Mike and I dated for two years while we were in high school.
I thought we were perfectly happy and in love, but Mike had other ideas.
The night after graduation Mike sat me down and explained that he was going away to college, and I was staying in our hometown to get a job with the family business, so it wouldn’t work out between us. He dumped me in the nicest possible way, but he dumped me all the same. I took it really hard, and pined for him for many years after that. How ironic is it that when I finally moved on and forgot about Mike he came back into my life. I came to find out that Mike flunked out of college, and then went to trade school to become an HVAC technician. Remember how I said I was a part of the “family business,” well that business is a furnace company, specializing in installing industrial heating systems in businesses and warehouses. With his HVAC certification and his family connections, Mike got a good job in the business, and then some years later was made the new owner. The company doesn’t make the kind of furnace you have in your home, they make the gigantic ones used for shopping malls, churches, and warehouses. I saw him randomly at the bar one night, and even though 15 years had passed I still felt that old spark. I may not ever need his services for a new furnace, but that man heats up my heart like no one else ever has.