Getting some new clothes was just the boost Karen needed to get back on track. The last couple of weeks had seen her having the odd treat, which resulted in her weight loss slowing down, but the reaction from the kids when she'd walked in a week before Christmas wearing her bargains from the Salvation Army, made her more determined than ever to reach her goal.

Michelle, who was home when Karen got back, nearly dropped the glass of Coke she'd just poured as soon as she saw her mother standing there showing off her new figure.

'What the...' she gasped.

Karen beamed from ear to ear and did a twirl. Yet again, she was glad she hadn't told anyone she was dieting and had hidden her weight loss under layers of clothes. At least this way they could see a massive difference, instead of a gradual reduction over the weeks.

'Your mother is back!' Karen announced, her delight at Michelle's reaction shining from her eyes.

'But how did you do that?' Michelle cried before she circled her mother, glass in hand. 'You...you look half the size you did when you left this morning!'

Karen didn't even try to feign any regret for the deception.

'Let's just say, I didn't want to get your hopes up, Darling. I thought I'd hide under a few layers until I'd lost at least twenty pounds in case I got complacent and gave up. I've still got a way to go, but nothing can stop me now!'

Michelle's jaw was still hanging open as she examined Karen's new cream sweater and chocolate-brown slacks. Having seen her mother in nothing but joggies and baggy old sweatshirts for the last three or four years, the outfit was nearly as surprising as her weight loss.

'Where did you get this? she asked. 'That looks just like a sweater I saw in Frasers the other day, when I was on my way to visit Kara in the beauty department. It was nearly forty quid. I thought you were broke?'

Karen emptied out the contents of her three shopping bags onto the kitchen table before she stuck the till receipt under Michelle's nose.

'Twenty-four pounds for the lot!' she bragged. 'Laura introduced me and Jenny to a very elite little store called the Salvation Army. I haven't had so much fun in years,' she giggled.

Tony was just as shell-shocked as his sister when he walked in and saw his mother's transformation. By this time Karen had changed into a black and tan outfit, one Michelle reckoned was even more flattering than the first.

'What! Where did my mother go?' he gasped the moment he saw her.

'Mum's been holding out on us.' Michelle informed him. 'She had liposuction this afternoon, and this is the result!'

Being a typical lad, he didn't realise she was joking at first.

'No... I didn't know you could lose that much! Are you sure it's safe?'

Michelle half closed her eyes and shook her head. 'I'm kidding, you moron! Mum's managed to lose over twenty pounds without you even noticing. Some son you are!'

Karen nearly pulled Michelle up for pretending she'd known about her weight loss all along, but decided to keep schtum. Michelle loved to act the superior elder sister when she got the opportunity.

Tony's guilty expression nearly reduced them both to tears.

'You're kidding me, right?' he asked, a smile twitching at the edge of his lips.

By this time Karen was almost doubled over with pent-up laughter, so she told Tony how she'd successfully hidden her weight loss for so long.

'You, cow!' he hurled at Michelle before giving her a playful poke in the ribs. 'You really had me going there. Well done, Mum!'

Karen glowed with pride. 'Well, at least the Christmas day photos will look a lot better than last year. Which reminds me. Is it okay with you guys if I ask Laura and her son to join us for lunch? There's just the two of them, so I thought it would be nice to have them over.'

They both shook their heads. 'The more the merrier, I say,' Michelle decided. 'It was all a bit flat without dad last year, so it will be nice to have an extra couple of bods here.'

'Yeh, and it means the food mum will cook for at least ten people will be more evenly distributed,' Tony teased. 'I felt more stuffed than the sodding turkey last year!'

Although laughing outwardly, Karen felt her spirits take a dive after Michelle's reference to her missing father at the Christmas table. She had indeed cooked far too much food the year before, because she needed something to take her mind off the awful reality that his chair at the top of the table would be empty. Not that she'd let on. It had been one of the most heart breaking meals she'd ever prepared. Determined to show the kids that she was past caring a year on, Karen let out a laugh that implied she didn't give a damn whether their father was there or not.

'Well, let's just look forward to next year when we'll be somewhere else,' Karen suggested. Then we'll have no memories to haunt us...'


*********


Laura was delighted to know she would be away from the flat on Christmas day. Lunch for two wasn't something she'd looked forward to, so she was very relieved when Karen phoned and asked them over.

Paul's contribution of eighty pounds worth of vouchers from his work allowed Laura to get a few extra luxuries to take with them to Karen's, without exposing the fact that she could afford to buy them herself. Apart from smoked salmon and champagne, she bought a traditional Christmas pudding and brandy butter. It seemed only fair because Karen insisted on supplying the turkey and all the trimmings. Satisfied she could do no more, Laura settled in to taking her calls from the chat line at the flat, although she still restricted them to when Paul was out, or at work. The new phone she'd bought from Argos did indeed solve the problem of him hearing the incoming calls, but she still didn't have enough confidence to chance her luck in case he heard her talking to the punters.

After Christmas, she told herself. Until then, she would allow herself the luxury of a little time off...