Having taken a short Thanksgiving break, we’re now returning to our friend Peggy from our book I.O.U. SEX. She is still working hard at healthy living. In fact, she finds herself concentrating on each aspect of her plan to the exclusion of almost everything else in her life. She’s obsessed!
Peggy increased the incline on her treadmill to a 4% grade and cranked up the speed. Comfortable with the treadmill's pace, she used the remote to turn on the TV. When a rerun of The Rockford Files filled the screen, she smacked her forehead and spoke aloud to James Garner. "Oh my God. There must be hoof prints on my forehead 'cause a galloping dumb-ass just ran across it!"
Peg almost fell off of the moving belt when she realized she had completely forgotten about the private investigator she'd hired to find Mark. With all the stress after June's mom passing away, her life had been filled with complications. That didn't even include all the changes she'd made to get healthier. She had simply been too distracted to give the P.I. a second thought.
But why hadn't Hornby contacted her? He'd warned that he had a busy schedule, but surely he had some news about Mark to report by now. Peggy thought back to their meeting and tried to remember their conversation.
Let's see, he said it would probably take a couple of months, and I told him...
"Dad gum it." Peggy massaged her forehead with her fingertips, wondering how in the world she could have forgotten something so important. She realized she'd told Hornby to call her only on her cell phone—the old one that had fallen into the swimming pool—and she'd never felt the need to purchase another one. She'd rarely used her cell phone anyhow. No wonder Hornby hadn't contacted her.
Peggy stopped the machine and headed toward the desk to find the P.I.'s number. She dug through the drawer looking for his business card, her heart beating fast from the workout, coupled with the anticipation of what Hornby might tell her. When she found his card, she took a deep breath and picked up her phone to call his office.
When the P.I. informs her that he has indeed located her former steady, Peg takes no more chances and tells him to mail her the information immediately, her excitement mounting.
Two days later Peggy sat on the family room couch, munching on thirty-five calories of baby carrots, drinking a bottle of water, and staring at a large brown envelope with Hornby's return address. She wondered what secrets it contained.
She pulled the packet to her, uncertain whether or not she wanted to look inside. Then she shook her head.
No. I'm not going to open it yet. I'll save it, like a Christmas gift underneath the tree, until I've reached my goal weight.
It'll be another incentive for sticking to my healthy living program.
She smiled at her next thought.
Like a reward from Santa for being a good little girl.
She held the envelope tight and walked to the antique secretary desk in the corner of the room. Pulling down the front, she pushed the envelope into a cubby inside and closed the lid.
There.
It can stay in its hiding place until I reach my goal weight, and that's all there is to it. Surely that won't take too much longer.
When Peggy tells Kiki of her decision, Kiki says, “You've got more patience than I do. I would have ripped that sucker open and called Mark faster than you can whistle Dixie."
But Peggy assures her friend, “Hornby's report will be an incentive to keep me on the straight and narrow…."
Will Peggy really be able to resist the lure of the envelope’s contents—the key to her search for Mark—and wait to claim her prize? Or will she be like a curious little kid and take a peek inside?
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