Author’s Note: This story is a complete work of fiction from the get go and is intended solely for the readers to enjoy. My thanks to EasySpeak for the work of editing this story so that it makes sense and makes it easier to read and understand.

Cassie, short for Casandra, and I were in the same first grade class when we were in elementary school. And it turned out that we were born on the same day. She was born a few hours after I was and in the same hospital. She even lived a few houses down the block from our house. Our Mothers met, got to know each other and became good friends.

My Mother and Cassie’s Mother happened to be out pushing each of us in our baby carriages when they met. They both oohed and awed over us when they met as most Mothers do over small babies. Our mothers got to talking and found that we lived only a few houses apart and they thought it was a very happy coincidence.

During their visit they found that Cassie and I were born on the same day and in the same hospital but it was only a few hours apart. That coincidence was enough for them to become good friends and they often visited each other in each other’s homes. They invited each other over to their homes for coffee and, of course, that meant they took us along with them when they got together for their morning coffee.

As most mothers do they kept their eyes on us while they were visiting and they very much enjoyed their coffee visits. As we each grew older they let us play with our toys in the living room as they sat comfortably on the couch watching over us.

When we were both old enough to go to kindergarten they each took us to the school and enrolled us in kindergarten. Our Mothers took turns picking us up from kindergarten and first and second grade. When we got into third grade they felt like we could walk the few blocks from our school to our homes by ourselves.

We lived in a small South Central Texas town and at that time our parents felt like it was safe to let us walk home by ourselves. Our Mothers both told us to walk home together and my Mother always told me to walk with Cassie and hold her hand as we walked. Cassie’s Mother told her to take my hand when we walked home.

My Mother told me, “Glenn when you walk home with Cassie you walk her past our house down to her house and then you can walk back here.” I always did that for her and she thanked me and hurriedly went into the house to tell her Mom she was home from school.

Mom and Dad had bought a Siberian Husky because they knew Huskies were loyal gentle pets and good with children. We had named him Max and I just loved Max and I know he loved me just as much. I know that Max loved Mom and Dad, too.

When Cassie’s Mom brought her over to our house to visit she just fell in love with him and he loved her as much as he loved me. Each day before school was dismissed Mom would let him out in the yard to meet me and Cassie when we got home from school.

He would always walk with us down to Cassie’s house and he always had a great time running and playing with us. When we got to Cassie’s house and she went inside I’d just call Max and he’d walk by my side or in front of me as I returned to our house.

This went on through our senior year in high school but, when I came home from college he was always overjoyed to see me. I think I really loved to see him as much as he loved to see me.

When Cassie and I got into high school we dated each other almost exclusively. I took her to all of the home football games, the home basketball games, the school dances and we even went to the proms together. Needless to say I really liked Cassie when we were in elementary school but, when we got into high school I think that I began to love her.

I think that maybe she had begun to fall in love with me, too. When I was a senior in high school one of the guys I knew asked me, “Hey, Glenn, are you tapping that chick I see you with all the time?

I turned to him with a scowl on my face and replied, “Fuck no, Berty. What made you ask a stupid question like that? I’d never touch her. We have pretty much been raised together. If my mom found out that I even so much as touched her boobs she would beat the dog shit out of me. Then she would tell Cassie’s Mom and she and Cassie’s Dad would beat the dog shit out of me.”

He replied, “Man if I was going with that chick and lived so close to her I’d be in her bedroom every night or every other night pounding her and fucking her doggie so much I’d have her barking and chasing cars in a month.”

I just said, “Fuck you, Berty. You and everybody else had best stay the fuck away from Cassie or I’ll kick your ass up between your ears and every time you turn your head you’d be kissing your own ass.”

Berty knew I could do it, too. He and the rest of the guys knew that the football coach wanted me to play football on the team because of my size but, I told him no. my Dad had told me not to play football because he was afraid it would wreck my knees not to even mention other injuries.

Even Cassie thought I made a good decision even though she thought I would have been a good wide receiver where the coach wanted me to play. She just put her hands on each side of my face and said, “Glenn, I want you to be able to walk beside me without limping and be able to dance with me at the school dances.”

Berty knew I could kick his ass, too. By my senior year I was six feet two and I weighed 190 pounds. Not many guys gave me any lip or gave me any trouble. And I never gave anyone else any trouble, either. I knew that Cassie wouldn’t tolerate me getting into fights and Mom and Dad would never put up with it either.

I could see why Berty and the other guys in school wanted to take Cassie out because when she started high school she developed into a really beautiful girl or rather young woman. She no longer was that little girl with the “Teddy Bear” body. I had visions of us going to the same college together and after college getting together with her and maybe getting married.

