The next day, Daphne could hardly contain her excitement as she rushed through her duties, including Mr. Crane's exercises.
"OW! Daphne, not so hard! You'll bruise me!"
She drew back from Martin who was lying on the exercise table wincing in pain. "I'm sorry, Mr. Crane! I'm just so excited about tonight! You see-."
"I know, I know… your friends called and invited you on some sunset cruise on the Sound."
"That's right! How did you know?"
"Because you've been talking non-stop about it since last night!"
Daphne laughed. "Oh, I guess I did get a bit carried away, didn't I? I'm sorry. I just can't help meself! I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it! I'm so sorry, Mr. Crane! Did I hurt you?"
"No need to be sorry, and no you didn't hurt me too much… any more than usual."
Martin's last words were mumbled and she knew that she wasn't supposed to hear them but she did. However, she was much too excited to be angry.
"No need to be sorry. You deserve it. I hope you have a good time. Although…"
Her head snapped up. "Although what?"
"Well, the weather doesn't look too promising for a cruise but who in the hell knows about the weather around here? It changes faster than a Mariners' lineup in a 1-2-3 inning, so you never know."
When she looked at Martin in apprehension, he smiled. "Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Nothing to worry about. You'll have a great time."
Daphne feigned a smile, trying to hide her worry. Martin was right. Clouds in Seattle came and went in the blink of an eye at this time of year and when the sun made brief appearances, Seattle even had a name for them… sun breaks. The word alone gave her hope. And the smile she gave Martin was a genuine one. "Thank you, Mr. Crane. I'm looking forward to it."
