Three's Company

Part 3

"I'll be right there." A voice said from the back of the store as the screen door slammed behind him.  The inside of the store had changed so much.  There were several antique nic nacs, restored furniture, and other assorted odds and ends neatly placed around the store.

David always enjoyed the smell of the old floral store and that hadn't changed.  He carefully walked around the store looking at everything she had on display until he heard the crash of glass shattering on the floor.  He jumped and looked up to see a very surprised Andi staring at him.  She had dropped a flower arrangement that she had been carrying and now the beautiful flowers were strewn across the wooden floor in a mess of glass and water.

"Hi, Andi."  He softly said.

Andi blushed and bent down and started picking up the large pieces of glass.
David rushed over and started helping her with the mess, "Say something, Andi."

She stared at her trembling hands, "I'm not even sure where to start." She mumbled.

"Hi, is a good place." He joked.

Andi stood up and threw the large prices in the trash then grabbed a broom. "What you even doing here." She asked.

"I moved back.  I'm the new doctor in town.  I figured you would have heard, everyone else has, it seems." He told her.

"Well, I guess they didn't want me to know." She mumbled.

"I just came here to see you." He lied.  Her stunning beauty got his mind completely off track.  It was the same Andi but she was mature and beautiful.  Her golden hair was pulled back in a neat braid showing off her beautiful blue eyes. She had a white eye lit dress on that clung in just the right places on her petite frame and her skin had a light golden hue from spending time in the sun.

"I'm sorry David," she sighed, "You just threw me off guard.  I never thought I would ever see you again." 

"I know, I had thought you moved on to the city like you always talked about doing when we were kids." He said.

"Yes well,... things change." She said.

"Like becoming a teenage mother?  I met your sons today." He admitted.

Her eyes grew wide, "You did!?"

"They're good boys." He said.

"David-" she started.

"I just... I need to know Andi. Are they mine?" He asked.

"Maybe we should get some coffee." She suggested. "Just let me clean this up first."

David helped her finish up and waited for her as she closed up her shop.  

"A friend of mine owns a café just a half a block from here.  I think she closes in about an hour but that should give us time to talk." She suggested.

David nodded in agreement and followed her up the street.  As they walked David's eyes remained fixated on her but she avoided his eyes at all cost.

"So, you bought Aunt Aggie's flower shop?" He asked trying to break the ice.

"I actually inherited it when she passed away." She told him as she gave him a small smile.

"Oh, I'm so sorry.  I hadn't heard that she passed on. How long ago?"

She shrugged, "About seven years ago.  The boys took it pretty hard.  Aunt Aggie was the closest thing that they had to a grandma."

They had arrived at the coffee shop and ordered their drinks. David was amazed at how nothing seemed to change about her.  It was like walking back in time. 

He sat down across from her at a small mosaic table.  Soft curls framed her flawless face as her hands hugged her cup.

She took a deep breath before saying, "I don't even know where to start."

"I just need to know if their mine." He gently asked her.

She nodded, "I found out the day before you left.  I was going to tell you the next day but your family had left and no one knew where you went."

"I'm not blaming you for not telling me, Andi.  I wanted to contact you.  My parents wouldn't let me."

Andi's brows knit together, "You're dad knew, David.  He was the one that told me.  I hadn't been feeling well for a while so I went to see him.  He ran the pregnancy test and told me.  Then the next day you were gone."

David sat back in his seat and looked at her in shock,"Wha- why, why would he do that?"

Andi sighed, "Your parents never liked me, you know that."

"Andi! These are my-" he started before he took a deep breath to calm down. "They were my kids."

"And we were still kids at the time." She calmly said. "I not angry David.  The boys and I were fine."

"But I am Andi.  It's wasn't fair to you, to them, to me." His voice began to quiver.

"You're right, it wasn't fair, but there isn't anything we can do about now."

"And what now?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I do now, Andi?  I'm here now."

Andi gave him a sympathetic smile. "David, You don't have to do anything.  The boys are sixteen now and you can't just walk into their life."

David's face drew into a scowl, "You can't expect me to sit on the sidelines and pretend they're not mine."

"Please understand, David.  It would be difficult for them to have a stranger jump into their lives and demand their love." She explained.

"I wouldn't have chosen this, Andi, if I knew back then.  I would have been involved, and I would have helped.  I still want to."

She sighed and stared into her coffee,"I'll introduce you as a friend, at first.  I just think we need the boys to be used to you before we spring it on them."

David nodded in agreement, "I can settle for that."

Andi bit her lip and nervously tapped her finger on the table.

David reached over and grabbed her hand, "I promise I won't say anything to them."

With a sighed, she leaned back in her chair and nodded, "Okay, with football season and school starting soon they are going to be pretty busy.  They have football camp the rest of this week but if you want you can come to church with us on Sunday then have dinner at the house."

"Church?"  David laughed, "Since when does Andi Hampton go to church?"