Page 7 of Finding Finn (Foggy Basin Season 2)

FINN

I thought he hated me all day yesterday.

But I couldn’t stop looking at him. It was like some kind of obsession, and it was totally not healthy. But we had fun last night, and outside the theatre he was much more relaxed.

And gay…

He’s gay and single.

I should not feel a tinge of excitement at that.

I just moved here, and he works for me. Isn’t there some kind of HR thing about that? If not, there should be, and I should know more about that. I took out my phone and in the notes section of my apps, wrote a quick Google HR.

I had so much to learn. It didn’t feel as overwhelming today as it did yesterday.

I owe a lot of that to Buffy. She knows so much more than I do about the business side of the playhouse.

She agreed to take over our budgeting and grant writing for the time being.

She was going to slowly teach me so I could learn.

According to her, she already knew what our spending cap should be on each production.

That was where I wanted to make changes.

They didn’t sell season tickets, so there shouldn’t be a problem with changing a few of the titles.

I couldn’t think of a reason anyway. We were already locked into Annie.

I knew this, even if I really wanted to do any other musical in the world but that show.

I mean, it could be worse. We could be doing Oliver.

It was all of the kids that I’d have to work with that concerned me.

I also understood that all those children had families that would fill the seats in the theatre nightly.

Those kinds of shows were the bread and butter of regional houses all across America.

I just found them contrite and boring. I’d get over it, and hopefully, we’d put on a show that changed my mind. I just didn’t have a lot of hope.

“Good morning, sunshine.” Buffy walked in with three coffees from Don’t Go Bakin’ My Heart and a box of pastry. “I thought you might want something sweet today.”

“You are a bad, bad girl.”

“Well, you had a salad last night, so… I think you can handle a few delish yum yums. Trust me, you will not regret it. Now, we have auditions next week, and I thought we might have a small get-to-know-you this weekend. Most everyone is dying to meet you.”

“Most? You mean there are people who don’t want to meet me?” I scoffed, pretending to have my feelings hurt.

“You know what I mean.”

“How are the auditions run here? I have thoughts, but I don’t want to shake the apple tree too quickly. Do we do callbacks, or is it a one-and-done type of thing?”

“We do kids' auditions first on Thursday, and the adults on Friday. Yolanda will be our stage manager for the show. Jim already set that up for you. She’s great and is really good at keeping kids in line. She’s a third-grade teacher, so they all know and like her.”

“Alright, that sounds good. They sing whatever they want?”

“Yes, and it will be painful. Sorry.”

“Pianist?”

“He’s great. His husband will be auditioning. He has a great voice and is… Well, you’ll see. I shouldn’t say anything.”

“Oh, no, you should. If you got gossip, I want to know,” I chuckled.

“I knew we were going to be best friends.”

“Do they do a dance audition?”

“Typically, we do an easy movement audition in groups. They all learn it at once and then do it in groups of eight. You can feel free to change whatever you want. But when it comes to dancing, there are only a few people who have any training. Some of the cheerleaders are usually in front, if you know what I mean. Oh, and Andre from last night is pretty good, as long as he’s not being a dick.

He’s fun until he’s not, if you catch my drift. ”

“Is there a dance school in town?”

“No.”

“Maybe that’s something that we could add to our weekend activities here. I could teach it,” I said before I thought better about it.

“Why stop there? We could do weekend seminars on auditioning and voice. Maybe even an acting class. We could charge something for it. It would help our bottom line, that’s for sure. How much would you charge for a dance class?”

“Uh… I have no idea. In New York, I paid a five-hundred-dollar membership fee to take classes. Would twenty dollars a class be too much? In the summer, we could do it on the deck if it’s not too hot.”

“I’ll check with some of the dance schools around the area for what their pricing is. Any way that we bring more money into our budget is a great thing.”

“I’ll write up something. Maybe we could do twenty students. I’ll have to talk to Jim and see if we have the space for that many in the theatre. We’d also have to make sure it works with the schedule.”

“What works with the schedule?” Jim kissed Buffy on the cheek and picked up his coffee. “Thanks, sis.”

“Finn had an idea of offering classes here at the theatre. I think that they’d be pretty damn successful, and the extra money would be great.”

