Fatty Patty (A James Bay Novel) (39 page)

I suck in a deep breath. Is that what I’ve been doing all my life? Following diets, then giving up, breaking the rules and binging all night? No wonder I feel so crazy when I’m around food. What has chocolate ever given me except for a few moments of pleasure, followed by pounds of guilt, flabby thighs and an empty heart?

My relationship with food is a one-sided love affair.

The thought pulses through my body like a sugar rush. Is Sam right? Can it really be that simple? Can I say
no
and walk away from food?

“I’ve been trying to lose weight for Priscilla’s wedding. I’ve already lost six pounds—”

“No, Patty, you can’t do this for anyone but you,” he says. “Not for Priscilla, not for me. Do it for yourself. Love yourself enough to do it. Put down the fork and give your heart a try.”

His words bring fresh tears brimming to my eyes and I fish for a Kleenex. It takes a few minutes before I can talk again. “How did you get to be so smart?”

“Let’s just say I had a great teacher.” He grins. “You taught me everything I know.”

“I love you, Sam Curtis,” I say, watching as his face lights up with astonishment, then delight. I laugh out loud. It mirrors exactly how I feel inside. “I love you.”

“Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that?” he asks.

“Then I’ll never stop saying it.” I stroke his cheek. “I love you, Sam. I love you and everything about you… including your moustache. Promise you’ll never shave it off?”

The beginning of a smile tugs at his mouth as he slides close and takes me in his arms. “Never is a long time.”

“No, first you have to make me that promise.” My body sings with a surge of desire at the thought of spending a lifetime in his arms sharing delicious kisses and more.

“Let’s say I do decide to keep the moustache. What exactly do I get in return for the favor?” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Well, there’s always… me,” I venture shyly. “But you’d have to be willing to bargain.”

“I’m a gambling man, remember?” His lips hungrily graze my own. “I play poker every Wednesday night.”

“What about the other six nights?”

“I could think of a thing or two,” he whispers huskily in my ear. “Unless the teacher has other ideas.”

“I’m more than willing to share a lesson plan,” I say, opening my arms to him.

He pulls away some moments later as a car pulls into the pool parking lot, close to Sam’s car. “We should probably go. It’s getting late.”

I swallow a quick smile. We’ve been going at it like two teenagers in the front seat of his car. I tuck my shirt into my shorts, straighten my clothes. “What about my car?”

“We can come back for it after dinner.”

“Please, no place too fancy. I’m not wearing makeup, and my hair…” I lift a hand to my curls and my fingers connect with a wild frizzy mess. “Ugh.”

“Relax, you look beautiful.” He grins.

“And you’re a liar, Sam Curtis.” I grin right back.

“Got a taste for anything special?” He throws the car in reverse and carefully backs out of the space. “Just say the word, Patty. What do you want?”

What do I want? I think hard as we swing into traffic. Sam’s given me license to eat as I please. He doesn’t care if I’m fat or thin. The only one I need to please is myself.

And suddenly, I know exactly what I want. Not food, but Life itself… in every delicious flavor imaginable spread out before me. All I have to do is say
yes
and it’s there for the taking. Life, Love, and Sam. What more could I want?

“How about it, Patty? Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes.” I glance across at Sam with a brilliant smile. “Yes, I think I have.”

EPILOGUE

“Stand still! Arms above your head, and don’t breathe.”

Madame is tiny, but her bark is mighty and I don’t dare do anything but follow the dressmaker’s command. I barely breathe as soft folds of shimming silk slip against my skin. The feel of such luxury makes me lightheaded, giddy, and ready to dance—but the dancing will have to wait one more week until the wedding.

“Just as I suspected.” The old woman clucks impatiently as she strips her tape measure from around my waist. “We need to take in another inch. Off with the dress.”

“I’ll help.” Priscilla bounces to her feet from a nearby chair.

“Careful,” Madame warns as they free me from the delicate fabric. “I’m no miracle worker and if that necklace snags the lace, I won’t be able to fix it. You should have taken it off like I told you to do,” she admonishes me. “But did you listen? No! The story of my life. None of you girls listen.”

I finger the diamond pendant nestled between my breasts. It’s my most treasured possession and I haven’t taken it off since Sam gave it back to me. I won’t, either… Madame or no Madame.

“Don’t you dare lose one more pound.” The tiny woman wags a crooked finger at me over an armful of shimmering silk. “I’m a busy woman, you know. There’s no time to take in this dress again.”

“I promise.” I wink at Priscilla over Madame’s head.

“Like I believe you. You’ll come waltzing in here next week, crying that your dress won’t fit. You girls are all the same. If I had any sense, I’d retire and move to Florida.” With a disdainful sniff, Madame disappears behind a curtain with my wedding gown.

“She sounds serious,” Priscilla whispers.

“I don’t care where she goes, as long as she doesn’t take my dress with her.” I smother a quick laugh. “That would give Sam quite a jolt, seeing me walk down the aisle in my slip.”

“Sam wouldn’t care. He thinks you’re beautiful no matter what you wear.” She steps back and eyes me thoughtfully. “And he’s right, Patty. You are beautiful. You’ve always been pretty but there’s something about you now that wasn’t there before.”

