Memories in Sea Glass: Driftwood Key Beach Reads #2

7. Anthem

Anthem had scrambled upstairs as soon as Liberty came down to wait for Chase.

She was sure that Mom was hoping Liberty would finally tell her what on earth was going on with the two of them. And curious as she was, Anthem knew Liberty definitely wasn’t going to spill the beans in front of her if Mom didn’t know yet.

Besides, Anthem had her own plans for the night.

When she got to her room, Justine was already there, curled up on the bed playing with the necklace Anthem had worn yesterday. It was a cute crystal on a waxed cotton cord. Justine had complimented her on it more than once.

“Hey,” Anthem said.

“Oh, hey,” Justine said, putting the necklace back on the bedside table. “Sorry, I was just waiting for you.”

“It’s okay,” Anthem laughed. “Why don’t you wear that tonight?”

“Really?” Justine asked, looking very excited about it.

“Sure,” Anthem told her. “Keep it, if you like it. I have a couple more kind of like that one. Anyway, it’s supposed to bring you good luck.”

Justine grabbed the necklace again and hugged it to her chest before putting it on. Though there were only a few years between them, Justine had always spent most of her time with Glory when they visited as kids. Now that she was here and Glory was always at the resort, Justine had gotten into the habit of hanging out in Anthem’s room.

And Anthem found that she liked having her there. There wasn’t a judgmental bone in her cousin’s rapidly expanding body. And she wore her feelings right on her sleeve.

Besides, Glory was so furious with her right now, and Liberty was so distracted with whatever had bummed her out with Chase, that Anthem would have been very lonely without her cousin around.

“What are you going to wear?” Justine asked, glancing at the old Ramones t-shirt and cut-off jeans Anthem was already wearing.

“You think I should change out of this killer combo?” she asked, winking at Justine.

“You should wear something that sets off your hair,” Justine said. “Do you have anything green?”

Anthem had come to Driftwood Key with the same duffel bag of clothes she’d brought to Ohio. She didn’t exactly have a lot of great options for the heat.

“There’s a surf shop in town and they have cute clothes there,” Justine informed her.

“There are no good surfing waves in the Keys,” Anthem laughed.

“I guess that’s why they only sell cute clothes,” Justine said. “I didn’t see any surfboards.”

“If I win tonight, we’ll go there tomorrow,” Anthem told her. “I’m a little low on funds right now.”

“There’s a prize?” Justine asked.

“A twenty-five-dollar gift card from the Driftwood Key Chamber of Commerce,” Anthem said with a smile. “Redeemable at any shop in the downtown area, except the Towel Shack.”

“That guy that runs the Towel Shack is kind of hot,” Justine giggled.

“Yeah, but what kind of guy won’t honor a Chamber of Commerce gift card?” Anthem scoffed.

It wasn’t like Justine typically had the best taste in men. Her high school boyfriend, Shawn, had been an on-again-off-again disaster of epic proportions. Anthem hadn’t pressed her about who the baby’s father was. But if Justine wasn’t excited to bring it up herself, Anthem was guessing her college choices hadn’t improved much over her high school ones.

Which was a shame. Justine was just about the nicest person on the planet. But she was also kind of a hopeless romantic, which made her easy prey for any decent looking guy who came along making the right empty promises.

“Okay, then let’s see what you’ve got in here,” Justine said, scrambling a little awkwardly out of bed and opening Anthem’s closet.

“Mostly just the stuff I had with me at school,” Anthem said, shrugging. “And what I was going to have with me for a summer camp in Chicago. Plus one trip to the outlets since I got down here. Not much with a real beach vibe.”

“What about this?” Justine asked, pulling out a green tank top. “This could be cute with your jean shorts.”

“That’s a pajama top,” Anthem laughed.

“Maybe, but who would know?” Justine asked, holding it up to Anthem and nodding to herself. “Just layer a couple of necklaces and you’ve got a nice look going.”

