Chapter 12
Tori got up early the next morning and grabbed a cup of coffee while she got ready, her new routine beginning to feel familiar. As she glanced in the mirror, she realized she was getting used to her new look, too.
Her normally pale skin had tanned slightly from being outside so often walking around town. Her hair that she used to spend so much time using expensive products on and curling—just right—hung loosely at shoulder length. She was beginning to feel less anxious that someone would recognize her. Victoria Duran was slowly fading away.
So much had changed in her life in the last few months. She’d first felt lost and alone when her world had been upended, but now she was beginning to feel like this was where she was meant to be. And she could feel fulfilled and happy with this life. If she’d let herself…
She tidied the bathroom, set the coffee mug in the kitchen, and headed out to the theater. Walking, of course. She wished she had time to go to Beverly’s and chat with her, but she wanted to make sure she was at the theater before Gavin showed up.
She hurried down the sidewalk, then laughed at herself as she slowed down to enjoy the walk. The sleepy town was waking up. People smiled at her when they passed instead of ducking their heads to avoid eye contact, which happened so often in New York. Everyone busy with their own thoughts, own problems, and rushing past. The warm sun slipped from behind a fluffy white cloud, and sunlight danced through the palm branches. The day was shaping up to be a wonderful one. Full of promise.
She walked up to the front door, unlocked it, and stepped inside, once again overwhelmed with the responsibility of the job she’d taken on. And just as sure that she’d made the right decision. The lobby was already more inviting now that the windows were cleaned of years of grime. She went over to the concession counter where she’d set her notebook.
“I see you’re here early today.”
Startled, she dropped her pen and turned around at the sound of Gavin’s voice, trying to mask her surprise. “Ah… good morning.” She didn’t know if he meant it as a compliment or still a chastisement over her late arrival yesterday. Luckily, she didn’t have to muse on it long because the contractor she’d hired stepped inside and joined them.
“Morning, Miss Duran.”
“Please, call me Tori.” The less the name Duran was thrown around, the better. “Let’s get started.”
Soon more workers arrived, and the sounds of saws and hammers rang through the building. Gavin stood beside her, looking over her shoulder, annoying her, as she turned the pages of her notebook, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.
“I know you don’t like to be told what to do… but I do have something I thought I should mention.”
“Of course you do. So much for not interfering and telling me what to do.”
“I just thought we needed to check out the machines at the concession stand. I don’t think that was on your list.”
Annoyingly, it wasn’t. She grabbed her notebook. She’d check out the popcorn machine and soda dispensers. The candy counter was still in good shape, though.
“And I had another thought…” He stood back, eyeing her, waiting.
She let out a sigh. “Go ahead.”
“Some theaters have gone to serving wine. If we got a license, then people who rented the space for events would have the opportunity to serve wine if they wanted.”
She grudgingly admitted he had a good idea. She scribbled more notes, only slightly less annoyed at him for his ideas. They were good ones.
“I’m going to go grab a hammer and work on the ticket counter outside. I’m pretty handy with stuff like that.” He turned and walked out the door. She hoped his skills were as good as he claimed.
She couldn’t believe that she walked right past this concession stand at the side of the lobby every time she’d been here but hadn’t thought to check out the machines. She thought she’d been so thorough.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad to have a second set of eyes on her plans. And of course, Gavin would speak up if he thought she was missing anything. She laughed. She was almost getting used to his interference. Almost.
The weeks passed in a blur. Each day was a blend of working at the theater and coming home to crash in her apartment. Gavin became a constant figure at the theater, showing up almost every day for some amount of time. She questioned him, asking if he didn’t need to be at his bike shop, but he said he had it covered. She got the impression he was actually enjoying working on the theater. She’d grown accustomed to his presence… mostly.
They’d begun talking a lot as they worked side by side. He was an interesting guy, she had to admit. And boy, did he have opinions about everything. Some of them were even right.
She grinned as she worked on cleaning out one of the dressing rooms. A musty smell permeated the room. She went over and struggled to open a window, managing to slide it up enough to let in some fresh air.
Old play pamphlets were heaped on a table. Costumes were scattered around in piles. She’d leave the programs for now, but the costumes had to be dealt with. She fingered the fabric of a long ballgown, then the smooth silk of a 1920s flapper dress, wondering what roles had been played in these costumes.
