(Complete) When Tim Burke meets Julie at a party, she isn't impressed. When they see each other again, Julie decides to give him a chance. As Julie faces burdens and sorrow in her own life, Tim and his family provide the support and love she needs...
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"Mum, I'm sorry, but I'm not coming home" Tim held the large telephone in his hand.
"Oh Tim, we were looking forward to your visit." Elizabeth sounded disappointed.
"My friend Nate is having some friends over tonight. Tomorrow, I'm planning to catch up on some sleep."
"I worry you don't get enough sleep, but Nick will be disappointed, Clare too."
"I know mum. Tell them I'll take them to the movie my next free weekend. I have to go get ready. I heard there will be girls there."
He had promised his younger sister and brother he would take them to the new Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie.
If it was possible, he heard his mum smile over the phone lines. "Timothy, now I know the real reason you're not coming home. Have a nice time."
"Thanks, Mum."
"This better be worth the fuss," Tim said to himself in the mirror.
Looking at his clean-shaven face, he saw the younger face of his father staring back, except he had his mother's blue eyes. He attempted to put a piece of unruly hair back in place as he cursed his father.
His best friend and roommate, Bernie was waiting for him. They had been friends since their first year of pre-med. Bernie had a car which made the getting from their apartment to Newton a lot easier. Typically Tim had to travel by bus and subway. He took the bus to Portland when he went home, unless his father made the trip to Boston to pick him up.
Bernie asked, "Are there really going to be girls or are they just the girlfriends?"
A lot of their Harvard Medical School friends had girlfriends. Arthur never shut up about his. "I don't know." Tim hoped some were single.
"Jim was mouthing off about having a girl."
"The poor thing. Richy is so..." Tim didn't complete his thought because his mum taught him, 'if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all'. Richy was his nickname for Jim Albert, who always reminded everyone he was rich, not that anyone ever forgot.
Jim was hard on Tim for being from a small town in Maine. Jim's family vacationed every summer at Point Sebago which was a resort on the lake. Jim told him he had cut his foot as a teen and went to Tim's father's office. "Your father gave me a scar." He enjoyed telling the story when others were around to hear. Then he would end it by insulting Tim's father, by calling him a backwoods doctor.
Tim balled his fists although he wasn't a fighter. Still, he didn't like anyone who spoke ill of his father. There was no love lost between Tim and Jim, but it was because Jim was competitive and Tim was always at the top of the class. Thankfully, they were no longer competing, since Jim was an Internal Medicine resident at MGH which was the acronym for Mass General Hospital, but people called it Man's Greatest Hospital and not always in a favorable tone.
Tim was family medicine, which replaced general practice. His father was the town's trusted GP, he thought proudly. Tim's program was through Boston Medical Center. A lot of their class were matched for residencies around Boston's many hospitals. Their specialties varied; Bernie had chosen dermatology.
Tim had been to Nate Walker's house several times. It was unlike any house he'd been to before. Nate was an orthopedic resident. His father was a general surgeon, but Nate was athletic and had enough injuries to earn respect for orthopedic surgery.
Tim knew it was a combination of family money and being a surgeon at MGH that bought a house like the Walker's in the exclusive Newton village of Waban. With all the hospitals in Boston, MGH had the attitude they were the best. Being affiliated with Harvard didn't hurt. Tim felt proud to be Crimson through and through, as he had attended Harvard since graduating high school. Jim Albert looked down on him because Boston Medical was not affiliated with Harvard.
Mrs. Walker greeted them at the door. She wore a dress and an apron and reminded Tim of the perfect housewife. His Mum worked as his father's nurse and didn't have time to be perfect. Their house was often cluttered with Nick's sports equipment and Clare's things and piles of junk mail. Mum focused on family, so folding laundry and sorting through papers took a backseat. He knew Elizabeth Burke would feel intimidated by Mrs. Walker until she discovered the surgeon's wife was unpretentious and sweet.
"Oh, boys! Come in. So good to see you. Tim, when are you going to come play my piano again."
The Walker's had a beautiful baby grand no one ever played. Mrs. Walker encouraged him to come over and play it, but lately he had been too busy.
"Tonight. I'll entertain the drunks." He convinced himself it was a good idea. As he said it, he winked at her.
He knew how to charm the ladies. It was the ones his age he hadn't figured out how to attract. He always blamed it on being too lanky or his unruly hair, but maybe it was his sense of humor. Why did the girls go for the serious ones like Richy? Right because he was rich. He had a beautiful curvy blonde by his side and Tim wondered if it was his dull personality or wealth which attracted her to him.
Scanning the room, they outnumbered the women three to one. He resigned himself to not even having a chance and took on his favorite role of the entertainer.
Tim was going for whatever concoction was in the punch bowl when Jim's date appeared beside him. He handed her the cup he had just filled. She smiled at him and he decided Jim was a lucky son of a... The breathtaking blond turned away and spoke under her breath. "If a girl can't get a date here, she would have to be..."
Tim didn't think she meant him to hear her, but laughed. "Don't say it!"
"Say what?" She smirked with a bit of a blush on her cheeks.
"She'd have to be ugly." He smiled.
The girl feigned shock by Tim's words and turned away. He had always resented Jim Albert but never more at that moment. He thought she was near perfect and, of course, she was with Jim. Maybe, he decided, she wasn't perfect because of that fact. He watched as she returned to Jim's side. Arthur's girl whispered in her ear. After an exchange, she looked back at him with a quizzical look. Tim walked over to the piano and began to play.
"Any proctologists out there then this is for you..." He played Stuck on you. He noticed Bernie laughing at his comment.
As he provided a slightly off color commentary, he was certain he was being ignored. When he announced his next song was for the frustrated guys out there and began playing, Beat It, he noticed the blond smirking and felt his heart quicken until he remembered girls didn't find him funny.
