Part Twenty-Seven

A shroud of white fog hung over the waters of Puget Sound. Overhead the sky glowed pink, and changed to a pale orange as Peggy looked eastward.

"Can you believe this fog?" Peggy said to Raoul as she took her seat on the 5:20 ferry.

"I can't even see Seattle," said Raoul. "It must have been swallowed in smoke from the fireworks."

It seemed like only hours earlier that Peggy was in an open motorboat with Raoul, Luke and Florence, speeding across Puget Sound to watch the fireworks near Seattle. Peggy and Raoul had hung onto the rails and grinned like children as the nineteen-foot boat tossed and bounced on the choppy waters, sending an occasional spray to dampen their cheeks. The night air was relatively balmy. Behind them, to the west, looking back over Bainbridge Island, they were treated to a dramatic red-and-purple sky and a view of the Olympic Range.



Luke was piloting the boat, and Peggy was relieved to see that he seemed to know what he was doing. She had never been on the Sound in a small craft, and it felt like an adventure. She needed an adventure, a distraction, really, from a weekend of emotional confusion.

On Friday she had kept to herself. She felt distant from Raoul and didn't want to see him, even though he had taken the day off from work and she knew he wanted to go walking in the Grand Forest. Instead, she made phone calls and got caught up on letters, and in the afternoon she shopped for new curtains for her bedroom. Not finding anything she liked, she bought fabric and resolved to make them herself. By evening she was well into the task and it gave her a feeling of self-reliance. But she couldn't help wondering how Raoul had spent his day.

The next morning she went to the farmer's market promptly to make sure she got eggs. They always sold out of them early, especially at the 4-H Club stall. After securing a dozen in her backpack, Peggy wandered throughout the market, listening to fiddle music and admiring the produce. She selected some very fresh-looking fingerling potatoes, a head of rosewood garlic, some local rasberries, and a batch of flowers.

Just as she was eyeing a mouth-watering cinnamon roll a voice behind her said, "I missed the eggs." It was Raoul, with an irresistable grin. He was dressed in khaki shorts and sandals and a colorful shirt.

Peggy shrugged. "I guess you'll have to settle for the ordinary grocery store variety," she said.

"I can't. I'm spoiled on farm eggs," he said. "I suppose you were here early."

"Sorry, my eggs aren't for resale."

They looked at the cinnamon rolls. Raoul said, "You know, one of those cinnamon rolls would look great next to a serving of farm-fresh scrambled eggs."

Fifteen minutes later they were in Peggy's kitchen. Raoul stood at the stove, cooking, while Peggy read the newspaper.

"I only agreed because I need someone to cook while I plan my day," she said.

"One should not plan one's day while distracted."

"There's a good concert at Pegasus tonight," she said.

"As a matter of fact I was planning to go to that. Wouldn't it be a coincidence if we bumped into each other there?"

That evening, with misgivings, Peggy sat across from Raoul at Pegasus Coffeehouse and had lemon rose tea while they listened to a delightful husband-and-wife duo play folk songs. (catlovescrow.com) Peggy told herself that she just wanted to hear the music and that she might as well have some casual company.

"Will you be downtown tomorrow night?" Raoul said when they were leaving. Sunday night was the big street dance and barbeque.

"Since I'm new to the area I suppose it would be useful to have an escort," she said.

The following evening they pushed through the throng of people that had crammed onto Winslow Way in downtown Bainbridge Island. They ate food and then joined a crowd dancing to some lively country tunes in front of a bandstand. It was Peggy's first time dancing with Raoul and she was impressed with his smooth, rhythmic movements and his lightness on his feet.

They apparently came to the same conclusion about each other. "You're a great dancer," he said.

"I love to dance but I could never drag Taylor onto a dance floor," said Peggy, referring to her late husband.

"Priscilla was a professional dancer and I was always too intimidated to dance with her," he said of his late wife.

When the music stopped they walked back to her house and drank beer on her small patio.

"I'm afraid I don't have your fantastic view," she said.

"I like the view right here," he said, looking at her. She blushed.

It was while watching the Fourth of July parade on Madison Avenue that Luke and Florence approached them to say hello. Luke and Raoul went up close to admire a line of engine-revving motorcycles while Peggy and Florence chatted in the shade of a tree.

"Luke is really impressed with Raoul," Florence said.

"He's an interesting man," said Peggy. "How do you know Raoul?"

"I used to be a secretary in his law firm. We were never involved, so don't worry."

"Oh, it's, uh, none of my business really," Peggy stammered.

"Ha. Famous last words," said Florence. "All I can say is that he never looked at me the way he looks at you."

Peggy didn't know what to say. When the men returned, Raoul said, "Luke has invited us to go out on his boat tonight to look at the fireworks."

Peggy wanted to say no, she had never cared much for fireworks, but Raoul had such an eager boyish look in his face that she agreed. It would be something new. Life with Raoul had been a series of new things, so many new things it made her dizzy. She had spent a lifetime doing a certain set of predictable things and hardly varying from that. Now it was all different. She felt like the proverbial old dog learning new tricks, but she didn't feel old. She felt young. And that's what gave her the courage to try.

And so on Fourth of July evening as they bobbed in the waters a short distance from downtown Seattle, sitting in the back of Luke's motorboat, brilliant explosions lit up the night sky with a riot of colors and shapes. In the distance they could see a second fireworks display over Lake Union. Peggy and Raoul huddled together and sipped tea spiked with rum. They kissed while a huge red glow lit up their faces.