“I thought my hair would stand on end.” Gus laughed. “But it turned out to be a wonderful show. Your friend Randy certainly did a remarkable job!”
“I’m hoping that at last I get to play a nice young woman my own age.” Rita stretched out luxuriously on the wicker couch. “It doesn’t happen to me very often, you know!”
“You mean the wife in Guest in the House?” Peggy asked.
Rita nodded. “The wife to Chris Hill’s husband.” She grinned mischievously at Gus. “That is, if Gus approves!”
“Oh, certainly certainly.” Gus smiled and rumpled her hair as he rose. “Chris may be the Kenabeek heart throb, but I think my place is assured at home. See you all later—I have to go build a house!”
“He must really love his work,” Peggy sighed as she watched him go. “I think he’s worked harder than any of us this summer.”
“Except maybe Richard and Chuck,” Rita agreed. “I’m going to make him take a vacation after we’re through here, whether he likes it or not!”
One by one, the other actors appeared, and after breakfast Chuck started to hand out the sides for Guest in the House. Peggy felt unusually nervous. She had promised herself not to think of the possibility of playing Evelyn, but as the moment approached when her part was to be handed her, Peggy’s heart beat faster and her hand trembled. Chuck gave her the sides without a word, and after closing her eyes for a moment, Peggy took a deep breath and looked.
Evelyn! He had given it to her! She hugged the little pamphlet as if it were a long-lost friend. Here it was at last—a wonderful, rich, dramatic role, far, far different from all the ingénues she had played all summer!
Rita noticed her ecstatic expression and peeked at the sides. “Well,” she breathed softly, “I kind of thought so. I’m awfully glad, Peggy. You should play it!”