The Desperate Bride’s Diet Club (21 page)

‘Right,’ said Maggie. ‘I need to up my exercise once I’ve finished the spring cleaning.’

She glanced at Kathy but she had been ever so
quiet that evening. Even more so than Violet. Unfortunately she was the only one not to lose any weight and had endured another humiliating ticking off from Trudie.

Edward carried on. ‘So I’m just going to keep eating the same stuff and exercising and hopefully it will keep working.’

‘You can tell you’ve already lost weight,’ said Lucy, who was feeling very generous as she had lost another three
pounds. That was half a stone already. She was
thrilled
. Already her skirts and jeans were a little looser around the waist.

‘Thanks,’ said Edward, but he knew it was true. One of the jowls under his chin had begun to recede. But it wasn’t the real difference. That was inside. He could sense his body begin to feel better now that the strain was easing from his vital organs. His pulse wasn’t racing
so much.

He also knew that he had a long way to go. But he would get there. He had to.

Kathy noticed how much more Edward was smiling. Plus he’d lost the grey colour he had had a few weeks previously. He was a nice guy and would look really good once he’d lost a few more stones.

Kathy wished she could borrow some of Edward’s drive and determination. She was drawing blanks with her motivation,
despite Violet’s positive texts and emails. It was no good. She’d eaten like a pig and the scales had shown it.

‘Are you all right, love?’ asked Maggie. ‘You seem a bit blue.’

‘I’m fine,’ said Kathy, putting on a bright smile.

But her face couldn’t maintain it. Everyone watched in dismay as her smile faded.

‘What is it?’ said Maggie, putting her arm around Kathy.

It was the touch that did
it. Kathy was so desperate for any kind of human contact that she burst into tears.

Everyone else exchanged worried glances. Kathy was always so jolly and funny; something dreadful must have happened. Violet went and made a strong cup of tea. Lucy knelt down in front of Kathy and put her hand on her knee. Edward leant forward in his chair but said nothing.

Violet returned with the tea and sat
down. Then they waited and listened until Kathy’s sobs gradually subsided.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, eventually.

‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Lucy.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Violet.

‘Tell us, pet,’ said Maggie.

‘You can trust us,’ said Edward.

Kathy took a deep breath to try and steady herself. ‘It’s so hard to admit,’ she started, wringing her hands together. ‘But I’m lonely. My life is so empty.’
And then she had to suppress sobs that threatened to rise up once more.

‘You’ve just moved to the area, is that right?’ asked Maggie.

Kathy nodded.

‘It’s hard when you don’t know many people,’ said Lucy. ‘I’m scared stiff about going to university and trying to make friends all over again.’

‘Trouble was,’ said Kathy. ‘I was lonely before I moved here. My mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
about ten years ago. Dad tried to cope but it was all too much and his heart couldn’t take it. I had to move in with Mum because her mind had deteriorated so much she wouldn’t have been safe by herself.’

‘Better that she didn’t hurt herself,’ said Maggie.

Kathy nodded. ‘But it was so hard, just watching her deteriorate day by day, year on year. She didn’t know who I was by the end. I celebrated
Christmas with her but she didn’t have a clue, bless her.’

Kathy wiped away another couple of tears.

‘In the meantime, my social life went down to nothing. I only saw Mum and the doctor. Nobody else. I was so lost when she died that I felt I had to get
away
. Start afresh. But you’re the only people I’ve met, apart from Mavis in the shop. And she’s old and batty.’

‘Well, you’ve got us now,’
said Maggie, with a firm note in her voice.

‘Yeah,’ said Lucy. ‘Just when you thought your life couldn’t get any more shit!’

Everyone giggled and the tense atmosphere eased.

‘Lucy’s right,’ said Violet. ‘It is hard to make new friends. Look at me, I’ve lived in this town for years and I still hardly know anyone. My size didn’t help. I wasn’t exactly wanting a hectic social life looking like
this.’

‘But you’ve already lost a stone,’ Kathy told her.

And it was true. Violet had lost a further four pounds.

‘I know,’ Violet told Kathy. ‘But it doesn’t help all those years I wasted before.’

‘I agree,’ said Edward. ‘I play cricket every weekend during the summer but it’s not as if I can hoof it round a football pitch in the winter. So I used to stay in with a lot of takeaways.’

