“Look who’s finally home,” my dad called from where he leaned against the island. Gloriana sat perched on a barstool next to him, both of them holding a glass of wine.
“Look who’s up,” I shot back.
“Yeah, we had a bunch of Chatty Cathies at your dad’s dinner tonight,” Gloria explained with an eye roll.
“They weren’t that bad,” my dad defended playfully.
“Brad, we shut the restaurant down, and dinner was supposed to end at nine.”
He winced, tipping his head side-to-side. “Okay, so they talked a lot.” He conceded before they both focused their attention on us. “So, how was the show?”
“Good.” I tried to play it cool, but nothing was holding back my smile.
And nothing was holding back the volcano of excitement next to me. Apparently, all she needed was to be asked and came to life like a firecracker. “Good?” Nova exclaimed. “They freaking won and had a top record executive come over to talk to them.”
“That’s my boy,” Dad crowed, lifting his glass as if giving a toast.
My smile grew. I had to admit, I was lucky my dad always supported me. Sure, he would have preferred me to follow him into the world of business, but I’d never been into anything other than music. Even when my mom, who left us to start another family, got on me about having real dreams and aspirations with actual success that “didn’t rely on a hope and a miracle,” my dad always had my back. He never stepped out of my corner.
“He was amazing,” Nova gushed. “They all were.”
“Yeah, but we wouldn’t have won without you,” I rebutted.
“What do you mean?” Gloria asked, tipping her head.
Nova dropped her eyes to the floor, but not before I saw the blush stain her cheeks. I loved that she was so fair-skinned that I could see every emotion.
I bumped my shoulder with hers, wanting her to stop hiding. “We finally got Nova to sing with us, and she killed it.”
“What?” Gloria asked again, her smile slipping.
“It’s nothing, Mom. Not a big deal at all.”
“No big deal?” I asked, shocked. “Even the record exec said Nova was our winning edge. She has such a unique tone that sets us apart.”
“Nova,” my dad gushed, completely missing the way Gloria finished her wine in one gulp. “How did I not know you sang? I guess you hanging out at practices makes more sense now,” he laughed.
Nova perked up at the praise. “Yeah, it was pretty cool. Usually, I just help them out where I can with creating the songs at practice, but Parker pushed me.”
“Well, I think you were willing to be pushed anywhere away from Oren bouncing around saying please five times in a second,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“So, are you singing more?” Gloria asked, doing her best to mask whatever displeasure she found in Nova singing.
“I think so. I know it’s new, but I really like it. It’s a lot more fun than I ever expected it to be. And once I get over that initial hurdle of actually getting out there in front of people, I kind of lose myself.”
Her mom nodded slowly, and a conversation passed between them I had no hope of understanding. I made a note to ask Nova later. Right then, I wanted to share the rest of the news.
“And someone recorded us at our show tonight and posted it to YouTube, and it’s getting crazy likes. It’s going viral.” Now I felt like Oren, bouncing on my toes.
“And viral is good?” my dad asked.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, leaning over to give him a shove. “Such an old man.”
“Okay, okay. I know what viral means,” he conceded. “What I don’t know is what that means next.”
“I don’t know. Could be nothing. We could be going with our original plan of hustling over the summer at holes in the wall and not get far. We could get a call from Dave Grohl asking us to open for the Foo Fighters tomorrow and head out on tour with them.”
“And you want Nova with you?” her mom asked.
“Yeah. She’s a hit. The comments about her are crazy.”
“What about school?” she asked.
For the first time all night, I slowed down. The perfect, hopeful future I imagined waking up to tomorrow had a mar on it I hadn’t seen a moment ago.
I looked to Nova to find a rueful smile on her face like she hadn’t even considered it either. I graduated in a couple of weeks, but she had a whole other year.
“She can finish it on tour. Kids do online learning all the time now.”
“What about college, Nova?”
“I can just attend local shows and just sing there. It’s not like I’m a vital member,” Nova explained.
I scoffed. “Yeah, right. Look at these comments,” I said, handing my phone over to Gloria before turning back to Nova. “You’re more than vital to this band. Did we not already go over Oren and Brogan needing you to keep them from getting arrested?”