“Hey, you’re good at this,” Anthem said. “I thought I’d be in trouble without Glory to help me.”

“She’s still really mad at you, huh?” Justine asked sympathetically.

“I was talking to Dad,” Anthem said, sighing. “I guess she has a right to be mad.”

“Was he really not talking to anyone else?” Justine asked.

“Nope,” Anthem said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Not even Mom.”

“What did he say to you?” Justine asked.

“I dunno,” Anthem said. “Just asked how I was doing, how school was, that kind of thing.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Justine said.

“He also asked how everyone was doing,” Anthem admitted, biting her lip. “It didn’t feel like a betrayal at the time to answer him. I mean, I barely knew how they were doing anyway. I was off at school except during Christmas break.”

Justine nodded.

“But Glory thinks I was spying on them for him,” Anthem said. “And since he paid my last tuition bill, she thinks I agreed to do it for financial gain, like he had bought my loyalty.”

“It was good he paid your tuition,” Justine said thoughtfully.

“Very good,” Anthem agreed. “It would have been a total buzzkill not to graduate just because of one semester’s tuition. And as it turned out, he never meant to take anything away from us anyway.”

“But she’s still mad,” Justine said.

“He only talked to me because I’m more chill than the others,” Anthem said, feeling kind of weird about admitting it.

“What do you mean?” Justine asked.

“I don’t hold a grudge,” Anthem said, shrugging. “I mean, it sucks that he left, but he’s still my dad. And I get it that he thought he was doing the right thing. Though obviously he wasn’t.”

“My dad’s not perfect either,” Justine said, her hand going around her belly. “But I guess I’m lucky he’s still around.”

“He’ll come around about the baby,” Anthem told her. “I know it.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Justine said.

“So, are you in the mood to drink weak coffee and listen to some music?” Anthem asked, winking at her in a goofy way.

“Absolutely,” Justine told her. “As long as it’s decaf. Let’s get you dressed.”

Anthem grabbed the green top and swapped it for the one she had on, adding necklaces until Justine gave her a thumbs-up. Then she grabbed her trusty guitar, and they headed downstairs together.

Anthem was feeling about as good as she had since getting that call from the hospital. The guilt she had been feeling was heavy, and it wasn’t just because her sister was angry at her, and her mom and other sister were probably frustrated too, though they didn’t say it.

She had told Justine that her dad had wanted to talk to the laid-back sister because she was the one least likely to hold a grudge.

But really he probably thought she was the one least likely to catch the warnings signs, or worry about the exhaustion that sometimes crept into his voice after talking for just a few minutes, or the weak cough he attributed to a summer cold.

Anthem had nights where she couldn’t sleep, wondering if she could have guessed what was wrong, and maybe bought them all a little more time together.

What would he have said to her if he’d been able to speak when they reached the hospital? But he’d smiled at her, and listened when she told him she loved him.

And like it or not, life was going on.

She had to figure out what to do now that she was done with college, she had her cousin to bond with, and tonight she was going to be performing, which was her absolute favorite thing to do, no matter how humble the venue.

There was a spring in her step as she came down the stairs and headed into the kitchen. Glory was sitting at the table, drinking a glass of chocolate milk.

“Hey,” Anthem said carefully. “What’s up?”

“Chase and Liberty were out on the beach walking,” Glory said, shrugging.

“How did it go?” Anthem asked, hoping their older sister and her husband were going to work it out.

“Maybe you could spy on them,” Glory suggested without making eye contact. “Then you could report back to the highest bidder.”

Anthem’s heart sank instantly.

“Hey,” Justine said. “That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair,” Glory said, getting up from the table and depositing her glass in the sink.

Anthem watched as Glory waltzed victoriously out of the room. Her words hurt, of course, but part of Anthem couldn’t help but feel just a bit proud at her little sister’s fiery spirit. Heaven help the person that ever tried to push Glory Steele around.

“She shouldn’t talk to you like that,” Justine said.

