Fit for You

by Cynthia Tennent

  We listened to sports radio and I stared out the window, practically counting the minutes until the challenge was over.

  * * *

  The Lollipa-Losers met at the Amble Inn to eat a healthy breakfast the day before the Warrior Weekend Challenge. They discussed ways they were going to refrain from eating for the rest of the day. I interrupted their discussion and reminded them that fasting was not only against the rules, but not in the spirit of healthy weight loss.

  “A liquid diet is perfectly acceptable today,” Marva reminded me.

  “As long as you keep nutrients in your smoothies,” I reminded them.

  I heard Addie Adler whisper across her table, “I’m going to load up my plate with pancakes as soon as we’re done with this challenge weekend.”

  “Stay steady, everyone. The last thing you want is yo-yo dieting,” I said loudly. I reminded everyone that weight loss was a long-term project that was a challenge all its own. I made a note in my planner. I was going to speak with Marie about this when I had the chance. There needed to be a strong follow-up after the event.

  After the breakfast, Edge drove me to the gym.

  A shiny black BMW with a rental sticker on it was parked in front. My mouth went dry when I spotted the two figures in the front seat.

  “Lily?” I sat unmoving, ignoring the fact that Edge was talking to me. He came around to my side of the tuck and opened my door. “Are you okay?”

  How could I explain he was about to be confronted with a fellow comedian and a fast-talking Korean mother?

  “Do you know them?” Edge said, looking back and forth between me and the car in front of us.

  “You could say that.”

  He helped me out of the truck, keeping a hand on my elbow to steady me.

  The BMW doors flew open and two figures jumped out. One short, dark-haired woman dressed in a white quilted jacket, and one tall, dark-haired man wearing a cashmere turtleneck and a wool sports coat.

  “Lily! No brace!”

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Lilibutt!”

  “Hi, Chip.”

  They hugged me, Mom rocking me back and Chip pulling me off my feet.

  When my athletic shoes were back on the concrete, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “A speaker at a medical conference in Traverse City canceled at the last minute and Chip took his place so we could see you,” Mom said in her speedy, accented English. “I made him fly me out, too.”

  “We flew to Traverse City this morning and drove straight here.”

  “We know you have that big Warrior Challenge and we thought we would come and cheer.”

  Without waiting for me to introduce him, Chip held his hand out to Edge. “Chip Shue. And this is my mother, Jan.”

  “Edge Callahan. It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Shue.” Edge sent them a killer smile I hadn’t seen for days.

  My mother’s eyes lit up as she looked back and forth from me to Edge.

  Over the years, Mom greeted any man I introduced her to with the narrowed eyes of a potential mother-in-law. I could always tell by the way she greeted them whether she was happy or dismissive of a man’s potential. It was embarrassing. Ninety-nine percent of the time the men had been colleagues, or my friends’ boyfriends. One had even been my boss’s boss, the owner of the company with gyms up and down the West Coast. He was good-looking and his clothes were very expensive. Her eyes had lit up with dollar signs until I introduced his husband. Later, I had been forced to endure a rant about the injustices in the world for women in search of rich, good-looking straight men.

  I saw the gleam in her eye now and knew she was glad she made the trip. While the three of them exchanged pleasantries, I noted how Edge laid on the charm. The way he complimented Mom on her young appearance. And how Chip stood straighter next to Edge. The love affair was so mutual I was almost jealous. Part of me wished Edge had driven up in the cuddly garbage truck with a scraggly beard, just to throw them both off.

  “We can’t wait to see your new gym. Is this it?” Mom asked.

  I took a deep breath. There was no avoiding the embarrassing reality of my new job. I unlocked the gym and ushered everyone inside.

  A stunned silence filled the room.

  Edge moved to the center of the room. “Lily is a master at turning a tiny budget into an efficient workout room.” He showed them the PVC rollers, the foam-coated step boxes, and the sand-filled soccer balls. He picked up one of the gallon milk jugs with pebbles that we used as kettle weights.

