Three's Company

Part 1

Nothing had changed in Copperfield. The same old dirt roads, the white picket fences that lined every yard.

It had been sixteen years since David had been in this town but it looked like nothing had changed.

David was born in Copperfield and grew up there until one day his mom and dad packed up without telling anyone and moved halfway across the country away.

He didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to his high school sweetheart, Andi Hampton.
Andi was everything he could have ever of wanted in a girl and most likely who he would have ended up marrying someday if it wasn't for the midnight move.

The only problem with Andi was that his parents didn't like her. Andi didn't come from a wealthy family she barely came from a family at all. Her mother had her when she was a teenager and soon abandoned her when she was young. No one knew who Andi's father was. Andi's mother ran away when she was a teen to the big city and when she finally came back she was nine months pregnant. Andi's only living relative was her Great Aunt Agatha. Aunt Angie gladly took Andi in and raised her to the best of her abilities.

The closer David and Andi became the more his parents worried that Andi would become a teen mom just her mother and their son would be the father.

They had high hopes for their son to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor as well. Trying to be a teen father and stay in school won't mix well.

David's office was a white bungalow house set in the center of town. The downstairs of the house is where the doctor's office was set up. The front door leading to the small receptionist area and waiting room. A small hall led to the three examining rooms and David's office. There wasn't a hospital in this small town he was only meant for regular check-ups and quick fixes. The practice could only staff a receptionist and one nurse. 

Right now the office was quiet and empty. Tomorrow he would be taking his first patients. He had arrived just in time for football physicals so his day would be filled with teenage boys.
Above the office was David's apartment. The doctor that was here before him performed house calls and wanted to be available at all hours of the day. David had no intention of changing that level of care.

He took a quick walk around the office before unloading his car and getting moved in. In a town like this, his nice sports car wouldn't be very useful and he knew it wouldn't be long before he would be trading it in for a more practical truck.

The apartment above the clinic was furnished which was lucky for David since he could only fit clothes in his small trunk. It didn't take him long to get his few things moved in and his stomach was telling him it was time for a break.

When he was a teen he and Andi would hang out in an old diner. Then it was the only place to eat out in town but he remembered the burgers there were excellent.
The dinner was only a couple of blocks down the road from the clinic and it was a wonderful summer evening. A warm summer breeze rustled the leaves in the trees and the distant chirping of the cicadas drifted through the air.

On his way toward the dinner, he passed several shops that he remembered being there when he was a kid and a few new ones. 

It was hard not to become nostalgic with all the memories from his childhood flooding back at him with every step he took.

He wondered how many of the kids he grew up with were still here and how many were gone.
He never hoped to see Andi again. She couldn't stand living here even when they were teens. She wanted to run to the city as soon as she graduated.

The dinner came in sight and nothing about it seemed to change. The wooden building was still.in need of a paint job but it only adds to its charm. The wood porch awning provided nice shade for the old men of the town to sit out on the wooden benches and quietly pass the time. The door to the diner was an old rickety screen door that screeched loud enough the let the entire town know that you had arrived. 

After David went inside he saw the inside had changed just as much as the outside. The tables were still in the exact same spot. He took a seat at the bar and waited for the waitress to hand him a menu.

"David Burke, as I live and breathe." The waitress said as she handed him a menu.

David then realized that it was, Tammy, she waitressed at the diner when he was a teen. Then she had been a beautiful blonde bombshell. Many of David's classmates have boyish crushes on Tammy but she was so much older than them.  A lot of David's friends would spend there Saturdays at the diner just to stare at her. Tammy was still blonde but a lot of white hairs were mixed in. Age was starting to show on her face, she must have been near fifty now.

"Tammy, I can't can't believe you're still here," David spoke his words filled with astonishment.

Tammy gave him a large smile, "It pays the bills. I had heard you were moving back into town."

"Yeah, I'm the new doctor." 

"You don't say? Following in your dad's footsteps." Tammy poured him a cup of coffee. "I didn't think we would ever see you around here again."

"Even after we moved away my heart was always here so when Doc Hudson retired I snatched up the opportunity."

"Well, I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say it's good to have you back." She smiled. "So tell me, what can I get you?"

"Are the burgers still good?" He asked.

"The best in town."

A huge thank you PandyFacedCockerBear for making the beautiful cover for me.
❤,
🕊