The morning of my one-month anniversary back in Hayesville found me seated on a barstool at the counter of the Main Street Café. During the past few weeks, I’d fallen into a routine of stopping by for breakfast before heading to the clinic. Not only did they boast the best coffee in town, not to mention their famous pancakes and cheese grits, but it was less than a five-minute walk to the clinic.
While I could have easily just prepared something at home, there was something to be said for eating at the café. The owners of my current patients, as well as prospective patients, were a part of the breakfast crowd. Although I’d grown up in Hayesville, my decade long absence somewhat made me a stranger. I dare say an outsider. Hanging out with the locals helped to remedy that. As much as I’d fe
