“Five minutes,” came Mr. Fox’s insistent voice. “Curtain in five minutes.” He hurried away on some mysterious errand.
Peggy leaned her head against the backstage wall. She was tired but exhilarated. The past ten days had been the most wonderful of her life. Even the confusion and the discomfort of the trip to Baltimore had been fun. This was the theater as she had always dreamed it, and she was about to step on stage in the most important role of her life.
“Places everyone, please. Clear the stage.” Mr. Fox’s voice was quiet, but it carried a ring of authority. “Places for the first act.” He paused briefly beside Peggy. “You okay?” he asked. “Everything all right?” Peggy nodded. “Good.” Mr. Fox grunted. “I hope you break a leg,” he said and disappeared.
Peggy smiled to herself. She hadn’t heard that for quite a while. In the theater it was considered a bad omen to wish an actor good luck, and so, instead, you told him you hoped something awful would happen to him. Out in front there was an excited buzz as the house lights flickered their warning.
Then, suddenly, out of the darkness beside her, a voice spoke softly. “Hello, Peggy.” It was Katherine Nelson.
Peggy turned and smiled. “Hello, Miss Nelson.” She saw Tom standing beside his wife.
“We don’t have much time,” the actress said to Peggy. “But before we go on, I want to tell you how much we appreciate everything you did. Tom and I know that you were the one who really brought us back together.”
“I’m sure you didn’t know what you were doing,” Tom said. “But that’s the way it turned out.”
“I’m glad,” Peggy said simply. “I’m glad for you both.”
“There’s another thing I have to thank you for,” Katherine Nelson said. “Somehow tonight—with Tom—I feel that I’m about to start my career all over again.” She paused and shook her head. “No, that’s not quite it. It’s that I’m about to begin a new phase—a new life for myself....”