Page 15 of Finding Finn (Foggy Basin Season 2)

JIM

“ I f we push the stairs back another two feet, I think we’d still have room for crossovers in the back. I'll have to measure, of course, but I think it would work. Does that give you enough room for what you want to do?” I looked at mt stage drawings.

“Could you show me on the stage. This drawing, as great as it is, is beyond my skill set,” Finn grimaced.

I grabbed my tape measure and started marking it out on the stage. “It would push the stairs back to here.”

Finn stood up and slowly started going through the dance routine he created for when Annie is brought to the house.

There are a lot of butlers and maids who dance and sing.

It’s one of the biggest numbers in the show.

Watching him was like watching Baryshnikov, at least to me.

The way he caressed the stage with his feet, even if he wasn’t doing the routine full out, was magical. I felt honored to be able to watch him.

“I think that will work.” He stopped and jumped up and down quickly. “Thank you. Is there enough room for the crossover?”

I measured out the dimensions of the stairs and walls, and then looked at the back wall. “We have about three feet. It’s tight, but within fire laws. We can’t push it back any further, or it would be impossible for two people to cross at the same time in the center.”

“That’s great. I’ll try to stage it so there’s very little crossover if I can.

” He turned to Buffy, who was sitting with her clipboard in the front row.

“Buffy, can you remind me to speak to the stage manager about this, so she can keep me in line when we’re staging?

Tell her to tell me whenever someone will have to use the crossover, ok. ”

“Got it, boss.”

“Are you coming over tonight?” I asked as I unlocked the ruler and watched it roll back into place.

“I think I’ll stay in tonight and work on these numbers. I’d get no work done if I’m with you.” He turned and pointed his finger at me. “You are way too distracting.”

“I’m very charming,” I chuckled.

“I’m sure that’s it,” Buffy laughed. “We never had our community meet and greet. There was too much happening, and I still think that we should do it.”

“I guess you could put it on the schedule if you can find a date that would work. Remember that I’m doing dance rehearsals with the kids on Saturday mornings for the next two weeks. I meant to add that to the calendar.”

“Finn!” Buffy huffed. “Just tell me these things and I’ll do it.

But you do have to tell me.” She pouted.

“Better yet, I’ll have the stage manager update me on any rehearsals.

That way you won’t forget. I know you have a lot on your mind as you're dating my brother and directing your first show here.”

“Sorry, Buff. I’m learning as I go. I’ll try to be better at sharing these things with you.”

“That’s all I can ask,” she grinned happily. “Did you look at the final budget for Annie? Also, did you see the forecast for Steel Magnolias?”

“I did. They are signed off on and sitting on your desk.”

“She might find them if she actually cleaned her desk.” I laughed. “Her stacks of papers have stacks of papers. It’s terrifying.”

“And I know where everything is – almost.” She crossed her legs and sighed. “Should I grab lunch for us? I’m hungry and kind of have a hankering for a burger.”

“I could eat.” I walked over and placed my tape measure down on my stage plans.

“Do they have anything else but sandwiches? I could really use a salad. Your brother has been ordering completely unhealthy food all week. I feel bloated.”

“Are you pregnant? Are we having a baby?” I teased.

“God, I hope so!” Buffy laughed. “Yes, they have salads. I’ll get you the goat cheese Greek salad. It’s delicious.”

“Perfect.”

“Alright, so I will find time to have the community meet and greet. I’ll send an email to the stage manager and add the Saturday rehearsals to the schedule. Oh, one more thing before I go. Did you say yes to Steel Magnolias transferring to the resort this fall?”

“If they open on time, yes.” Finn grinned.

“I also saw your ticket sales forecast if we do it there for two weeks. That’s more than doubling our revenue on the production.

I asked Ben if it might be possible to do this with more of our shows.

He’s looking at the resort's schedule. Do you think the actors would have an issue with adding two more weekends to every run?”

“Not if they know it in advance.” Buffy shrugged. “I mean, we won’t know until we try it, I guess.”

“Awesome. Then I will ask Ben to send over some contracts, and we can have the board look at them. I’m assuming that they’d have to sign off on this? When is the next board meeting?”

“You mean your first board meeting. I promise you, it really is not boring.”

“I fall asleep in the corner every time. It is that boring,” I added and pushed my table across the stage over to the side. “It’s in two weeks. They meet once every two months.”

“It’s on the calendar!” Buffy said happily.

“Alright,” Finn laughed. “I need to look at the calendar daily.”

“Ok, I’m gonna order the food and go pick it up. I’ll see you in thirty.” She stood and walked out of the theatre.