  “They’ve been talking about this all over the county. Even the gyms with a huge budget are amazed.”

  My mother, the queen of saving money—her own, not her sons’—was enormously impressed. “My kids call me cheap. Ha! I knew all my talk of being frugal was going to rub off someday.”

  Chip took another tactic. “I didn’t know you were pressed for cash on this job. I would have been happy to make a donation.”

  Before I could say anything, Edge handled it. “We could have raised the money ourselves. But that’s beside the point. Working out and getting fit shouldn’t be an economic issue. Everyone can do it on a shoestring. Even our little town. That’s the whole point.”

  He moved next to me and put his arm around me. A point that wasn’t lost on my mother’s excited face.

  “Lily has single-handedly modified the way we think about nutrition and fitness, as illustrated by the charts in the room. Her walkers would have forged a trail all the way to Chicago had they been making a contiguous trek.”

  I lifted my brow at his speech. Fancy language. How did Edge know that would impress Chip?

  Chip pointed at my knee. “And she did all this as a gimp?”

  Edge’s eyes grew dark. “A gimp? Your sister is a wounded warrior of the fitness world. She’s our hero.”

  I held up my hands. “Okay, you’re laying it on way too heavy, Edge.”

  He just smiled and stared at Chip. Something passed between the two of them.

  Chip raised an eyebrow. “Well, well . . .”

  I didn’t know what he meant by that. Fortunately, I was interrupted by the first of the walkers, who were ready to chart their final day’s mileage.

  After Edge left, Chip and Mom stayed around for an hour, meeting several walkers, reading the large posters around the room. If they were disappointed by the community center, they didn’t show it. Chip even took a few pictures of the room and sent them to Ned. Finally, he said, “We’ll get out of your hair for a while, Lil. I am going to take Mom to lunch and head back to the Grande Lucerne, where we are staying. We can’t meet you tonight, but we’ll be here tomorrow for the big day! Dinner after that?”

  “Sure.” Hopefully I didn’t look as dazed as I felt. Having my family here was like an odd mash-up of classical jazz and rock music. It shouldn’t fit. But it was working anyway. Thanks to Edge.

  “Bring that nice man tomorrow night, too,” Mom said with a wide smile. She elbowed me in the gut. “He’s straight, right?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “He likes you, I can tell,” she said with a wink. “Don’t screw it up!”

  * * *

  That night, I was late getting to the ranch. When I walked in the door, Edge pulled me into his arms and we stumbled to the bedroom. This time there was no foreplay. We didn’t talk. Or laugh. Or tease each other with food. We came together in a silent explosion that left us both drained.

  Afterward I lay in the crook of his arm and traced my hand across his chest. “Aren’t you supposed to abstain from sexual intercourse before the big day?” I teased.

  “Yeah, well, that’s an old wives’ tale. Mostly.” He kissed my forehead. “Your family seems really nice.”

  “Oh my God. I can’t believe they came.” I rolled to my back and groaned.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You think your family is spirited? When my family is together we live the Warrior Challenge every day.”

  “I haven’t met your
other brother, but they didn’t seem that bad.”

  “It’s just that Chip and Ned are, like, über successful. Everything they touch is gold. Mom loves it.”

  “Then you fit right in.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m the everlasting loser in the Shue family.”

  He rolled over until he was on both elbows above me. “From the moment I first met you, I was awed by your tenacity. You worked harder than an athlete training for the Olympics. And I should know. You were relentless the way you tried to keep the town on track for the fitness grant. Lily, your passion and dedication amaze me.”

  “Wait a minute . . . I thought you said I took everything too seriously.”

  “I did. But then I realized you weren’t serious at all. You just care deeply.”

  I took a deep breath and let his words sink in. “But I always feel like the straight man in the comedy routine when I’m around you. The Abbott to your Costello. The boring one.” How strange to think he had admired me all along.

