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ChapterSixteen
It was five minutes to Aurora’s showtime, and to Ella, Aurora seemed vibrant and happy, strumming her guitar gently as she hummed to herself. Across the square and around the corner, another band finished their set, and their music echoed through the alleyways and across Nantucket rooftops. Immediately after the final chord, the crowd roared.
“All right! That means you’re up!” Ella said.
Aurora raised her head and gave Ella a confused smile, as though she’d momentarily forgotten where she was and what she was about to do.
“Oh. Great. Yes!” Aurora nodded, and Ella breathed a sigh of relief.
“I hope you’re playing that song from last week,” Ella said. “I haven’t gotten it out of my head since then.”
Aurora blushed. “I wrote it just before my mother passed away.”
Ella’s heartbeat quickened. This was the first time Aurora had mentioned her mother. “I’m sorry for your loss. Was it recent?”
Aurora’s eyes were glazed again, as though she looked at something in the mid-distance that wasn’t really there. “She was never really known for her singing,” Aurora said of her mother, “but she could really belt out a tune. We used to sing in the kitchen together for hours, using the spoons as microphones.” Aurora’s face darkened as she added, “That was before they came for her.”
“Who came for her?” Ella demanded, glancing back toward Will, who chatted with the rest of their band. “Aurora, are you feeling all right?”
Aurora righted her smile immediately, as though she had an off-and-on switch in the back of her head. “Of course. I’ve been dreaming of this moment all week.”
Ella tried to steady her breathing. “Is Brooks in the audience?”
Aurora didn’t answer. Instead, she stepped partially out onto the stage and peered down at the crowd, where, in the first row, Bernard, Greta, Alana, Jeremy, Julia, Charlie, Quentin, and Catherine stood all together expectantly, ready to cheer their artist on.
“What is she doing here?” Aurora demanded, her voice gritty and low.
“Who?” Ella stepped up beside her, trying to follow her gaze.
“Your mother,” Aurora snapped. “I thought she knew to stay away from me.”
“My mother? She loves you,” Ella insisted. “She’s here to cheer you on.”
Aurora flashed Ella an eerie smile. “She’s after me,” she explained. “She wants to take what I have. And she’ll leave me after that. Just like all the others.”
Ella’s heart thudded. Slowly, she reached out to take Aurora’s elbow to lead her backstage toward the red tent, where she could drink water and stabilize herself again. Clearly, there was something very wrong with her. But just before Ella got a grip on her, Aurora burst from the side of the stage, waving at the crowd of hundreds that ambled toward her. By the time she reached the microphone, it was ready, and she blared out— with as much star power as Madonna or Blondie, “Hello, Nantucket! I’m Aurora!”
Sensing that she was something special, the crowd roared back, overwhelmed by her love. Ella crossed her arms over her chest, terrified that something was about to go wrong or that Aurora was on the verge of accusing Nantucketers of hurting her or coming after her. But instead, Aurora strummed the first bars of what already sounded like a gorgeous song, and her vocals soared through the pastel sky.
“She’s really something,” Will said as he stepped up beside Ella.
Ella grimaced. “She said some stuff before she went out on stage. I think Mom’s right. She’s having some kind of psychotic episode.”
Will’s face fell. “What are you going to do?”
“When she gets off stage, I’m going to take her to the red tent and call a doctor,” Ella said. “She seems to trust me for some reason.”
“We could end her show early,” Will suggested.
But Ella shook her head. “I don’t want her to blow her first real chance on stage. I’m pulling for her. Just listen to that.”
For a moment, Will and Ella were wordless, watching Aurora as she crescendoed, the tempo surging faster, her eyes closing. They’d been all over the world and heard all kinds of music— yet this spoke to them. This felt like something unique.
As Aurora began her second song, which she entered seamlessly, without a moment’s pause, Ella scanned the crowd and realized that Brooks was toward the front, his eyes glistening as he gazed at her.
“I’ll be right back,” Ella said to Will, then bounced down the steps and entered the crowd, struggling through people to find him. When she did, she tapped his shoulder twice to get his attention.
“Oh! Ella!” Brooks smiled. “Isn’t she fantastic?”
