“Babe, did you see it?” Luke swept in through the kitchen door so quickly that Freddie was afraid he might skid on the freshly waxed kitchen floor. He kept his kitchen spotless, and that meant routine cleaning of every surface and appliance.

“See what?” Freddie asked. He set down his container of gold leaf and frowned in confusion. “What are you going on about?”

“You know how you got in touch with Chris, and he set up your channel for you?” Luke asked. He had his phone in his palm. “You only uploaded your first video last night, right?”

“Well, it went live last night,” Freddie said. “It took almost all day to upload it. Chris told me that it normally takes a long time, and can take even longer depending on how good your internet connection is.”

“Well, I’d say it’s gone live, all right.” Luke turned his phone in Freddie’s direction. On the screen was Freddie’s first video, and beneath it, the number of times it had been viewed. Freddie’s jaw dropped. There were over a hundred thousand views.

“You’re not serious,” Freddie squeaked. “That’s some doctored screenshot, isn’t it?”

“Nope.” Luke slid in beside Freddie and refreshed the webpage. It loaded again, showing the same number. It wasn’t a screenshot, and as far as Freddie could tell, it wasn’t a practical joke, either. “There are comments pouring in, too. It looks like Chris is sending a whole hoard of people your way, and people are loving you.”

Freddie was too surprised to know what to feel. His eyes prickled with tears, which he quickly blinked away.

“Do you have any emails?” Luke asked. “Has your phone been blowing up?”

“I have it in the other room,” Freddie admitted. “I try not to keep it on me when I’m working so it doesn’t distract me. It still rings if I get calls, but... jeeze.”

“Jeeze is right.” Luke laughed. “I’m going to go get your phone. Stay here.”

Freddie watched Luke leave the room. He looked at his gold leaf, then at the salted caramel cupcakes he was decorating. More people had seen his video than the population of Prescott. More people, in fact, than Prescott and the next three surrounding towns combined. It was like being a rock star with none of the stage fright.

Hundreds of thousands of people had watched him prepare cupcakes. They’d listened to him ramble on passionately about techniques and crack stupid dad-jokes to the camera. They’d come into his kitchen without stepping foot into the house.

Freddie couldn’t believe it.

Luke came back with his phone. “Check it.”

Freddie took it from him and checked his emails. There were hundreds — mostly notifications about new comments and new subscribers to his channel. He shook his head in disbelief.

Amongst the emails was one from YouTube itself. He clicked the message and read on in disbelief. Not only had his account been approved for partnership, like Chris had set it up for, but they were already upping his CPM — the amount he earned from each view. With the amount of views he had, he was looking at a few extra thousand dollars, all earned in a single day.

“This isn’t possible,” Freddie said.

“Why not?” Luke was grinning, his enthusiasm undying. “You’re handsome, you’re funny, and you’re talented. Plus, you’re educational. People are loving how quirky you are. They’re saying that you’re the cutest. People who aren’t even interested in baking are subscribing because they say they like you that much.”

Freddie was fairly certain he was dreaming. He rubbed his face in shock, then looked at Luke in disbelief. “Shit.”

“Right?”

“We’ve got to keep filming.”

Luke laughed. “Hell yeah we do. Tell you what... why don’t you finish up what you were doing, and we can start from the beginning. You got some ideas for this next video?”

“I do.”

“We’re going to have to invest in lighting equipment and a better camera,” Luke said. “Now that we’ve got this ball rolling, we don’t want it to stop. If we can keep building off this, you won’t have to worry about money anymore, right?”

“If this continues on like it is now, I won’t have to worry about money by the end of the month.” Freddie felt weightless. After so long spent working hard and struggling to make ends meet, he’d found a way to come up for air. Reagan Ann would get the new toys she’d been begging him for, they’d fill the fridge... maybe he could afford to get her a proper bed, too.

Freddie started to cry. He hadn’t wanted to, but he couldn’t stop it. His little girl was going to get the care she needed. He’d found a way to make it work and make her proud. She wouldn’t want anymore. He could be there for her.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry,” Luke said. He swept Freddie into his arms and held him tight. “This is a happy occasion. You’re kicking ass! This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To diversify your income streams?”

“I’m not crying because I’m upset — I’m crying because I’m happy.” Freddie buried his head against Luke’s shoulder, sniffling. “I can’t... I can’t believe it’s actually happening. It doesn’t feel real.”

“Well, believe it, baby.” Luke kissed the top of his head. “You’re fantastic, and you’ve got great help in Chris. I think you can make this blow up if you keep putting in the effort... and I’m going to be there with you every step of the way. I promise.”

Freddie gripped Luke tightly. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve such a wonderful man. He knew that Luke was still insecure about the fact he was putting his face out there, but Luke was strong enough to put his emotions aside and be happy for Freddie. He’d never had a partner so supportive before.

“Let’s keep going,” Freddie said in a soft voice. “You ready to start recording? I think we can get some good footage in, finish up this order, then talk business for the last half of the day. How does that sound?”

“I think that sounds incredible,” Luke said. He pulled away from Freddie. “I’ll be right back with the camera. You get ready. We’ve got a full day ahead of us, but I’ve never been more excited.”

“Me neither,” Freddie admitted. Then he laughed. It was so ridiculous and wonderful that he couldn’t help himself.

From total, life-changing disaster, he’d somehow found his way, and it was all thanks to Luke. All they had to do now was follow it through... and with Luke’s cheerful smile and his eternal optimism, Freddie had a feeling that wouldn’t be so hard to do.