Fat & Fine E-Book

Mary E. Thompson

• Herausgeber: BluEyed Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

I’m going to make him eat his words.

So what if my ex thinks I’m fat? He doesn’t know what he’s missing. But I joined a gym and I’m going to show him.

First step, ignore the sexy and intense owner of my new gym. He intrigues and intimidates me at the same time. The way he watches me makes me wonder if he’s trying to find a way to kick me out. I can’t handle another guy rejecting me because of my curves. Then he throws out other clients for making me feel like crap.

And kisses me.

He’s not like any guy I’ve ever met. He’s strong and silent and a whole lot of alpha. Maybe a little too much for me. He gives me confidence and defends me and makes me believe I can do anything.

I’ve never felt this way. That’s good though, right?

Leseprobe

FAT & FINE

A SMALL TOWN CURVY GIRL ROMANCE

BIG & BEAUTIFUL

BOOK FIVE

MARY E THOMPSON

Fat & Fine

Big & Beautiful, book five

Copyright © 2016 Mary E. Thompson

Cover Copyright © 2019 Mary E Thompson

Cover Photo (woman) from DepositPhotos, Copyright © DimaBaranow

Cover Photo (cupcake) from DepositPhotos, Copyright © ivonnewierink

Published by BluEyed Press, All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, businesses, locations, and events are either products of the author’s creative imagination or are used in a fictitious sense. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-944090-04-3

Print ISBN: 978-1-944090-12-8

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-953879-95-0

Created with Vellum

BIG & BEAUTIFUL

Who we are needs to be celebrated. Not everyone is content to be plus size. But usually that comes when someone makes you feel like shit. People are still not interested in seeing beneath the surface of a person. But they should. Because we’re amazing and beautiful and deserve the most amazing love ever. That’s what these books are about. Celebrating love. And cupcakes. Because life is better with cupcakes.

BIG & BEAUTIFUL

Chubby & Charming

Lush & Lovely

Shapely & Stunning

Bulky & Beauteous

Fat & Fine

Plump & Pretty

Husky & Hot

Fluffy & Fabulous

Puffy & Precious

Round & Ravishing

Curvaceous & Captivating

Stocky & Sumptuous

Amply & Alluring

Big & Beautiful Ever After (newsletter exclusive)

SUBSCRIBE NOW AT MARYETHOMPSON.COM

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Epilogue

About the Author

For my brother, who’s always encouraging me to be healthy, not skinny.

CHAPTER1

I still couldn’t believe I’d been dumped. After spending two months with a guy I thought I knew him. I never imagined he would be such an asshole. He seemed sweet and considerate, kind, understanding, and decent. Little did I know he was none of those things.

I wiped the fresh tears from my cheeks and eyed myself in the mirror critically. My friends would pick up on the most subtle changes in my appearance so I had to camouflage my misery.

Or maybe it was just embarrassment.

Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to rehash it all. Yeah, they’d want to lynch him as badly as I did, but it was just too painful to talk about. I mean, to think he said-

Nope, I wasn’t going to get worked up again. I had to meet my friends in fifteen minutes. Every Tuesday we got together for a girls’ night. What started out as one night a week to hang out with my three best friends from college had morphed into a night for six of us to get together, usually with at least one of the four men that had paired off with my friends.

Ever since the first time Mandy had brought her fiancé, Xander, to a girls’ night I was jealous. Not in an I-want-him way, but in an I-want-my-own way. I’d always been popular, even though I was a full figured size 20. My 40D breasts were a big selling point with most men. They were for Cade. He loved my breasts.

Damn it! There I went again. Nope, I was done crying over men who weren’t good enough for me. Especially ones who were first class assholes.

I yanked off my red framed glasses so I could focus on my red-rimmed eyes. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, but it was still noticeable. Fuck. Addi would see right through me. Lexi probably would, too. I had to get a grip.

I rushed from my bedroom to the kitchen. I loved my two bedroom house, but it was quiet since Addi moved out. She and I were roommates freshman year of college at Erie University in Winterville, NY, where we still lived. After growing up in the city, Buffalo that is, going to college in a small town seemed crazy, but I fell in love with the place. Mandy and Claire were high school friends with a room across the hall from us. The four of us became friends quickly, and after 11 years of friendship there were some things you couldn’t hide.

