The Desperate Bride’s Diet Club (24 page)

Maggie gave them all a grin before disappearing.

Edward had lost another half-stone.

‘I had to buy a belt for my suit trousers,’ he told them. ‘They’re huge.’

‘My God, you’re doing so well,’ said Lucy.

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’ve picked up the speed on the running machine, though I’m still walking. I really want to get fit. Even if it’s only for the cricket.’
He
turned to Kathy. ‘You should come along and watch us. We’re at home this weekend. It’s the club at the end of
Grove Street.’

Kathy nodded, grateful for the invitation. The weekends were still a struggle for her. But she wasn’t sure about being with Edward on her own, away from all the others. Wouldn’t it be a bit awkward? Maybe he would be embarrassed at being seen with her? After all, he’d lost loads of weight. She was still a lard arse. With four pounds off, admittedly.

There was a sudden hoot of
laughter from upstairs.

Violet got up to see what was going on when Maggie burst through the door.

‘What the hell is that hanging on your bedroom door?’

Violet remembered that she had received the secondhand wedding dress from Sebastian’s mother and had forgotten to hide it away. She wasn’t bothered about Sebastian seeing it because there was no way she was ever going to wear something as monstrous
as that.

Violet sighed. ‘It’s a wedding dress that Sebastian’s mother gave to me.’

‘Show us!’ cried Lucy and Kathy at the same time.

Violet shook her head. ‘It’s awful.’

‘She’s right,’ said Maggie, still grinning. ‘It’s big flouncy layers of silk, satin and lace. It’s truly hideous.’

‘Go on!’ said Kathy. ‘Put it on for us!’

Violet shook her head.

‘It’s only us,’ said Lucy. ‘We won’t laugh.’

Feeling somewhat bullied into it, Violet went upstairs and changed into the dress. It was a bit loose now that she had lost weight but she didn’t need a mirror to know that it was awful. Did Sebastian’s mother really want her looking like this?

She tripped her way down the stairs and into the
lounge
. Everyone burst out laughing, except Edward who shot tea out of his nose instead.

‘Bloody hell!’
snorted Kathy. ‘It’s dreadful!’

‘I know,’ said Violet. ‘Plus I think it’s jinxed. Apparently the wedding was called off which is why it’s brand new.’

‘Someone paid money for that?’ said Lucy, shaking her head.

‘You’re not going to wear that, are you?’ asked Maggie. ‘I mean, you can’t. It’s hideous.’

‘I might not have a choice,’ Violet told them.

And then she found herself telling them about
the snooty woman in the bridal shop. Suddenly everyone had stopped laughing.

‘That bitch!’ said Lucy.

‘Some of those bridal shops are really snobby,’ said Kathy. ‘Just ignore them. If they don’t want your business then sod them.’

‘Exactly,’ said Maggie.

Lucy was fingering the material. ‘The silk is a nice quality, though. You could probably use that.’

‘And do what with it?’ asked Kathy.

Lucy looked up at Violet. ‘If you like, I can make a few sketches for you. Give you a few ideas for a home-made wedding dress.’

‘Really?’ said Violet. ‘That would be great.’

Lucy blushed but in her heart she knew she could do something better than the monstrosity that was in front of her. This was a side effect of weight loss that nobody spoke about. Lucy now felt she had something to offer the
world.

‘I’ve finished college now so I’ve got some spare time before I start in September. If you don’t like any of my designs, just tell me. I won’t be offended.’

‘I’m sure they’ll be great,’ said Violet, before heading back upstairs to change back into her normal baggy clothes.

Maggie nudged her daughter with her elbow. ‘My daughter. The great designer!’

‘Shurrup!’ said Lucy, nudging her
back.

But they were both smiling.

Everyone was really happy that evening.

‘I’m staying on fifteen hundred calories forever!’ said Kathy.

‘I’ve bought a calorie-counting app for my iPhone,’ Lucy told them. ‘It’s brilliant and tells me exactly how many calories everything has and lists the fat content too.’

‘I can’t wait to be a size twelve!’ said Maggie. ‘Actually, I can’t wait to be a nice
size fourteen. I’d be thrilled to get to that.’

‘Just remember that the quick fixes don’t work,’ said Violet as she came back into the room. ‘We can do this but it must be slow and steady. The crash diets work briefly but then it all goes on again.’