  “Your humor is there, just below the surface. You just like to play it straight. Which is perfect for me. No ego problems, because I get the punch lines.” He grinned and kissed my brow.

  “I understand egos. My family is one gigantic one.” Having Mom and Chip in town had doubled the intensity of my dread for the Warrior Challenge tomorrow. I wished more than anything that the silly challenge had never happened. There was no way to make him understand the pressure I felt when I was around my family.

  Then he said something that had me thinking the rest of the night. “Don’t fool yourself, Lily. Your ego is alive and well, just like your humor. Unfortunately, it isn’t as strong as the way you second-guess yourself.”

  I drifted off to sleep in Edge’s arms and woke up in the middle of the night feeling chilled. Beside me, the bed was empty. I got up to investigate. But Edge was nowhere to be found. His truck was gone. I shivered as I looked down the lake road and searched for the glow of headlights.

  The night had turned cold. The moon cast a silvery glow on the rose bushes in Ivy’s garden. Maybe I had removed the burlap from the roses too soon. It looked like we might have a frost tonight.

  LESSON TWENTY-ONE

  Avoid Injury

  The Triple C’s organized a caravan of cars to take us to the county fairgrounds. There must have been over fifty minivans, SUVs, and trucks in a line as we made our way west. I sat in the backseat of Ivy’s old Ford Taurus, wedged between Louise and Olivia. Sarah drove and Ivy sat in the front seat.

  Ivy’s face was a mixture of happiness and excitement to be riding in her old car.

  “Mine,” she said every few minutes.

  Edge was driving his truck, stuffed with banners and chairs and fold-out tables that the Triple C’s had decided we would need.

  “Is it going to warm up at all?” I seemed to be the only one concerned about the weather. I worried about the effects of the temperature on the cook-off and the obstacle course.

  “This is pretty normal this time of year,” Louise said, patting my leg. “The temperature goes all spastic on us for a few weeks before it settles down in the summer. We’re used to it. Heck, Joe O’Shea considers anything over freezing Bermuda-shorts weather.”

  When we pulled up into the field bordering the county fairgrounds, we were swarmed by a sea of olive green. Harrisburg had taken the warrior theme to the extreme. Green tents, green flags, green long-sleeved technical shirts that must have cost a fortune. Camouflage dotted the fairgrounds as the professional-looking banners declared the Harrisburg Warriors the mightiest contestant of the games.

  We sat stunned for a full thirty seconds before Louise said, “That’s a tacky shade.”

  We laughed halfheartedly and parked near the side of the field. Sarah and Olivia were going to take turns watching Ivy until Tracy arrived later with the boys.

  Marva unfurled her handwritten banners and planted them in the ground with metal stakes. “Those things took nothing but a printer to make. Our banners took heart. Right?” she said to anyone who would listen.

  Mac was already at the field, standing by the large tent where the cook-off would be held. He was trading jokes with the other chef and thankfully didn’t look like he was worried at all about his part of the challenge. When I greeted him, he introduced me to his friend and rival, the chef from the Grande Lucerne, Gaston Lapin.

  Marie Joiner stood nearby, her usual clipboard in her hands, a worried expression on her face. I walked over and shook her hand. She introduced me to the panel of judges, many whose names I recognized. They had authorized the Fit4You grant. They looked at me with curiosity. I was the trainer with the unorthodox methods and the knee injury. The one whose job hung by a thread, even though no one would admit it. Marie and I never discussed the outcome if Truhart lost today. I somehow managed to keep my smile glued to my face as I shook each hand and tried not to break down and beg them to leave the gym open.

  Aubrey and Andrew Vanderbeek, wearing full camouflage, joined us. They had painted wide stripes under their eyes that added to their warrior visage. They looked me up and down as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Underneath my white puffy winter coat, I wore the yellow T-Shirt that the Truhart team had decided to use as their uniform.

