Page 6 of Kicking it for Convenience

After I changed clothes and helped Levi’s employee Casey set up the fans, I locked up the theater again, hoping like hell nothing else would go wrong while I was out. In the balmy summer night, I headed along the few short blocks to Copper Elephant, the trendy bar near the theater where Levi had suggested we meet. The persistent heat and humidity didn’t scare people away from being outdoors, not in Virginia, and I had to make my way through crowds of people on the sidewalk lining up for restaurants, meandering as they window-shopped, or stumbling to their cars.

The rumble of traffic mixed with the general hum of people chattering, but as I neared the bar, I made out the beginnings of a song being played somewhere, guitar and drums and a singer to accompany them. The sounds got louder as I approached. As I pulled Copper Elephant’s door open and stepped inside, a wave of cool air hit me, along with the mingled scents of alcohol and sweat, and the music was silenced, in exchange for whatever alt-rock was being played over the speakers of the bar.

I glanced around the half-full room for Levi and spotted him at one end, opposite a side door and the bar, tucked in a booth with a sweating glass of beer in front of him. He wore a dark blue tank top that showed off his construction worker muscles, not that I was noticing his muscles. He lifted his fingers in a wave and I nodded before crossing the floor and taking a seat.

“This place isn’t nearly as crowded as I expected it to be based on the people standing outside pretty much everywhere else along this stretch,” I said in greeting. “Good pick.”

He laughed and tilted his head toward the side door. “There’s a huge patio. That’s where everyone is. Live music out there tonight.”

“Ah.”

“Can I get you a drink?” He pressed his palms to the table and stood. “What’s your poison?”

“Just beer for me, thanks. Something dark, if they have it.”

He was only gone a few moments before he settled back into the booth, passed me my drink, and took a sip of his own. As he put the glass down, a drop of moisture clung to his lip and when he licked it off, dragging his tongue mindlessly over his lower lip, I shivered. It was colder in the bar than I’d expected.

“So you bought a theater for a thirty-fifth birthday present to yourself,” Levi started, picking up the conversation right where we’d left off when we’d been standing in the lobby. “What’s that about?”

I hummed and nodded. “I did. Like I said, I grew up spending summers here with my grandparents. My family is from Kansas, but every summer at the end of June my folks would drive us out, if you can believe it, and my brother and I would stay until the first week of August or so. We did that for probably eight years. I have a lot of memories of the theater, the roller rink, even the old bookstore on the corner back there.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You drove from Kansas?”

“That’s what you took away from that?”

With a laugh, he shook his head. “I’m just getting started on your little monologue.”

I chuckled and grinned. Talking to him was so easy, so natural. “Flights were expensive for us. We weren’t super poor, but we weren’t really well-off, either. We’d make the drive in, like, two days. Mom and Dad would take a long weekend and spend four days driving. Then they’d do it all again in August.”

Levi let out a low whistle. “That’s intense.”

“It was, but I’m glad I have those memories, you know? My grandparents aren’t around anymore, and I’m glad I got to spend the time with them.”

He nodded and lowered his gaze. “My grandpa actually passed away not that long ago. I get it.” He cleared his throat and looked at me again. “So, eight years of summers in this place was enough for you to say fuck it and upend your whole life? Did you quit your job and everything?”

I sipped my beer and hesitated, debating on how much to tell him. “I broke up with my girlfriend Shawna, quit my job, sold everything I owned except my car, and drove east.” Levi’s shoulder’s drooped a little when I said the part about having a girlfriend.

“And you just trusted it would all work out?”

I lifted one shoulder. “Yeah, sort of. I mean, I’d been thinking about it for a long time. Things weren’t really working out with my girlfriend. We’d been off and on for months. And my job was stagnating. It was a great job, but there was no room for growth and I didn’t really like it anymore anyway.”

“What were you doing?”

“I was a staff accountant. It’s even more boring than it sounds, honestly. It’s good, though, because I have a head for numbers, you know? I knew what my risks were. Six months ago, I started daydreaming about getting out, shaking up my life. I started looking at business opportunities. Then I saw the Radiance go up for sale and I knew it was destiny.” I sipped my beer. “I didn’t expect she’d need quite so much work, though.”

Levi laughed and scratched his short beard. “Yeah, I can imagine not. I’m sure she’s a lot of work. I do renovations and restorations for a living. You should’ve had an inspection done.”

“Oh, I did. There’s a lot of good bones at the theater. Most of it’s cosmetic, and of course the technology aspect. Things have changed a lot in the past twenty-five years or so.”

“Definitely,” he said, nodding. “But there are ways to do it, you know? You should look into getting the building labeled a historic site. That will change some of the requirements on you, but it opens you up to grant money, which will get you the help you need to get her up and running before we all get too old to enjoy it.”

“That’s a great idea, actually. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Give me a call on Monday and I’ll put you in touch with someone who can help you with the historic building designation. Otherwise you’re probably looking at replacing the plumbing, electrical, updating it to code, and more, all on your own. You’re going to want the help.”

My heart raced in my chest. It wasn’t that I minded the help—not at all. It was more that I was starting to panic when I thought about all the work ahead of me. I’d purchased the theater thinking it would be a good investment, something I could update in a few months with elbow grease and paint, but Levi made it sound like I would never get it done on my own. I looked down at my glass of beer and took a sip which turned into a desperate gulp as I tried to steady my nerves.

“Hey, now, you okay?”

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