It was 4:30 in the afternoon when Ted Newsom stood at the front doors to his old high school. He hadn’t seen the school since he graduated and left for college. A few people were milling around, but no one noticed him as he reminisced. “It’s been twenty-six years and the place still looks the same,” he thought.

The front doors were open because it was spring and the temperatures mild. Ted couldn’t resist the urge to step inside, knowing that the school trophy case would be right there. Stepping through the double doors, his nose reminded him of his school days. The place even smelled the same.

Standing in front of the trophy case, Ted smiled as he saw the state high school trophy for baseball still held its place of honor. He recalled the day that he and his teammates put that prize inside. Because it was the centerpiece of all the trophies, Ted guessed that the school had not won another state title since his time. The faces of the members of his team flashed through his mind. He remembered his girlfriend jumping and screaming as he rounded third base after hitting the title-winning homerun.

He could still hear Betty as she hugged his neck when the fans mobbed the field. Then, with her mouth beside his ear, she whispered, “You will get so laid tonight, Teddy. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t breathe.”

Ted was bending over trying to read the inscription on the trophy when a voice behind him said, “Excuse me, sir. May I help you? We don’t allow visitors in the school unless they’ve been approved by the office.”

Ted saw a stern-faced woman with her hands on her hips.

“I’m terribly sorry. I haven’t been back in the school for a long time and I just wanted to see the baseball trophy,” he explained.

The woman squinted at him before she smiled. “You’re Teddy Newsom. It’s been a very long time, but you haven’t changed that much.”

Ted was quite surprised to be recognized but could not remember this attractive woman. Something about her was familiar, but he couldn’t place her.

She stepped forward and put her hands on his arms. “I know you don’t remember me. I’m Amber. Betty’s little sister. I used to have such a crush on you.”

“Of course,” Ted said in relief. “Twenty-six years is a long time. I guess the last time we were together, you were what? Fifteen?”

“I had just had my fifteenth birthday. I remember you coming by the house to say goodbye to Betty.”

“And now you work here at our old high school?”

“Yeah. I work in the office. A friend of mine told me about the opening. I’ve been here for sixteen years now.” Amber was beaming. “It’s so good to see you, Teddy. Come in the office and I’ll get you a pass.”

“Oh, I don’t need to do that, Amber. I’ll be going. I just wanted to see if the trophy was still up.”

“You’ll have to do as I say, Mr. Newsom. I have something to show you, but I can’t take you into the building without a pass.”

Stepping inside the office, Amber called out, “Mrs. Winslow, can you come here a minute.”

A gray-haired woman stepped around the corning with a look of annoyance on her face. “What is it, Amber? I’m busy.”

Still smiling, Amber said, “I just wanted to see if you remember this ex-student of our school. It’s been a long time.”

The older woman stared up at Teddy for several seconds before her mouth fell open. “Why, you’re Teddy Newsom. The greatest baseball player this school ever had.”

Ted remembered thinking that Mrs. Winslow was old when he was a student. He was shocked she remembered him. “That’s right,” he said, extending his hand. “How are you, Mrs. Winslow?”

The old woman accepted his hand, saying, “It’s so nice to see you again. Are you still playing ball?”

“Oh, gosh no,” he laughed. “I’m much too old for that kid’s game anymore. After college, I played pro ball for Atlanta for five years before retiring and found honest work.”

“Well, it’s good to see you again, Teddy,” she said before turning to Amber. “Are you going to give him a little tour of the building before the janitors lock everything up?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Amber said and she pulled out a visitor’s badge and put it on Ted’s shirt. “I’ll be back shortly.”

Amber led Ted back into the hallway. “Mrs. Winslow still thinks of me as a child. Now come with me. I have something you need to see.”

Leaving the office, Amber led Ted around a corner and up a flight of stairs. At the top, they turned left and walked down a long, empty hallway.

“When I was here,” Ted offered, “this was the English Department.”

“And it still is,” Amber said with a grin. “Why change perfection?”

She stopped at a classroom door and motioned Ted to go in with her. Once inside, he saw a woman with her back to them arranging a stack of papers on a table. Ted couldn’t help but think the woman had a nice ass.

“Mrs. Grayson,” Amber said. “I have someone here to see you.”

The teacher turned and stared at Ted. After several seconds Ted could see the shock on her face.

“Teddy!” the woman cried out as she ran across the room, throwing her arms around his neck. “Oh, my God!” she said and began to sob.

It took Ted a minute to put things together. He put his arms around the woman and said, “How are you, Betty?”

