notebook," Merlin repeated. "It's ruined! Oh dear, dear me."

Arthur peered into the pond, sure enough; his leather notebook lay open and soggy on the surface of the water.

"Don't worry about it, there wasn't much in there anyway-"

But Merlin was disturbed.

"Are you a writer too? Louis! Louis, go get it. Go get the notebook, boy!"

He unclipped the leash and Louis bounded down the bank, scattering the ducks as his jaw closed around the leather. He emerged from the water; spots transformed into dripping blotches of black paint, and dropped the notebook into Merlin's hands.

"Oh no," Merlin said, handing the sodden pages to Arthur.

Arthur was overwhelmed at the care in Merlin's voice.

"It's fine, there was probably nothing of worth in there anyway," He consoled, flipping through the ruined notes in dismay, "Just a few jingles and notes…"

"A hit song!" Merlin wailed. "I've ruined a hit song! Oh god! Let me make it up to you, please. No, I won't accept a refusal. Let me buy you a drink, I beg of you."

Arthur looked down at Irene. He thought she looked pleased. Irene and Louis untangled themselves and sat beside their respective owners. Arthur was still hesitating. Irene moved towards Merlin until her leash was taught.

"Irene…"

Louis darted up suddenly and ran loops around the two masters, pulling them closer together until they had to grab each in order to stay upright.

"Louis!"

He sat beside Irene, triumphant. Arthur gave Irene a dubious glance.

"A drink sounds nice," Arthur choked out.

"You must tell me where you've tasted the best coffee you've ever had!" Merlin said enthusiastically, wrapping Louis' leash around his hand as they strolled down the street.

Irene trotted happily beside Arthur.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you where it was," Arthur replied. "I can't recall ever tasting good coffee in London!"

Merlin giggled and was suddenly struck by a lightning bolt of an idea. They had arrived at Colin's Captivating Cup of Creamy Coffee House. Arthur moved to open the door, but Merlin stopped him.

"I know where there's good coffee." He said very seriously, staring into Arthur's eyes. Then he broke into the biggest smile that Arthur had ever seen. He was adorable, Arthur couldn't get over it.

"What about Colin's Cup of Cats and Coff- this place?" Arthur asked, reaching down and patting Irene.

Merlin giggled again, Irene looked slyly up at Arthur as the hands that held her leash grew tight.

"Colin's Captivating Cup of Creamy Coffee House," Merlin recited slowly, as if dealing with a mute, "will have to miss us today."

He bent down and addressed Irene and Louis, who bounced excitedly.

"Merlin's Magic Mix of Melted Mocha Madness awaits us!" He ruffled their furs fondly as Arthur laughed. "Whaddaya say?"

The dogs yapped happily and rubbed against each other. Merlin stood up and threw a questioning glance at Arthur.

"Merlin's Magnificent Monastery it is." Arthur agreed.

"Monastery?!" Merlin laughed.

They began walking away from the coffee shop, down the street where the park was. Merlin loosened Louis' leash and let him bound ahead slightly.

"Let's run!" Merlin shouted suddenly and took off in a blur of skin and spots.

Irene rested on a flat cushion by a large open window. The cool wind blew the fur on her muzzle and she shook it gently when it tickled. Louis was beside her. Using his front right paw he clumsily pushed a bowl of water in front of her face. Happily, she began drinking.

Arthur was perched on a stool on one side of a kitchen bench. He watched Irene and Louis as Merlin bustled around in the kitchen, and wound Irene's leash up tightly as he waited. Merlin finished washing his hands and dried them with a tea towel as he addressed Arthur.

"So, do you want a cup of marriage- uh, I mean coffee!"

Merlin dropped the towel and stared at Arthur horrified.

"I just meant- where- if you-"

Arthur smiled shyly at him.

"Coffee, then." Merlin reached for two mugs, red faced. He avoided eye contact with Arthur and busied himself with the drinks.

The room was silent for a few minutes. There was no sound but the soft whirring of the coffee mixer and the clicking lap of Irene's tongue in the water bowl. Arthur surveyed the pattern of the vase on the bench in front of him. Desperate to distract himself from the awkwardness of the silence, he studied every bump and scratch on the clay. It was a horrible, ugly vase.

Merlin was preparing to boil a kettle. He filled it with water and bent down on the bench space directly beneath Arthur to engage the element. The silent was piercing. At that moment, Arthur noticed something warm touching his legs. Louis gave a sudden shake and the legs of Arthur's stool wobbled unbearably. He was pushed heavily into the edge of the bench and Louis barked as the bumpy clay vase reacted to the tremor. It fell, with surprisingly little noise and cracked all the way along its underside. Arthur watched tensely as little streams of water ran down the bench towards the back of Merlin's oblivious neck. He placed a hand on the top of the vase, but knew that picking it up would do more damage than the little rivers would. The water trickled on to Merlin's neck in ribbons. Arthur saw him stiffen as the water hit him and wiggle a bit as it ran down his back and through his hair. With water still seeping onto him from above, Merlin lifted his head slowly to look at Arthur. He surveyed the broken vase with Arthur's hand on it, and the anxious look on his face. Water was flooding into his face now, but he shook it off, stretched over the bench and looked down. Louis sat brazenly under Arthur's chair, eyes wide with his apparent innocence. In two seconds the pair was in uncontrollable fits of laughter.

That night Irene lay next to her mate Louis and watched two men sitting real close on a huge sofa. Holding each other's with one hand, one of them had a towel on his head, and the other cradled a cracked vase which had:

"To Merlin,_

From Gaius"

written on it. They laughed with each other and smiled at each other. They looked amiably at each other in sneaky glances after a sip of coffee. After a few moments they signaled for Irene and Louis to come and join them on the big couch. Irene snuggled in next to Arthur and felt very happy.

Hello, I'm Louis. I'm a sophisticated dog called a Dalmatian. My owner is a fumbling writer named Merlin. He takes me to the park sometimes, to walk together. One day I met the most amazing Dalmatian at the park. In my rush to meet her I accidentally made my owner crash into someone.

And so, you could say that I brought Arthur and Merlin together. Soon, they were husbands. Irene and I couldn't be happier.