Working at the store together had been much easier than Dobie had anticipated. Zelda knew the store inside and out from her time there as a teenager, and she was a whiz at the books, finding new ways to save and earn more money. The customers loved her, and her dedication to her work gave Dobie plenty of time to manage the new pharmacy department. Not to mention that just being there together for so many hours every day helped them continue to grow closer. After a couple of weeks, they had fallen into a simple routine that felt as though they had always run the store together. Although they had gone on several dates; to the movies or out to dinner, it was the time they spent together at the store that Dobie felt was doing the most good for their relationship and Zelda seemed happier; hadn't mentioned feeling guilty about John for quite some time. Things were going well, that was until Zelda stopped coming into work.
She had called, telling Dobie she was sick, and he was worried about her. He wanted to come over and check on her, but she insisted she was just a little under the weather and would be fine. After a few days, he was seriously concerned but when he called her she said she had the flu and was resting and would be back as soon as she could. After four days, he came to the conclusion that something was up. He felt like she was avoiding him; making excuses not to come to work. Not to mention things were falling apart at the store without her. He couldn't manage well by himself and had even had to ask his mother to fill in at times during the day so he could get prescriptions filled. On the fifth day he decided to pay her visit anyway, no matter how much she protested. Up to that point, things had been going so well between them that Dobie had planned a surprise proposal on Valentine's Day. He knew it seemed rushed, but he also knew that he had strung Zelda along for years and he didn't want to do it anymore. He wanted them to be together forever and for her to know he wanted that. He had already bought the ring, using every last cent of his savings and made reservations at the nicest restaurant in town. He'd been nervously planning the date for a couple of weeks. If things weren't going to work out between them, he deserved to know, even if he had to go to her apartment and force her to tell him the truth. So, after making the decision to face the problem head on, he was surprised when Zelda walked through the door that morning and went right to work as if nothing was wrong at all.
"You're back," he said with surprise when he saw her that morning. "Is everything okay?"
"Sure," Zelda nodded, "I'm feeling a little better." She started rearranging the display of valentine candy and cards as if everything was perfectly fine.
But Dobie knew things were not fine. When he looked at her, he could see that she looked pale and her eyes were puffy and red. She looked exhausted. She really had been sick and he had jumped to the conclusion that she was avoiding him. He felt terribly guilty. "You look miserable," he said with sympathy. "Maybe you should go back home?"
"I'm fine," Zelda insisted. "Besides, I can tell things have been falling apart around here without me." She finished the valentine display and began scrubbing down the counters and stacking things neatly on the wire rack near the register.
Dobie came up behind her, putting his arms around her and kissed her softly on the cheek. "I'm glad you're back. I've missed you."
Zelda smiled, turning and kissing him softly on the lips. She pulled away from the kiss and took a deep breath, "I'm glad I'm back too." Dobie couldn't help but notice that she seemed to want to say something else, but then she stopped and went back to work.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again.
"I'm just tired," Zelda replied. "I'll be fine. I promise."
Dobie nodded, not sure she was being completely honest with him, but then again Zelda was rarely sick and so this bout of flu had probably taken a lot out of her. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day," he reminded her. "Do you think you'll feel well enough to go out?" He was hoping he could continue with his plan.
"Of course," Zelda smiled weakly and Dobie was afraid that she was only saying yes to the date to appease him. But then she kissed him again, this time with more passion than she had since their New Years Eve rendezvous and he knew she didn't want to miss the date either.