1
The scales lay menacingly on the bathroom floor, daring Jenny to put herself out of her misery.
She stepped on and felt her throat go dry watching the needle come to a standstill after a long time bobbing back and forth. Then winced at the verdict.
Eleven and a half stone.
Damnit,she really needed to get her act together.
Getting into the shower, she heard Mike whistle from downstairs in the kitchen. She couldn’t understand how her fiancé could be so sprightly in the mornings. He never seemed to want to pull the bedcovers over his head and drift back to glorious sleep, shutting out the rest of the world. Whereas she wasdefinitelynot a morning person.
Pity this exam was so soon she sighed, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. She would need to study like the clappers today, so the earlier she got started thebetter. No way she’d nab this promotion if she didn’t pass.
Life was so chaotic lately she’d been finding it hard to concentrate, but needed to make up for lost time now and hope that today’s cramming would be enough. To be fair, Mike had gone out of his way to ensure that she had a quiet day to herself.
Jenny wrapped her wet hair in a towel before joining her fiancé downstairs in the kitchen.
He put a steaming mug and a plate of warm buttered toast on the table in front of her and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
“Morning sunshine.”
She made a face.
He chuckled. “Now I know why I’m marrying you – your morning scowl always brightens up my day.”
Biting back a grin, she took a bite of toast, grimaced and then spat it back out onto the plate. “Ugh. What’s that?”
“What’s what?”
“The toast - what did you put on the toast?”
“Kerrygold,” he answered nonchalantly. “Why?”
“Kerrygold….” She trailed off in amazement. “I’m eating Low-Low these days, remember. Ican’thave real butter on my toast or anything else when I’m watching the scales.”
“Low-Low, huh?” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “So Leo Burdock’s fry chips in Low-Low these days?”
“That’s different. Chipper chips don’t count...”
“Right,” he said, struggling to keep a straight face. “Come on Jen, forget this dieting nonsense – you’re perfect the way you are.” He reached across the breakfast bar and planted another kiss on the top of her head.
“Nope, I’m determined,reallydetermined to fit into that wedding dress in my wardrobe.”
“Really determined, huh?”
“Absolutely.”
“Right. So what about the Low-Low thing?”
“What?”
His eyes danced. “You’re still eating that toast.”
“But that’s because – because I’m rushing, so I don’t have time to wait for fresh stuff and – ah, stop it …” Despite herself, Jenny chuckled, until remembering what lay ahead. “I dread hitting the books and look – it’s such a nice day too.” She looked wistfully out the window at the cloudless spring sky.
“You’ll be fine once you get started.” Mike pushed his plate away and refilled his teacup. “Anyway, it will be all over soon and then you can forget about it.”
“That’s the problem though,” she mused. “It’stoosoon.” She picked up one of the study manuals that lay on the table and stared at it as if willing the info to transport itself from the pages into her memory.
