Chapter 23
“Lily, you and Teddy have gone viral on social media! Have you seen it?” Kenzie said as soon as Lily settled into her seat first thing Monday morning. Kenzie seemed back to normal and her usual energetic self. She passed her phone to Lily.
Someone had uploaded a video of her and Teddy performing their song. It was strange to see herself singing, surreal almost. But the strangest thing was that the video had over two million views and comments were overwhelmingly positive, asking for more music.
“Wow. I wonder if Teddy has seen this?”
“Pretty cool, huh?” Kenzie took her phone back and set it on her desk. “You two should start an account and upload that other song you played for me. They’ll love that too.”
Lily’s head was spinning. “I’ll suggest that to Teddy. I can’t believe that many people really seem to like it.”
Kenzie laughed. “Of course they do.” She studied Lily closely. “You really have no idea how good you are, do you?”
Lily shrugged. “I don’t really think about my voice. But I’m thrilled people like the song.”
“They like your voice too. If you want, I can come over and record you. We can make a fun video.”
Lily grinned. “That might be fun. I’ll ask Teddy, but I’m sure he’ll say yes.”
Lily mentioned it to Teddy when she saw him in music class, and as expected, he loved the idea. “Let’s do it. As soon as possible, maybe tomorrow? I can make us a social media account for the music. What should we call it?”
Lily thought for a moment. “What about just Lily and Teddy, or Teddy and Lily?”
He smiled. “Lily and Teddy works for me.” He looked deep in thought for a moment.
“You know, what do you think about us uploading this song online and trying to make a little money from it? I think we can upload it a few places, and if we post on social media regularly, that can help us get a few sales. It probably won’t amount to much, but a few extra dollars would be cool. ”
“Do you really think people would buy it?” Lily loved the idea but couldn’t wrap her mind around the possibility of actually making money from the song they created together.
“I think they might. You never know. I think it’s worth a try.”
Lily felt goose bumps. She had the overwhelming sense that something significant had just happened. Or was about to happen. It was a sign that what she’d been considering might be the right path for her.
“I know I’m just a sophomore, but I think I’ve decided that I want to go to school for music, hopefully Berklee right in Boston. Or maybe Belmont University in Nashville. I want to be a songwriter.”
Teddy grinned. “Or a singer-songwriter? I’m looking at Berklee too.
I haven’t researched Belmont, since I don’t see myself focusing on country music.
But that sounds pretty cool too.” As they walked out, Teddy pulled her aside for a moment.
“So there was something else I wanted to ask you. The junior prom is in two weeks. If you’re not already going, any interest in going with me? Might be fun.”
His words came out in a rush and caught Lily off guard. As a sophomore, she hadn’t given prom a thought, though she knew that Kenzie was going with Luke, who was also a junior.
Teddy looked nervous, waiting for her response.
She smiled. “I’d love to. Is it at the yacht club too?”
Teddy nodded. “Yes, it will be like the last dance, just fancier. I’ll have to dress up. It should be a good time.”
Lily knew if she went with Teddy that they’d have fun. “I’m sure it will be!”
Kenzie was excited when Lily told her the next day that she was going to the prom too. “We’ll have to all go together. It will be so much fun. You and Teddy make a great couple.”
Lily frowned. “I don’t think it’s like that. I mean we’re not dating. We’re just really good friends. I don’t think Teddy meant it to be a date, just a fun night out.”
Kenzie looked at her in disbelief. “Okay. But remember what you told me about Luke? I can see that the two of you could be more than friends. But don’t give it another thought. Just go have fun, and see where it goes.”
“You’re dreaming,” Lily said.
“Maybe. So let’s get that song recorded. We’re still on for after school today?”
“We are.”
Later that afternoon after rehearsing the song a few times, Lily and Teddy did it a final time, and Kenzie filmed it.
Lily leaned into the emotion of the song and the pain of losing a crush to her best friend.
Her voice broke a bit at one point and became a little raspy, and when they watched the video after, she assumed they’d have to shoot it again. But Kenzie and Teddy loved it.
“That’s the best I’ve heard you sing it yet,” Kenzie said. “That little rasp just makes it more emotional.”
“I agree,” Teddy said. “Let’s get it uploaded.”
“Let me edit it quick.” Kenzie trimmed the video, played with the contrast, and added captions and hashtags, then forwarded it to Teddy to upload to TuneCore, the digital music distributor that would get their music to , Apple, Spotify, and other retailers.
A few minutes later, and it was up. “Okay, now we wait,” Teddy said.
“I’ll like and share the video,” Kenzie said. “That might help a little.”
“Let’s check and see if we’ve made any sales on the other song.
It just went up yesterday, and I haven’t looked yet,” Teddy said.
A moment later, he looked disappointed. “So it’s not actually live yet.
I uploaded, but it’s still in the approval process.
Looks like it takes a few days. I guess we’re not raking it in yet,” he joked.
Lily laughed. “I don’t really expect that we’ll sell much, but how fun that our music will be out there?”
“I’ll be your first sale!” Kenzie said. “I’ll stalk the sites, and as soon as it goes live, I’ll buy it.”
“You don’t have to do that!” Lily said.
Kenzie put her arm around Lily’s shoulder’s and pulled her close. “I know, but I want to. I want to support you both.”
“You already have,” Teddy said.
“And we love you for it!” Lily added.
