The Amberly drugstore looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Not only did it have a long bar with attached diner-style stools, but it boasted an old fashioned soda fountain.

A large hand-painted wood sign spanned the entire wall above the menu. Soda Your Way: With 100 Flavors to Add!

People still went there to get specialized sodas and banana splits, shakes, fresh coffee and even burgers and sandwiches. Emily George owned the place and ran the counter like a queen presiding over a guest table.

Emily began working there when she was sixteen years old. She fell in love with the owners’ son, and eventually married him. His parents started the place in 1955, and he later inherited it. They ran the place together until he died a few years ago. She kept going by focusing on the drugstore.

At least this is what she told me my first day in town.

I wandered in and realized I could order food, and sat down at her counter for a burger and a milkshake.

She wasn’t about to let me sit at her counter without finding out who I was and what I was doing there. Or without telling me who she was and what she did there.

The place even had regulars. Every day the same three old guys drank coffee and played checkers in one of the two booths. A new beautiful coffee shop sat just down the street, but I got the feeling these guys had been coming here for decades and weren’t about to switch from their favorite haunt.

What would happen if someone claimed their booth before they got there? Not that I would do that. I wasn’t there for soda or coffee or checkers today. I just needed my prescription.  I didn’t need to annoy the local elders. They were the only ones who knew what the hell was going on with my property half the time.

“Do you have any questions for the pharmacist, hon?” Angel, the pharmacy tech, smiled as he handed me the prescription bag and I looked over the bottle.

I glanced up and gave him a smile. This place was something special. Not only did it feel like it was from the 1950s in all the good and charming ways, but it also had some astonishingly liberal attitudes toward people like me. And Angel, who stood six foot four with broad shoulders and stacked muscles, went out every day with a full face of on-point makeup and a had a wardrobe like an Instagram fashion star.

Also on my first day, not only did Emily feed me and recommend the best people to talk to at the hardware store, but Angel helped me jump start my car when I’d stupidly left my lights on all day and ran down the battery. I noticed how people talked to me, and to Angel, and marveled how this town seemed to be more evolved than most larger cities I’d been in.

Too bad I felt so anti-social these days. I knew a lot of people who would love to live in a town like Amberly.

“No, I’m good. No questions for the pharmacist today.” I just needed to get home and not be around people much longer. A morning of errands was enough socializing. I looked around the pharmacy. “Is he even here?”

“He’s just at lunch, but I can call him if you need him. Before I ring you up, do you have a copy of our fireman calendar yet?” Angel lifted his eyebrows with a glint in his eye. “I assume everyone in town has one by now, but with just a few left I’m asking everyone who comes through here.”

I blinked at the unexpected question. “Fireman calendar?”  I looked around, was there something I missed?

“Yeah, two guys from our town are in it!” Angel exuded civic pride as he talked about the two hometown heroes. “One was the last fire chief’s son and the other starts medical school in the fall.”

He gestured at the calendar on the wall around the corner and I leaned over the counter to look. Was he really trying to convince me to buy a fireman calendar? In June?

Not that I was averse to hunky firemen. Mister June looked especially delicious. He had the whole package: scruffy, lean, with thick long muscles, some tattoos and even scars. He was like Fight Club Brad Pitt, but in fireman gear. I tried not to think about the package part.

Just my type, if I had one, which I didn’t, because I was never going to get involved with anyone ever again.

“Wow, he’s from here?” I looked around, as if expecting to see the half-dressed fireman walk down the cold medicine aisle, shirt off, hatchet over his shoulder.

Angel laughed. “He still lives here and is actually a fireman. He’s single, but don’t bother.”

I raised my eyebrow at the clerk. “I’m not interested, but why not?”

“He’s one of those permanently unattached guys.”

I smiled. “I can respect that.”

Angel winked at me. “Me too.” He turned and picked up a calendar, still wrapped in cellophane and set it on the counter. ”So every calendar we sell, the proceeds go to charity. Part of them go to our local fire station. Almost sold out! What do you say?”

I considered the All-American dream man smiling at me through the camera. He seemed too good to be true. I bet he’s a cocky douchebag. I picked up the calendar and flipped it to the back, previewing all the photos at a glance. “Okay, I’ll support our local charity effort and buy a new calendar in June.”

Angel clapped his hands together. “Hooray! There’s also a fundraiser at the end of the summer. They even auction off some of the guys. Just think, you could buy him for the night.”

I laughed. “Great! That sounds…not demeaning.”

Angel laughed with me. “Oh, it’s always just for good fun. You just go to dinner, or something. Maybe you need some heavy lifting done.”

I examined the calendar again, considering possibilities. “I wonder if we can do something like this for the shelter.”

“Oh, the new animal shelter? Are you involved with that?”

“Yeah, I work there some. As you can imagine, money is always needed.” The shelter was only a few months old, and just barely off the ground.

“Oh I love David so much. He and Mike are so adorable.” Angel folded his arms around himself and smiled off into space, clearly a romantic.

“Yes, they are,” I agreed. They would be, if you believed in love and all that. I didn’t want to harsh Angel’s buzz so I didn’t say anything else. Besides, I never said he didn’t believe in love for other people.

Angel raised his perfectly drawn eyebrows. “Ohhhh, maybe you can do something with the fire station. Double your exposure.”

“Yeah, maybe. Though I don’t know if dogs can beat shirtless firemen.”

“Maybe! It’s always an idea. Or, what about dogs and shirtless firemen!”

I laughed. “Now you’re talking!” I shook my head to hide the pink creeping up on my cheeks, grabbed my purchases and headed toward the door.

“Speaking of shirts, I like yours!” Angel pointed at my lavender t-shirt.

I turned and looked down. Everyone in town constantly commented on my clothes. It’s like I’m the only man in the world who wears color — except maybe Angel. “Thanks, I have a whole collection.”

Angel laughed. “I’ve noticed! I love it. Bring some more color into this town.”

“That’s me. I’m here to provide local color,” I laughed, looking around at the too-cute-to-be-real drugstore.

“Hey, new calendar!” Emily, who speaking of local color, was wearing an apron right out of ‘50s television, pointed her spatula at my prize and grinned as I approached.

“Now you’re a real member of the town!” Bob, one of the guys drinking coffee and playing checkers said. “My wife insisted we needed one. To support the town, of course.”

Everyone in the place cracked up and he shook his head, bemused.

“Yep,” I said, feeling the heat in my face as I spoke to the room. “I’m just supporting the town and doing my patriotic duty.”

“That’s right,” Emily said. “If you need an introduction to either of those hometown heroes, let me know.” She winked at me.

“Don’t do it!” Angel called. “Emily, leave the poor guy alone!”

“Oh fine,” Emily laughed. “Have a good day, Oscar.”

I ducked my head down and pushed open the door. Living in this town was like being a member of a large and nosy family.

I hurried toward my car and almost made a getaway with my sexy calendar without anyone else seeing me. Of course things wouldn’t be that easy. I was almost to my car when a familiar voice called my name. “Oscar! Oscar, wait up!”