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Odelia’s eyes went wide. “Gran? Dating Wilbur? Are you serious?”

“Oh, absolutely. You should have seen her just now. She even put on makeup and a dress. I don’t think I’ve seen your grandmother in a dress since… well, ever.”

“Oh, my,” said Odelia, taken aback by this bit of news. “And do you think it’s serious?”

Dad shrugged.“With Vesta you never know. Though I’m hopeful. For the first time in a long time I’m actually hopeful.”

Odelia grinned at her dad.“You’re secretly hoping she’ll move out, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” said Dad, returning her grin.

She patted her dad on the back. Poor Dad, she thought. Not only did he have to tolerate Gran living with him, but working at his place of business, too. No wonder he was suddenly looking so happy.

“Tex! You can come up now!” Mom yelled from upstairs. “Randy is ready for you!”

“Here we go,” said Dad, and heeded his wife’s call with the kind of alacrity all women like to see in her devoted husband.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]

Marge, when she’d arrived upstairs, had expected to find the patient sickly and pale, looking as if he was at death’s door. Instead, she’d found Randy Hancock preening in front of the mirror, only dressed in very short boxer’s shorts, and flexing his muscles.

When she pushed open the door, after the most cursory of knocks, she gasped at the sight of the fitness guru whose workout routines she’d religiously followed for the last thirty years, ever since he’d burst onto the scene like a pint-sized human spark plug.

“Oh, Randy,” she breathed in a hoarse whisper, clutching a hand to a heart practically beating through her heaving chest. “It’s an honor—a pleasure—I’m your biggest fan!”

Randy, who looked startled at this unexpected invasion of his privacy, quickly recovered. He was probably used to fans walking in on him by now. So he plastered a smile onto his face and said,“And you must be Odelia’s mom—the resemblance is striking, sweetheart. And can I just say you could be mistaken for her sister? Absolutely!”

“Oh, thank you, Randy,” Marge said, simpering a little as she proceeded further into the room—this holiest of holy places now that Randy had taken up sojourn there.

Chase’s fitness equipment occupied one corner of the room, a desk the other, and Odelia had now turned the couch into a bed, and somehow the combination of home gym and guest bedroom was fitting for the fitness megastar.

“I’m so sorry to hear about your predicament,” she said breathlessly as she clutched the tattered videotape in her sweaty hand. “My husband is a doctor, Randy, so if you want him to take a look at you—maybe he can find out what’s going on.”

“That would be lovely,” said Randy courteously. He gestured to the video. “And what do you have there? A gift for me?”

“Oh, no. I thought… if you want… and only if you want… if you could maybe… sign it for me?” She handed him the tape. “It’s the very first exercise tape I ever bought. I must have done these exercises hundreds of times… thousands… probably more!”

“I remember this one,” said Randy, fondly tapping the tape with his index finger. “Do you know this is still the best-sold exercise tape in the world? Sold millions and millions of copies. It’s out on DVD now, and available for free on my YouTube channel if you like.”

“I still prefer my old VHS tape,” said Marge, drinking in the fitness guru’s presence with her eyes. He looked exactly like he did on the cover of the tape. Only his hair was a little less dark, and his face a little more lined, but that lean physique was still there, and that sparkle in his eyes. “You look wonderful, Randy. I hope you don’t mind if I say this?”

“Oh, no. You can tell me I look wonderful all day long and I still wouldn’t get tired of it,” he quipped.

“How do you do it?” she asked. “How do you stay so fit and healthy?”

He held up the tape and tilted his head.“The secret is right here. I said it thirty years ago and I keep saying it now: you have got to keep moving, baby—keep grooving!”

She nodded, suddenly getting emotional from being in the presence of greatness.

“Are you all right?” he asked when she swayed a little, like a sapling in the breeze.

She nodded, furiously fighting to keep her tears at bay.“It’s just that…” She halted, then tried again. “Do you ever feel like you could use a little more… sparkle in your life, Randy?” Immediately she knew she’d crossed a line, and held up her hand. “Please forgive me. You don’t need to hear all this. You’ve got enough problems ofyour own.”

“No, it’s all right,” he said, and took a seat on the edge of the bed, then patted the spot beside him. “Tell me all about it, sweetheart. Pour out your heart to your friend Randy.”

“Oh, Randy,” she said, a tear now rolling down her cheek. “People all around me are getting married, you see, and it’s made me feel… It’s just making me feel so… so…”

“Left out?” he said.

She stared at him.“How did you know?”