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Avery stops in the middle of the sidewalk and grabs my elbow to stop me. “If he loves you, he should be willing to put up with their shit in order to be there for you when you need him. That’s what relationships are all about. The good and the bad. You would do it for him.”
We continue down the sidewalk in silence for several paces. I know Avery isn’t an Elliott fan. She has voiced her opinion of him several times, and I hate it. She’s my best friend and the one person I really want to approve of him. However, it has always felt like a lost cause.
“Besides, if he had come, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with you tonight. We would have headed right back home after eating dry tuna casserole made by some random lady at the church. I have been dreaming all week about eating dinner at Rio.” I sigh. “OKC has plenty of excellent restaurants, but I can not find anything that rivals their flan. Believe me, I’ve tried every Mexican place within 60 miles of my house.” I say, approaching the bright turquoise painted building. “And there’s a lot of them.” I add in a whisper.
“Sounds like a good reason to move home, if you ask me.” Avery teases, opening the door and waiting for me to walk inside Rio Escondido.
“Ha!” I shake my head. “Can you imagine Elliott living here? He wouldn’t last a day in Fawn Creek.”
She shrugs and mutters, “You don’t have to bring him.”
I roll my eyes as we follow the waiter to our booth. We each order a margarita on the rocks and graze over the basket of chips and salsa.
“I mean it, you know,” Avery says, breaking the silence. “I just wish you would move back already. Seriously, how dare you leave me here alone to raise a baby?” she says, poking out her bottom lip.
“Avery, I love you, but I would rather eat a jean jacket than move back to Fawn Creek. All I ever wanted was to get out of this place, and I won’t give up my dream that easily. Sometimes it’s nice to be where you haven’t known your neighbors all your life.”
Avery glances around the room. “What? You mean you don’t enjoy rubbing elbows with washed up high school football players at the Mexican Restaurant on Thursday nights?”
We both steal a glance towards the bar. All four stools are filled with guys that graduated with us, concentrating hard on the television screen in front of them.
“No, I could have lived without seeing Thomas McGregors’ butt-crack on a Thursday night while he chugs a red beer.” I whisper. As if on cue, Thomas turns around and waves at us with a sideways grin. Avery attempts to stifle her giggle, but fails miserably.
I shake my head. “You can’t even pee in this town without someone knowing about it. I enjoy the anonymity that comes with living in the city. Besides, we won’t even discuss how fun it would be to live near my parents again.” I say, laying down my menu. “There’s no use. The only option is for you to join me in Oklahoma City.”
She winces. “You could never force me to live in a town with stoplights.”
“I suppose we are destined to be apart, then.” I retort, biting into a tortilla chip and offering a shrug.
“And so goes the classic tale…” she adds just as the waiter walks back with our drinks.
* * *
After dinner, we decide to take a stroll through downtown before heading back to Avery’s house. This is one thing that I can appreciate about Fawn Creek. I have never been afraid to walk anywhere, day or night. Back home, I live in a decent neighborhood, but I can’t just go downtown to take a walk unless I want to pay $10 for parking and watch over my shoulder the entire time. I certainly wouldn’t be walking around at night time, either.
Sure, all small towns have problems, but in Fawn Creek I have only felt unsafe once while out in public. A group of Girl Scouts tried to sell me cookies, and I declined because I was trying to cut back on sweets. You would have thought that I stole their lunch money with the way they glared at me when I said no. I seriously feared for my life. Honestly, I never knew seven-year-old girls could be so intimidating.
“There is just something so charming about this little place.” I say, gazing through a window at the flower shop. It’s hard to believe there are still no chain stores or restaurants, only locally owned businesses. “There isn’t an empty building down here anymore, is there?” I ask.
“Just one,” Avery winks as we approach the building in question.
I pause in front of an empty storefront with a For Sale sign propped against the interior window and smile wistfully. “Ugh, the love of my life.” I swoon.
This sweet little brick building was always a favorite of mine, for no particular reason at all. It just always seemed to have so much potential. The exterior is still the original red brick, and two huge display windows flank either side of the original glass entry door. It’s a two story building with the potential for upstairs apartments or office space. On the surface, there’s nothing special about it. In fact, it’s quite simple. There’s no reason for me to love this place like I do, but sometimes the things, people or places we fall for the hardest don’t have to make sense to anyone but us.
Years ago, not long after I moved away, the building next door caught fire in the middle of the night. Faulty electrical wiring was the culprit, and it resulted in a total loss of that historic storefront. This building unfortunately suffered quite a bit of fire and water damage as a result. The city tried to make the best of it. They tore down the burnt building and installed a pocket park in its place. The park is now a key player in the downtown area. All spring and summer, this is where the Farmer’s Market is hosted. In the winter, a giant Christmas tree is erected and the tree lighting festival takes place to kick off the holiday season. Otherwise, the space can be rented for events, food trucks come to town and park there, or citizens can just enjoy the little quiet spot in the middle of town. It’s not unusual to see someone sitting on one of the nearby benches, reading a book they borrowed from the little free library nearby. That park is a true testament to this community and their ability to turn a devastating loss into a hidden gem for the city.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the building that’s for sale. Turns out, the owner had allowed their insurance policy to lapse. Therefore, they were unable to make any repairs to bring the brick beauty back to life. So, it’s just sat empty for all these years, wasting away. Until now. Now, it is finally on the market. Apparently, the owner has finally come to terms with letting it go.
Avery interrupts my daydreaming. “This poor place. I’m sure it would have been snatched up a long time ago if it didn’t need so much work. It’s a mess. The electrical needs completely redone, and not to mention the smoke and water damage from the fire. It’s going to take someone with deep pockets and incredible carpentry skills to revive that beast.” She says, as she makes her way down the sidewalk again.
I sigh and glance back at it once more. When I was a kid, I used to talk to anyone that would listen about how I was going to grow up and own a bookstore right in downtown Fawn Creek. I already had the building chosen, this building to be exact. The plan was to live on the second story and run my business down below. I would spend my days reading and sharing my love of books with like-minded people. I would help children learn to love literature by offering weekly story times. All day, I would help the citizens of Fawn Creek travel to new places just by opening the pages of a novel. I shake my head, thinking about it now. Those dreams were simple to come by when I was ten and I thought anything was possible. Now, the world has taught me that some dreams are only wishes, never meant to come true.
Avery walks along beside me quietly and appears to read my mind like she often does, something only your lifelong best friend can do so easily. “Hey. Maybe you can win the lottery and hire some hot contractor to fix it up for you. Then you can finally open that bookstore you’ve always wanted.” She says, elbowing my side.
“Only if I can move it to the city, I’m afraid.” I tell her with a shrug. “Target and Starbucks have become essential to my life, and I don’t know that I can survive without them.”
“Hey. We have a grocery store and a great coffee shop.” She says, pointing to Drip.