I grin. “It’s called prewedding jitters.”

“I don’t see what you’re so nervous about. Remember my wedding last month when Harold’s best man couldn’t find the ring? You were the only one who didn’t panic.”

I chuckle, remembering those tense moments at the altar a few weeks before. Everyone was flustered until I leaned over and pointed out the ring on the best man’s pinky finger, exactly where he’d put it for safekeeping.

“Sam is the one I’m worried about,” I confess. That man of mine has been operating in panic-mode since Priscilla and Dr. Brown strolled down the aisle a few weeks ago. “Did I tell you his latest idea? He wants to shuck the whole wedding thing and elope.”

“He’ll be fine,” Priscilla predicts. “As for you, just remember what Madame said. Don’t lose any more weight. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

“Think so?” I slip the colorful sheath over my head. A bit snug when I purchased it a few weeks ago, but it finally fits just right. And even though I bought it for our ten-day honeymoon cruise, I couldn’t resist wearing it today. I do a happy little twirl in front of the mirror, admiring the way the orange, green, and gold colors glow against my skin.

“Very pretty, but I’m getting hungry.” Priscilla pokes her head around the mirror, interrupts my twirl. “Are you ready?”

I slip on my sandals, grab my purse, and trail her out the door into the brilliant sunshine of a James Bay summer day. “Where do you want to eat?”

She points out Chuck’s Bar and Grill across the street. “They make a nice chicken Caesar salad.”

“Perfect.” I link arms with Priscilla and we dart across the busy street. Funny, how time—and love—changes all things. Today, a salad lightly tossed with parmesan cheese, a drizzle of dressing and a side of grilled chicken sounds just right. I’ve grown to appreciate how good even simple foods taste. A freshly washed pear. Sweet juicy strawberries. I especially like the way they leave me feeling inside. Clean and light, not sluggish and sleepy, like after a sugar binge. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would sleep better, think clearer and feel better, all because of the food I chose to put in my mouth, I would have laughed in their face. But Sam was right. Eating healthy is simple, once you make the decision. But who would have guessed that it starts with one bite?

Just one bite saved my life.

No more worrying about trying to have it all, about trying to make my life—and my body—the way I think they should be. I’ve lost weight, but I’m still stuck with frizzy curls and chunky thighs. Well, so be it. I am what I am, and life is what it is. I’m dong wasting my time worrying about it. I have better things to do.

No more hiding out in bed with chocolate. No more fear that my body will betray me. No more dreading the thought of a brand new day.

No more living to eat. From now on, I’m eating to live.

Good-bye, Fatty Patty. Hello, me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Irene Paterka fell in love with writing (and food) at a very young age. By the time she graduated high school, she’d completed her first manuscript and she weighed 300 lbs. Though the extra pounds have long since disappeared, Kathleen still carries the emotional scars of being a former fatty.
FATTY PATTY
was born from the cruel teasing she endured on the school playground. Kathleen is the author of numerous novels which embrace universal themes of home, family life and love, including the Women's Fiction series, "
The James Bay Novels
". Kathleen is the resident staff writer for Castle Farms, a world renowned castle listed on the National Historic Register, and co-author of the non-fiction book
FOR THE LOVE OF A CASTLE
, published in 2012. Having lived and studied abroad, Kathleen's educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Michigan University. She and her husband live in the beautiful north country of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Kathleen loves hearing from readers. You can contact her via her website at

www.kathleenirenepaterka.com
.

If you enjoyed
LOTTO LUCY
,

check out these other titles in
The James Bay Novel series
by Kathleen Irene Paterka:

The James Bay Novels

FATTY PATTY
(#1 – available now!)

HOME FIRES
(#2 – available now!)

LOTTO LUCY
(#3 – available now!)

FOR I HAVE SINNED
(#4 – coming soon!)

Non-Fiction:

FOR THE LOVE OF A CASTLE
(available now!)

Coming in 2013:

ROYAL SECRETS

Turn the Page for a free bonus read!

HOME FIRES

Book #2 in The James Bay Novel series

Bonus Read

Home Fires

HOME FIRES

A James Bay Novel

KATHLEEN IRENE PATERKA

Copyright 2012 © Kathleen Irene Paterka

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental
.

All rights reserved. Without
limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

ISBN-10: 0985512156

ISBN-13: 978-0-9855121-5-6

CHAPTER ONE

ARSON SUSPECTED IN RECENT DUMPSTER FIRES

____________________________________

By: Charles Kendall

The James Bay Journal

____________________________________

JAMES BAY—Local police and fire officials ask residents of the community to be alert in the wake of last weekend’s rash of dumpster fires in the downtown area.

“Dumpster fires aren’t unusual this time of year,” James Bay Fire Chief Ivan Thompson informed this reporter. “It’s summertime. People get sloppy with cigarette butts or their barbeque charcoal. But these fires were intentionally set.”

Arson is a second-degree felony punishable by a $15,000 fine and ten years’ imprisonment. Anyone with information is asked to contact the James Bay Police or Fire Department.