Golden Girl

The Chief speaks to the general manager of the Stop and Shop, where Vivi’s shoes were found, but gets nowhere. He attempts to contact Peter Bridgeman, but Pamela tells him Peter is at camp in Maine with no cell phone access. The Chief calls “The Greek,” a Massachusetts state police detective named Nicholas Diamantopoulos, for advice. The Greek suggests that it is time the Chief talk to Leo.

Leo finally runs into Cruz on the docks where Leo is working at the Nantucket Boat Basin, and Cruz gets off a yacht where he is tutoring another kid. Leo confronts Cruz about Vivi’s death, accusing Cruz of lying about hitting her. Cruz asserts that he has integrity and points out that Leo is the one who needs to “face [his] truth” (212).

When Leo gets home, the Chief is waiting to talk to him. The Chief brings up the picture, and Leo tenses when he realizes that they know about it. He relaxes when the Chief reveals Cruz refused to talk about it. The Chief brings up Vivi’s missing clothes and shoes, but Leo asserts he has not seen either.

The Chief leaves after giving Leo his card. Angry, frustrated, and overwhelmed, Leo calls out for Vivi before heading into Carson’s room and shaking five of her pills into his hand.

Vivi tells Martha, who is wearing the same scarf she wore on the first day, that she wants to use one of her nudges; Martha approves, and Vivi resolves to ask her about the scarves another day.

Vivi swoops down and guides Leo’s hand away from his mouth before he swallows the pills. He returns them to their bag and leaves the room. Vivi is relieved, but Martha still refuses to disclose why Leo is angry with Cruz.

Golden Girl is finally published on July 13. Sales are looking good, and an appearance on Good Morning America would mean an even bigger boost, but the show doesn’t want Savannah or JP to arrive in Vivi’s stead. They are willing to have one of the children on instead, but Willa declines. When Golden Girl appears in the number two slot on the New York Times bestseller list, Willa is regretful of this decision; everyone knows that it was Vivi’s dream to get to number one.

Vivi is livid that she didn’t make it to the top spot despite having died. However, Martha tells her to keep faith and never say never.

Brett finally arrives on Nantucket on July 23; Willa and Rip are the only ones who know about his visit. Willa takes him around the island and tells him about their family. Brett, in turn, tells her about how he met Vivi when he was in detention and she was making up a missed quiz.

Brett describes Vivi’s and his high school romance. At the end of the school year, Vivi had gotten into Duke, and Brett and his band had been spotted by a music producer named John Zubow at a bar mitzvah. John asked the band about original songs, and Brett played him “Golden Girl.” Brett plays it for Willa, and Willa is so blown away she requests to video record it.

Willa wonders why Brett is not famous, and he tells Willa the rest of the story: Brett and the band flew down to Los Angeles, and the studio liked “Golden Girl.” They wanted to use it and for the band to write an album as well. However, Vivi called Brett, telling him she was pregnant. Brett flew home immediately, and even as he and Vivi tried to figure out what to do about the baby, she eventually showed up at his house one day with news that she had miscarried. Brett flew back to LA, Vivi went to Duke, and they never saw each other again. However, by that time, the band had lost momentum, and their music never ended up taking off.

Willa reveals that she is currently pregnant but has miscarried three times before; however, when she asked Vivi about her history, Vivi claimed she had never had a miscarriage. Brett tells Willa how Golden Girl ends—while it is exactly how things played out with Brett and Vivi, the one difference in the book is that the protagonist, Alison, lies about being pregnant because she is afraid to lose her boyfriend to fame. Willa is stunned and unconvinced that Vivi would have lied, but Brett reminds Willa that Vivi was a human being and a troubled 17-year-old when it happened.

Brett eventually leaves for the ferry, thanking Willa for meeting him. As amends, Willa sends the video of Brett signing to Vivi’s publicist, hoping it will help his music career in some way.

Vivi returns to the summer of 1987. Brett and the band get a paid gig at a bar mitzvah, but he asks Vivi not to attend as it would be unprofessional. Vivi, feeling shut out, wonders about whether she should not attend Duke after all, as she wants to stay close to Brett. Brett returns from the gig with news about LA, and Vivi is excited for him but heartbroken for herself.