“She’ll get over it,” Anthem said, hoping it was true. “Let’s get out of here.”

They headed out. Mom had lent her the car keys, and it felt good to hop in and drive to town. But she also knew that with only one car between them all, things were going to get tricky pretty quickly.

“I wonder if there’s a bicycle shop in town,” she wondered out loud.

“The grumpy hottie at the Towel Shack sells used bikes,” Justine said.

“You’ve really been paying attention to that shop,” Anthem teased.

Justine only rolled her eyes.

Anthem made a mental note to never send Justine into town alone for towels.

A few minutes later, they pulled into town. There was plenty of parking, which probably wasn’t a great sign for the Open Mic Night, but she honestly would have happily played for herself in her room tonight if she had to. So even if there was no one there but Justine and the waitress, it would be an improvement.

“Hey, wow,” Justine said as they approached the café.

Through the window, Anthem could see there were at least a dozen people in the café.

“For a weeknight in Driftwood Key, that’s probably a pretty good crowd,” she said, feeling pumped.

They headed in, and the waitress came right up, smiling when she saw the guitar in Anthem’s hand.

“Welcome, I’m Sam,” she said. “If you want to sign in, we can get you on the roster. And there’s free regular coffee for all our performers, though you’re welcome to buy the fancy stuff or food, if you want.”

“Awesome,” Anthem said. “Thank you.”

She followed Sam over to the counter and signed in on a clipboard. There were five other performers so far, and oddly they had all skipped the number three slot.

“I guess three is my lucky number,” Anthem said, signing her name.

“Anthem,” Sam said. “That’s pretty.”

“My parents gave all of us flag-themed names,” Anthem said. “Dad ran a flag company and they really got into it.”

“Oh, are you Liberty and Glory’s sister?” Sam asked.

“I sure am,” Anthem said.

“Well, welcome,” Sam told her. “Your mom must be so happy that you’re all here. I bet it’s good to have all her girls together.”

Anthem nodded, trying not to think about how little Glory wanted her there. She and Justine took a seat near the back and ordered one regular coffee and one decaf.

A few more people wandered in and greeted each other like they had been coming to all the open mic nights for years. A pair of older gentlemen came in and sat by a group of girls Anthem thought she recognized from check-out at the local grocery store. They all chatted and laughed together while one of the girls got a flute out of a case and began to assemble it.

“Thanks everyone for coming out,” Sam said into the microphone up by the front window. “Here at the Ocean Brew Café, everyone is welcome to perform, but we have only one Tuesday Night Open Mic champion. The winner receives fame, glory, and a Driftwood Key Chamber of Commerce gift card good at any shop downtown except…”

“The Towel Shack,” her audience finished for her.

“Exactly,” Sam said, smiling and shaking her head. “With no further ado, let’s get Aimee Bridges up here to strut her stuff on vocals.”

A pretty lady who had been sitting not far from their table got up and headed to the front.

Anthem watched as Aimee plugged her phone into the system and grabbed the mic. The background music to Weezer’s “Say it Ain’t So” came on and Anthem grinned.

“Awesome,” Justine said, shaking her head. “This is a classic.”

Aimee did a nice job. She was clearly a little nervous, but her voice was solid and the song was one everyone knew, so the crowd got into it, tapping on the tables and clapping for her when she was done.

Aimee grinned and waved to her fans, then grabbed her phone, and headed back to her table.

“Nice,” Anthem whispered to her.

“She gets me every time,” Sam said, nodding to Aimee. “Next up is Zara Davidson.”

There were a couple of whistles from the crowd and then everyone fell silent as Zara approached.

She was tall and slender with a cascade of intricate, raven braids down her back. She carried a sleek, all-black electric guitar with pointed ends, which she plugged into the amplifier up front.

“Hey, guys,” she said, winking at the crowd.

