12:04 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Everett got out of the car and looked for traffic on both sides despite knowing there wouldn't be any. For one thing, most people preferred to use the large parking lot at the end of the block and enjoy the small downtown area's quaint charms on foot from the sidewalks. At least that was what the tourists did. Even though he had been a somewhat-recent transplant in town, what with after about five years, townies still referred to him as "the new guy," Everett was certainly no tourist. The Chamber of Commerce considered it a lucky break that people passed through at all and spent a few much-needed dollars there before driving up to the city. That was the problem. With all of the new traffic, the town decided it would be best to "re-beautify" the area by tearing down all the "old eyesores" to attract tourists. This was precisely the problem, potential new beginnings only benefitted at the cost of the old stand-bys. Or at least, that was the problem to Mira.

Naturally, hers was the only figure he could see standing on the sidewalk. If anyone was out at all, they certainly were walking about for business or leisure purposes. They definitely weren't standing stock still with a placard reading "Save the Phoenix" in huge, bright crimson letters. Granted, they were hand-painted, but with Mira's meticulous nature, it was only natural that the letters were as neat as they were bold. Yet even with her nitpicking about everything around her, Mira seemed to forget herself a lot of the time. As Everett approached her, he saw that one of her seamed stockings had rolled down around her left ankle from beneath her grey pencil skirt. The slumped stocking wasn't quite the same shade as the other one on the right. One was more of a dark chocolate color where the other was more of a coal black. Her wavy black hair sat coiled in a bun in the back of her head, with plenty of white streaks poking out from the dark. Part 1960's protestor, part turn of the century librarian, part collegiate historian, part modern lawyer, Mira was a complete anachronism.

"Mira, what are you doing here?" Everett sighed. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Oh honey, you know that I always come out here on my lunch break." She didn't bother looking at him. Instead she just stared straight ahead like she was expecting the king of the universe or something to walk by so she could yell at him properly and set him straight.

"You should really eat something though. You're not as young--"

"You're one to talk gramps." She scoffed before actually turning to him. "Now are you gonna help me or not? I've got some markers and posterboard over there from the store."

"No." Everett scratched his head. "Why did you get all that? Who is it for anyway?"

"You know, dear." A high lilt flew from her voice. "For the kids."

Everett frowned as a truck drove by at a speed much too fast for a pedestrian area. "What kids? Do you honestly think that those college kids would give a crap about this place?"

"It wouldn't hurt. I mean, I posted fliers, so it only seems fair that I'd prepare in case some of them showed up." She explained as her skirt fluttered a bit in the wind.

"That's where you went on Saturday when I asked you to help me clean out the gutters?" Everett pulled a bit more at his curly hair. It was a wonder he had any left after living with her for almost a decade.

He watched her eyes go up to the left corner the way they did when she was usually feeling guilty. "Well, yes. But don't you agree with me? This place is important and should be saved."

"Important to who?"

"Whom, dear."

"What?"

"When you use the pronoun 'who' after a preposition, you use it in the form of 'whom.'" She explained.

Everett closed his eyes. "Whatever. That doesn't matter. This doesn't matter."

Mira bopped him on the head with the placard. "Of course this matters!"

He rubbed his somewhat splinter-riddled forehead. "It only matters to you! That was what I was trying to get at. This only matters to you! No one else cares."

She glared at him, the hurt visibly glazed over her dark eyes. Aside from the usual crow's feet, they still looked like the bright eyes of a young girl. Mira said nothing and went back to staring out across the street.

Everett stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, partially to comfort her, partially to ensure that she wouldn't hit him over the head with the sign again. So much for that.

"Ow. Mira, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He rubbed his nose and made sure he didn't get any splinters in his eyes.

"Yes you did." She insisted, standing so still that Everett knew that she was trying to keep him from knowing that she was crying. "And so what? So what if it's true and I'm the only one who cares now? If I stand here long enough, someone else might care."

He walked around again to face her. "Well, at the very least, you managed to talk me into this whole crazy deal."

