Who is Teddy and Louise from Flash Fiction: Very Short Stories and what is their importance?

Friends of Teddy and Louise, a middle-aged married couple, are reminiscing about the time Teddy almost dies, or appears to be near death. Louise is in the kitchen washing dishes, when a pipe bursts under the sink and water is shooting everywhere. She panics and screams for Teddy. The friends laugh, thinking of Teddy trying to rush to the kitchen with his major-league beer belly leading the way. When Teddy arrives in the kitchen, he shouts at Louise to go downstairs and shut off the water.

Louise rushes down to the basement and shuts off the water. When she returns, she finds a naked Teddy lying in a prone position. He is motionless and Louise becomes hysterical thinking he is dead. The friends figure that Teddy must have taken his clothes off because they were wet from the leak. The friends all laugh thinking about Teddy dripping wet and leaving a trail of water behind him. Louise kneels down on her knees and prays to God to bring Teddy back to life. If God answers her prayer, she vows to make Teddy start going to church.

Chaos ensues as Louise's canary flies around and around in the room. Their dog is barking and starts licking Teddy's face. Teddy comes to and Louise is jubilant. She immediately thanks God for answering her prayer. Teddy yells at Louise to get the G-D dog off of him. Teddy survives, which makes all his friends very happy.