Hearts on Fire

Kelly was excited about going skiing for the first time and was glad to be going with the girls. It had been a long time since they had a girls' weekend. Janet and Lisa had been skiing before and were happy to show Kelly the ropes. Upon arrival, the news reported that unusually high snowfall was expected and that skiers should be prepared for possible road closures. Unfortunately, the girls did not put too much thought into what they would do if the roads were closed.

The first day, Kelly did not have much time for skiing because she had to attend a safety class. To Kelly's surprise, the instructor was an old friend of hers, Stan; an old boyfriend to be exact. Trying not to get distracted, she concentrated on the task at hand. It was hard when all the memories of their times together kept creeping into her thoughts. It had been twenty years since they had even spoke, but she felt like it was yesterday. After class, Stan invited her to have a cup of coffee and catch up. Of course, she was more than happy to agree.

They talked about old times, they talked about their careers, and they talked about relationships they had both had since parting ways so many years ago. Although both had been married previously, both were single now. Kelly wondered if fate had brought them back together. Stan had some work to do, so they decided to meet for dinner later that night.

Back at the room, Kelly told her friends about Stan and how excited she was to find out that he was single too. They wished her luck and loaned her some accessories to help spice up her outfit for dinner. Kelly felt like a teenager again, with butterflies in her stomach and all. She wondered if Stan was just as nervous.

Stan was seated at a table in the corner when Kelly entered the restaurant. He still looked the same and Kelly was sure he was still just as sweet as he was long ago. They ordered a bottle of wine with dinner and talked more about the past. After about an hour of more reminiscing, the conversation turned more toward the present and the possibility of staying in touch after her weekend trip. They made plans to meet for breakfast, hugged goodnight and parted ways.

That night, the snow fell hard and fast and caused all the roads out of the skiing community to be closed. The girls woke up to the news that they were going to be trapped there for at least two more nights. And that was only if the snow stopped falling for the next 60 hours. Janet and Lisa were worried about their jobs, but Kelly was more focused on the possibility of spending more time with Stan. The girls took turns calling work, using the only working phone in the resort. Of course, their bosses were very understanding of their situation.

Kelly joined Stan in the resort's restaurant for breakfast and they talked about the unusual snow storm that hit the community. Stan had been living and working at the ski resort for 8 years and never experienced any road closures. He had the next 2 days off work and offered to take Kelly on the slopes. She knew the girls would be happy to let someone else teach her, so she agreed.

They spent the next two days and nights together and Kelly felt like she did twenty years ago. Nothing had changed even with all they had both done separately; their hearts were still connected as strong as ever. The timing may not have been right twenty years ago, but today was a different story. Neither of them knew where they would be twenty years from now or even two weeks from now. All they knew was that they felt drawn to each other just as they were long ago, only this time they get to decide if they remain in contact or not.