I don’t know if Cassie had the same thoughts because I never talked to her about what she thought. However, regardless of what I had thought about for our future my hopes were doused in ice water after our high school graduation.

After our graduation I took her out to a movie and after the movie I asked her. “Honey, are you going to sign up to go to school at UT this fall?” because I wanted to go to the same college she did. I had always made good grades but, Cassie’s grades were always better than mine. I knew she had such good grades she could get into any college she wanted to go to.

Cassie replied to me, “Glenn, I don’t really know where I’m going to go to school this fall. Mom just told me today that my Dad has been transferred back east and we are selling the house and we are going to move back east where he has been transferred to. She told me that Dad is going to have much more responsibility and that means he is going to make a whole lot more money.

Mom then told me that they can help me get into almost any college I want to go to. Where are you going to go this fall, Honey?”

My heart just sunk when she told me that. Cassie then asked me again, “Where are you going to go to school this fall, Glenn?”

Trying to overcome the lump in my throat I said, “Cassie, I wanted to go to the same college you go to but, I really don’t know, now. I had thought about UT and now that you are leaving I’m going to have to rethink where I’m going to go. I have been thinking about Chemical Engineering or Metallurgical Engineering so I’m back to square one in my thinking.

I don’t know if she could see the sadness in my eyes since I thought I would never see her again or hear from her again once she left. The day they left for the east, Cassie came over to the house to tell me good bye. She said, “We’re going to leave now, Glenn. Don’t look so sad, Honey. I’m not going to Mars or someplace like that.

We’ll see each other again. Maybe we can get together at Christmas or spring break. And I’ll write to you, too, Honey.”

“I want you to write to me, Cassie, and I’ll write to you, too, but, I have a feeling that I won’t ever see you again, Honey. I love you, Cassie, and if I never see you I’ll never stop loving you. Good bye, Cassie.”

“Good Bye, Glenn. I love you, too.”

I didn’t see her at Christmas or spring break or the next summer either. We wrote a few letters to each other but, that kind of fizzled out after about a year. I began to think I was right that I would never see her again.

I just had to get my ass to work and take care of the things I needed to do. All I had were my good memories of the sweet girl I had grown up with and the love we shared for such a short time.

Rather than go to UT, I checked out going to school in Houston and Golden, Colorado. I eventually chose to go to school in Golden, Colorado because they offered the degree programs that I wanted to follow.

Another year went by then three more. At the end of five years I sure missed Cassie but, I had to painfully and reluctantly place my memories of Cassie into my file of treasured memories. Those were the memories that I could occasionally dredge up to savor and reflect on and, yes even feel a lump in my throat over, along with a little dampness in my eyes...

At the end of those five years I got my engineering degrees and I found a job with a company north of the Dallas Fort Worth area. I started as an entry level Metallurgist and over time I rose to the level of Chief Metallurgist for the company.

My department was merged with the Quality Assurance department and I took charge of that department. It turned out that I had a Manager of Metallurgy and a Manager of Quality Assurance reporting to me. As one would expect as the Director of the combined departments, I had my hands full with the responsibilities of both departments having been merged.

About three years after I had been promoted to Chief Metallurgist I met a young woman at the bank and she was very attractive. Her name was Denise Coleman. In many ways she looked like and reminded me of Cassie and I very quickly fell in love with her. We went together for a couple of years and I really wanted to marry her.

One night after we had been out to eat I brought her home and we were sitting on the love seat with a glass of wine. I had my arm around her and had just kissed her. Then I told her, “Denise, I love you and I’d like to marry you in the not too distant future. We haven’t ever talked about this before but, I’d like for us to have at least a couple of kids. And two kids could be three or four kids if you would want to have kids, Honey.”

She replied, “I love you, too, Glenn, but, I have my career in banking and I’m on track for higher positions with the bank and if we were to have kids I think that would interfere with my career path. I’d love to marry you, Honey, but, I don’t think kids are in my best interest for the future, not at this time.”

I kind of felt like my plans for the future had been doused in ice water just like when Cassie told me that she and her parents were selling their house to move back east. I didn’t think there was any future seeing Denise any further. I was very busy at work and I saw no reason to carry on our relationship. I just stopped calling her.

A couple of times Denise called me and said, “It’s been quite a while since we have seen each other, Glenn, and I just wanted to call you and talk to you for a while.”

I told her, “Yeah, It’s been quite a while but, I have been very busy with all the work I have on my schedule since the merger of these two departments, Honey.” I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her that our relationship was over and I figured she would soon get the unspoken message that it was over.

