Memories in Sea Glass: Driftwood Key Beach Reads #2

22. Anthem

Anthem was laughing her head off as Zara scolded her for wanting to adopt a dog that was so out of control.

“You know you could just go to the shelter and find a perfectly nice little dog that’s all trained and just needs a new home,” Zara was saying. “You don’t have to try to catch that giant moose just because you want a pet.”

“He needs me,” Anthem said at last, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

“He needs something,” Zara said, shaking her head.

“He’ll be great,” Anthem said. “You’ll see. Save the nice little dogs for the nice little owners. A wild dog like him needs a person like me.”

“You’re too much,” Zara said, shaking her head.

“Besides, my mom already approved him,” Anthem said. “She’s never done that before. She might never do it again.”

“And here I thought your mom was this perfectly normal lady,” Zara joked.

“Your aunt has a big dog,” Anthem pointed out.

“Zeus is a seeing eye dog,” Zara protested. “He’s a professional.”

“Still, he’s a nice big one,” Anthem said. “Aunt Cheryl gets it.”

They had wandered over to where little kids were getting their faces painted. One little girl was so excited to be painted as a dragon that she could hardly sit still, and the teenage make-up artist had to keep stopping and letting her wiggle.

“So have you thought any more about what comes next?” Anthem asked Zara.

Their BeeBop presence was picking up steam. Not every post went viral, but they had a solid following now.

“I don’t know,” Zara said, shrugging. “I like how things are now. Want to get a lobster roll?”

Anthem had tried to have this conversation once before and Zara had done the same thing she was doing now—avoiding the talk, and changing the subject.

“I don’t get it,” Anthem said, stopping in her tracks in front of a park bench.

“What?” Zara asked. “You’d rather grab a hot dog?”

“No,” Anthem said. “I don’t get how anyone could be as talented as you are, and as comfortable in front of a crowd, and not want to see where it can take her.”

“Performers like me are a dime a dozen,” Zara said dismissively. “I’m just one more guitarist who sings. A million more little girls pick up a guitar every day.”

“You don’t really think that,” Anthem said, stunned.

“It’s fun,” Zara said, shrugging. “But most people who work their butts off trying to make it big never do, no matter how much talent they have. I’m just skipping that part with all the struggling for no reason and focusing on enjoying life. I’m efficient like that.”

She winked at Anthem, looking pleased with herself.

“Zara, you work at the ice cream shop,” Anthem said, knowing it was kind of a low blow, but uncertain what else to say. “Is that really what you want to do for the rest of your life?”

Zara frowned and tugged at one of her braids.

“You’re incredibly talented,” Anthem said. “And you’ve got me now, so you can have all the original songs you want, written just for you.”

That earned her a small smile.

“But do you really just want to perform for your neighbors and put clips on BeeBop?” Anthem asked. “Because I don’t have half your natural talent and I still want to take advantage of a chance to share our music.”

“Are any of those offers even legit?” Zara asked.

“Most of them aren’t,” Anthem admitted, thinking of the array of messages she’d gotten on BeeBop. “But the guy who’s auditioning opening bands seems to be real, even if it’s a tiny operation.”

“I did the math on that one, Anthem,” Zara said. “I’d make almost that much at the ice cream shop and I wouldn’t have to travel.”

“Don’t you want to travel?” Anthem asked, feeling amazed.

“Anyway, it’s only an audition,” Zara said. “Not even a job offer. I think we need to just enjoy what we’ve got. It’s a lot more than most musicians ever have.”

She gestured to the pretty little park all around them, filled with smiling people.

“It’s beautiful here,” Anthem agreed.

“And we get to perform today,” Zara said. “Including your original song.”

That made Anthem smile. For open mic night, they always did covers, but today they had been invited to perform three songs. They figured they could open and close with covers and do the song she had written in the middle.

It was an upbeat little song with a surfer guitar riff and a couple of local references that Anthem figured people would get a kick out of. And she had written it in the perfect key for Zara’s amazing voice. Hopefully, it would go over well. And if people responded to the BeeBop, it would mean Anthem might have a future as a songwriter.

It’s just one song, on one day,she reminded herself. It doesn’t have to get a buzz. I’ll have plenty more chances.

But as she studied her new friend, Anthem wondered how long she had to convince her they could do more. Hitting a home run out of the gate might be her only shot. Zara might look like a rock and roll girl, but she seemed pretty set on her small-town life.

“Hey, girls,” Sam yelled to them from across the park.

Anthem smiled when she saw that Sam was setting up amps on a wooden platform.

“She made us a stage?” Zara murmured, looking amazed.

They headed over.