The woman released her tight grip on Ted’s neck to kiss him. The kiss filled Ted’s heart with sweet memories of his days and nights with his one and only high school sweetheart. Her lips took him back twenty-eight years to their first kiss. “Hi, baby,” he whispered when she let go of him.

“Oh, my God, Ted. You look so good. I never thought I’d see you again.

Standing behind them, Amber coughed. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the office. Just drop your visitor’s tag in the office when you leave.” Then, seeing that they were paying no attention to her, Amber retreated to the hallway, closing the classroom door.

His hands still on her arms, Ted said, “So, you’re teaching high school English now. Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Amber’s been here longer than me,” Betty replied as she wiped a tear from her eye. I moved back here after my husband died and applied to teach here.”

“Your husband died?” Ted said in surprise. “Wasn’t he a little young for that?”

“Perhaps I should say that he was killed. Steve was a Captain in the Army and was killed in Afghanistan during his second tour there.”

“I am so sorry, Betty,” he said as he pulled her into a hug.

“He was doing what he loved,” she sniffed. “The truth is, he lived longer than I expected. He was always doing heroic kinds of things. He had three Purple Hearts and a chest full of medals.”

Holding this woman felt so utterly natural to Ted. He would have been happy to continue holding her for hours but remembered he was in her workplace.

“I’m sorry to break in on you,” he said, letting her go. “Since I didn’t know you were here, it wasn’t my plan. Amber spotted me outside the office and brought me up.”

“It’s a wonderful surprise, Teddy. I’m just so thrilled to see you. What brings you back home?”

“My grandfather passed away. So I took some time off work to come back and take care of a few things for the family. My parents moved to Colorado about ten years ago and weren’t up to make the trip.”

“Was that the man you called Pops?” Betty asked with a smile. “I remember him. He was a sweet man that loved women. He pinched my butt more than once.”

“He was a great guy,” Ted told her. “Of course, now I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with him.”

“That’s always the case when they’re gone,” Betty told him. “If you’re going to be in town a while, why don’t you join me for dinner?” Then, after a pause, she added, “You can bring your wife.”

“You’ll have to accept me on my own, Betty. I haven’t been married in about fifteen years. When I retired from baseball, my wife left me. She had grown accustomed to being married to a man that made five million a year.”

“I can’t say that I’m sorry to hear that. Do you remember where I lived back in high school?” she asked.

“Sure. I was there enough to know where it is. Are you living there now?”

“I am,” she replied, putting her hand on his chest and looking up at him. “When I moved back here, I lived in an apartment. A few years later, Daddy passed away. You may remember that he was ten years older than my mother. Shortly after his passing, my Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and I moved back home to help her. When she was moved to assisted living, I stayed in the house. Amber and I keep an eye on her, but she doesn’t know who we are anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ted said softly. “I’m sure it’s a burden on you both.”

“We manage,” Betty said with a soft smile. “So, how about coming by for dinner tonight? I’m not much of a cook, but I’d love to catch up with you.”

“Sure. I’d love to,” Ted said as he pulled her back for a hug. “I’ve thought about you 10,000 times. It would be wonderful to spend some time renewing my image of your beautiful face.”

“Wonderful! I’ll expect you around 6:30. Then, we can do something we’ve never done before.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“We’ll drink adult beverages. We’ve never been together as adults. Do you drink bourbon?”

“Indeed I do,” he laughed. “I’ll see you at 6:30.”

With an hour and a half to kill, Ted went to a local grocery to buy some flowers, picked up a couple bottles of wine and stopped at a liquor store to buy a good bottle of bourbon. Good bourbon, meaning not Jack Daniels. He found Woodford’s Reserve Double Oaked and determined it would fit his needs.

While sitting in his car, Ted wondered what he and Betty would talk about. “No doubt she’ll want to know what I’ve been doing for the past twenty-six years and I’ll ask the same of her,” he thought. His mind drifted back to the night he took her virginity on the floor of her parent’s den. He recalled they were both too nervous to enjoy it and admitted it to each other. They decided to try it again the following weekend when no one was around. The second mating experience had made them an inseparable team until he moved away.

Ted had these thoughts hundreds of times through the years, wondering how life would have been different if he had stayed with Betty. He had scholarship offers from schools closer to their hometown. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to turn down the proposal for a free ride at Arizona State. Even at 18, Ted knew that the ASU program would give him the chance to play in the College World Series. That would elevate him to the professional level and open the door to big-time money.

On the way to Betty’s house, he passed the park where they would go after football games. He grinned, thinking of times they had been in his car kissing until the windows fogged. Spotting her street, Ted wondered how many times he had made this turn. He pulled into her driveway, still smiling.