“Yeah, the schedule…” He ran his hand over his buzzed head.

I bet it felt like velvet. “The theatre is pretty booked most of the time through the year. I mean, we could use the deck, sometimes, I guess. I think it’s…

definitely an idea… But I’m not sure you realize what your schedule will be like most of the time.

We’re in a small lull right now. But with auditions next week and then rehearsals, you’re nights are going to be busy. ”

“What’s the time between the final show and the next audition?”

“Different almost every time. Sometimes auditions happen before the last show closes.”

“Do we have all of this on a calendar. I really like to see things organized visually.”

“I’ll take care of that today. I can go and buy one of those big calendars, and we can hang them on the wall over there.” She pointed to a large blank wall on the far side of our office.

“Whatever. I’m… I love the ideas you’re having. But with our seven-show schedule, the stage is booked. After six almost every night.”

“Every night?”

“Come on Broadway, you know how it is.”

“Seven shows. We have Annie, and then Steel Magnolias, but what’s after that?”

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol, Godspell, and Our Town,” Jim rattled them off quickly.

I groaned. “Annie and Charlie, huh? Any chance of changing a title or two?”

“It would be… No, not really. I’m afraid you’re stuck. We’ve already printed the season postcard for marketing.” Jim crossed his arms. I could tell he was getting annoyed with me.

“I tell you boys what,” Buffy broke the tension. “I think you should take Finn on a small tour today and show him around. That way, he can get to know his new town, and it gives me some time to get the calendar set up so we can plan our year. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Actually, quite the opposite. I was gonna start the lighting plan for Annie.”

“I don’t even know where to buy toothpaste,” I shrugged. “Besides, it’s a gorgeous day.” I looked up at him and smiled.

“If that’s what you want, boss.” The side of his mouth twitched. “You sure you want to walk around town dressed like that?”

“What?” I worked hard to look good today.

“It’s a lot of walking and it’s warm.”

I looked down at my leather dress shoes and the khakis I had put on. “You’re right. I should put on some shorts and tennis shoes. I’ll just run home and meet you.”

“No,” Buffy said too loudly. “Jim can go with you. It’s faster, right?”

Jim looked at his sister, and something silent passed between them. “Fine,” he huffed. “Trust me, it’s easier to say yes. Arguing with Buffy is like yelling at a wall. It’s impossible to win.”

“Alright. Let’s… uh… go?” I laughed, unsure of what else to do.

Jim slapped the back of Buffy’s head gently as he walked past her, and I followed him out of the office.

“It really is a beautiful day,” he looked up at the clear skies before walking down the stairs.

“What was your first show at the playhouse?” I asked quickly.

Jim made me nervous. We had never really been by ourselves before, and I still wasn’t sure if he liked me.

But that wasn’t the only thing. I barely knew anything about him, but I could feel this crush developing because he was so fucking hot.

I made stupid decisions when I was attracted to someone the way I was to him.

“The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder. I played one of the kids. I hated it, actually. But Mom insisted that I do it. I just wanted to play my Gameboy and watch The Simpsons.”

“You hated it? Then why did you…”

“Mom. But my second show was a kids’ version of the Wizard of Oz.

I played Tin Man, and something happened during that show.

I couldn't wait to get to rehearsal, and when it ended, I cried like a little bitch. I used to love to be on stage, I guess. It’s funny how things change, huh?

By the time I was in high school, I hung with the popular kids and played football and baseball, so my time was taken up in the fall and spring.

But whenever I had time, I came to the theatre and started working backstage.

You know? Helping out wherever I could. I was young and strong, so they had me lifting things and hanging lights. I really loved it.”

“Have you ever thought about getting back on stage?”

“Oh, God, no. I have nightmares about it now. What was yours?”

“My first show was The Sound of Music. I started dance classes a few months later. I had to talk my parents into it, and the woman in charge of the theatre, Liz, helped them to see how good it would be for me. I was a really lonely kid, and I blossomed in that theatre.”

“Where did you grow up?”

“A small town in Kentucky.”

He whistled. “Wow… Was it hard to be gay there?”

“Terrifying. I was bullied a lot. But I found my solace in the theatre and dance class. My parents ignored any signs that I was… You know…”

“When did you come out?”

