Page 16 of Finding Finn (Foggy Basin Season 2)

FINN

H ow the hell am I supposed to get any work done if I have to stare at Jim James all day? It’s incredibly difficult, and I deserve an award for how much I have accomplished since falling for him. It happened so quickly that my head is still spinning.

I wanted to spend tonight with him. Hell, I wanted to spend every night with him.

I wasn’t even sure that I could sleep by myself when I had gotten so used to being wrapped in his strong arms while I drifted off.

His breath on the back of my neck was like a balm to soothe all my worries.

He made me feel safe. He made me feel seen and appreciated. He made me feel special.

Shit…

He made me feel loved.

Should I say it first? I had never said it first in my life, and I was worried that if I did, he’d look at me like I was crazy. Was it too soon?

I had way too much to do to get ready for tomorrow’s dance rehearsal.

Staging a show with all of the blocking for each character was hard enough when you had such a huge cast as Annie did.

But there were twenty-seven musical numbers if you counted reprises in this damn show.

That was a ton of choreography, and I had only started sketching it out on paper.

I had to figure out placements for almost thirty people in this show.

That was a lot. Not to mention that there were a few numbers that were dance numbers, as well as huge chorus numbers that I really had to focus on.

I’d start off with I Think I’m Going To Like It Here, which was one of the largest numbers in the show and would use all three stair units. Dancing on stairs – Hell, choreography on stairs, even if it were just walking, was difficult.

I pulled up my email and started to reply to Ben about doing our shows at the resort.

It was better to have something like this in writing, and before we could get completely on board, the actual board would have to approve.

According to Buffy, that wouldn’t be hard.

They usually said yes to whatever we decided as long as we had the cash.

This would almost double our cash flow and would help the bottom line for the entire season.

The only show I wouldn’t take to the resort would be our children’s show.

Adults would not want to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory if the cast were all children.

It was nice that the theatre did a show with an all-child cast, but I knew it would eventually drive me crazy.

I was not good at wrangling children unless they were in a dance class. I could do that.

Dance class!

I jotted a quick note to Buffy on a Post-it and stuck it on her computer. We needed to look at my idea of having classes here at the complex. That would be a great way to earn revenue and help train the children to be even better in the theatre’s productions. It really was a win-win for everyone.

Except me, I guess. It would take up a lot more of my time. Maybe there were other people in town who could also teach a few classes here and there. I’d have to ask Buffy if there was someone who might want to teach voice and acting. I could then focus on the audition and dance classes.

Jim James… I wonder if he’d want to teach a weekend seminar on technical theatre?

I’m sure he would. He always said the hardest thing about putting up a show in Foggy Basin was finding enough people to help him work on the sets.

Maybe he could do a class on stage design and craft building, props, and lighting.

Hopefully, there would be some high school kids that would enjoy that.

Maybe it could even get them extra credit at school.

I jotted another quick note to Buffy to look into that and once again placed it on her computer.

She was going to get sick of my new ideas.

I was just about to start composing my email to Ben when my phone lit up.

I could not believe who was calling me.

Marcus? What did he want? He left me high and dry without any hope. I floundered after he…

God, I had to answer it, didn’t I? I needed to know what he wanted.

I picked up my phone just as it was about to go to voicemail.

“Marcus?”

“Finn, I’m glad I caught you.” His voice always sounded so tinny over the phone. The curse of a high tenor.

“What do you need, Marcus? I have to admit, I was not expecting to hear from you.”

“I’m sure, but things change, Finn. The world of theatre moves fast.”

“You can say that again.”

“The world of theatre moves fast,” he laughed, and I grew quickly annoyed. He always was a clown.

I sighed.

“Alright, let me get right to the point. I want to sign you again.” My former agent, Marcus, not to be confused with my ex-boyfriend Marcus, shocked the shit out of me. I almost dropped my phone.

“You what?”

“I want to sign you back to the roster, kiddo?”

“And why would you want to do that? I’m done, Marcus. I can’t perform well enough anymore to be in a show. I’d be out of the show more than I’d ever be in it. You know it didn’t heal correctly.”

“Not as a dancer. Though I wish you still were. There are a lot of parts coming up next season that you might have been great for.”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“I thought you said that you wouldn’t keep me on as an actor,” I reminded him with a tad of acidity. I was still hurt by his decision to drop me after my dance career came to a crashing halt.

“It’s an artistic contract. There was an issue with the assistant choreographer for the Kiss Me Kate revival.

He fell off a ladder while painting his house, and there's no way he can do the job. They need someone quickly as they are about to go into rehearsals. When they called, I immediately thought of you, Finn.”

“I… Well, I’m honored, but…”

“It’s your ticket back to Broadway, and maybe a whole new pivot to what you can do.

Think of it, Finn. With an assistant choreographer credit, I could set you up for some off-Broadway gigs with your name as the choreographer.

You got the talent, kid. It could be a start to a whole new career for you. ”

“I have a new career, Marcus.”

“Waiting tables or working in an office? That’s death to you, Finn.”

“I’m…”

“Look, I want you back on the roster. Will you sign with me? It’s a guaranteed Broadway job to begin with. More money than a chorus contract, too.”

“You want me back? Marcus, that’s… I mean, I’m not unhappy about it, but… I’m not even in New York.”

“Where the fuck are you, kid?”

“I’m in California.”

“Los Angeles? Why the fuck are you out there? You’re a good-looking man, but I never knew you wanted to be in film.”

“No, not LA. I’m in Foggy Basin. It’s…”

“Foggy Basin?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Where the fuck is that?”

“It’s small. It’s actually pretty great, but…”

“No buts, Finn. This is your ticket to the big time. No more chorus for you. This is an artistic job that could lead you to something greater than you’ve ever known.”

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

“Are you interested?”

“Sure.”

“Do you want me to set up a phone interview for you to speak with Michael, the choreographer?”

“Yeah… Alright, I’ll…”

“I can have him on the phone tonight. Kid, I think I can give you forty-eight hours to decide after. They owe me, and I owe you.”

“Forty-eight? Ok… I can… Sure, I’ll think about it. I mean, it sounds fucking amazing, but…”

“What did I say about buts?”

“I know… Yes. I completely understand.”

“I know you do. You’ve always been a smart kid, and I really hated to let you go. I actually lost a little sleep about it, and my wife said the decision gave me angina. But you couldn’t do the job anymore. What was I supposed to do? I’d love to have you back on the team.”

“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.”

“But you’ll talk to Michael? You’ll really think about it? This is a new future, Finn. You were the first person I thought of when they called.”

“I’ll talk to him. I mean, I’d be an idiot not to, right? But, Marcus, I really love it here and I love what I’m doing. So, I don’t know.”

“All I can ask is for you to think about it.”

“I can do that.”

“It’s good to talk to you, kiddo. Even if you say no, I’ll only ever have great things to say about you.”

“If I say no, you’ll be the first to know. And Marcus? Thank you.”

“You got it, kiddo.”

I hung up the phone and tried to make sense of what just happened. This would have been a… I mean, if this had happened when I was still in New York, I’d be dancing for joy. But now… I didn’t know how to feel.

My dream could continue. In a different way, but it was still Broadway, and my name would be up there with all of the creators. This was the kind of job that people dreamed about.

But what if my dream was here?

I loved Foggy Basin. Hell, I had even gotten used to my grandma house. It had a charm, and when he had time, Jim was going to take care of the most egregious parts. Besides, if things stayed the way they had been, I might not live in this house for very long. Things were moving so fast between us.

I had to say it. I had to see if he’d say it back, and if he didn’t…

I had forty-eight hours. But I knew where my heart was. How could I ever leave?