“I’m sad that you’re not coming over. I thought we could cuddle and maybe tell each other deep and dark secrets before I ravished you,” I whined.

He pirouetted around the stage and stopped a couple of feet from me. “You are bad for me getting work done. We always wind up naked and exhausted.”

“Are you complaining?”

“On the contrary. But I do need to have something to teach everyone tomorrow. They’re not too bad, but they are going to need a lot of time to rehearse.

So tonight, I will finish setting a couple of the group numbers so we can get started on them right away.

Tomorrow, I will plan on coming over to your house and making the wait worthwhile.

” He stepped forward and kissed me gently.

He quickly put his hands on my chest to keep me from pulling him tightly.

“We have work to do. I expect some semblance of a set for rehearsal tomorrow, please. At least the stairs.”

“I love it when you get all bossy,” I growled. “It really makes me want to argue with you.”

“Who needs the foreplay? I prefer getting right to the makeup part.”

“Alright, alright… I have a lot to do if you want the stage set up for tomorrow. Get out of here so I can get some work done.” I slapped his ass and he skipped quickly out of the theatre.

“I’m in my office!” he sang.

I started to pull out the stairs where I had stored them in the wings.

I would need to put them on the cart and wheel them out onto the deck because I needed to change a few pieces of wood that had started to splinter.

Then I’d have to begin the arduous task of putting all the pieces together and connecting them to the platform.

There were three sets of stairs to this set.

One big staircase in the middle, which we called the grand staircase, and then one on each side that curved onto the sides of the stage.

It was going to be a lot of work, and I should probably call someone to come and help me.

There was no way I could manage this myself.

I walked over to the table and grabbed my cell phone.

I pulled up Ben’s number and hoped that he’d be able to come over this afternoon or tomorrow and help me put this monstrosity together.

It was my fault. I designed it, but I was also proud of it.

Finn’s eyes lit up when I showed him what it would look like.

I think it was one of the best sets I had ever designed.

“Hey, that was quick.”

I listened to him drone on about dealing with the landscaping and ordering linens.

“That sucks. But you got it done? Cool. Do you think you could come and be handy with me today or tomorrow, or both if you have the time? I know you’re busy, but…

Awesome. No, tomorrow will be perfect. Can we start at ten?

Honestly, dude, this is going to take us about eight hours unless I can get some of it done today. ”

His laugh made me smile.

“That’s awesome. I owe you, and I know you’ll want to collect. Yeah… I know. Thanks, man. Alright, bye.”

I laid my phone back on the table and looked around for the cart. Where the fuck did I put it? It was usually off in the wings, but I didn’t see it anywhere, and these stairs were way too big for me to carry.

Buffy… Right. I let her borrow it to move some tables around in the green room. She probably left it in the green room. She never put anything back where it belonged. All she had to do was ask, and I could have done that for her in a second, but Buffy liked to do things herself.

I walked out into the lobby and down the small hallway to the side green room door.

It was locked. Fuck… I felt in my pocket and realized I had left my keys on the table in the theatre.

I shrugged and walked to the office door.

I could get in through there. Besides, I’d have to pull the cart back onto the deck and through the lobby to get it into the theatre.

I opened the door and heard Finn’s raised voice.

“You want me back? Marcus, that’s… I mean, I’m not unhappy about it, but… I’m not even in New York. No. I’m in California. No, not LA. I’m in Foggy Basin. It’s… Oh yeah, it’s small. It’s actually pretty great, but…”

My heart stopped and I couldn’t stop myself from walking towards his shut door. He never shut his door. Marcus was his ex, and… A cold shiver ran through my entire body. His ex called him and said he wanted him back. Why wasn’t he screaming and yelling at him and hanging up the goddamn phone?

“Yeah, I’d love that, too. It’s just not that easy.

Sure… Yeah… Alright, I’ll… Forty-eight? Ok…

I can… Sure, I’ll think about it. I mean, it sounds fucking amazing, but…

I know… Yes. I completely understand. No…

Look, I get it. There’s no hard feelings, and I’d totally be with you again.

Of course, I would. But I have other things I have to consider before I drop everything and run back to New York. ”

I had heard enough. My heart sank, and all I wanted to do was break something.

I went to the theatre, sat down in the back corner, and cried. I gave him my heart, and I had never… I would never do that again.

Even if he stayed. He considered it, didn’t he?

‘It sounded fucking amazing. I’d totally get with you again.’ His words broke my heart.

I left the theatre and went home. I couldn’t be there, and I couldn’t see him.

I never wanted to see him again.