‘With some more added to it,’ muttered Kathy.

‘We can’t go through life only drinking juices or not eating a potato or piece of bread ever again.
That’s just not realistic,’ Violet told them. ‘Now we’ve got to carry on but only aiming for a loss of one or two pounds a week.’

‘But that’ll take me for ever,’ said Edward.

‘We might all lose a few more pounds than that,’ Violet told them. ‘Because of our weight, it’s going to fall off a bit quicker.’

‘Excellent,’ muttered Lucy.

‘The thing is,’ said Maggie. ‘I’m not sure those
ready
meals
are any good. I know I have healthier lunches and all that but I need a decent meal in the evening.’

Violet nodded. ‘I know. I found that too.’

‘So what now, boss?’ asked Kathy.

Violet realised they were all waiting for more words of dieting wisdom.

She cleared her throat. ‘I was looking up some healthy dinner recipes on line. Breakfast and lunch are fairly easy. I tend to stick to fruit or
cereal in the morning and then a sandwich or cracker biscuits for lunch. But we need variation. Actually, it’s me that needs variation, otherwise I’ll get bored and then I’ll pig out, if I’m not careful.’

‘Exactly.’

‘I’ve bought a couple of low-fat recipe books,’ she told them. ‘The food is mainly Italian but I can share the recipes with you, if you want? They need fresh herbs and the odd splash
of wine to liven them up but they taste much better. But you must measure out all of your food. I don’t know about you but I was eating gigantic portions. Way too much.’

They all pored over the recipes.

‘Oooh!’ said Maggie, salivating at the photo of linguine with garlic, prawns and spinach. ‘How can that be only four hundred calories?’

‘You gotta make that for us, Mum,’ said Lucy. ‘And the
spicy meatballs.’

‘I can’t believe you’re allowed those parmesan shavings on top,’ said Kathy. ‘I thought cheese was full of fat.’

Violet flicked through to the notes at the back of the book. ‘It says if you get a really nice bit of parmesan,
you
don’t need to use so much. It’s quality, not quantity that makes the difference taste-wise.’

And she knew just the right delicatessen to buy it from.

KATHY PARKED HER
car and walked slowly towards the cricket pitch. She wasn’t sure that she really wanted to be there but what else was there to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon in July? Especially when she was renting a poky, first-floor flat without a garden. Besides, she had promised Edward and didn’t want him to worry if she didn’t turn up.

She had fretted over what to wear.
Summer clothes were the worst fashion for the single overweight lady as the thin material showed off any sweat or rolls of fat and a big, baggy cardigan to hide everything wasn’t an option. So Kathy settled on a bright pink T-shirt which didn’t cling quite as much as it used to and a pair of black linen trousers so wide legged that if the wind got up, she would take off. With a pair of sparkly
black flipflops on her feet, she basted up with suntan lotion and felt almost brave enough to watch Edward’s team in action. Or at least hide and watch the action from the sidelines.

She slowly walked around the edge of the field
towards
the pavilion which seemed crowded and noisy. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and they were all laughing and gossiping.

Not knowing anyone and feeling
shy, she settled herself on the scorched grass a little way from the pavilion and took the opportunity to hunt Edward down with her eyes. She found him just beyond the wicket on the other side of the field.

From far away, Kathy could see Edward’s full silhouette and realised how much he had trimmed down. The weight had gone from everywhere, especially around his waist. He appeared more defined,
slimmer. He was beginning to get a good shape on his body now that he had lost almost two stone.

The ball flew out in Edward’s direction and he caught it easily, causing celebrations as the wicket fell. His strong forearms were tanned from the time spent out in the summer sun.

As the next batsman headed out on to the field, Edward and his team were huddled together discussing tactics. They were
all laughing and Kathy suddenly felt jealous that he had such a wide circle of friends.

Then the players split up, with Edward tossing and catching the ball before turning around to bowl. She watched him run up to the wicket. For all his extra weight, he could move quite well and the batsmen were having problems staying in.

Men are so lucky, thought Kathy. OK, so Edward was over six feet tall,
but why could men get away with extra weight and women not? Still, a sneaky glance at the scales this morning had confirmed her suspicions that she was still losing weight and she certainly felt better about herself than she had for a long while.