Then it kind of struck me. Did Cassie quit writing me and she didn’t contact me any further because she was trying to tell me our previous relationship was over. If so, I guess she couldn’t bring herself to tell me it was over and figured that sooner or later I’d get her unspoken message.

Those previous five years turned into ten and I still hadn’t heard from Cassie. I had tried to send her letters during those ten years but, the few I did send her were always returned to me stamped, Addressee Unknown.

On holidays I drove down to my hometown to visit with my parents. Every time I visited with Mom she would ask me, “What have you heard from Cassie, Glenn? I hope she is doing well and her parents are doing well also.”

I could only respond, “Mom, I haven’t heard anything from her and I think she has forgotten me and us. I don’t even know where she went to college or where she went to work after that either. You know we wrote letters to each other for about a year but, that eventually fizzled out.”

Mom said, “Oh, Honey, Cassie’s Mom and I had both thought that you two would get married and give us the Grandbabies that we wanted so very much. Haven’t you met any other girls or women who you would like to marry and give me and your Dad Grandbabies?”

“Yeah, I have met a girl at the bank and I knew I was in love with her. But, when I told her I wanted to marry her and have several kids she told me she didn’t want to have any kids because they would interfere with her career and she said she was on track for higher positions with the bank. Her goal was to be the Vice President or even the president of the bank.

And that ended our relationship, Mom. She called me a couple of times and we talked but, that didn’t change my mind about her though.”

“Mom replied, “Oh. Honey, I’m so sorry to hear all of that. Cassie was such a cute baby and little girl and she developed into a beautiful young woman too. Her Mom and I both knew that you two would make the most handsome couple but, I guess that wasn’t ever going to happen.”

I stayed and visited with Mom and Dad and I took walks around our neighborhood. When I passed by Cassie’s old house, I had a lump in my throat and a couple of tears in my eyes for all of the good times I’d had with Cassie in that house. I just walked on up the block to our house and I drove back to my home north of Dallas the next day.

After the holiday weekend I got back to work and quit wallowing in my own self-pity and my sadness at missing Cassie. I had plenty of work to keep me busy and for the next three years I put my memories of Cassie back into my file of treasured memories. I finally had to tell myself that she had written me off as a part of her life that was a part of her past.

Unknown to me at the time, Mom said that she was at home one Friday afternoon when the doorbell rang. Mom went to the door and found a young woman there who said, “Hello, Mrs. Marten. How are you?”

Mom said she didn’t quite recognize her but after a couple of moments she recognized that the young woman was Cassie. Mom said she was almost dumbfounded and she said, “Cassie, is that really you? Come on in, Honey and let me get you a cup of coffee.”

Cassie stepped into the house and Mom hugged her like a long lost daughter. Mom asked her, “Cassie, it’s so great to see you again. What brings you here after all of these years, Honey?”

She said, “My Company has scheduled a two week seminar for me to attend in Dallas and this was a short week for the seminar. I had the day free and I didn’t want to waste the day in the hotel so I rented a car and drove down here to visit with you. I got to feeling guilty about losing contact with you and also with Glenn.

I was wondering if you still lived here or if you may have sold this house and moved. I also wanted to see if you have a current address for Glenn. Is he still here with you or is he living elsewhere here in town?”

“Yes, Cassie, we’re still here. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you and talk to you. As for Glenn, you really didn’t have to drive all of this way down here to see him. He lives in a little town just north of Dallas Fort Worth and I know he will be so happy to see you, too, Honey. Since it’s late in the afternoon please stay and have supper with us tonight and then spend the night with us, too. We have so much to talk about.

I know it’s always so hard to get to talk to him during the day because he is so busy. So, we’ll just wait until after supper to call him.”

“Do you think that Glenn will want to talk to me since it has been so long that I have talked to him after all of this time?”

“Oh, Cassie, he’ll not only want to talk to you when you tell him where you are, he is just liable to get into the car and drive down here tonight to see you and talk to you, Honey. I know he was really depressed after you left and he won’t likely be able to contain himself when he finds out that you are here with me, Cassie.”

“While we were writing to one another he never did tell me where he was going to school and I guess I never did ask him. Where did he ultimately go. He mentioned to me about going to UT in Austin.”

“Well, after you left he gave that up and talked about going to the university in Houston and to the university in Golden, Colorado. He finally decided on Golden since it offered him the degree program he really wanted. He got his Bachelor’s degree there and stayed on to get his Master’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering.

After he got his degree he went to work for a company north of Dallas Fort Worth and has been there ever since that time. But, now he is the Chief Metallurgist for the company and his department includes the Materials Engineering and the Quality Assurance departments. I know he has his hands full running the combined departments.