Like eyes that had clearly spent most of the day crying.

I knew crying over someone I’d only been with for two months seemed ridiculous. If any of my friends had done the same I’d call her out for being ridiculous, then take her out drinking and introduce her to a new guy. I fully expected similar treatment.

Although with most of them paired off our days of drinking were few and far between. Not to mention the fact that we were all getting old in a hurry. Twenty-nine wasn’t really old, but after hitting that mark just a month earlier and realizing it was my last birthday before I turned 30, I started to feel my age. It didn’t help that I was home, alone, by nine most nights. Even weekends.

When you can recite the cable line-up on Friday and Saturday night, you’re old.

I threw a spoon into the freezer then rushed back to my bedroom. All day I’d been in the same clothes and I could go for something fresh. Being a photographer wasn’t a grueling job, something my mother reminded me of regularly, but after working all day I felt a little stale in the same thing.

Oh, hell, who was I kidding. I just wanted to look cute when I went out. Normally I’d say because you never knew when you’d meet someone, but that night, well, I just wanted to make sure no one picked up on my mood.

God, if there was ever a night for all the guys to show up, it was that one.

The weather in Winterville was beautiful since it was mid-June. My favorite time of year, even though it was my busiest. Everyone wanted to be a June bride for some unknown reason. So far none of my friends got married in June, but Mandy and Xander were getting married in July. I knew I’d never be a June bride. Hell, I didn’t think I’d be an any month bride.

After the day I’d had I wasn’t even sure I’d date again.

I tugged on a pair of jean capris and found a loose fitting light grey top. Back in the kitchen I retrieved my frozen spoon and held it over my puffy eyes to reduce the swelling, and prayed it worked.

A few seconds later I was back in front of the mirror. The redness wasn’t completely gone but that could have been from the cold. Why did I try this stuff when it really mattered? I should have tested that stupid theory when I wasn’t about to go out.

Oh, well. I lined my eyes and dusted on eye shadow. A few swipes of mascara and I almost looked normal. Lip gloss and a bit of blush and I could pass for my usual carefree self.

With five minutes to spare I jumped in my car and drove over to Bite Me!, Charlie’s bakery and our meeting site for the last year. If I had any desire to go the other way I’d be after a woman like Charlie… she could cook like a dream, she had this beautiful twinkling laugh, and she was the sweetest person ever.

Of course, she was also fat, like me.

We all were, but the others didn’t like me using the ‘f’ word. No, not fuck. They didn’t care about that one. I meant fat. They all said it was offensive to women like us. They preferred words like chubby or lush or fluffy. I just told it like it was. I was fat. No sugar-coating would change that.

But me saying it about myself and someone else calling me fat… it didn’t work that way. When Cade said-

Nope, still not going there. Not with fresh make-up. I could have another melt-down later. Tonight was all about recon. I had a mission in mind. Cade was going to regret his every move, his every word. And next time it would be me telling him it was over.

If I gave him a second chance in the first place.

I threw my slightly used Honda CR-V in park and headed in to Bite Me! determined to make the night a success. Even if that only meant forgetting about that asshole for a couple of hours.

My phone rang when I was halfway to the door, and I pulled it out, ready to tell Addi I was about to walk in. Damn. It was my mother. She’d called earlier, when I was working, and I basically blew her off. She hated my job, called it a hobby, so she had no problems interrupting me at work. I guess she didn’t get enough though if she was calling back.

I hit ignore and shoved the phone back in my purse. I’d pay for that one later, but I wasn’t in the mood for her. My mom and I were close, in the sense of we talked every day, or close to it, but not in the sense of we ever had real conversations. Most of the time my mom was telling me how badly I was screwing up my life and giving me instructions on how to fix it. I wasn’t in the mood for that.

