My Big Fat Low-Fat Wedding - By Katya Starkey Page 0,43

my body shape. Things always seem to go wrong whenever I order something off the internet.

“Never again,” I mumble to myself and turn the corner. “Oops, sorry!” I nearly crash into someone who’s in a big hurry. Turning, I’m curious as to why I was the only one to apologise. I’m too late though, all I see is a head of blonde hair rushing away around the corner. A blonde head of short hair that I’m positive belonged to Thomas; the lifeguard boy from the Meli Spa.

I swear that kid has started stalking me. I only mentioned it lightly to Callum before, but as I stomp along the pavement I’m positively seething. Maybe I need to think about hiring a lawyer to file some kind of restraining order against that boy.

“Emily! Hello!” I’m so busy with my internal thoughts of court appearances I don’t notice when I nearly crash into my second person of the day.

“I haven’t seen you at my sweet shop in ages, darling.” Isabella pushes back her stunning wavy auburn hair from her shoulders. “I’ve ordered loads of new goodies from America, come have a look see!”

I’m helpless to object going anywhere but with this forceful woman. It’s not that I’m being forced into a candy store because Isabella is bigger than me, even though she is. The woman stands at five foot ten when she’s not wearing heels, which just so happens to be what she does in fact have on her feet today. It’s just that I’m being coerced into a sweet shop and I’m not at all sure it’s against my will.

The scent of sugar rams up my nostrils as soon as we enter the store. I really haven’t been here in ages. The sugar rush goes to my head with a mere whiff of the sweetened air.

“Look,” Isabella coos, lifting a jar from a shelf. “I’ve got Fluff.” She does indeed have marshmallow cream. The woman must love the stuff because she’s literally stroking the container. “I’ll bet you could invent a wonderful fruit dip with this stuff, Emily.” She hands me the jar. “Here, have this one for free and whip up a dip for me, yeah?”

I take the container from her. I can already taste the marshmallow flavour just looking at the contents inside. I’m already imaging the perfect fruit dip recipe in my mind. “I’ll do it.” I admit to Isabella. “And I’ll also have some pick and mix.” I’m feeling down right depressed about the top I just returned at the post office because it was too small. Nothing I do seems to work! I can’t stay on a diet for the life of me and I’m just not losing weight fast enough.

There’s nothing for it, really. It couldn’t hurt going off my diet for just one day anyway.

“That’s the spirit!” Isabella whips a paper bag through the air, opening it with a resounding crack that punches the air next to my face. “Here you are, pick your mix of sweets to your hearts’ content.”

She hands me the bag and I turn to the wall made of pure sugar. Sugary sweets in clear containers with flaps and shovels stuffed inside. There are so many colours, so many different kinds of chocolates. I was even thinking luxurious chocolates for a minute there, but let’s face it, this isn’t an authentic Swiss choc factory. It’s a candy store that’s rammed with sickeningly sweet products made mostly of hardened jelly. Sweets that appeal to children.

Candy that appeals to the kid in me.

Using the scoopers I dump sweets into my pick and mix bag until its nearly brimming. “Um… I think that’ll do.” I plop down my goody bag.

“It most certainly will!” Isabella rings me up. “That’ll be three pounds and ninety pence please, Emily.”

“Is that all?” I dig around in my purse and come up with coins. “So much sugar for spare change!”

Isabella winks at me. “You will make me that fruit dip, right?”

I haven’t even tested out the recipe I’ve got in mind yet. “Of course I will!”

As I leave the sweet shop, popping candies into my mouth as I go, both Isabella and myself part ways with smiles on our faces.

***

Welcome to the sugar-low.

I’d eaten way too many sweets about two hours ago and now that I’m back at the cafe I’m lagging in energy. I know just what will cheer me up! Grabbing a slice of carrot cake off the shelf I sit down in my office and enjoy