by Blue,Marina
“Me too,” Melody said. “And thanks for that. But the reason I’m calling is that I need another favor.”
“For you, darling? Anything.”
“I need your PR firm to put a promo package together.”
“For the whole town?”
“That would be nice. But maybe just for the Coeur de Mer first. We’re looking to do some business this month.”
“Well darling, that can easily be arranged. Why don’t you send me some pictures? You have my email, shoot them over and I can have a little something ready by the end of the week. Maybe sooner.”
“Sounds like a plan, Kat. You really are the promo queen.”
“Yes I am. Give your sailor a kiss for me.”
“I will.”
“Ha!” Kat exclaimed. “You found him!”
Melody blushed. “I did, and he’s-”
“Don’t tell me a thing, darling! I want to hear all about it the next time we meet. Speaking of which, when will you be returning to the real world?”
“Nobody knows,” Melody said.
“Ah, you know I do love savoring the mystery.”
Then, from Kat’s line a male voice said, “Hey babe, you got any beer?”
Melody didn’t recognize it, so she said, “Who was that?”
Kat answered, “Just a waiter we met a few days past.”
Melody smiled. “You slut!”
“Apparently I’m not the only one. Ta ta, darling. Send me those pics!” And with that, she hung up.
Melody shut off her phone and said, “Ok, we have work to do.”
“Like what?”
“I need some promotional information. Something to make this place look great.”
“Well, I have some photos upstairs in my bedroom.”
“Great, that’ll save us some time. They’re not ready to be emailed by chance, are they?”
“I’m old, but not prehistoric. Yes, I can email them easily.”
“Also great. Let’s quickly send-”
As she spoke, the lights above them went out. As did all the power in the house.
Melody looked up at the ceiling. “Pearl? Tell me you paid the electric bill.”
“Of course I have. It’s the system in this place, it’s as old as the wood itself.”
“Great. So we have to call an electrician. Why didn’t this happen before I gave all my money away?”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “Electrician? I wired this house myself. A dozen times. And if memory serves, you were there with me.”
Pearl’s idea dawned on Melody. “No.”
“Yes.”
“We’re going to fix it?”
“We are,” Pearl said. “Let’s go.”
Melody followed Pearl downstairs to the basement. In the corner of the dusty, cobwebbed space was an ancient, metal box bolted into the wall. Cautiously, Pearl went to the fuse box and shut everything off. Then the two women began to work in earnest, searching out the wires, and checking them fastidiously. It was about an hour’s worth of work, but they looked and looked, and finally found a frayed cord.
“This is the culprit?” Melody said.
“Is that a question, or a statement?”
Melody looked at the wire. “Statement.”
Pearl smiled. “That it is. Do you know which is the positive and negative?”
“Red is positive,” Melody said. “And black is negative.”
“Excellent. Now for the hard part. Can you swap it out? Or are you too much a kept lady these days to do some work?”
Melody rolled up her sleeves. “Let’s knock this out.”
It took another thirty minutes, but Melody, with Pearl’s help, managed to replace the wire perfectly, making sure that the job was done neatly, and with precision. Then Pearl walked over to the fuse box. “You ready?”
“I am.”
Both women held their breath.
And Pearl threw the lever.
The entire house went up in lights.
“We did it!” Melody said.
“Yes we did. Now let’s get upstairs and send that info to your friend, Kat. Otherwise, she’s bound to put us at the top of the pile of deadlines she’s buried under.”
“It’s not deadlines she’s under,” Melody said.
“What?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
The two women walked back upstairs. Melody sent the pictures and information off, and then went outside while Pearl fixed them lunch.
But while Melody waited she sat and thought. Things were going well. With Kat’s help, the Coeur de Mer had a shot at succeeding, and she was now an invested partner with Pearl. Melody felt like she was doing what she was meant to do. Even her relationship with Knox was starting to blossom. Obviously he was still standoffish, but there was the old heat. The old passion. It hadn’t died. If anything, it had grown.
Melody Song should’ve been happy.
She should’ve been optimistic about the future.
But for some reason, one she couldn’t quite put her finger on, Melody couldn’t shake a dark, foreboding feeling.
Chapter 16
“Mr. Waters,” the receptionist said. “I have the counselor on the line.”
Sinton Waters sat at his desk wearing his tailored suit and no tie. His hair was slicked back. And his eyes looked almost a black-on-black. He said, “Patch him through.”
A few seconds passed, and the intercom said, “Mr. Waters? It’s me.”
“I know, Goat. Is it done?”
“Not yet. I wanted to tell you that The Coeur de Mer’s mortgage account just received a payment of twenty thousand dollars, sir.”
Waters looked confused. “But the plan… My lawyers weren’t supposed to arrive there until it’s too late to pay, correct?”
“Correct. Melody must’ve discovered the debt on her own, and gone to the bank.”
Sinton Waters ground his teeth together. “I was afraid of that. Where did she get the money?”
“I don’t know how. But I’m not surprised, she wouldn’t let her childhood home be repossessed.”
“Loyalty,” Waters said. “Next to honor, it’s the dumbest of virtues.”
