‘Done!’ Marjorie said. ‘We can use that. See how easy that was?’

Dan nodded, gave the thumbs-up, and Lucky sat down on the outdoor furniture and Marjorie crouched nearby and placed a hand on his knee and reminded him he knew how to play the game. He was as good as anyone she’d seen in that studio. Her perfume reminded him of roses and molasses. Describe the scent in a three-word phrase: smell of victory. Or: nursed in luxury. Or: dazzled by fame. Marjorie checked her watch with a tiny motion, and patted his hand.

‘Good luck, big guy,’ said Marjorie. ‘We want to use that footage on Wheel so I’m counting on you to win. You got this. And don’t stay outside too long or you’ll have to go back into make-up.’

2.

Dan found his usual seat in the front row. Red lights, intro music, and Marjorie arrived at the podium, her hair styled differently from twenty minutes ago. She took a moment to explain the rules of Day of Fortune to Lucky, who nodded, understanding the explanation was for the benefit of viewers unfamiliar with the format. On the bank of screens behind the contestants the figure of $300,000 flashed for a few seconds. Someone in the crew stomped on the pedal of a fog machine and sent a comet of theatrical fog across the set. Lucky leaned over the wheel. He asked for the letter ‘M’ in a five-word phrase.

M_____ __ __ ____ M___

He tapped the front of the podium because he knew the answer.

‘I’d like to solve. The answer is Missed it by that much!’ Lucky said.

‘Terrific,’ said Marjorie. ‘Say, Lucky, is it true you sold tongue sandwiches in your franchise? That tongue on toast was one of the early big-selling dishes?’

The crowd made the sound of ewwww.

‘At first they were big sellers, but we replaced tongue with ham once ham became affordable.’

‘Delicious. Moving on. Ratings are falling as we speak.’

Lucky lost all three speed rounds. Phrase: You can do it. Game: Futsal. Film: The Emperor’s New Groove. He wasn’t in the game. He saw himself at home watching this very episode on TV, thinking where did they find this old guy?

‘Our champion has stumbled!’ said Marjorie. ‘We’ll be back after this break.’

She went over to Lucky and punch-patted his arm with her fist, before chatting to the other two contestants. Lucky looked unhappy, stretched his legs, trying to loosen a knot.

A Brisbane law student named Franco spun a total of $3400 and solved the next puzzle. Famous Actor and Role: Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. Lucky clapped and grinned and doffed a pretend cap to blank-faced Franco, who rolled Lose a Turn on the next puzzle. No one in the crowd sighed for him. Someone called out Lucky’s name. A silver-haired childcare worker, Mel, coolly rode the wheel to $2400, almost filling the board. Famous name and title: