Page 57 of Wish For Me

“I can always tell. Hazard of the job. What is it?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s already sold.”

“Tell him,” Leif says.

I bite my lip. Then grin. “Theater. A live theatre. It would be amazing.” I explain how it would work in one long, breathless stream of consciousness. Where everyone would go; the kind of seating that could be fit in here. Right down to building out the vestibule into a concession.

When I’m done, Leif’s grinning at me, making my insides all melty. “Sounds like exactly what this town could use,” he says.

Enzo looks like his mind is ticking. He may be goofy at times, and immature, but when it comes to his job, he’s a different person. I can tell he takes it seriously. After a moment, he smiles at me. “Want to see the back?”

Leif wraps his arm around my shoulder as we follow Enzo down a hallway to the left of the stage.

“Thank you,” I say. “It’s fun to daydream.”

Leif doesn’t say anything, just kisses me on the top of the head as if we’re a couple. The unconscious gesture sends a trickle of sparks over the back of my neck.

“This part of the building was added on later,” Enzo says as we step into a little warren of offices. “The church itself was built around 1850 as far as we can tell, with this part built at the turn of the century.”

Most of the rooms are small and filled with stacked furniture and boxes. But one of the rooms is much bigger than the rest. Maybe this would be where the concession could go. I picture it filled with round velvet benches; maybe some tall tables. Like the others, it’s got abandoned items inside. But my eyes go to an unusual looking circular window on the far wall. It’s about four feet in diameter, paned with glass, and looks into the trees. The light’s already growing dim outside, but I can see the river, visible just beyond.

There’s something about that window that’s familiar.

“Was this place already used as a theater?” Leif asks.

I follow his gaze to a rack I thought held old coats, but I see now as Enzo tips a moth-eaten dress from it, that it’s a costume rack.

My skin tingles.

Enzo frowns at the dress. “Not that I know of. We haven’t really gone through everything in here though.”

I drag my eyes from the costumes back to that window. Where have I seen a round window like that before? The memory feels just out of reach.

Then I spot the boxes underneath. They’re filled with picture frames. I crouch down and tip a few back. There are framed photos and newspaper articles about various community meetings and celebrations that look to have happened in this room. This must have been the community space Enzo was talking about.

“What’s up here?” Leif asks. I turn to see he’s opened a doorway, which opens onto a set of steep stairs.

I hesitate to leave this room, but I’m curious about whatever’s up there too.

The stairs are steep, but the journey is worth it: Up top is a living space that’s bigger than my apartment. A kitchen on one side, wood stove on the other, and on the far back wall, windows overlooking the river.

The room has no furniture, though there are boxes and tubs lining one of the walls. These look like more recent additions—maybe the owner’s storage.

“Does that work?” Leif asks, pointing to the wood stove.

“Yeah. There’s wood over there.” He points to a covered plywood box next to the stove.

He folds his arms and makes a clicking sound with his teeth. “Well, that’s about it, unless you want to see the basement. The ceilings are low and it’s creepy as hell. Kind of damp and full of cobwebs.”

Leif grimaces but looks at me expectantly.

“I can hold off on that part. Though I wouldn’t mind looking through that stuff downstairs a big more, if it’s okay? There’s a lot of history in this place.”

“I actually have to run,” Enzo says, and I try to squash the disappointment that immediately rushes through me.

Enzo shrugs. “But you guys are welcome to hang out for a bit.”

“Oh,” I say, my voice brightening. I hesitate. I should tell him it’s fine. It’s just my curiosity, but I want to stay. “You’re sure?”

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