“Um… Yes, sir.”
“Tell me, Goat, does Melody Song have access to more funds I should know about?”
“No, sir.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, if she had it all she would’ve paid off the entire debt.”
Waters perked up. “What? She only paid off part of it?”
“Most of it, sir. There’s around five thousand still left outstanding.”
Sinton Waters smiled widely. His white teeth sparkled. “And that’s a standard mortgage we have, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So she has no idea? She spent every last dime she owned, and thinks the five thousand’s all she’ll need to keep the property?”
“Obviously, sir.”
“Ha ha ha ha! Women, why they even bother to try to understand finance is beyond me. This is great news, Goat. Great news indeed. I have to admit, I had a bit of a shock when a new player entered this game, but now we have her right where we want her. ”
Chapter 17
Melody knew there was no reason to be concerned, so she tried to cheer herself up. As she sat on the porch swing, she started to hum. And then, to sing. It wasn’t a sad song. But a happy one. One from her youth, that Pearl used to sing to her when she was scared. The notes flowed from inside of her, soft and rich, and full of emotion. And it felt perfect.
When she finished, she sat back, and sighed. The bad feelings were gone. She was content. And actually excited about being able to help Pearl.
“That was amazing,” Pearl said.
Melody spun around. “I didn’t know you were listening. How long were you standing there?”
The older woman was holding a tray of sandwiches and drinks. “The entire time. You’ve actually gotten better.” She walked over, put the food down on the tab
le to the side, and sat on the swing.
Melody looked back out at the ocean. “Sure I have. It’s an immutable law of nature, everybody gets better with age. Thinner and better looking, too.”
“Honestly young lady, I’ll never understand you. You can do anything you want, but you choose to doubt yourself.”
Melody grabbed a small sandwich. “First off, I’m not a young lady.” She took a bite. Cucumber and cream cheese filled her mouth. She swallowed, and said, “Secondly, I can’t do whatever I want.”
Pearl smiled. “Yes you are. And yes you can.”
“Well, whatever it is we plan on doing, we’re going to need money. I mean, I could ask my soon to be ex-husband for it.”
“Not on your life.”
“That’s my feeling. My lawyer will probably rip him to shreds and get me a small fortune, but that won’t be for a while, so we’ll need a stopgap.”
Pearl relaxed some. “So… Are you interested in a job?”
“You know what? I actually am. I haven’t worked in a very long time, and I think I’m ready to jump back in.”
“Well then, you know how I asked you when you first arrived if you still sang? That was because Rick’s is looking for a singer.”
“Rick’s? That piano bar down on the beach?”
“Yeah. It’s posh. Posh for Craving Cove, that is. Not like what you’re used to back in the city.”
“Quiet you. I didn’t mean it in the nasty way. Rick’s is nice. I just wanted to verify which place you were talking about.”
“Well that’s it. And you should go down there. Give it a whirl.”
“Maybe I will…”
“Maybe? You were just talking about needing a job, and I know for a fact that you’d be perfect for it. Besides, now that you have no money and no husband, you’re going to need a job, and some cash. Especially if the power goes out again. And besides, we both know you’ll be spending the summer here, so why not do something?”
“But what if I stink? What if people laugh at me? What if-”
“Don’t do that,” Pearl said.
“Do what?”
“Play the What If Game.”
Melody chuckled. “My friend Kat calls it The Melody Brooding What If Game.”
“Well, you’re Melody Song. And Melody Song is a winner.”
“Not always.”
“Ok. I’ll make you a deal. Go to Rick’s tonight and sing for the crowd. If they love you, you’ll land a gig that will maybe build up your self-esteem some. Heck, maybe it’ll start bringing back the tourists, and you’ll have saved Craving Cove twice.”
“Twice?” Melody said.
“The Ocean Frolic that fixed everything up after that hurricane.”
“What? That doesn’t count.”
Pearl said, “Yes it does.”
“Fine,” Melody said. “But what if I don’t get it?”
“Then I’ll shut up, and mind my own business about your abilities, and how great you are at everything, and-”
“It’s a bet,” Melody said, and extended a hand.
Pearl shook it. “Excellent.”
The two continued to eat silently, staring at the sparkling sunshine on the waves below as they crashed on the near empty beach.
Pearl said, “You’d better not stink. Because I don’t think I could handle not being able to tell you how great you are.”
Melody laughed. “I’ll try my best, I promise. But be prepared to lose.”
Pearl looked over. “You’re twice as good on your worst day than you think you are on your best.”
Melody returned her gaze. Then looked away. Old people. What did they know?
#
Melody carefully did her hair up that night, with two thick, spindly tendrils hanging down to frame her face perfectly. And she put on an old dress she’d brought on a lark. It was covered with blue sequins, was very short, and she wore a pair of silver heels to match. When she came downstairs Pearl was there in a pair of green pants and a black sweater. She whistled loud, and said, “Woohoo, young lady, you look ready to take on the world.”
“You don’t think it’s too much?”
“I don’t think there’s a dress out there that’s too much for you.”