“This is amazing,” Anthem told Sam.

“It’s just the platform from the café,” Sam said, shrugging. “Tiago and a couple of his buddies took it apart and carried it out here this morning. He said you two deserve a real stage.”

“Wow,” Zara said, shaking her head. “That was really nice of him.”

“He’s a nice guy,” Sam said, with a funny smile. “And he likes you. Both of you. Anyway, go enjoy. I’ll shoot you a text when everything’s ready for you to warm up, probably in half an hour or so.”

“Thanks,” Anthem told her, nodding happily. “We have to get our guitars from the bakery anyway.”

Anna McKinnon had let the girls stow their stuff in the back of her shop so they could hang out before the performance. They headed over in that general direction without a word, taking in the sights.

Zara stopped at a table where a lady in a denim vest was selling handmade jewelry. There were cute little bracelets with sayings on them like Let It All Hang Out in Driftwood Key, necklaces with little seashells, and a really pretty silver bangle with beautiful blue-green sea glass cabochons.

“Oh wow, Liberty would love that,” Anthem said. “Sea glass was the theme of her wedding. They had vases of it at every table.”

“Like your mom’s necklace?” Zara asked.

“She loves that necklace,” Anthem said. “Mary McKinnon gave it to her for her birthday.”

“It’s just like Mary’s, right?” Zara asked. “Like mother like daughter like granddaughter.”

“I guess this family loves sea glass,” Anthem realized, smiling at the idea that Mary really was like her mother’s mom.

She looked around the town center and spotted her mom and Clint standing by the face painting station, watching the cute little kids. Clint was laughing, and when he glanced over at Mom, he had this sweet sort of twinkly look in his eyes.

“He’s got it bad, huh?” Zara chuckled.

“I guess I never really thought of her as anything but my mom,” Anthem admitted. “But I can see how she’d be a cool girlfriend. She’s laid-back and she’s got a good sense of humor.”

“Pretty too,” Zara said, nodding. “I hope I still look that good when I’m her age.”

“Music will keep us young,” Anthem predicted. “Whoa, look.”

“What?” Zara asked.

“That’s the guy from the Towel Shack,” Anthem said. “Don’t look now, but he’s buying a treat from Anna. And he’s smiling.”

“Oh wow,” Zara said. “Sorry, but I’m looking, and that’s super weird. He’s kind of hot when he smiles.”

Anthem laughed and then things went back to being as fun as usual between them again.

I won’t bring it up again until we have a real offer,Anthem decided. A good one.

Almost an hour later,the two of them were standing on the stage, looking out at a pretty nice little crowd.

Justine was there, filming, as always.

Her dad stood beside her, his white Oxford button-down rolled at the sleeves and pretty much covered in pink stains from the watermelon eating contest. Uncle Everett looked more relaxed and happy than Anthem had ever seen him.

Of course, Mom and Clint were right there beside him.

Liberty and Chase were a little farther back, leaning against a palm tree, sharing a slice of frozen chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick, and giggling at each other.

Glory isn’t here…

Anthem tried to stay calm about that. Glory couldn’t stay mad at her forever. And the poor kid had just been dumped by that fancy resort boy.

Anthem had wished she could comfort her last night, but she knew it would have only made Glory angry to see her.

“Thanks so much for stopping by to see our local celebrities,” Sam said into the mic. “I’m going to turn this thing over to the Ocean Brew Two.”

Anthem laughed at the made-up band name.

“Hey, guys,” she said, taking over. “Let’s do this.”

They rocked a Beach Boys cover, smiling at each other as more people wandered over from the town center to see what it was all about. By the end of the song, little kids were dancing up by the make-shift stage and everyone was cheering.

“This next one is an original,” Anthem said. “But don’t worry, it’s short and sweet, and Zara’s gonna rock it.”

She put her acoustic guitar in the case and took Zara’s electric from her so she could play while Zara focused on singing. From the first burst of the surfer riff people in the crowd were smiling.

Naturally, Zara killed it, making everyone laugh and cheer as she mentioned landmarks in town like Once Upon a Flower Shop, the Towel Shack, the library, the resort, the bakery, and obviously the Ocean Brew Café.

When it was done, they got huge cheers and Anthem couldn’t help noticing the mayor standing in the back of the crowd, nodding thoughtfully.

They finished up with a cover of “In the Summertime”and waved to the crowd. But everyone kept clapping and hooting long after they had taken a bow.

“Wow,” Zara said so softly that only Anthem could hear it.

“Right?” Anthem said, winking.

If feeling this amazing wasn’t enough for Zara, then Anthem wasn’t sure how much more she could say.