I know when he first started work with them they had him traveling all over the world. He went to Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia and also Brazil. Then he went to Italy, England, Norway, Sweden and Germany. After that they sent him to Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and even to China.

He went to Venezuela several years before it was taken over by Hugo Chávez and he felt uneasy as he was leaving there. He said that India was something else but the cities he visited in China were very much Americanized but, he felt awful uneasy when he was there. Of course, he wouldn’t ever go back to Venezuela and he really doesn’t want to return to India or China either.

I worried about him, Cassie, but, he really seemed to love the travel until he finally got tired of all the flying and all of the jet lag. But, since he has become the head of his department he doesn’t have to do that traveling anymore. He has other people to do that traveling for him now.

How are your Mom and Dad, Cassie? We all hope that they are doing well. Where did you and your parents find a place to live when you left here?”

“Mom and Dad bought a home in a suburb of Boston. I’ll write their address and phone number down for you and they are still there. I went to a little college in the Boston suburbs and I got my degree in International Relations. After college, I went to work for a company that does that kind of work. I worked for them for three years and then they needed a person who was fluent in Spanish.

Since I was born and raised in south central Texas they figured I had a real familiarity with Spanish and they wanted me to take a course in Spanish which they paid for. On completing the course they sent me to Spain where I was the assistant manager of their office there.

Even though my office was in Spain the company thought that it was a central point for us to visit many of the countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Spain and the rest of Europe were fine but, I really didn’t like the Middle East and North Africa. I know that Mom and Dad worried about me and they even asked me to quit and come back home to the U.S.

After I had been in Spain for four years I asked them to let me come back home and they brought me back to their Boston office. I have been back in Boston for a couple of years and now that I have come back home I’d really like to come back to Texas.

When this seminar came up I jumped at the chance to attend it even though it was in Dallas. I figured I could take the time to come down here and see you and my old hometown and reconnect with you and Glenn, too.

Oh, Mrs. Marten, you can’t believe how happy I was to drive into town this afternoon. The tears were running down my cheeks to drive around town and I stopped and parked in front of our old house and I cried thinking about how much I missed being here with Glenn.

Once I got out of the car and was walking along the side walk up to your door I thought about how Glen and I used to walk home from school and Max met us and he was walking along with us. That brought a lump to my throat. And I remembered how Glenn and I used to play with Max in your yard and in our yard, too.

When I rang the doorbell I kind of expected to see Max standing there at the door when you opened it. Glenn and I really loved Max and I know he really loved us, too. He was more than a dog he was a great friend to us. I almost broke down in tears thinking about that, Mrs. Marten. It brought a big lump up into my throat.”

“Well, Cassie, we lost Max several years ago and there were a lot of tears shed when we lost him. It hit us all pretty hard but, I think it hit Glenn harder than the rest of us. I think that Max was one of his last links with you, Honey.

When Glen was on a trip out of the country Max was so happy to see him when he returned. Max was just beside himself because he was so happy to see Glen again. I know that he would have greeted you the same way if he was still here with us. Max never forgot anyone once they made him their friend.”

I looked over at her and I could see tears running down her cheeks. “I know that Glenn couldn’t get over losing Max for a long time and I know he hasn’t gotten over losing you either, Cassie.”

You know, Cassie, you and Glenn are so much alike. You two were born on the same day and only a few hours apart and in the same hospital, no less. I think that makes you two kindred spirits. And then you lived in the same neighborhood only a couple of houses apart.

Your spirit is a part of him and, his spirit is a part of you, too. I do know that you two are going to be kindred spirits all of your lives, Honey. You and Glenn have an unbreakable bond through your kindred spirits that can never be broken no matter how far away you are from each other. And I think that Max was part of your kindred spirits too, if that is even possible.

When he comes down here to visit with us the first day he is happy to be here to visit with us and then the second day he just mopes around the house and he goes out for walks around the neighborhood. I know he stops in front of your old house every time he goes out for a walk around the neighborhood. It’s like your spirit is calling to him and his spirit is calling to you, too.

And when he gets back here he is in an even sadder mood. When I look into his eyes they are red and puffy like he has been crying. He doesn’t think I notice it but, I do and I never say anything about it. I just hold him and comfort him as much as I can. He is still my little boy even though he is a grown man with a lot of responsibilities and he is nearly a foot taller than I am.

Then the next day he heads back home. I don’t know what he does when he gets back home but, I do know he is still carrying your spirit with him, Honey. He still loves you very much after all of this time, Cassie.”

“I know, Mrs. Marten, I still love him very much, too. There have been times that I thought I could feel his spirit calling to me and I think that is what made me make this trip down here today. When I came to Dallas I thought I could feel his spirit calling to me even stronger than it has in the past and it became much stronger when I was walking up to your house.”