She made trip after trip, hauling them over to the costume area. Hanging them up. Trying to get some sort of order to all of them. When those were all finally sorted out, she returned to the dressing room and crossed over to the closet on the far side, hoping there weren’t yet more costumes inside. She tugged on the door, but it didn’t budge.
“Want some help?”
She whirled around, her heart skipping a beat, startled by Gavin’s voice. He had a way of surprising her. “I… uh… the door is stuck.”
“Let me give it a try.”
He walked over and jiggled the handle, but had no more luck than she did. She stood back, patiently watching as he wrestled with the door. “It’s stuck.” He finally gave up in defeat.
“That’s what I said.” Amusement tugged the corners of her mouth.
“Let me get some tools.” He came back and set to work on the door while she sorted through the programs. She set aside some that were in good shape to frame and put up in the lobby.
“There, got it,” he announced triumphantly with a flourish of his arm.
The closet door stood wide open. She crossed over and peeked inside, struggling to see into the depths. “I thought it was just a tiny closet. It’s larger than I thought.”
Gavin tapped on the flashlight on his phone and raised it high. “It is rather large. Here’s a light switch.” He clicked it on, but nothing happened. “Let me go get a ladder and a lightbulb. I’ll be back.”
She turned back to her project, sorting through the programs while Gavin worked on the light. Soon light spilled out from the closet and she went over to look at it again.
“Oh, wow. Look at this. It must have been a private dressing room.” A fancy dressing table surrounded by lights sat on one end. A neon star adorned the wall across from it. A single clothes rack was tucked into the corner and an old, faded sofa sat under the star.
“Looks like it.”
She closed her eyes against the wave of memories flooding back. Her own dressing room with her name on the door. The lights surrounding her reflection in the mirror as the hairstylist would do her hair each night—hair without even one strand of gray in it— and the makeup artist applying her stage makeup.
“You okay?” Gavin looked at her closely.
“What?” She turned to him slowly. “Yes, I’m… fine.”
“You kind of look like you’ve seen a ghost. You think this theater has one?” He teased her.
“I doubt it.” She pulled herself together and walked over to the dressing table. She slowly pulled open the drawers to look inside. Old makeup. Some brushes and combs. A fancy hair clip. She tugged on the bottom drawer, but it was stuck. Why was everything sticking on her today?
“Let me look at it,” Gavin said, walking over and jiggling the drawer before dropping down to the floor and peeking underneath it. “Something’s caught. There, try it again.”
She pulled on the drawer and it slid open. “All that work for an empty drawer.”
He crawled out from under the dressing table and looked at the drawer. “Can’t be. Something made it stick.” He felt around in the drawer, then finally pulled it out all the way and sat it on the table, frowning. He held it up, scrutinized it, and then pushed on the back section. A board popped open.
They leaned over the drawer. “Oh, a pendant.” She reached out and picked it up, tracing her finger over it. It’s lovely, isn’t it? I wonder if it was a prop in some show.”
“Why would someone hide a prop? That doesn’t make much sense, does it?”
“No, I guess not.” She held it up to the light, examining it closely. “Look, it has a magnolia on it. And I think these are diamonds and emeralds, aren’t they? Or I guess they could be crystals.”
“You should have it looked at.”
She wrapped her fingers around it, feeling it warm to her touch. “I wonder what the story is behind this?”
“I’m sure I don’t know. But Beverly or Miss Eleanor might. They pretty much know everything there is to know about the island.”
She slipped it in her pocket, making a mental note to talk to both of them about it.
“I’ve got to go,” he said as he packed up his tools.
“So soon?” she asked, both surprised and annoyed at her disappointment that he was leaving already.
“Got to go back to the shop. Have some repairs to finish up.”
She nodded. “Okay. See you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Tomorrow.” He strode out of the room and she stood there, the emptiness of the room echoing around her.
She closed her eyes against the memories. The thrill of getting ready for a performance. The jittery nerves of opening nights. The hours spent memorizing lines. The costume fittings. All of it.
But that was no longer her life, she reminded herself. This was. Bringing Magnolia Key Theater back to life.
Now that the renovations were moving along, it was time to look into getting a traveling troupe to perform for their grand opening. Then she had plans to try to do some local theater. See if any residents wanted to perform. And she’d see if she could get more actors from the mainland. Fill the seats like they used to be. Bring life back into this magnificent theater. It’s what it deserved. To be alive and full of people.
She walked over and flipped off the lights, leaving the star’s dressing room and the memories behind her.