Her fingers danced gracefully on the strings, releasing the first few iconic notes of “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones as the small crowd came to life. A couple of the girls from the grocery store started clapping and tapping out the drum part on the tabletops.

It was a good start, then Zara began to sing, and her voice cut straight into Anthem’s core. Anthem couldn’t help but smile as she listened, feeling like someone had just given her a present.

Anthem’s own skills had been honed by years of classical guitar lessons. Her parents had given her every advantage, sending her to camps and special sessions every time she asked. Her biggest challenge as a performer was letting all that go and just rocking out.

Zara was wildly talented at the rocking out part. The crowd was in the palm of her hand. And her skills were pretty solid too. Only a trained musician like Anthem would notice she was self-taught by her inefficient guitar fingering. And it wasn’t like that was such a terrible thing. Some of the all-time greats had been self-taught.

“No wonder no one wanted to go after her,” Justine whispered across the table.

Anthem was so taken with the other young woman’s guitar and vocal stylings that she had forgotten she was going to be performing at all, let alone trying to follow a crowd pleaser like that.

She laughed and shook her head.

Of all the things she had thought might happen tonight, she never imagined that she’d be outshone by the second person to take the mic. She was supposed to be a trained musician, and this was a sleepy small town on a weeknight. It wasn’t even high season.

“She’s going to beat me,” Anthem predicted happily. “And then we’re going to make friends with her.”

Justine smiled radiantly and they both turned back to clap along with the song. When it was over, the small crowd went wild.

Zara winked and blew a few kisses before untethering her guitar and heading back to the table she shared with an older lady in glasses who Anthem guessed might be her mom. A gray-muzzled German Shepherd sat beside them.

“Next up we have a newcomer,” Sam announced. “Everyone, meet Anthem Steele.”

“Righteous name,” Zara said to Anthem as she headed up, guitar in hand.

Anthem grinned at her, more certain than ever that this was her new bestie, and headed for the stage. The little crowd had quieted, as if eager to see what Anthem was all about.

“Well, that was a tough act to follow,” Anthem said into the mic, her eyes wide and serious.

That got her an instant laugh. She felt like she was filled with bubbles from her head all the way to her toes. Performing always made her feel that way.

“This song is simple, and I’ll bet everyone knows it,” Anthem told them. “So feel free to join me. It’s the kind of song that gets better with more singers.”

On instinct, she pushed the mic aside, figuring the space was small enough that she didn’t need it, and the whole thing would feel more organic if it was fully unplugged. She pulled up a stool, gave her strings a quick check and adjusted one or two, and then let her tuning melt into the first few notes of “Sloop John B.”

“Yes,” one of the little old men said happily, clearly recognizing the tune right away.

The vocals picked up quickly, so she began singing the first part on her own. The classic folk tune had been famously restyled by The Beach Boys and even in Pennsylvania everyone seemed to know it. Here in the Keys, someone was bound to join her.

Sure enough, as soon as the first chorus kicked in, Aimee joined her from her table in the back. Anthem locked eyes with her, smiling hard and nodding.

Emboldened by Aimee, the girls from the grocery store lent their voices too. Zara joined in, supplying the low harmony and there were some whoops and whistles for her.

But when the elderly gentleman who had celebrated the opening notes hopped out of his chair and flawlessly sang the falsetto part at full volume, everyone went completely nuts.

By the time she reached the a cappella section, the whole place was singing along, even Sam, and it actually sounded amazing. She wrapped it up neatly and everyone was on their feet cheering while the final chord was still echoing.

“You guys rock,” Anthem yelled over the cheering. “Thank you!”

She let the guitar hang from the strap on her neck and clapped and cheered for the rest of her impromptu band, before taking a quick bow and heading back to her seat.

Justine had been holding up her phone, but she tapped it and slipped it back in her pocket as Anthem approached.

“Amazing,” Justine told her. “Absolutely amazing.”

“You didn’t record that, did you?” Anthem asked her.

“I just made a quick BeeBop,” Justine said, shrugging. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get famous.”