At least that much, Mira knew was true. They had met in the city, working at the same law firm. She had already established herself in the rather perilous world of litigation whereas he was barely able to grab a hold while first starting out. Their romance was the most puzzling in the firm's history, especially considering how much interoffice dating was discouraged. Not to mention their rather obvious age discrepancy. Then again, more often than not, Mira seemed much younger than her counterpart, often dressing in eccentric and sometimes provocative clothing. Yet despite her odd wardrobe and strange behavior concerning relationships, people took her seriously and even respected her well. For one thing, she could almost get anyone she conversed with to see the other side of any argument.

Yet this was what got her in trouble outside the city. As soon as she had randomly come across the article on the internet about the pending demolition of the Phoenix Theater in her old hometown, she packed up everything and moved down there. Granted, the small law office seemed glad to get new blood despite the lack of any real work in such a small town outside of the usual civil dispute involving the college students. Yet the city council did not seem nearly as understanding as she hoped concerning her main cause in her homecoming. Anyone else probably would have packed up and headed back to the city where they belonged, but not Mira. This is where she stands now, in front of the Phoenix Theater with sign in hand as if ready to push back the wrecking ball and protect the building until her very last breath.

Everett was still getting used to the idea of having to cook his food instead of ordering in, not to mention the joys of yard work after spending most of his life in a city where he rarely saw a leaf, let alone an entire tree which could drop a yard-full of leaves seemingly in an instant. It didn't help that he rarely saw Mira anymore. He loved working in the city and felt that he had finally gotten the hang of things, but at the same time, he felt like he owed that to Mira. The one thing he didn't count on was that this fight would drag on for almost half a decade.

"Mira, it seems like every day we do this, and every day, this accomplishes absolutely nothing." He sat down on the sidewalk with his legs dangling in the gutter. He noticed that his jeans had a hole on his right shin. Five years ago, he wouldn't have had jeans with a hole in them; he wouldn' t have had jeans at all but tailored suits from moderately-priced material and labor.

Mira continued standing, just as the building seemed to continue standing, if only for whatever little time it had left. "Well then honey, what do you propose we do? Just give up, pack everything in the car and go back to the city? I can't do that."

"Why not? You gave up almost everything. We gave up everything."

"You mean you gave up everything." She stormed, glaring down at him. "If you hate it here so much, then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't leave."

"You don't mean that."

"I do."

Everett felt the creak in his neck again and slumped his head forward between his knees. What was he doing there? At first this whole thing seemed like fun, just some grand adventure since he had never been anywhere outside of the city before and wanted to know how everyone else lived. From what he saw, all he could understand was the desperate actions of several people to save their town at any cost. Granted the Phoenix Theater looked nice on the outside, not to mention they had fixed up the inside on several occasions, but it was obvious there was just no interest anymore for old-style movie theaters. With everything digital these days, it just seemed pointless to keep such an old relic standing. Yet Mira was as tenacious in this rather futile fight as she was in any courtroom battle. She had even offered to buy the building from the current owner who had pretty much let it rot over the past decade. Yet the guy seemed pretty firm in letting the wrecking ball have it.

No matter how hopeless it was, Mira still stood firm. Everett couldn't understand for the life of him why she did, but he knew it was one of the reasons he had followed her. He wanted to learn why and how she could be so firm in her convictions. He knew she wasn't religous, so maybe that was why, just a different channel for all that fanatical passion. Then again, he wasn't religious either and wasn't that passionate about anything at all. Part of him envied that about her, how she could fall in love with an old dump like the Phoenix. He had walked past it and stood in front of it with her numerous times but never really understood what the big deal was. For one thing, she never had really talked about herself much, at least where her old life in the small town was concerned. At the very least, he wanted to learn that, but now it looked like he'd be leaving completely empty-handed.

A warm hand squeezed his shoulder. Everett turned around and looked up to see Mira leaning against the wooden post of her placard. She was smiling, but very tired-looking despite it being so early in the day.

"I didn't mean that." She helped him up. "Let's get some lunch, ok?"

Everett nodded and felt his shoes dragging on the sidewalk. These days, they felt so big sometimes, like they were almost hollow. He didn't remember his feet being so small before, but it wouldn't have surprised him if Mira accidentally got him the wrong size shoes. They were old and a bit beat up so that the size had been worn off the bottom. Still, Mira had picked them out from the local thrift store since she thought they'd fit him.

Maybe he'd feel better after eating something.