‘I’m
sorry about your mum,’ said Maggie to Kathy.

‘It must have been like being orphaned,’ said Violet, knowing how Kathy would be feeling.

Kathy nodded. ‘It would have been Mum’s birthday a month ago and I just hit a bad patch that I can’t seem to climb out of.’

‘Of course you did,’ said Maggie. ‘You can’t think about dieting and all that when you’re feeling so low. You’re still grieving for your
mum. Give yourself a chance, love.’

‘But I do want to lose weight,’ said Kathy.

‘And you will,’ said Violet. ‘After all, if we can do it, so can you. We’re no different. Just try not to worry about it at the minute.’

‘Keeping busy is good,’ said Edward. ‘After my mum lost my father, she never stopped. Joined that many classes, just so she didn’t have time to be lonely. She’s always off to play
bridge or learn how to embroider or whatever.’

Kathy nodded. ‘That’s why I joined New You!’ she said. ‘To try and meet people.’

‘And you have,’ said Maggie.

‘If you don’t include Trudie,’ said Lucy with a small giggle. ‘Because she’s not people, she’s an alien from the planet bitch.’

‘Tell you what,’ said Edward. ‘Why don’t you come and watch us play cricket when we’re next at home? We’re
rubbish but at least it’ll get you out of the flat.’

‘And I was thinking about doing that ridiculous army fitness thing at the park later this week,’ said Maggie. ‘There was an advert in the local paper. I’ve got to do something to keep busy once I’ve finished tidying the house. Why don’t you join me and stop me looking a total wally all by myself?’

Kathy smiled at them. ‘Thanks, everyone.’
Her mouth trembled as she fought back the tears. ‘You’ve all been so kind.’

‘I think it must be because we’re friends now,’ said Maggie, giving Kathy a quick hug.

And everyone realised it was true.

WORK HAD BECOME
manic and Violet had no time to spare. Not that she missed the endless boredom. But now she was almost constantly on the phone.

Deciding she needed a mid-morning coffee to keep her going, Violet offered to get everyone a drink from the machine. It also meant that she could nip to the ladies briefly. She had now decided that the fat wasn’t melting off her.
It was pure water. She was needing a toilet break every hour.

While she was standing in front of the vending machine, Violet’s phone rang. She saw who it was and rolled her eyes.

‘Violet? It’s Miriam,’ said Sebastian’s mother.

‘Hello,’ said Violet, her heart thumping. She hoped it wasn’t bad news about Sebastian.

‘Hope you don’t mind me calling you at work but I’ve had the most marvellous
idea. Wendy from church had doves when her daughter got married. What do you think?’

‘Doves?’ stammered Violet.

‘When you exit the church, you can have ten doves released into the air. Someone at my Pilates club had the same thing for her daughter and said it was wonderful.’

‘Ten doves,’ repeated Violet in a stunned tone. Good grief.

‘Well, they actually release double that amount but apparently
you lose quite a few in the trees and power lines. But it will look super. Everyone will be very impressed.’

Violet was speechless which Miriam unfortunately took as positive.

‘Wonderful! I’ll get it organised. Toodle-oo!’

Violet stared at the phone for a beat before ringing Sebastian. She explained the dove idea to him, whereupon he snorted a laugh.

‘It’s not funny,’ Violet told him. ‘I thought
we wanted a nice, simple day. Can’t you have a word with her?’

‘It’s not worth the hassle,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter, does it?’

No. It was only their wedding. But who would end up paying for all this rubbish? Violet knew the answer to that question as well.

But Violet also knew she wouldn’t bring up the subject of money. She had always sought to please everyone and hated confrontations.
So it was best to let it slide. Doves and all.

She sighed as he rang off and stared once more at the vending machine.

‘That wasn’t a customer phone call, was it?’

Violet spun round and came face to face with Mark.

‘No.’

But Mark was waiting for her to speak, she realised.

‘It was just my fiancé.’

‘Ah,’ he nodded. ‘How are the wedding plans?’

Violet blew out a sigh. ‘Complicated.’

‘As
long as the food is excellent, that’s all that matters.’ He gave her a warm smile. ‘Italian weddings are all about the food. It’s the best way of celebrating with family and friends. And everybody normally eats outside. Weather permitting, of course.’

Violet bit her lip. ‘What do the guests eat?’