Charlie was heading to our table when I finally walked in the door. She nodded me over and lifted her hand, showing me a plate with my cupcakes already on it. I hated when Charlie didn’t let us pay. We were there every week, sometimes more, and about once a month she gave us all free cupcakes. Of course we snuck money into her tip jar when she wasn’t looking, but still.

She set the plate with my raspberry lemonade cupcakes down next to Addi then went back to get her own salted caramel one before joining us. Mandy wasn’t there yet, but that was nothing new. She was late for everything, but we loved her anyway.

“Hey Ads, what’s up?” I asked as I took my seat. Joey was on the other side of my best friend and I nodded at him. He was a good guy, but I felt territorial toward Addi. They’d only been together about six months and the fact that they weren’t engaged, or married, was a shock amongst our friends. Claire eloped with Aidan after about a month, Mandy and Xander were engaged after six months, and Lexi and Mike, well they were friends with benefits for a while, but they still got engaged two months after they made their relationship official.

Joey was good to Addi, but he still took my best friend away from me. She’d moved in with him and left me alone in our rental house. It was nice to have the space, but I missed my best friend. I went from seeing her every day to seeing her once or twice a week.

But she was happy, which made missing her worthwhile. That’s what I kept telling myself.

“Hey, Sam, any crazy brides today?” she asked teasing me.

Addi was a teacher, high school chemistry, and while she was off for the summer I was working my ass off. In Winterville, NY, the weather was only nice for about two months. My two busiest months.

And my best friend was rubbing it in.

“Just watch it. I’ll start telling them you’re my assistant and giving out your number instead of mine.”

Addi laughed knowing I’d never do it, but damn. All summer it was one crisis after another. None of which were actually important. I hated working with brides, but since they paid better, I did it.

Just don’t tell my mother. She’d have me locked in a room doing career aptitude tests forever if she found out there was any part of photography I didn’t love.

What I did love though, was doing shoots for families, capturing the sweetness of kids and the love of the parents. Even if it was just for a few minutes, I loved seeing the perfect imperfection of a family. The mess of families were just part of what made them wonderful.

“How many more days?” I asked Addi, directing attention away from my troubles and back to her. After years of working with people I found it was easy to distract them by asking about the things they were excited about. As much as Addi loved her job, she lived for summer break. Since this would be her first with Joey I knew they were planning a few trips and way more fun than I would get to have over the summer.

“Six more days,” Addi breathed as though it took effort. “But they’re exam days so I don’t have much going on. I’ll have to grade all my exams, but I only have five classes. I’ll proctor a few exams and spend the rest of the time in my classroom getting ready to leave for ten weeks.”

She leaned into Joey as she spoke and I could tell they’d already planned something big. Wondering what it was, I found myself jealous again… and thinking I’d never have what she had. I wasn’t strong enough to get hurt again.

“What are you guys planning?”

I directed the question at Joey so he wouldn’t feel left out, but I didn’t think he would feel included for a while. It was hard to break into our circle, not because we weren’t nice, but because we had so much history. Addi and I had lived together for 11 years until Joey came along.

“Since some of us still have work, we’re only doing a few trips. I think we’re going to head up to Niagara on the Lake one weekend, maybe down to the Finger Lakes, and we might even head out to New York City. It’ll be fun.”

Joey was beaming at her and I knew he would pop the question soon.

Addi was lucky to have him. And yeah, I encouraged her to date him. Addi met Joey when she was trying out casual sex for the first time ever. Joey was the lucky guy who stumbled into her path when she was on the hunt. Addi didn’t want to fall for him, but everyone except Addi knew she’d never survive a relationship that was based purely on sex. Their road was a little rocky, but there was no denying they were great together.

“That sounds like a great summer,” Lexi chimed in. She knew my reservations about Joey, but after getting married to Mike she had more in common with Addi’s situation than with me. I knew she was trying to be supportive.

“Claire, you’re hosting Mandy’s shower, right?” Charlie asked.

Claire nodded. “Yep, everything is all set. It’s a couples shower so the men are coming too. It’s going to be at my house though so Mandy and Xander don’t have to worry about clean-up.”