Melody looked at herself in the mirror. She was wider than she was as a younger woman, but the curves on her hips and breasts, even to her, didn’t look too bad. “I think the top’s too tight.”
“Oh yeah, singers the world over often try to minimize their breasts. I hear Katy Perry and Dolly Parton have both faced tremendous pressure to cover up during concerts.”
Melody looked over. “Don’t compare me with those two.”
“I won’t,” Pearl said, “but only because it’s unfair to them. Let’s go.”
The two women jumped into Melody's red sedan, and took off towards the beachfront. Minutes later they were parked outside of Rick’s. And the place was packed. They found the last spot, and got out.
“I thought the summer was slow?” Melody said.
“It is. I have no idea why there are so many people here.”
“Really?” Melody said. “You didn’t make a few calls while I was in the shower?”
Pearl stopped, and looked over. “Have I ever been afraid of telling you the truth? I’m serious, I have no idea who’s in there or why it’s so packed.”
Melody looked at her friend sideways, and then walked towards the front door. She grabbed the handle. And paused. The odds of Pearl lying were slim. But the odds of her bending the truth were astronomical.
And all of a sudden, her stomach dropped to her knees.
Because she hadn’t sung in front of anybody in years. Certainly not a bar full of people. Who was in there? Would they like her, or laugh at her? Melody was unsure, but still, she knew deep down it was a win-win for her. If she was good, she’d have a job, and if she stunk, she’d spend her time with Pearl in peace.
“You see, the way doors work is that you push or pull them to open,” Pearl said.
“I know,” Melody said. “I’m just getting prepped.”
“Prepped? The only thing you’re getting is inside. Now scoot.”
Pearl grabbed the door and pulled it open.
Melody walked in, prepared to see everyone she’d ever known in Craving Cove.
But actually, it was much, much worse.
Chapter 18
Rick’s was a large place. It was dark, too. But that was normal. What was odd was that nearly ever inch between the front door and the back stage was packed with people. Every table was full. The bar was practically two deep. And the railing on the wall had a person standing at every spot. But really, it wasn’t even the number of people that was the real issue. As Melody saw it, her problem was that everyone there was under twenty-two. She didn’t recognize a single person. All of a sudden, she’d have preferred to have been surrounded by her graduating class. At least then the audience would be acquaintances, more apt to lie to her face. But these kids… They were all used to their singers being hotter, younger, and sexier than Melody thought she was. So she turned to Pearl and said, “Is it college night or something?”
Pearl shook her head as she surveyed the room. “I doubt it. The closest college is Sea Arms, about thirty miles out, and college kids don’t drive that far for beer.”
“So what’s with the crowd? I feel like I could’ve babysat the lot of them.”
“Pearl! Melody! Great to see you!” A man was coming their way, smiling broadly underneath his bushy mustache. He was a wide man, in the face and stomach, and wore jeans and collared shirt. First he kissed Pearl on the cheek, and then Melody.
“Hey, Rick,” Pearl said. “Why’s it so packed?”
“Melody here’s not the only songbird that’s trying out for the position of house singer. We have two girls here from the college as well. The girl in pink, and that one in black.” Rick pointed towards the bar.
Melody looked over. And her stomach sank even lower.
The first girl was standing there in pink, and looked to be half-Asian. She was incredibly exotic, and her thick, black hair had different color highlights. Her eyes were smoky, and her body was also impossibly firm. She looked like a gymnast, Melody thought, with skin like porcelain.
The second girl wasn’t any worse. She was tall, thin, and blond, and even though she wore a black dress, she looked like a designer cupcake come to life. And while they actually looked a lot different from one another, the one thing they had in common was they were young and sexy.
Melody spun around. “I’m out of here.”
But Pearl grabbed her arm. “No. What do I keep telling you? You need to get some crazy into your life. Now go on, and give it a try.”
“No I don’t, and I won’t.”
“Come on, Melody.” Rick slid between both women, and threw an arm around each. “You’re going to do great.” He led them deeper into the bar.
“I’m sure,” Melody said as they went. “Tell me, how many people are here to see them?”
Rick grimaced some. “I’m pretty sure the whole place is either in Lynn’s or Stacy’s camp.”
“So no locals?” Melody said.
“Strangely, only a handful. Maybe Pearl here should’ve made some calls.”
Melody shot Pearl a glance that could crack glass.
Pearl shrugged. “Don’t you say a word. I wanted to tell the town, but you insisted.”
Melody said, “So basically my audience tonight is a mix of the competition’s sorority sisters, and a bunch of guys who want to sleep with them?” Melody shook her head. “I hope one or two of these young guys have a thing for older women.”
Rick laughed. “Funny you should say that, but cougars actually do really well here.”
“That’s not funny,” Melody said.
“Don’t worry, we got one table that I know will be in your corner.” Rick led the pair to the front where two men sat. They couldn’t have been more different. One was Harry, from the bank. He was in his casual gray suit, but the collar was undone and his purple tie hung loose around his neck. To his left, a muscular man sat with a tight beard and two forearms full of tattoos. His shoulders were so wide they may’ve been in different area codes.