Free Fatty Patty (A James Bay Novel) by Kathleen Irene Paterka Page B

leagues and way beyond my reach.
    Isn’t he?
    I punch the pillow and flop on my side. If only I looked like Priscilla. If only I could lose ten pounds. If only I had the courage to try.
    But I’ll never find it if I don’t get myself back on track.
    And back on a diet.
    Brand new diet. Brand new beginning. Brand new me.
    Starting tomorrow.
    I sit up straight in bed. Damned if I want to wake up tomorrow, knowing that last candy bar is hanging around to haunt me.
    I fumble through the wastebasket in the darkness. My fingers snag the wrapper, then curl around the candy. I take one bite, force down another. The craving is gone. I’ve already brushed my teeth and the chocolate tastes like chalk. I choke down the last bite, throw away the wrapper, and head back into the bathroom for one more bout with my toothbrush.
    This hasn’t been the best day. I’ve broken my diet, upset Priscilla, shamed myself… and all for what? Why did I buy that chocolate in the first place? It’s not like I even wanted it.
    What I really wanted was cookies…
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    “Do I need a permission slip to talk with the teacher?”
    I glance up from the pile of science quizzes I’m grading and see Sam standing in the doorway. He was unavailable when I phoned his office yesterday and I left a voicemail asking him to return my call. I never expected him to make a personal visit. He looks quite dashing—handsome, actually, in his suit and tie. I’ve only seen him at the pool in his swim trunks. Funny how people look so different with their clothes on.
    I drop my red pen and throw him a smile. “Come on in.”
    He doesn’t move from the doorway. “Sure I’m not bothering you?”
    “Not at all. The bell rang half hour ago and the kids are gone. Welcome to fifth grade.”
    “Thanks.” He strolls into the room. “They gave me your message. I was in the neighborhood finishing up an audit and thought I’d stop by.”
    “I’m glad you did.” I like how his brown eyes crinkle with little fine lines around the edges. He’s one of the nice guys. They’re easy to spot. The laugh lines are a dead giveaway.
    “I’m glad you called.” He halts in front of my desk. “I miss seeing you at the pool.”
    “It’s been hard to find the time. Things have been hectic around here since school started.” But that’s not the only reason. After my chocolate-bar binge the other night, the last thing I feel like doing is parading around in my bathing suit displaying my rolls of fat. “Maybe I’ll be back when things settle down.”
    His eyebrows lift. “Maybe?”
    The blush burns my cheeks. “Definitely. I’ll definitely be back.”
    Then again, maybe not right away. Not until I lose a few pounds.
    “Just don’t wait too long.” He perches against Tyler’s desk. “I miss having you in the lane next to me.”
    He misses me? What exactly is that supposed to mean?
    “So, this is your classroom.” He glances around. “Things sure have changed since I was in school.”
    I scan the room, try to see it through his eyes, but I don’t see much that’s different. I grew up attending this school and the only thing that’s really changed is my view. Now I’m the one who sits behind the teacher’s desk.
    “I like how you’ve got the desks facing each other in circles. When I was in school, all our desks were lined up in neat little rows. Six rows across, six rows back.”
    “That’s thirty-six kids,” I say, quickly doing the math. “No way a teacher can control a classroom with that many students. The union would never go for it.”
    “I doubt our nuns belonged to a teachers’ union,” he says with a wide grin. “But the good sisters never seemed to have a problem controlling us. We were too scared of them to get too far out of line.”
    “You went to a Catholic school?”
    He nods. “Those nuns ran their classrooms with rosaries and rulers. When we got out of control—whack! Out came the ruler, right over our