“Awful.” Peggy tried an unsuccessful smile.
“What you need is a little relaxation—a change of scenery.” Michael smiled. “What are you going to do with your first free evening of the summer?”
“Tonight?” Peggy shook her head. “Going to work on my part again, I guess—see if I can come up with something—”
“Why don’t you forget it for a while?” Michael asked. “I’m going to take Mary Hopkins over to the other side of the lake for dinner; we’d love to have you come along.”
“In your boat?” Peggy asked, feeling a faint stirring of interest.
“What else?” Michael laughed. “We’re not going to swim, that’s for sure! Come on, Peggy, it’ll do you good.”
It would at that, Peggy thought, suddenly feeling a sense of freedom at the prospect of being far away from the theater for a while, if even just for dinner. Maybe she could regain her perspective out on the water; there was nothing like putting a little distance between one’s self and one’s problem.
“I will, Michael,” she accepted gratefully. “I’d love to. Goodness, it’ll be the first boat ride I’ve had all summer!”
“And long overdue. I promised you a ride once, remember?”
Peggy felt better than she had all week when they arrived at Michael’s house and walked down to his dock where Mary Hopkins was already waiting.