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The whole thing makes me heartsick.
The alley behind the buildings is just wide enough for us to walk through without contorting our bodies, or pressing against each other. I keep sneaking glances at him through the corner of my eye.
He has not gotten any less handsome since the last time I saw him. If he had any sense of decency, he would be covered with giant boils or something. But he’s as dreamy and good-looking as ever. Damn him.
We get to the back alley that runs along the gap between the end of this row of buildings and the back of the buildings on the other side. It’s especially dark in the shadows. But Cole waves his free hand, and two pale lights blink to life over the dumpsters pushed against each building.
I look at him, wrinkling my nose. But he just holds up his hand.
“See these back entrances?” He points to two battered sets of aluminum doors.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “Is this what I’m supposed to see?”
“God, you’re so impatient.” Cole grins like an idiot. “Just remember that these doors are here. They allow easy and free access to each building.”
“Okay…?” What I am supposed to get from that, I have no idea. My brain is leaping from one fact to another, but it’s unable to make any connections.
He tows me toward the back door of the opposing building. I try to figure out which building it is from where we are in space, but I have no idea.
Until he opens the door.
There is a decommissioned movie theater seat leaning against the wall, stained and with its guts busting out in places. The air is redolent with the familiar scent of stale buttered popcorn.
“Is this the movie theater?” I ask Cole.
“That’s what it has been for years. But before that, it was an actual theater for live plays. In fact, it has apparently been poorly retrofitted with a screen–.”
“That’s too small for the theater,” I say. “Right?”
He smirks. “This is the other half of my plan. I’ve made a deal with the theater to pay for a complete renovation. Part of the deal will be a screen that can be moved off the stage more easily. Because the community center must have somewhere to put on plays for the next year. We start renovations tomorrow, after tonight’s performance.”
My mouth is an O of surprise. It takes me a moment to catch up.
“Wait, you’re planning to put the Wizard of Oz on here?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re going to renovate this theater to be able to accommodate movies and live stage plays”
He rocks back and forth on his heels, a vague smile on his face. “That’s the idea.”
My whole world tilts on its side. I struggle to remain upright.
Is this real? Did Cole give the community center a rebirth?
Moreover, did he do it for me?
I tug on his hand and ask, “You planned this?”
Cole flip-flops his free hand. “Sort of. I came up with the ideas, but I had a lot of help.”
“This is… a really good compromise,” I whisper. “I’m floored.”
“That’s what I told Mrs. Brown and the rest of the planning board to get them to rubber stamp this plan.”
My throat needs clearing before I can speak again. “I’m glad that you decided to go this route. It’s really well thought out. The community will really appreciate this.”
“Look, Sav. If I’m honest, I don’t care about the community center. I don’t even care about South Shore or Cape Simon. But you do. I’m not doing this to finish my project for Rex. I’m doing it for you. It’s basically what you were suggesting the entire time. I was just too stubborn to listen.”