“And we can’t tell you how much we appreciate that,” Mandy said, dropping into the seat next to Claire. “It’s going to be so much fun. But no games or stuff like that. Basically just a chance for everyone to hang out and give us presents.”

We all laughed at Mandy knowing she was being totally serious. Mandy loved presents, something Xander had picked up on quickly and took care of regularly.

Xander was right behind Mandy with their cupcakes and drinks. He took the seat next to her and passed her red velvet cupcakes and hot chocolate over. I didn’t understand how Mandy could drink hot chocolate, even in the summer, but I lived on coffee some days and knew it wasn’t that different.

Mandy was the bubbly one among us most of the time. Working in customer service had given her that outgoing personality. Claire was usually relatively quiet, although since she got together with Aidan she’d come out of the shell she hid in for the first decade I knew her. It helped that she’d started an organization helping prevent rape and was now a paid public speaker. She couldn’t hide with so much of her personal history being public knowledge.

Between the two of them they carried most of the conversation for rest of the night. Everyone was making summer plans, even though all of us except Addi had regular jobs. Mandy and Xander had a trip to Cape Cod planned, Claire and Aidan were going to Mackinac Island in Michigan, and Lexi and Mike were going to Washington DC. Charlie even said she might get away for a few days since she’d just hired Addi’s student, Kendall, and she was working full time for the summer.

I was the only one stuck in Winterville, working like a slave, for ten weeks.

No, I was going to be changing myself. Improving myself. I would be a whole new Sam by the end of summer.

When we all finished our cupcakes and the couples made it known they were ready to head home we cleaned up and said our goodbyes. I walked out with my arm through Addi’s and asked if we could talk for a minute. Joey took the hint and said he’d wait for her in the car.

“I know you don’t like him,” Addi began.

“This has nothing to do with Joey. And I don’t not like him. I just miss my best friend. I know he’s good to you and you love him. Anyone can see he’s completely devoted to you. You’re lucky, I’m just jealous of him.”

“Ooh, Sam. I never knew you went that way,” Addi teased me.

I rolled my eyes but grinned. “You know if I did I’d go for Charlie so she could cook for me. I’d never marry someone who had the whole summer off and rubbed it in.”

Addi threw her head back and laughed. She knew I hated it when she reminded me of her career, but she did it anyway. She also knew I loved my job and would never become a teacher no matter how great the hours were.

“Okay, then if it’s not to tell me to leave Joey, what did you want?”

“I was wondering if you’d tell me about your gym. I think I’m going to start exercising.”

Addi eyed me carefully. She knew I’d never shown an interest in exercise before. I’d often criticized her for bothering with it, claiming it was a torture tactic invented by skinny people.

I waited for her to ask why the change of heart and to jump on me for giving in. To tease me and say she knew eventually I’d cave. Or to just question why I’d care.

But she didn’t.

Addi just nodded. “Sure. It’s called Dave’s Gym. It’s sort of a hole in the wall, but inside is pretty great. They have trainers on staff that are included in your membership and all the exercise machines you could imagine plus weights. They offer a few aerobic classes, but not too many. Mostly it’s men, but there are always women around. I’ve never felt out of place even though I’m heavy. I think you’ll like it there.”

I catalogued the information as she spoke, knowing I’d go check it out before I committed. If they had a website I’d look that over too just to get a feel for the place. It sounded decent though, like someplace I’d be okay going to, especially if Addi liked it.

“I can go with you tomorrow after school if you want.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay. I think I’d rather exercise in the morning when everyone else is at work. You know, fewer people to scare off with my fatness.”

Addi cringed at the f word but didn’t correct me. “Okay. Well, let me know what you think. And if you need anything there just ask one of the trainers. They’re great.”

“Any one in particular I should ask for?”

Addi shook her head after thinking for a second. “Nah. They’re all pretty good. The ones I’ve worked with at least. They do have female trainers too so if you’re not into having one of the guys you can ask for a woman. They really work hard to make sure everyone is comfortable there.”

“Sounds like a good place. Thanks.”

Addi looked like she wanted to ask more, but she clamped her mouth shut. We said good night and I told her to say bye to Joey for me. I could at least try to be nice, right?

