Chapter 54

Teddy stood there in the center of the gym, wearing terribly short workout shorts, his legs on the treadmill that was turned off. Sweat dripped from his forehead down to the soles of his feet. His mouth was agape as he tried to catch his breath after forty-two minutes on the treadmill at top speed. He was not a fitness freak like most boys at the gym; all he ever did was cardio and a bit of weight lifting, and then he was off.

Contrary to what others might have thought, it was not the need to look good that made him work out every morning, but the fear that he might fall victim to diabetes, just like his mother did at a very young age. One day, he woke up and remembered the lecture that the doctor had given him when he was seven years old, seated beside his mother on the hospital bed. The doctor had told him to be cautious, as he might face the same fate in thirty years’ time.

Since that morning, when he got that biological reminder, Teddy moved himself to the gym and re