“When I was in college. I came out to Liz when I was in high school. She was more like the loving, supportive parent I wanted, and she filled that space for me.”

“Your parents?”

“Oh, they didn’t take it very well. They’re incredibly Baptist and think I’m going to hell.

We rarely speak, and when we do, it’s just surface stuff.

I had to make the choice to either keep them in my life or let them go.

I chose my own mental and emotional health.

I thought it would be a lot harder than it was, I guess.

I lived my life feeling like they only loved me when I pretended to be someone else.

So, when I moved to New York, I chose to keep their toxic thoughts and feelings away. ”

“That’s got to be hard. I’m sorry that…”

“No. I’m ok. Every now and then, I think about it. But not as often as I’d have thought. How about you?”

“Oh, my parents had a small crisis about it when I first told them. They wanted grandchildren. But once they had a little time, it really wasn’t a big thing.

They were just surprised. I was really into sports.

Now, the town is really different from what it was then.

It’s become a bit of a mecca for the LGBT community.

My parents’ best friends are gay. They just worry that I’m gonna end up alone or something. ”

“Why is someone like you single?” The words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them.

“You’re blushing,” he smirked.

“I’m… just curious, is all. You’re very handsome. If this place has so many gay people, why are you still single?”

“Well, it’s not that easy, Finn. I don’t want just… I don’t know. I guess I’ve never found my person so far.”

“Sorry, that was… I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“It’s fine. I date… sometimes. But so far, I haven’t found someone who gives me that spark.”

“Spark? I get that.”

“You had a bad breakup. When was that?”

“About four years ago. It was pretty shitty, and ever since, I haven’t really wanted to date. I was trying to focus on my career.”

“Now?”

“I’m trying to learn my career,” I chuckled. “But I’m not against falling in love. It just hasn’t happened again. We’re here.”

“I heard it’s fairly… grandma inside.”

“I’m trying to avoid the desire to knit. It’s pretty bad. Sorry, that I haven’t… My shit is still in boxes for the most part.” I unlocked the door and walked inside. He came in behind me.

“That?” He pointed to the small stack of cardboard boxes that held my stuff inside.

“Yeah. I had a small apartment in New York and hadn’t really accumulated too much in my life, I guess. It was depressing to know that I had so little once I packed it up. I have more clothes than anything else. Stay here and I’ll go change really quickly.”

I ran upstairs and quickly pulled my clothes off. I grabbed a tank top and a pair of blue shorts before changing into my tennis shoes. I glanced at myself in the mirror and threw on a baseball cap before heading back downstairs.

“I could fix this, you know. I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind if we did a little work in here. Those curtains, man… How can you live like this?” He laughed heartily.

“Really? I could call and see what they’d think.”

“I got it. Let me deal with them. I’ve known the family forever. I'm sure they wouldn’t mind me painting and getting rid of the wallpaper. Shouldn’t take me more than a few days.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Well, you’re one of us now, aren’t you?” His smile made my feet tingle.

We locked up my house and walked around town, where he showed me all the businesses and gave me the lowdown on which ones donated to the theatre.

Most of them did. But at least I knew where to go when I needed something.

It was nice, and the way he talked about Foggy Basin made me happy to live here.

Honestly, I watched him more than I looked at the town. I could feel myself slipping more and more with every step and glance at him. It wasn’t just that he was beautiful, and he was very, very gorgeous. It was something else. He was so real and open – it was inspiring.

I had to be careful or I could fuck this all up.

“So you want to join us?”

“I’m sorry, I was… looking over there at those… plates.” We stood in front of a small shop that had a tea set in the window. “What were you saying?”

“The gym. We’re going tonight and you could meet a couple of my friends. One of them is in charge of the resort. You really need to meet him.”

“Oh! The gym… Sure. What time?”

“Five. Do you want me to come get you, or do you remember where it is?”

“A block behind us. I remember. Sure, I will meet you there.”

We went back to the theatre and spent an hour going over the incredibly full schedule that shook me to my core. This was going to be a harder job than I imagined.

At the end of the day, I noticed how Buffy glanced between us and smiled. “Have fun, boys.”

I walked home with thoughts of Jim James running through my stupid head.