Just past Town Square, a brand-new row of office buildings filled the block where the old skating rink had once been. What did the local kids do now that it and the arcade were both gone? There’d never been all that much to do here in the first place.

He made a last-minute right-hand turn. Mom was right. Things had changed. The turn to Dawn’s had snuck up on him with all the new businesses on this corner.

He had to check the address twice when he got to Dawn’s house. The small starter home she and Jeff had bought the year they’d gotten married wasn’t even recognizable now. They’d gone up a story and had even added a garage.

She ran out onto the wraparound porch as he pulled into the driveway.

“This place looks great,” he said, getting out of the car.

“Come in. You’ve got to see everything.”

An hour later, he’d seen the whole house and even toured Jeff’s man cave.

“This is pretty cool,” Andrew said. The garage was as neat as an auto parts store. In the middle of the two-bay garage sat a ’34 Ford nearing the finishing stages of restoration.

“That’s his pride and joy,” she said. “Sometimes I think he’d rather spend time with ol’ Bessie here than me.”

“She’s a beauty.”

“He says she’ll be ready to drive by this summer. I might forgive him then.”

“Women.” Andrew shook his head.

“Speaking of which, how’s your love life?”

He thought before he answered. “Varied.”

“Don’t you think it’s time you start thinking about settling down?”

“Haven’t met the right kind of girl.” Not that he’d really been looking.

“Life happens fast. You’d better slow down, or you’ll miss out on what it has to offer.”

“Easier said than done in this 24/7 world we live in.” He followed Dawn to the back patio. The sun was warm on this side of the house. It was a gorgeous day for February.

“Fine. I know you’re not going to listen to me anyway. So, what’s your schedule while you’re here? Anything you want to do? People you want to see?”

“There’s not enough time to visit. I’ll have to do that on another trip, but maybe we could do a little horseback riding. That’s one thing I haven’t done since I’ve been away.”

“You’re on. That’ll make Mom happy too. It’s hard for us to get all four horses ridden as much as she’d like them to be. Want to go out to lunch?”

“Didn’t I just say I didn’t want to see anyone? Sure as heck if I go into town, everyone will know I’m here and I won’t get a minute’s piece.”