Anthem laughed at the idea, and put her guitar back in the case as Sam announced the flautist.

By the time the last performer completed a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” Anthem had made a couple of new friends among the patrons and other performers. It turned out her choice of song and her last-minute decision to make it a sing-along had been a great icebreaker, and she was now getting to know the music community on their little Key.

“Okay,” Sam said when she reached the mic again. “We’ve got a winner, but as far as Tiago and I are concerned you’re all Ocean Brew Café winners.”

Tiago, a tall, dark-haired guy with a scruffy beard, was standing behind the counter. He gave a wave. Anthem figured he must be the owner of the café. It was kind of cool that he hosted open mic nights and didn’t even perform himself.

“The winner of the gift card is,” Sam said. “Anthem Steele.”

Everyone cheered for her, and Anthem headed up front for her prize, feeling a little weird about it.

“Thank you so much,” she said to Sam. “But I think that belongs to the whole band.”

She gestured to the crowd, who laughed uproariously.

“Well, I can’t exactly cut it up,” Sam said, looking a little worried.

“There’s a big, gorgeous key lime pie in the case up there,” Anthem said. “Would it be enough to buy that?”

Sam glanced over at Tiago.

He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.

“It sure would,” Sam said.

“Excellent,” Anthem told her. “Cut it up, and pass it around.”

That earned her another cheer and she saluted the small crowd, handed the gift card back to Sam, and headed back to her seat where somehow Justine was filming again.

“Seriously?” Anthem laughed.

“The first one got a lot of hits,” Justine said, shrugging.

“Put that away,” Anthem said. “We’re about to eat two very tiny slices of pie.”

“That was classy,” a contralto voice said from behind her.

Anthem turned to see Zara approaching the table.

“Hey, I was hoping to talk to you,” Anthem enthused. “You’re amazing.”

“Thanks,” Zara said, looking pleased.

“Want to sit?” Anthem asked. “You’re welcome to bring your guest, too. We’re new here and we barely know anyone.”

“Hang on,” Zara said, jogging off to her table.

A moment later, she approached again, the older lady and her dog by her side. Anthem noticed that the dog had a special lead, as if he were a working dog.

“This is my Aunt Cheryl,” Zara said.

“Hi,” Anthem said. “I’m Anthem, and this is my cousin, Justine. Please have a seat.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Aunt Cheryl said, sitting. “Are you tourists?”

The big dog sat politely beside her and Anthem managed not to pat him, since she knew working dogs weren’t supposed to be fussed over.

“Nope,” Anthem said. “Well, sort of. My mom has a place down here. Justine and I are staying for a while.”

“That sounds nice,” Aunt Cheryl said, nodding. “Zara and I live here full time, always have.”

“Zara, where did you learn to sing and play like that?” Anthem asked. “You have such a great sound.”

“I just watched a lot of videos online,” Zara said, shrugging. “I’ve always loved music. How about you?”

“Holy cow,” Anthem said. “You taught yourself from videos? I went to music school and half the kids there didn’t play or sing like you do.”

“Come on,” Zara said, waving her words away.

“No pressure,” Anthem said seriously. “But if you ever want to jam together, let me know.”

Zara eyed her thoughtfully.

“I’ll think about it,” she said after a moment, nodding slowly.

“Our styles are different,” Anthem said. “But I’ll bet we could both up our game if we learned a little from each other. Then maybe one day I could beat you fair and square without the whole café helping me.”

That earned her a deep belly laugh and a genuine smile.

“Sure, kid,” Zara said. “Let’s jam sometime.”

She slid her phone from her pocket and passed it over to Anthem, who slid hers to Zara.

“Whoa,” Zara said, looking down at the screen. “You’re blowing up.”

“Weird,” Anthem said, frowning.

“Oh, wow,” Justine murmured, staring at her own phone, which was letting out a series of buzzes. “I think we just went viral, guys.”