CHAPTER2

I wasn’t ready to join the gym just yet. I knew I needed to. Or at least if I wanted to make Cade regret being an asshole I needed to, but I wasn’t quite ready.

Plus, I had work to do. That took precedence, right?

The perfect antidote to my shitty mood since I found out Cade was such an ass was a sweet family to spend the day with. Thankfully that was exactly what was on my schedule for the day. It was a new client, a family I’d never met before, and I was excited to get to know them. There was something about spending an hour or so with people and taking their pictures that always let you into their world. Especially when that world involved kids.

Winterville Park, near the center of town was a great back drop for pictures. In the nicer months of the year, all three of them, I used the park as much as possible for sessions. Occasionally I headed to the beach at Lake Erie, but the park was my favorite since there was such variety there, and it was closer.

I pulled into the lot and threw my bags over my shoulder. The family, the Alexanders, were supposed to meet me at the edge of the lot on the trail that led toward the bridge. No one was there yet, but I was early, as always. It was a cardinal rule of mine to never leave a client waiting so I was always at least 15 minutes early.

While waiting for them to arrive I mentally took stock of the park. Bright green grass covered almost all the area, with massive trees offering shade and bolts of light that made pictures come to life. A bridge crossed a small stream that ran through the entire area and led to a small pond at one end. A butterfly garden and wildflower garden brought in color to the otherwise monochromatic space.

People walked, biked, and skateboarded through the park on a daily basis. Kids loved the playground the town installed a few years ago, near the pond, to give the little kids something fun to do. My favorite was the gazebo.

An oversized gazebo anchored one of the edges of the park. Many a June bride dreamed of saying I do under the light wooden structure. It could easily hold just about any size wedding party, up to twenty could stand under it comfortably, and the surrounding open space gave guests of the lucky brides a 360 view of the ceremony.

To say I wanted to get married there was a bit of an understatement. That site was what inspired me to become a photographer. In college I went wandering one day and ended up finding the park. It was early spring and flowers were just starting to bloom. I’d always loved photography and was studying it at school, along with my business major since my parents refused to pay for my degree if I didn’t have something marketable. Until that moment though, I never thought I could truly make photography a career.

There was a wedding going on that day. The edges of the bride’s dress were muddy due to the overnight rain storm. The tips of the groom’s shoes were caked with the same mud, but they only had eyes for each other. I stood in the back where I could see them both and knew I wanted to capture those moments forever.

Voices from the parking lot broke up my trip into the past and I turned with a smile to watch the family piling out of the SUV parked near mine. The mom looked ragged, the dad was grinning at something one of the kids said, and both kids looked ready to run, in opposite directions.

I had no doubt they were the Alexanders.

Maddie, the mom, walked over to me while Dad, Johnny, wrangled the boys.

“Are you Samantha?” Maddie asked tentatively.

“I am. It’s nice to meet you Maddie.”

“You, too,” she said as we shook hands. “I just hope these guys aren’t too much for you. I told my husband I wanted family pictures taken before Ben started kindergarten. The boys are a bit wild today though.”

I smiled what I hoped was a reassuring smile and told her everything would be okay. Johnny walked up with one boy under each arm, all three smiling, and introduced himself. “I’d shake your hand but I’m not sure I can lift mine.”

I laughed and agreed. “No worries. You seem to have your hands full, literally. Should we head into the park?”

Maddie nodded and fell into step beside me while Johnny carried the boys behind us. The peals of their laughter scared a few birds from the nearby trees. More than one squirrel darted up a tree as we got closer. It sounded wonderful to me.

Once we made it to the bridge I slid my camera out of my bag and pointed it at Johnny and the boys. Before they had a chance to react I snapped a few shots of the three of them giggling like teenagers looking at their first PlayBoy.

During my conversations with Maddie I knew she wanted some posed family shots, on the bridge, in the gazebo, near the stream, but getting those shots would be dependent on how well I could keep the boys interested in what we were doing.

