Chapter 18

Excerpt

God works in mysterious ways. The evening the show aired (February 11, 2000), I got a surprising phone call from an unforgettable person; Becky Talley—my mortal enemy from the past; the “other woman” from the love triangle 20 years before. I still didn’t like her very much, even though all was forgiven (seeing how I won). To me she was still “Pinhead,” the affectionate appellation I had once given her due to the fact that my motorcycle helmet (which was a men’s small) was too big for her back when Scott picked us up for dates on his motorcycle. She couldn’t wear the spare helmet Scott had because it was too large, so Scott would always borrow mine for Becky to use on their dates. Sheesh! Why couldn’t she buy her own helmet instead of getting cooties on mine?

Becky had lost track of us over the years; however, on the day the Frumpy Clothes Makeover show aired, her boss sent her home early (Divine coincidence?). She turned on the TV and hit the VCR record button, which she later told me was something she normally didn’t do. She hardly ever watched television, let alone Oprah. Becky sat down a while later to watch the tape. Within a minute of playback I came out onto the stage. Becky took a double take.

“Could that really be Tracy?” she wondered. Of course I looked the same drop-dead gorgeous after 20 years. Of course she recognized me. The guest wardrobe designer mentioned my first name, number of children, and the city I lived in. Becky took the opportunity to look me up and call.