Page 91 of The Wilder Widows

“Oh Marge! That’s wonderful!” Doris exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah, like Sylvie said, I’m not getting any younger. I called Mom to see if she’d be okay alone, and she said go for it. She’s looking forward to coming out for some gambling. So, what the hell, right?”

“What the hell.” I smiled.

“Well, that’s just great. Now I’ll be stuck all by myself on that crappy lane.” Alice sat back with a grumble.

“My mom will still be there. I’m sure she’ll be happy to make you lasagna.”

“Oh, Alice! We’ll visit all the time. And you can come visit us any time you want.” Doris rubbed her hand down the length of Alice’s arm. “We will never just abandon you.”

Alice grinned wide. “I’m just teasing. I won’t be lonely. Hell, without you ninny’s bothering me all the time, I’ll have even more time for extracurricular activities with my pool boy.”

We burst into laughter, and I leaned over, resting my head on her shoulder.

“Can we get some champagne over here?” Alice called to the waitress.

She responded with a sharp nod and disappeared into the kitchen. Alice’s phone rang, and she flipped it over to look at the screen.

“It’s my daughter. I need to take this.”

I scooched out of the booth and let Alice slide past. When I settled back in, I couldn’t suppress my happy sigh.

“I can’t believe I’m with Tom. After all these years. It’s a miracle.”

“And I have Axel. And a new purpose. I get to feel needed again.” Doris smiled.

“And I have Roxy. Never would have had the guts to go for her without you ladies at my side.”

“Thank God for the Wilder Widows.” Doris pressed her hands together in prayer. “You saved me.”

“We saved each other.” I tossed an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

“Who knows how to pull up YouTube on my phone?” Alice shouted from the center of the diner. We all spun to look at her.

“What’s going on?” I asked, hopping to my feet. Alice ignored me while her wild eyes searched the room.

“You! Hipster! You know how to pull up YouTube?” She hurried to the side of the lone man with the long beard and man bun in the corner and shoved her phone in his face.

“What?” he asked, looking up from his plate of eggs.

“YouTube! How the hell do I pull it up?” She snapped her fingers in his face, and he sat back with a start.

While he fumbled to take her phone, I stepped to Alice’s side. “What’s going on, Alice?”

Ignoring me, she leaned over his shoulder. “When you get to YouTube, look up the words ‘Gammy Las Vegas.’”

He followed her orders, and I leaned over his shoulder with her. Doris and Marge squeezed in, and the four of us stared at the screen while he typed.

“What the hell is going on?” Marge asked.

“There!” Alice squealed. “That’s it! Play it!”

My eyes widened as a video of Alice started playing on his small screen. There she was in all her showgirl glory. The video showed clips of her dancing on stage, running down the aisle with cops tearing after her. Then I gasped when I saw a clip of the four Wilder Widows tearing down the street, Alice’s costume sparkling in the Las Vegas lights we blew past. And finally, a clip of her hanging out of the top of the limo streamed across the screen.

“Holy shit,” I whispered while I watched the screen turn black.

“Six million hits and counting!” Alice clapped. “Celeste saw something on one of the Hollywood entertainment shows she watches about a viral video of a grandma stealing the spotlight at a Las Vegas show. When she saw the clip, she knew it was me... and it was! Is! It’s me! And they’re calling me ‘Gammy’ on account of my sexy gams! A grandma with gams!”