Back in Time

Back in Time

Intimacy came slowly to the young couple. So slowly, that neither were prepared for the day they met again. Childhood sweethearts, they had not considered their futures. Five year olds seldom do. Elementary school passed and when high school came separation was inevitable. She got involved with drama and the arts. He got involved in every sports team he could. Dreams were longer shared. They still looked at each other wistfully, but there was nothing more. She went to a university across the country. He was a first pick for a major league hockey team. She married a man in one of her drama classes. A family of five and acting kept her busy and happy. Camping trips to the mountains with their children were special times for them. In the city, they introduced their children to museums and art galleries. When he passed too early, leaving her with children to raise, she felt his loss like a knife in her heart. They had loved each other dearly. The hockey star also married and had a wonderful family. His wife made his career and their family her priority. A stay at home mom, she was also a hockey mom. Because her husband was away so much of the time, their cell phones and iPads were invaluable. Between games, wherever he was, there would be a home game video to watch and many times, he watched the games from a distance but with his family. They would each order up nachos and share that time with each other. When he closed his eyes at night he was proud and happy of his wife and children. His heart ached that he had to be so far away so often.

~~~~~

An invitation in the mail to Melanie’s hometown 150th anniversary came in the mail. She set it aside while she looked at the flyers from toy stores and big box stores. She sighed. “This is where my life has ended? Looking at flyers and wondering if I should go home for the anniversary.” She shook her head. Talking to her parrot while he preened his feathers, she said. “I haven’t been in touch with anyone from there in years. We’re all old and probably wouldn’t recognize anyone anyway.” Her children had married and lived in different parts of the country. They had their own families to care for. She saw her grandchildren regularly on Skype, always on their birthdays and took trips to see them. Her acting career had shrivelled to almost nothing. 

Just herself and her parrot. “Enough of feeling sorry for myself.” She picked up the invitation and called the number. “Harry, it’s good to talk to you!……..Yes, I’m coming, just got the invitation today.”

~~~~~

Harry returned to his hometown after his wife’s death the year before. He didn’t know if he’d be happy there, but at least he’d be closer to one of his sons. That had been a surprise. “Why on earth do you want to live out in the sticks, Ben?”  His son was the one to be surprised. “Really, dad? The three of us came out here every summer to grandma and grandpa’s. I have a ton of friends out there. One of the guys and I are opening a sports equipment business out there. We’ll stay connected with the major supplier in the city and will be able to get equipment faster for all the surrounding towns.” Harry didn’t say anything but worried that their eagerness didn’t match reality. But, turned out it did. So Harry moved 'out to the sticks' too. Involved with the town’s 150th anniversary, he was put in charge of researching and sending out the invitations. When he came upon Melanie’s name, his heart did a little flip. “Naw. She won’t even remember me. We were quite a pair when we were five, but that was a long time ago.” He addressed it and put it in the mail with all the others.

~~~~~

“Before we belonged to anyone else, we were each other’s.”

~ Elizabeth Noble, The Way We Were