A woman looks back on how her younger self enjoyed the highs and endured the lows of first love. Her high school sweetheart was Ace, who was two years older than her and drove a Chevy convertible. Their English teacher, Mrs. Mint, flirted with him in class and often repeated that he resembled James Dean. Ace proved to be a rebel with a cause: He went off to war in Vietnam. After his tour of duty, he never got in touch with the girl he left behind. Instead, he got together with Mrs. Mint, and the pair went on to have a child. But then calamity struck. The woman grasps that both Ace and Mrs. Mint were forced to learn the hard way, just like she did, that some disasters and disappointments can’t be overcome, only accepted.