She found her mind casting back to her younger days when her dad used to play cricket whilst she and her mum helped sort out the cricket teas in the
clubhouse. Happy days, thought Kathy. But they seemed a long time ago.

A huge roar from the pavilion indicated that Edward had bowled out the last member of the other team and that it was his side’s turn to bat.

Kathy watched Edward behind the safety of her sunglasses as he made his way over to the clubhouse to wait for his turn. He was certainly a popular member of the team, with everyone slapping
him on the back and cracking jokes.

He suddenly caught sight of Kathy and waved before beginning to walk over.

‘Hi!’ he said, throwing himself on to the ground next to her. ‘Glad you came.’

Up close, she could see how much weight he had lost from his face as well, making him look younger than he had done when they had first met. He appeared to have had a haircut too. His blond hair was neater
than she remembered.

‘Hello,’ she replied. ‘You did well out there.’

‘Thanks, but you haven’t seen my lack of batting skills yet.’

‘Is it that bad?’ she asked.

‘Unspeakable,’ he told her, before glugging down some of the can of Diet Coke he was holding. ‘God, but it’s hot. I thought I was going to melt when I cycled over here today.’

Kathy raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re cycling now?’

He grinned
at her. ‘Bought a bike off eBay and I go everywhere on it, even to work. It’s true what they say. It does get easier.’

He had lost another five pounds that week.

Kathy nodded. ‘Nice to be out in the sun as well.’

Edward picked up the wistful tone in her voice and looked at her.

‘I’m always either stuck in the shop or in the flat,’ she explained. ‘I get so little daylight that I’m in danger
of getting scurvy.’

He broke into a grin and Kathy was glad the sunglasses hid her cheeks which were growing pink. His round face was becoming a handsome one.

‘What happened to your arm?’ he asked, looking down at a vivid bruise near her wrist.

Kathy rolled her eyes. ‘The kitchen cupboard doors fall off if I forget to treat them gently. And I’m not very gentle when I’m hungry. I obviously don’t
know my own strength.’

‘Is it your own flat?’

Kathy shook her head. ‘Rented. I’m still working out what and where to buy my own place.’

Edward frowned. ‘Can’t you complain to your landlord?’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘The rent’s pretty low and I don’t want to do anything to rock the boat.’

‘Look, I’m at the gym in the morning but how about I come over tomorrow afternoon and fix the doors?’

Kathy began to shake her head. ‘I don’t want you to go to any trouble. It’s not worth it, honestly.’

‘You can’t keep hurting yourself. It’s not right,’ said Edward, as a roar came up from the cricket square indicating that another wicket had just fallen. ‘Anyway, I’m up next so you’ve no time to argue. Text me your address and I’ll see you around four-ish. OK?’

Kathy didn’t have time to reply
as Edward had
already
got up and was heading towards the pavilion for his pads and bat.

At least it meant she wasn’t at a loose end on Sunday morning, she realised the following day with a duster and bin liner in her hand. Thank God, Edward wasn’t turning up unexpectedly and had pre-warned her. OK, so the flat wasn’t that bad but it wasn’t exactly immaculate either.

By mid-afternoon, she had
just sunk on to the sofa, having finished her blitz, when there was a knock on the front door.

‘Hi,’ said Edward, smiling and waving his toolbox at her. ‘Bob the Builder here.’

‘Come in,’ said Kathy.

‘Hey, this isn’t bad,’ Edward said, taking a look around. ‘It’s bigger than my place.’

‘The size comes at a cost,’ she told him. ‘It overlooks an industrial estate at the back so I get woken up
most mornings by the lorries thundering in.’

‘Mine isn’t exactly a room with a view either. Now what about these dodgy doors?’

‘It’s not that bad,’ said Kathy but Edward was already marching into the kitchen to have a look.

Edward went to open one of the higher cupboard doors and found it came clean off in his hand. He raised an eyebrow at Kathy.

‘OK, so it’s really bad,’ she told him with
a rueful smile. ‘I just didn’t want you to go to any trouble. Let’s have a cuppa first, though.’

They made small talk about the previous day’s match whilst they sipped their tea. But Edward was soon up and working on the doors, ignoring her protestations. She watched him as he tightened up the hinges of every cupboard in the kitchen. Some of
the
doors were in such a mess that he had to either
replace the screws or sort out the hinge.