Tapping my finger on the photo of Astrid and her mom in Vinyl Crush, I glance at her. “Your mom had a tattoo too.”
She smiles. “She did.”
I lean down to get a better look at her mom’s arm in the photograph. “It looks like a key with a red line running through it.”
“It is,” she says softly. “It’s the logo of a record company in Los Angeles.”
I laugh. “Keyline Music Group, right? How did I not realize that when I looked at the picture?”
Keyline is one of the oldest and most successful labels in the country.
I wasn’t a big music guy until I met Astrid, but I’ve heard of them. They’ve produced music for some Grammy winners over the years.
“My mom’s dream was to land a contract with them,” she explains. “She got the tattoo after Sweet Night Sky hit it big. An executive from Keyline reached out to her.”
I perk a brow. “Really?”
Her gaze locks on mine. “They were close to signing a deal, but it fell through. My mom took it hard.”
I hear the sorrow in Astrid’s voice. I see it swimming in her eyes.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I offer because I don’t know what words would comfort her right now.
She sighs. “A few days before she died, I promised my mom that if I ever got a chance to sign with them, I’d do it. I’d accept all their terms, and jump headfirst into it.”
I get that. It’s impossible not to agree to a promise when it’s coming from someone about to take their last breath.
I watch as a single tear slides down Astrid’s cheek.
I reach up to wipe it away. “You are an incredible woman. Your mom would be very proud of you.”
She nods before her gaze drops to the bird tattoo. “I can make her dream come true, Berk.”
I don’t follow, so I ask the question that is perched on my tongue. “What?”
She looks into my eyes again. “That call I got earlier was from Eloise. She wanted me to check my socials, so when you were tucking Stevie into bed, I did.”
“Why did she want you to check?”
She swallows hard. “The owner of Keyline saw a video online of me performing. She sent me a message to call her first thing in the morning. I think there’s a good chance that she wants to sign me.”
I take her in my arms. “Fuck, Astrid. This is fucking amazing.”
She clings tightly to me as she whispers in my ear. “It feels surreal.”
“The world is finally going to hear what I hear,” I tell her as I feather kisses over her cheek. “You’re about to be a star. You’re going to be a goddamn superstar.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Astrid
I said goodbye to Berk less than two hours ago with a promise to join him and Stevie for lunch today.
My call with Heidi, the owner of Keyline Music Group, is scheduled for eleven my time. The fact that she arranged this call at eight a.m. west coast time on a Sunday morning speaks to her enthusiasm.
I’ve never met her, but her direct message to me on Instagram was filled with expectations. She wrote about how deeply moved she was by the video she saw of me performing Wait. She went on to say that she was able to track down a few more clips posted by people who had filmed me on various subway platforms and street corners.
I take a deep breath as I see Eloise approaching on the sidewalk.
Vinyl Crush doesn’t open for another hour, so we agreed to meet for a coffee at our favorite place.
The walk here hit me hard.
It shouldn’t have.
It’s not far, and the early morning sun is shining, but it felt nostalgic in a sense.
My mom and I would take this same route to the café in the months leading up to her death.
Sometimes I’d make a solo coffee run before the store opened, but often, she’d tag along convinced that the fresh air had healing properties.
It was no match for her aggressive cancer, but it always put a smile on her face.
Eloise rushes into my arms. “I can’t believe this is happening to you.”
She’s excited for me even though she doesn’t know the whole story yet.
Eloise’s enthusiasm is based on a comment that Heidi left under one of the videos tagged with my name. She did that under the Keyline Music Group’s corporate account.
The post itself got almost one hundred thousand likes which is impressive in its own right, but Heidi’s comment shot to the top when it acquired more than fifty thousand likes.
Every second of the past twenty four hours has felt like a dream.
I need a moment of normalcy, so I look her over, taking in the faded jeans and bright red hooded sweater she’s wearing. “You look amazing, Eloise,”
Since I’m wearing one of her sweaters too, she grins. “You do too, Astrid. You haven’t worn that sweater in a long time.”