PART THREE

Within less than a month, Mayberry had doubled and then tripled in size. Where farms once rested were now neighborhoods of people and perfect green yards. Doctor Jason Seaver talked over his fence to his neighbor Mike Brady about an addition to his house. Tim Taylor heard about the job and rushed over to lend his expertise. Helen Crump at the school shared her lunch alongside teachers Jaime Sommars and Roy Hinkley to listen to his stories of once being on a deserted island. Lady pharmacist Ellie Walker filled out a prescription from Doctor Benjamin Franklin Pierce to one hypochondriac named Felix Unger. Charlie Foley had moved his shop to a larger more adequate warehouse to help serve the town. In the back of it, Butcher Sam Franklin was confused by mechanic Gomer Pyle for a certain Marine drill sergeant named Sergeant Ed Hacker. Traffic was getting thicker and the neighborhoods even more confusing as street signs renamed themselves and twisted around themselves. Where Maple once turned into the highway was a new street called Clinton running the perimeter around Mayberry and rejoining itself near a restraunt called Arnold's Drive-In where the theme was the Fifties and waitresses delivered orders in rolling skates. After driving by the place, Andy drove past the Curious Goods Antique Store and started heading back to the courthouse. Back onto Clinton, the rows of houses started turning older and even more run down. At the end of the street where the Rimshaw house once stood was the oldest creepiest place of them all with gnarled trees, tall weeds in the yard, a wall topped in iron wrought spikes ands a strange couple yelling down into an open manhole.

"Herman, did you get Spot yet?" The older gentleman resembled a fat Jack the Ripper in a cape. His daughter resembled a ghoulish Yvonne De Carlo from an old zombie flick.

"Not yet, Grandpa," A voice called out from the hole in the street. "He doesn't want to come. Now, Spot..." A loud roaring sound poured from the hole. It was a sound not heard from the Mesozoic Age and was accompanied by a tinge of flames. It was near this spectacle that Andy and Barney stopped their patrol car. Young Beaver Cleaver and his friend Larry Mondello stopped to watch for a second and Barney shooed them off to school.

"Howdy," Andy stepped out of the patrol car speaking jovially to the grandfather and his daughter with his homespun Southern hospitality. "Anything I can do to help you?"

"No problem, commodore, we've gone through this several times." Grandpa beamed ear to ear with a full grin of pallor.

"Our family pet always hides in the sewer when my son goes to school." Lily Munster added.

"Really," Barney looked over the top of the hole trying to see something. "What kind of pet? Dog? Cat?" There was another loud roaring and Barney jumped back eyes bulging, his neck and head stretched out and clutching and struggling with his gun in his holster. Even Andy reacted with alarm at the noise then tried to calm Barney.

"Now, come on, Spot," Herman Munster's voice came out of the sewer. "You're going to make me late for the parlor!"

"Uh, ma'am," Andy rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you sure you don't want me to get someone from water works out here to help you? They're very good with getting out all sorts of pets whether they be dog, cat,..."

"Alligator." Barney added half-serious under his breath.

"I'd hate to get them out here for nothing." Lily Munster pulled her cape of coffin lining closer. "My husband will have Spot out in a minute."

Andy nodded partially and half-interestedly peered down into the open manhole. He didn't really want to see anything. He just nodded his head and turned back to the patrol car. Barney wasn't ready to leave. He was very suspicious of these people, but then it might of been the fact they looked as if they'd be at home in Orville Munroe's Television Repair and Funeral Home. As he started to get back into the passenger side of the car, another stranger driving a worn white pick-up stopped alongside the patrol car and looked to Andy.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Willie Loomis looked to him with Victoria Winters, the new Collins governess seated by him in the cab of the pick-up.

"Not a problem, sir..." Andy slipped into the patrol car and Willie started on his way. Young Victoria with her porcelain and fragile features looked back behind them as the patrol car continued on its way. She was going to be the governess to children of Collinwood and she was looking forward to the adventure of living in this small town.

"Was that the Sheriff Patterson you told me about?" She asked.

"No, that was..." Willie reacted confused and beleaguered a minute. "I forget who that was." He drove on to return to Collinwood over the cliffs. Along the way, he tuned from Clinton Drive on to Morning Glory Circle. The route took him past Clinton Elementary School at the same time as Beaver Cleaver arrived with Larry Mondello. Teacher Beth Landers hurried ahead to get to the classroom ahead of the third and fifth graders in her way as well as the random first grader. As Beaver crowded through this school, Eddie Munster turned to meet him at their lockers outside the room of a teacher named Mrs. Edna Krabappel.

"Hey, Beav," Eddie perked his face. "Want to come to my house after school? My grandpa's going to show me how to get blood from a turnip."

"I can't," Beaver groused. "My mom's taking me clothes shopping."

"Clothes shopping." Ben Seaver grinned amused at Beaver's life. "You need to talk to Bart. He can get you out of anything! He helped Richie Petrie get out of piano lessons."

"He's right, Beav." Larry spoke up. "Bart got me out of going to my grandma."

"Gosh," Beaver started wondering about this Bart Simpson kid. He was one grade below them and he already had a reputation. "I don't know."

"How about Corey Baxter?" Ben thought of the new black kid whose father ran the local Chill Grill. "He's only one grade above us and he's got a way with parents."

"I dunno." Beaver was still very apprehensive. He had to think of all the other times he'd been in trouble because of their advice. Because of them he had got meet Paramedic John Gage, police officer Ponch Poncharello, detective Joe Friday and a bounty hunter named Colt Seaver. As he commiserated his role in this peer pressure, Cindy Brady strolled by grinning with her childhood crush on the young brother of Wally Cleaver.

The school bell rang and Beaver found his reprieve. Dashing with Eddie, Larry and Ben into Mrs. Landers room, he took his seat in front of Tabitha Stephens while Larry and Ben took opposite seats around Ricky Ricardo Jr. As Mrs. Landers checked the role, she noticed something odd. She usually had twenty-seven kids in her class, but now she had thirty-one. Where did the extra four come from? She looked up beyond Rudy Huxtable and noticed four new students.

"Are you four new here?"

"Yes, ma'am" The slightly chubby one in the beanie cap replied. The other students looked back to see these new kids. Besides the chubby boy with the cap, there was a skinny kid with his hair greased back to an odd point, an adorable brunette pixie with cherubic brown eyes and yet another African American boy close to Rudy in age. She looked over his huge mane of unbrushed hair.

"Are you ready to learn something?" Beth Landers grinned to see how eager they were.

"Otay!" The one with the hair grinned brightly as the class laughed out loud.