He shrugged. ‘We start with antipasto. You know, olives, salami, prosciutto, stuffed mushrooms and
so on. Then on to the pasta, salads, soups, meats, fruits and the dessert, of course.’

Violet’s mouth gaped open.

‘Sometimes there are as many as twelve different courses.’ He grinned at her. ‘Nobody goes home hungry from an Italian wedding.’

‘Wow,’ sighed Violet.

It sounded fantastic. She could just imagine having a relaxed day full of food, friends and sunshine. Not that she had too many
friends, apart from her weight-loss club. But it certainly sounded better than a dreary country club with Sebastian’s parents’ snooty friends.

‘Is that for me?’ asked Mark, pointing at the vending machine.

‘Er, no,’ she said, picking up the plastic cup. ‘Sorry.’

‘Thank God,’ he said, peering into the synthetic froth. ‘No Italian has a cappuccino after ten o’clock in the morning.’

‘Why not?’

He thought for a minute. ‘It’s a breakfast drink. It would be like having cereal for lunch.’

Violet had briefly considered the cereal diet a while back but said nothing.

‘Next time we’re in Nonna’s deli, remind me to get you a ristretto. Now that’s proper caffeine.’

And he wandered out again.

Next time? She shook her head and pressed the button for the next coffee.

But Violet was still thinking
about Mark’s words as she headed out for a breath of fresh air at lunchtime. Not that she wanted to go back to the delicatessen and bump into him again. Hell, no. But she needed some olive oil for a recipe and that was probably the best place to get it.

Olive oil was hideously high in fat and calories but the salad recipe required just a tiny drizzle. Violet figured that if she was only allowed
a small amount, she had better make it count.

So she found herself back at Gino’s, inhaling the intoxicating scent of Italian food. The queue was huge again. But as she waited patiently in line, Violet felt a touch on her arm. She looked round to find Nonna standing next to her.

‘Ciao,’ said Nonna, her smile revealing a few missing teeth.

‘Hi,’ said Violet.

To her embarrassment, she was dragged
out of the queue by the little old lady and was taken to the end of the food counter.

Nonna rattled off a question in Italian which Violet translated, or hoped, to be a query of her order.

‘Olive oil,’ said Violet, very slowly.

Nonna led her by the hand to a large shelf unit nearby which had hundreds of bottles fighting for space on the wood. She brought down a bottle and handed it over. Violet
stared at the label. ‘Olio di oliva’, it read.

Nonna made a hissing noise and then mimed a frying action with her hand before giving her the thumbs up.

‘Cooking?’ guessed Violet.

A nod was given in reply.

Nonna then brought down a different bottle from the shelf. The label read ‘Olio extra vergine di oliva’. Ah, the extra virgin olive oil. This was the stuff Violet had read about in Isabella’s
book.

Nonna took Violet over to the counter and pointed at the salads. Another thumbs up. Then she took her into the kitchen and pointed at the stove before shaking her head. OK. Violet understood. The extra virgin olive oil was no good for cooking. Just for salads.

Violet nodded her understanding and said thank you.

Nonna patted her hand and smiled. She was really very sweet. Violet wondered
if Mark knew how lucky he was to have a family as warm and friendly as this.

Having paid for her goods, and received an unexpected kiss on both cheeks from Nonna, Violet headed back to the office with her goodies. With her mind on all things Italian, she made a brief detour into a bookshop and bought some more cookbooks to flick through.

At home, Violet studied one of the low-fat cookbooks she
had bought. Quite a few of the recipes were Italian, such as spaghetti bolognese. Probably not quite as authentic as Nonna would have liked but it had to be better than a ready meal.

So the following evening, Violet cooked her fiancé the spaghetti bolognese.

‘This is all right,’ he told her, between mouthfuls.

She smiled and thought how wonderful that
Sebastian
couldn’t tell that it was made
with extra lean mince and that both the beef and the onions had been dry fried. The sauce was also low in fat. OK so she’d added a splash of red wine, but the herbs and stock cubes had also enriched the sauce.

‘I don’t know why you’ve been bothering with all that healthy stuff you’ve been trying to force feed me,’ said Sebastian after finishing his plate. ‘This is much more like it.’

Violet
should have been pleased that he couldn’t tell the difference but his words still bothered her.

‘Don’t you want me to lose weight?’ she asked.