Brett and the band leave for LA, cutting his and Vivi’s summer together short by six weeks. Brett promises to call when he can, but a week goes by, and there is no word; finally, Vivi receives a postcard with a phone number to the hotel room. Vivi calls the room multiple times over the night, but there is no answer. When Brett finally picks up, Vivi is so relieved she begins to cry; when he asks her why she is crying, she blurts out that she is pregnant.

Brett returns home, and he and Vivi spend the next few days together, trying to figure out what to do about the nonexistent baby. Brett begins to plan marriage, but when Vivi receives her packet from Duke, she is suddenly excited and clear about what she wants her future to be. She tells Brett that she has lost the baby and convinces him to go back to LA. Brett still believes they will get married, but the night before Vivi leaves for Duke, she calls Brett in LA and breaks up with him.

Vivi asks Martha if she can use her second nudge to let Brett know she is sorry. Martha reassures her that he already knows, as it is all in her book.

JP takes Amy to the beach on Monday and breaks up with her. He confesses that Vivi’s death has helped him see that he doesn’t love Amy after all. He did try to make it work, though, but things got stressful after Amy moved in. Amy, in turn, confesses that she was jealous of Vivi, but she now sees she was reacting to how Vivi was always the most important woman in JP’s life. She is livid that JP wasted Amy’s best years.

Amy tells JP how she saw him and Savannah get cozy at her house and reveals that later that night, she bumped into Dennis and ended up making out with him. Amy heads home to pack up her things; she will move in with Lorna that same day.

Vivi checks in on JP at the beach and then travels back in time to when she first met him. After leaving Savannah’s house, Vivi finds a room for rent and a job at the dry cleaner’s. JP comes in to collect a dress for his mother, and they end up flirting. JP tells Vivi that “JP” stands for “Jackie Paper,” a nickname his mother had for him as a child because “Puff the Magic Dragon” was her favorite song.

JP asked her out, but when Vivi told Savannah about him—the latter, who has known JP her whole life—she was not enthused. Nevertheless, Vivi and JP went out on their first date. He told her how his father died in Vietnam before he was born, and Vivi told him about her father’s death by suicide. They kissed on the first date, and things only got more serious from then on. Vivi confided in Savannah that she was falling in love with JP, and Savannah expressed her belief that JP is “soft” without any ambition or drive because everything has been handed to him.

JP invited Vivi to be his date to the Anchor Ball at the Field and Oar Club, and she was nervous about meeting Lucinda for the first time. Lucinda was polite but disinterested toward Vivi, and Vivi later overheard her telling Penny that JP and Vivi had a summer romance that would never last. However, Vivi stayed in Nantucket into the fall, and she and JP continued their relationship. A few months later, JP proposed to her.

The Chief visits Nickel, Joe DeSantis’s sandwich shop. Joe is angry that the police haven’t solved the case yet as suspicion is still on Cruz, and this has been affecting Joe’s business. Joe mentions that the Chief should be able to get some information out of Jasmine Kelly, Cruz’s girlfriend.

Back at the station, the Chief receives a phone call from the manager of the Stop and Shop: The daytime custodian has just confessed to planting the shoes. Justin, the custodian, reveals that a couple—“some ‘uptight dude with a very hot chick’” (274)—offered him money to plant the shoes. He thought it was harmless, but when he heard that people were getting in trouble for it, he decided to confess.

Zach texts Carson, asserting they need to break up immediately. She calls him at work and learns that Pamela spotted Carson’s car. While she thinks Carson is probably waiting for her drug dealer, Pamela is generally suspicious and has been snooping around. Zach apologizes to Carson and claims he is going to reconnect with his wife.

Carson heads into work in a terrible mood. Even though she knows better, she does shots with customers who ask her to join them and even kisses one of them on his request. She then steps away to do cocaine in the bathroom and realizes only too late that Jaime, one of her coworkers, has spotted her.

George immediately summons Carson to his office and fires her. He knew she was lying the last time, but this was the last straw. He advises Carson to take some time and properly grieve her mother, after which he will write her a recommendation to work elsewhere. Ashamed and in shock, Carson drives to the Bridgeman home. Zach tries to get her to leave, but Carson begins kissing him, and he relents.