The family didn’t opt for the matchy-matchy khakis and white button down shirts option, but they all had a cohesive look. Maddie was wearing a light pink a-line dress with a brown belt just under her chest. Johnny was in khakis but paired it with a light blue Polo shirt the same color as the sky. The boys were both wearing khaki shorts, Ben with an olive green Polo and Nick with a yellow Polo. All four of them were wearing flip flops.

“Dad, why don’t you put the boys down for a minute while I get set up?” The boys kicking and wiggling had to be testing the strength in Johnny’s arms, but more than that, I wanted the boys to get out some of their energy before I asked them to pose for their mom’s pictures.

Johnny let them go and they immediately ran to the edge of the water. I caught a few shots of them crouched low and looking at something in the stream then turned my camera toward Maddie and Johnny who were watching their rambunctious boys with love clearly in their eyes. They weren’t paying attention to me so I took pictures as I pleased, smiling as I caught them in a sweet kiss.

“Maddie and Johnny, can I get you two on the bridge for a minute?” They wandered over to the bridge and looked down at the boys who were yelling up to them. I caught the family moment then asked the boys to join their parents. They took off running and leapt into their parents arms.

Once I’d taken a few shots of them without their knowledge I asked everyone to look at me. I was poised over the stream, praying I wouldn’t fall in while I shot. The four pairs of matching brown eyes looked over the edge at me and grinned. Within seconds the boys were squirming and I moved up the bank to get the last of the shots.

“Let’s go to the gazebo next. It should be free this time of day.” Maddie nodded and pointed in the direction we were headed so the boys could run ahead of the adults. I hung back to catch Maddie and Johnny holding hands with the boys running in the distance.

The gazebo was empty like I’d assumed. Ben and Nick ran circles around it but Maddie and Johnny headed right up the steps to stand inside. I took pictures as I approached, catching the boys bright smiles and flushed cheeks as well as Maddie’s adoration for her husband and his blatant love for her. That was why I took pictures. Behind the camera I could become invisible and capture moments that the families didn’t even know were right in front of them.

Johnny called the boys up to them once he noticed me standing there. Each boy stood in front of a parent with the parents’ arms wrapped around the boy’s neck, hands resting on their chest. It was one of the poses Maddie really wanted. They looked like the perfect little family and I felt just the slightest twinge of envy. They had something I wanted. I’d never been one of those girls who sat around imagining every aspect of my dream wedding, but I’d be lying if I said I’d never thought about it.

More than the wedding though, I’d imagined the marriage. The idea of having someone to share my life with, someone who loved me for me and didn’t constantly tell me everything I needed to change about my life. That’s not the family I wanted, unfortunately it was the family I had.

Speaking of which, my phone rang from deep in my bag. I knew it was my mom based on the ringtone. Not that I’d ever tell her I used Katy Perry’s Roar for her to remind myself to be strong when she called.

I ignored the call and focused on my clients. The boys started moving again and we all went toward the pond. On the way we paused to smell the flowers, literally, and the boys tried, unsuccessfully, to catch a butterfly. A few more photos they didn’t know I was taking and we made it to the pond.

The muddy bank drew the boys in right away and I knew their clothes would be ruined in seconds if I didn’t get their attention. “Hey guys, want to go down the slides?”

Slides had always been my favorite as a kid. I loved the feeling of the fresh air whipping around me and the freedom associated with letting go and trusting I would be able to catch myself at the end. As an adult I didn’t get that feeling much, even though it was only a few seconds long. To be able to let go of everything and not feel the pressure to succeed, to get married, to have kids, to lose weight, to be perfect… I could dream.

Right on cue my phone rang again. My mother believed nothing else mattered except her. If I didn’t drop everything and answer her call she’d keep calling until I either answered or my dad convinced her to drop it. Usually the first one.

The boys took the bait and headed for the playground. I poised at the end of the slides and caught that look of freedom plastered on their little faces. They moved to the swings, Nick needing to be pushed by someone and Ben pumping his legs like a champ. They climbed the playhouse and even got their parents up there with them. I had them all look over the side and snapped a few shots of them, four pairs of flushed cheeks and giant smiles.

