Free High Maintenance by Jamie Hill Page A

bought you for Christmas was a size fourteen."
    "So?"
    Jana rolled her eyes and looked at the waitress. "Willie, can you add her food to our bill?"
    "Of course, ma'am." She didn't bat an eyelash, simply turned and left.
    "Her name is Winnie."
    "Whatever." Jana waved a hand. "I think you need to watch your diet. You've gained weight."
    "Only a few pounds! I have a stressful job."
    "Your sister's job is stressful, yet she's the same size she was in high school, even after having a child."
    "She's a flight attendant! I wouldn't compare passing out peanuts with being a social worker. Besides, they weigh her all the time. She has to stay a certain weight."
    "You should be so lucky." Her mother patted her good knee. "Get some rest. We'll check in with you later."
    "Have fun, Mom. Don't worry about me."
    Jana waved and boarded the elevator to her room.
    Deidre sighed, leaning her head back against the chair. The pillow her mother had shoved behind her was uncomfortable. She jerked it out, tossed it aside.
    "Here you go." Winnie returned with a steaming mug of cocoa, piled high with whipped cream.
    "Is it low fat?" Deidre made a face.
    "Heavens, no." Winnie set the cup on the table next to Deidre. "We make a wonderful French onion soup too. Think about that for lunch. It's rich and thick, with cheese melted on top."
    "Will you adopt me?" She blinked, looking longingly at the waitress.
    "I've got seven kids already. One more won't even be noticed." They laughed as she continued, "Something tells me your mother would miss you. She seems very… doting ."
    "That's a nice way of saying controlling. She has to do everything herself. When she gets like that, I'm afraid she doesn’t listen very well. Sorry."
    Winnie waved a hand in the air. "No problem. It takes more than that to bother me. As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'm needed in the kitchen. I'll check on you as often as I can. If you need anything, give a shout."
    "You're very kind. Thank you."
    The woman smiled. "Enjoy. See you later." She disappeared around the corner.
    Deidre sipped the cocoa. Though too hot to drink, she could already tell it tasted wonderful. The food at the lodge was delicious. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had prepared such fare. The past several years, they'd eaten healthy.
    Her father, David, worked as a busy bank executive. When Deidre was a junior in high school, he'd suffered a mild heart attack. It threw the family, especially her mother, into a tailspin. The stay-at-home homemaker immediately embraced a heart conscious, doctor-recommended diet, much to the chagrin of her family.
    Deidre loved to eat. She'd been a good student, but didn’t have an active social life. She had babysat for money and spent the rest of the time with a book in one hand and a snack in the other.
    Her sister Renee had been a senior and a cheerleader at the time. Deidre's polar opposite, she barely ate anything, but managed to complain about everything. She hadn't appreciated the bland diet any more than her sister or their reluctant father.
    In college, on her own for the first time, Deidre's weight ballooned. She told her mother a few pounds, but knew it was closer to forty. She'd climbed from a size ten to a sixteen in no time.
    After graduation she had been hired as a social worker for the Denver Department of Children and Families. It was a stressful job. She dealt with domestic abuse and violence on a weekly basis. Somehow she managed to get her eating under control, losing enough to raise her self-esteem and lower her dress size to fourteen.
    According to her doctor, she was fit, save a few excess pounds. She exercised when it accommodated her busy schedule and loved to dance at nightclubs on weekends. She considered herself full-figured and felt comfortable in her own skin. Her mother wasn’t as easy to please.
    "See you later!" Jana called across the lobby. Dressed in the latest trendy skiwear, she appeared ready to hit the slopes.
    "Have fun!"