“Congratulations,” the boss said, now allowing a smile. “We would love to offer you a spot at the Shady Queens cabaret this summer.”

I did it.

He sucked in a shaking breath. I fucking did it. He didn’t care how small it was, or that it was a two-hour bus ride away. He did it.

Archer called his parents on the way home. “Don’t get too excited,” he started, once his mom put him on speaker, “it’s totally not a big deal, but I got a small job.”

“Honey, that’s great! What’s the show?”

“Well, it’s a cabaret … for the summer … in the Catskills.”

There was a pause. “The Catskills?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but Stewart Harpham-Lale directs the show, he’s kind of a big deal, and tons of theater people go to the resort and it might actually help me network and stuff, you know. Someone might even see me in the show and remember me.” He was babbling but couldn’t stop. “I feel like it’ll be good for me, then I can come back to the city and give it one last try, after that. Just a few more months.”

He could feel his parents having a silent conversation with their eyes. “That sounds fun, Archer,” his mom said.

“So I’m actually gonna bus up there tomorrow and I’ll be there for about four months, until the end of August,” he continued, blazing through the noticeable drop in their enthusiasm. He forced a laugh. “It’ll be just like camp.”

“Mm-hmm,” his mom said absentmindedly. There was rustling in the background. “What about your apartment?”

“Oh, uh…” His mind whirred. “I don’t know, I’m sure Lynn will—”

“You should get something in writing, so she doesn’t try to scam you.”

“What? Lynn would never…” He trailed off. What was the point?

“Have fun, Arch,” his dad said after a beat of silence. “Let us know when you get there.”

Lynn was much more excited for him—more than she should have been, really.

“That’s amazing news!” she cried, jumping onto the couch, bag of roasted chickpeas flying. “Babe, I’m so proud of you!”

Sasha retrieved the bag from the floor and gave Archer a much more reserved look. “Congratulations.” She tugged at Lynn’s shorts. “Sit down, sweetie.”

“It’s not that amazing,” Archer said, trying to suppress the smile that wanted to unfold across his face.

Lynn flopped back onto the cushion. “It is. It’s a great gig. You’ll have so much fun.”

“I guess so.”

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Then you know what this means…”

He watched her grinning when it clicked. He grinned back. “You’re right. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for.”

Sasha looked back and forth between them. “What?”