I looked up at the clock and it was 4:30 already. Cassie and I had been talking for most of the afternoon. I said to her, “Cassie, I hope that you are going to stay and eat supper with us this evening and then stay the night with us, too. I don’t think you want to start back to Dallas tonight and you will need to find a place to stay for the night.

I need to start supper for us since my Husband, Joel, will be home in less than an hour and I like to have supper ready for him when he gets home. I know that Joel would love to see you and say hello to you, too. And by the way, please call me by my first name of, Clemma.”

Mom started making supper and Cassie helped her saying, “Clemma, let me help you. It feels like when I was living at home and I used to help my Mom. You know, I’d give a fortune to live here again because we were so happy here.”

Dad got home at his normal time and Mom told him that Cassie had come to the door and was visiting with her all afternoon and was going to eat supper with them tonight. And then she was going to stay the night with them too. Dad was very happy to see her and greeted her veriy warmly. He asked many of the same questions that Mom had asked of her.

After supper Mom went to her desk, wrote my address and phone number on a piece of note paper and handed it to Cassie. Then she went to the phone and called me. When I answered Mom said, Glenn this is your Mom and I wanted to call you and give you some information that I know is really going to make you happy, Honey. Guess who is sitting here right beside me.”

“Mom, I don’t have the foggiest idea who you have there with you this evening.”

“Oh, Honey, if this was 15 years ago you wouldn’t have had any problem with that.”

“Ok, Mom, let’s dispense with the 20 questions and tell me who is there with you.”

“Well, Honey, are you sitting down?”

“Yes, I am, Mom.”

“Glenn, I have a young woman by the name of Cassie here and she wants to say hello to you.”

“Oh, Mom, stop teasing me and tell me who it is that you have there with you.”

With that I handed the phone to Cassie.

She said, “Hi, Glenn, it’s really me, Cassie and I drove down here from Dallas this morning. I drove around town and stopped in front of our old house and then I came up here and visited with your Mom the rest of the afternoon.”

“Honey, I couldn’t believe what Mom was telling me. I thought that Mom was just teasing me telling me that you were there with them. I’m so happy to be talking to you and I know that I’ll be even happier when I can see you again.”

Cassie went through the same explanation that she had given to Mom about why she was there.

“Well, Cassie as soon as I can get some things together I’m going to get in my car and drive down there to see you and visit with Mom and Dad at the same time.”

“No, No, Glenn. Don’t do that. I need to be back in Dallas on Monday morning to attend that seminar. I need to drive back there tomorrow as I had originally intended. Then we’ll have the rest of the weekend to visit with one another.”

“What time do you intend to leave there tomorrow morning, Honey?”

“I got up very early this morning and left my hotel at 7:00 and I got here at around 1:00 so I probably need to do something similar tomorrow morning.”

“Ok, Cassie, tell me the name of your hotel and your room number and I’ll call you when you get there. I’ll plan on meeting you around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. That will give you enough time to relax, freshen up and rest for a little while after you get back to your hotel room.”

Cassie gave me the name of her hotel and her room number and I was all set to meet her tomorrow afternoon.

She replied “Good, Glenn, I’m really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon.”

Mom had awakened Cassie early enough to get ready to leave and to have her breakfast. She left my parents’ house just a little before 7:00. She said that since it was a Saturday morning traffic was light and she had an easy drive. She arrived a little before 1:00 as she had estimated.

When Cassie returned to her hotel room she went in and took her shower and relaxed for a while. Then she got up, dressed and waited for my call. She said she called the front desk and asked them if I came to the desk and asked about her that they should tell me to come on up to her room.

She later told me, “When it got closer to the time I expected your call I got really nervous wondering how you would greet me and how you would feel about us getting together again after all of this time. And I really wondered how you may have changed over all the years since we had seen each other, Glenn.”

I tried to sleep late but since I was so excited that I was going to see Cassie for the first time since she and her parents had left for the east, I finally got up around 8:00. I piddled around my house, made my breakfast and cleaned up my house as I normally did on Saturday morning.

I knew where her hotel was located since I had attended meetings there in the past and I knew it wouldn’t take me much more than a half an hour to get there from my house. I was so excited I couldn’t hardly contain myself. The closer it got to the time I was going to meet her, the more nervous I became.

Arriving at the hotel at 2:20 I took a seat in the lobby and at 2:30 I picked up the house phone and dialed her room number. My heart rate jumped a couple of hundred beats when Cassie answered my call. I told her, Cassie this is Glenn and I’m in the lobby.”