Back at the edge of the pond a few minutes later Maddie and Johnny kissed while the boys stood in front of them. At first they were looking at me, but once they realized what their parents were doing, the boys made faces and chorused, “Eewwwww!”

I kept taking pictures.

Maddie and Johnny split apart with a laugh and Johnny snatched both boys up again. He ran up and down the bank with the kids screaming and laughing. Maddie looked on, love pouring out of her. They couldn’t have been happier if they tried.

That’s what I loved about taking pictures. You can’t hide how you feel from a camera. It captures the emotions we wear, the honesty we might not want to show others. And I get to be a part of that for the families I work with. My job was awesome.

Katy Perry sung Roar again as I was packing up my stuff. The Alexanders were going to stay and play for a while and I agreed to meet with Maddie in a few days to go over the pictures.

Back at my studio I set about editing the photos. Some didn’t turn out well when one of the boys moved as I shot, others had someone with eyes crossed or a tongue darting out to lick lips. I moved all the less than stellar shots to another folder and concentrated on making sure the best shots were perfect, no red-eye, no random glares, no imperfections.

Once I was satisfied with the results, I heard my phone ringing. Again. “Hi Mom,” I said without any enthusiasm.

“Samantha! I’ve been trying to reach you for two days. I thought you were dead!”

My mother, the drama queen. If I didn’t answer I must be dead. Not busy. Busy wasn’t an option. Dead was.

“I don’t know why you do that to me. You had me so worried!”

Yep, the guilt trip. If we’d gone on half as many vacations as my mother led me on guilt trips I’d have seen the world. Twice.

“Mom, I was working.”

“Oh, good. You got a real job. Why didn’t you tell me?” The hurt was back. It was all about her.

“Yes, Mom, I got a real job. Years ago when I opened my own photography studio.”

She groaned. “That is not a real job, Samantha. It is a hobby. But not to worry. That’s why I called you. Rose told me her daughter’s company is hiring. You just need a college degree, any one will do, and since your father and I were smart enough to make sure you had a good one, you should be okay. I’m not sure what the job will entail, but I have her daughter’s phone number so you can call and talk to her about the job. Rose said something about sending a resume but I don’t have the address.”

It was my turn to groan. She was constantly sending me on wild goose chases trying to get me a ‘real job.’ I hated it. I was happy with my situation. I loved working with families and I was not interested in living by someone else’s rules. Not that my mother cared how I felt or what I wanted. She was just ‘trying to help’ she always said.

Like I needed it.

I dutifully wrote down the number even though I would never apply for the job. She made me promise to call Rose’s daughter, not that I had a clue who Rose was, and I regretfully agreed. I wanted to call the woman as much as I wanted to go to the gym.

Well, maybe not even that much. At least going to the gym would lead to something good. All that phone call could lead to was me getting more frustrated with my mother.

“The job pays well and has benefits. Plus, they even offer membership to a gym, isn’t that wonderful?”

I rolled my eyes. The only digs she didn’t manage to get in was the fact that I was still single and hadn’t procreated yet. If my mother didn’t insult me at least twice a day I was pretty sure she wasn’t happy.

God knew I wasn’t happy, but that didn’t matter.

“Sounds delightful, Mom.”

She huffed. “You don’t have to be so rude Samantha. I’m trying to help you.”

“Mom,” I began slowly, “I have a job. I work full time. Sometimes more. I love what I do and I make a decent living.”

“Samantha, your job is just-“

“A hobby,” I finished with her. “I know you feel that way, but it’s not for me. I’m sorry you don’t agree, but all the job offers in the world aren’t going to turn me into a lawyer like Heather.”

“Oh, I know, honey. You’ll never be like Heather. You two are too different.”

In other words, she was smart, beautiful, married, and had kids. I couldn’t even get one of those right. Oh, yeah, and she had the right job. Oh for five. Can you guess who the favorite was?

“Thanks, Mom,” I said dryly.

“Call Rose’s daughter, honey. You’ll feel better once you have a good job. And answer the phone next time I call you. I’ll end up in an early grave if I think you’re dead in a ditch somewhere.”

“Yes, Mom.”

We hung up, and I had the sudden urge to hit something.