Christmas joy is a matter of perspective. For some, it’s the happiest time of the year. For others, not so much. Twenty-nine-year-old Mick, the son of crack addicts, isn’t exactly a dyed-in-the-wool Scrooge. Mick’s been on his own from childhood. As a teen, he even lived in a shelter, where for a short time he had a boyfriend. After the boyfriend left, Mick squatted in the historic Orpheum Theater. While living there as its self-appointed custodian, Mick has watched others celebrate the holidays from a distance, never able to share in their merriment. Only his Technicolor dreams enliven his dull, clandestine life until one day the world around him begins to change. Mick is surprised when a man named Jim buys the Orpheum and plans to restore it. Something about Jim rekindles Mick’s longing for a better life and a little holiday magic for himself. Can Jim give Mick the hope he needs to accept his happily ever after?

The Orpheum Miracle

“He drove me out there and told me I’d be sleeping in the woman’s guest bedroom above the garage until the project was done.


“So I agreed, but I didn’t have time to tell any of you. Mostly you. He had me pack up, and we were off. I was scared shitless. I mean, she could have been a mass murderer of gay teenage boys.”


I remembered Navarro, an old priest who thought everyone was decent and honest, and got burned more times than not. I’d liked the old guy. He was the one who got me my first odd jobs at the Orpheum.


Randy had a far-away look in his eyes. He was seeing an entirely different past than I’d lived. I sent up a quick prayer of thanks to whatever god was listening.


“Anyway, we got to know each other, Addy and I. She’d just inherited the house from her mother’s third husband, a crotchety old man with a lot of hobbies. She hadn’t known him very well, so we bonded going through his collections.


Chapter 11