  AIM HIGH,

  WORK HARD,

  DON’T QUIT!

  —LILY SHUE

  Aubrey stared at it and laughed. “Sweet shirt.” The sarcasm froze the air between us.

  I bit my lip and willed the sun to go down soon. This day could not be done fast enough.

  “Lily!”

  I turned around to see my mother and brother. I redirected them away from the Vanderbeeks to the chefs and introduced them to Mac and Gaston.

  Chip shook Chef Gaston’s hand. “We had the pleasure of eating at the Grande Lucerne last night, and I can’t tell you how delicious the meal was.”

  My mother nodded. “But you needed more miso on the sea bass. Not enough flavor.”

  The Frenchman raised his eyebrows and took the comment with grace.

  While Mom and Chip settled near a space heater that had been brought by the judges, I made my way over to the River Hogs to see how they were doing.

  Edge stood beside a group of huddled figures, his hands in his pockets. Next to him, J.D. Hardy’s face was thunderous.

  Something was wrong.

  Before I could ask what had happened, Edge stepped aside. Elizabeth Lively sat on a bench, shaking her head and talking to one of the warriors. Her arm was in a sling.

  “What happened?!” I asked.

  J.D. glowered. “There was a little accident last night.” People around us scattered, nervously aware of J.D.’s mood.

  “What happened?”

  “It seems the obstacle-course team did a little late-night reconnaissance.”

  “Reconnaissance?”

  J.D. narrowed his eyes at Edge. “Late-night drills on the ‘real’ course. Here. Evidently, they have been doing it off and on for the last few weeks. Along with their midnight spy missions to see how the Harrisburg team was doing.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I looked from Edge, who stared down at his feet, to Elizabeth, who held her arm in pain.

  Elizabeth raised her chin. “I don’t care what you say, J.D. It was fun. And besides, it helped to even the playing field between Harrisburg and Truhart. You know they were probably doing the same thing to us.”

  “You think so?” His tone was sarcastic. “I got the impression they were working hard to beat you. Not cheat. And no one over there looks injured.”

  “Whose idea was this? And why didn’t I know?” I stared at Edge, who looked as comfortable as a lion tamer without a whip.

  Elizabeth and Edge exchanged looks. It was obvious there were two ringleaders.

  Elizabeth reached for J.D.’s hand. “Can we argue about this later? I really hurt right now and we have to get you ready to take my spot on the obstacle course.”

 
; J.D. scowled. “I didn’t say I would do it!” As angry as he looked, he hovered by Elizabeth’s side and pulled her coat closer around her shoulders to keep her warm.

  Elizabeth leveled J.D. with her blue eyes and said, “Please. I need a hero right now.” It was some kind of code word because J.D.’s eyes darkened at her as if she weren’t playing fair.

  I grabbed Edge’s arm and pulled him off to the side for my own conversation.

  “Is this what you were doing last night?”

  He held his hands up. “It was just a silly game.”

  “Silly enough to risk someone getting hurt? Why would you practice on the obstacle course in the dark? That was an accident waiting to happen.” My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe.

  “We aimed our car headlights on the course. It was as bright as day.”

  He started walking away from me and I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me. “This whole thing has gone too far.”

  “Lily, we’ll talk later. I have to go make sure the judges put J.D. on our new roster.”

  Suddenly the day turned even more sour. “You promised Rocky he could be your alternate.”

  “Well, yeah, but he will understand when I tell him J.D. stepped forward.”

  I searched for Rocky. He stood with the other warriors, his eyes bright with excitement at the upcoming competition.

  I pointed. “Look at him, Edge. He’s been training with you since the start of this challenge. What are you going to tell him? He’s not good enough?”

  Edge’s jaw contracted and his eyes wavered. “Don’t . . .”

  “Don’t what? Remind you that decency is more important than this challenge?” I stepped forward until we were inches apart and no one could hear our conversation. “What would have happened if this challenge had never been made?”