Going Home

Katherine's two children from her former marriage flourished in their new environment and both ended up graduating from top schools. Both ultimately returned after experiencing life outside the valley with new spouses in tow, never to leave again. Katherine and Walter occasionally made trips away from the area to see friends and family but if truth be told, could not wait to get home. Katherine continued to teach until mandatory retirement; Walter actually retired a couple of years before he would have had to do so staying on with the company in a consulting role part time.

As the years passed he would periodically pull off on the other side of the long river bridge and talk to Dennis. He would thank him for having been a good friend; he would tell him how much everyone missed him still. He would tell him how much he loved the woman that they had both loved and married and how proud they both could be of Dennis' children. Walter would then drive the twenty minutes to his little piece of hillside and hug the still fetching colleen who had stolen his heart so many years ago. She would feel his tears on her shoulder and smile and hug him even tighter and tell him what a lucky little girl she was. They would banter about who was luckier and if the children weren't in sight he would sneak a hand down the back of her dress. She would protest even as she found his growing arousal with her hands and more often than not dinner would be delayed.