Two weeks later, Claire experienced her first really busy Saturday. She’d noticed that tourist traffic had picked up these past few weeks now that the weather was warmer and it was almost Memorial Day weekend. Her tote bags had arrived a week ago, and she already needed to reorder.
Pretty much anything that said Nantucket on it sold steadily.
And she’d had to restock the gold bracelets again.
Best of all, Muriel’s friend Bitsy had come in earlier in the week for the black Birkin.
Muriel had mentioned it right after the opening event, but when weeks passed, Claire had given up on that sale.
It was a pleasant surprise when Bitsy finally bought the Birkin for fourteen thousand dollars and a pair of red Jimmy Choo heels for five hundred.
Claire was having more fun than she’d expected to with the shop.
She really enjoyed trying to predict what might be popular with customers, and she was constantly on the lookout for new products to order that they might like.
At Lily’s suggestion, she started a younger section of clothing that might appeal to teens and twentysomethings.
Lily had given her several really nice dresses that she’d worn to events in Manhattan that she knew she’d never wear again.
Kenzie had given her a few items too—a pretty Lilly Pulitzer dress that she’d outgrown and several pairs of designer jeans that she’d worn once and just didn’t like.
And Kenzie had spread the word at school, and several others had brought some really nice dresses, pants, and tops.
And one of the girls had turned around and bought the Lilly Pulitzer dress as soon as Claire hung it up.
Claire looked forward to seeing Lily off to her first prom later that night.
Lily had found a beautiful seafoam green dress online that she loved.
She’d ordered two sizes, and they were delivered earlier in the week.
Fortunately one of them fit perfectly, and they’d shipped the other one right back.
It was a relief, because Claire didn’t want to close the shop on a busy weekend to go dress shopping off-island.
As much as she loved living on Nantucket, there were times when it could be inconvenient, as going off-island was a project.
It wasn’t possible to hop in the car and zip to Boston or the Cape, and she missed that.
She either had to fly over first or take the ferry.
But ordering online solved that problem.
Her last customer left at a few minutes before three, and Claire flipped her Open sign to Closed and locked the door so no one else would come in. As she was tidying up and getting ready to leave, Cody popped in to say hello.
“I finally have an empty shop and decided to head out too. Wanted to catch you before you left and see how your day went.” He leaned against the counter and smiled, and she noticed that he had a bit of sawdust in his hair, but that was nothing new.
“It was good, busy. I think I just had a taste of what it may be like in the summer.”
Cody chuckled. “Just wait. You haven’t seen anything yet. You will soon though. Memorial Day is always nuts.”
“So I hear. What’s new with you?”
“I just had an interesting call from Sally.” Cody hadn’t mentioned her since the wine event.
“Oh? Does she want to go out again?”
“No. She thanked me and let me know that her plan worked. The boyfriend was jealous to see her with me and called her the next day to try and work things out. She’s over the moon.” Cody seemed amused by it all.
“That sounds exhausting to me. I’m not into games like that. I hope it works out for her.”
“I hope so too. And I agree. I think I’m too old for that. I mean at our age, I’d like to think you know when you are interested in someone or not, right?”
Claire thought of Ellis. “Yes, though sometimes people change and can surprise you. I don’t like surprises.” She patted her stomach. “Well, maybe some surprises are okay.”
Cody smiled at her belly. Today Claire had worn a longer sweater over her favorite maternity jeans, and she was definitely visibly pregnant now.
One of her favorite Norah Jones songs started playing. Claire used Pandora to play background music at the shop, and the Norah Jones station was her favorite. She felt movement and a gentle kick and laughed. “I think the baby likes this song.”
“Really? Can you feel kicking?” Cody seemed fascinated.
Claire took his hand and pressed it against her stomach. The baby was kicking away.
He looked impressed. “Wow. It’s amazing to think there’s a little person in there. I can’t wait to meet her or him.”
“I know. The kicking just started a few days ago. It still takes me by surprise.”
“When are you due again?” Cody asked.
“Middle of October.”
“Right. If you ever need help carrying anything or lifting anything, come grab me. I’m good for that.”
Claire smiled, appreciating the offer. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. I have most boxes delivered to my mother’s house, and then it’s easy to open them and break the contents up into smaller bags to carry inside.”
Cody nodded. “Any big plans tonight?”
She told him about Lily going to the prom. “It’s her first one, so my mother and I will see them off and take a few pictures. Maybe more than a few. What about you?”
He grinned. “I remember prom days. Do they still have it at the yacht club?”
“They do. Seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it? I think you were two years ahead of me?”
“Yeah. That’s probably why I never really knew you then. I thought I was too cool to hang with my sister or her friends back then. I was an idiot.”
She laughed. “You’re close now though?”
“Yeah, we are. Even more so as the years pass. Same with my brother, David. We’re all pretty tight. Do you have any siblings?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s always been just me. I would have loved a sister or a brother. But Rachel has been like a sister to me, and it’s nice seeing Stephanie again at book club. So what about you? Are you doing anything fun tonight?”
“Stephanie, David, and I are going to dinner at the Gaslight tonight. There’s a band there that she really likes, so we’ll probably stay awhile and listen to some music. I was going to see if you wanted to join us. Maybe another time?”
Claire was surprised by the almost invite. “I’d love to go with you all another time. I love hearing local bands.”
“Cool. We’ll do it again soon, I’m sure. Well, I’m off. Have fun taking pictures. You’ll have to show them off to me on Monday.”
She smiled. “I’ll do that.”