Page 18 of Finding Finn (Foggy Basin Season 2)

FINN

W hy did I even agree to talk to Michael?

I couldn’t leave. I didn’t want to. I had everything that I needed here, didn’t I? I couldn’t leave Jim. Our relationship was new and young, but it was real. We were real, and what I felt was real. I had started something here that I wanted to see through.

What would he say if I told him what Marcus had offered me?

He would tell me to go, wouldn’t he?

He would want me to succeed. He would want me to continue my dream. But could we continue if I did that?

We would try.

We would fail.

I was tired of failing.

I knew what my answer was without even talking to Michael.

I called Marcus.

“Hey, kiddo. Made up your mind already. I can have you on the first flight out tomorrow.”

“I… I can’t. I have commitments here, and… I don’t want to leave them. I found something special, Marcus.”

“Ah… What’s his name?”

“Jim James.”

“Jesus! Did his parents hate him?”

I laughed. “He’s special, and he treats me in a way no one ever has before. I have to stay here and see where this is going.”

“Kid. I’m going to be honest with you. These kinds of things don’t happen very often. It’s the perfect storm, and it’s your chance. Maybe your last chance.”

“I understand. But I’ve made up my mind. Tell Michael that I appreciate it, but I’m staying where I am.”

My door flew open, and Buffy stood there with the most menacing face I had ever seen in my entire life.

“Marcus, I have to go.”

“See you, kid.”

“Thanks.”

I put my phone down on the desk and stared at the wild woman who had just burst into my office.

“Buffy?”

“What the actual fuck is going on, Finn?”

“You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”

“Marcus? Your ex. Jim heard everything and is fucking destroyed. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? You were just going to go back to your ex?”

“My ex? What?”

“You were going back to New York to be with a man who treated you that badly.”

“I’m not…”

“Then why did my brother hear you talking to him, and you tell him you’ll make a decision in forty-eight hours? I want answers, and I am in a very bad mood. It’s my time and the rage is real.”

“Your time? I… Marcus? He overheard me talking to… It wasn’t what you… What he thinks he heard. Where is he?” I started to walk around my desk, and Buffy put her hands on the door and stood in my way.

“To get to him, you have to go through me.”

“Wow… OK. I…”

“I have never seen my brother so upset. I swear, to you, Finn, if you don’t fix this, I will break your face.”

“Ok…” I held up my hands and took a step back. It was almost funny, but if I had hurt him, I’d… “It wasn’t that Marcus, Buffy. It was my old agent. His name just also happens to be Marcus, too.”

“It wasn’t your ex?”

“No.”

“Oh, my God. I am going to murder Jim!”

“Wait! He thinks that I… I’d never.”

“Then what was going on. Tell me, please?”

“I was offered an assistant choreographer job back on Broadway. I said I’d think about it. Marcus wanted me back on his roster because he had a job for me. I mean… It’s Broadway, so when he offered it, I told him I’d think about it.”

“You were just going to leave us.”

“I’m not leaving, Buffy. I just told him that I didn’t want the job.”

“Oh… Well… ok, that’s… That’s great.”

“Where is your brother?”

“He was going to come in with me, but… He’s in the caboose. He said he couldn’t stand to see you.”

I started to walk to the door. “You are going to have to move if I’m going to fix this.”

“Do you love him?”

I looked her in the eyes. “With all my heart. Why do you think I said no?”

“I think maybe I should go in first. He’s really upset. He thought you…”

“I would never.”

“I know,” she looked at me as if seeing how I felt for her brother for the first time.

“If you think you should… Then I will be right behind you.”

I followed her through the lobby, and my heart felt like it was about to blast out of my chest. If I had fucked this up. If I lost Jim, then what did I have? Nothing. He was the only thing that mattered.

She opened the door to the bright red caboose, and I stood outside.

“Jim? We… It’s not what you think. It wasn’t even who you thought. One day, I think we’ll all laugh about this.”

“Laugh? I’m fucking… What do you mean?”

“Finn is right outside. I think it’s best for him to tell you. Listen to him, ok? You were wrong. Please, just listen to your sister for once in your life, Jim James.” Her pleas must have had at least a head shake because she came to the door and nodded to me. “Good luck,” she whispered.

He stiffened as soon as I walked in. I stood at the door with my hands at my sides and took a deep breath.

“Well…” His eyes were puffy. It broke my heart to think that I was the cause. It also brought something else out in me. He cared that much. He felt the same way about me that I felt about him. If he hadn’t… It wouldn’t be tears I would have received. It would have been anger.

“Marcus is not who you think he is. I’m not sure what you think you heard or what part of my conversation you heard, but…

He is not my ex. Marcus Bentley is the name of the asshole who cheated on me.

He has a Tony award, because of course he does.

The person I was speaking to was Marcus Elkenstein, my former agent. ”

“Your ex and your agent were both named Marcus?” He sat up a little straighter.

“Yes, remarkably so. Marcus called to see if I would sign with him again. There was an accident with the assistant choreographer from Kiss Me Kate, which is supposed to open on Broadway this fall. He apparently fell from a ladder while painting his house, and the position was open. I had worked with the choreographer before, and he always liked me. SO when they called Marcus, looking for someone to step in. He thought of me. It was nice of him, seeing as how I was no longer signed with the agency. I told him that I’d think about it. I didn’t know what else to say.”

“That’s… You said, ‘You want me back? Marcus, that’s… I mean, I’m not unhappy about it,’ the words ingrained into my brain. That was your agent?”

“Yes. Oh, baby… Do you think I could leave here?” I took a small step forward.

“I… I didn’t want you to. But hearing you on the phone… I… Am I stupid?” The way he looked at me – broken and sad- made me tear up.

“No. But you should have just opened the door and asked me. If you had come in, I would have still been on the phone. I have nothing to hide from you.”

“I mean, we all deserve a little privacy. I guess I shouldn’t have stopped to listen.”

“Do you think I care about that?”

“I… Are you going to take the job?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” I stepped closer to him.

“It’s a great opportunity. It would mean you’d be back on Broadway, right?”

“Yes.”

“You should do it.” He stood up and crossed his arms.

“I can’t, Jim.”

“Why not?”

I walked over and put my hand on his arm. “Because I love you.”

“Well, damn…” He smiled and his face brightened. A tear slid down his perfect face. “That’s interesting.”

“Why is that?” I whispered as he took me in his arms.

“Because I love you, too.”

There are epic kisses in film and book, TV and stage, but none of them ever had the same intensity as the one Jim James gave me in that moment. We levitated off the train, through the roof, and into the atmosphere. It was magical.

I had made the right decision. I was exactly where I belonged. Who knew when I moved here that I would finally find what I was looking for. It wasn’t just Jim – it was myself.

I was happy. And I knew that I was right where I belonged.