Christmas lunch turned out to be fantastic. As they all nibbled on the smoked salmon and assorted cream cheese hors d'oeuvres, Tony opened one of the two bottles of champagne Laura bought with Paul’s vouchers.

      ‘Merry Christmas!’ they all chorused.

     ‘And to new beginnings!’ Karen added, before chinking her glass with the others and taking a tentative sip. The day was going to be full of temptations, so she was determined to take it easy with regard to the food and drink on ample supply.

     ‘I must admit, Karen… that top looks even better on you now than it did when you tried it on in the shop two weeks ago. You look absolutely stunning,’ Laura told her as she admired her friend in the second-hand outfit.

     Karen bristled with pride. She knew the powder-blue top with a sheer matching blouse suited her. ‘That could be because I’ve lost another five pounds since then,’ she admitted. ‘It was a little bit tight when I bought it, so I was determined to fit into it comfortably by Christmas day. It’s given me the extra incentive I needed to be strict with myself with all the delicious goodies these two have been bringing back from the office.’

     Karen still couldn’t believe she’d managed to resist all that temptation herself. Michelle and Tony had brought home all sorts of sweets and chocolate they’d received from their work colleagues as presents, and put them on the table beside the tree. Time was, she would have devoured half of them in one sitting, but not now. Nearly twenty-seven pounds down, Karen could see light at the end of the tunnel.

     ‘Time for some photos,’ she announced, before grabbing the digital camera. After she’d taken individual pictures of everyone, Michelle took three of Karen on her own, and then they took pictures in groups. The one Paul took of Karen, with Tony on one side, and Michelle on the other, was proclaimed to be the best one for her to put on Facebook. Any of her friends that hadn’t seen her since she started her diet, which was most of them, would certainly get a surprise.

      After they’d opened the second bottle of champagne, and all but Karen had recharged their glasses, she announced that lunch was ready, so Tony and Paul sat down at the dining room table while Karen, Laura and Michelle brought through the array of hot platters and tureens that had been kept warm in the oven. Karen had made a cranberry, mushroom, and sausage meat stuffing, suffused with rosemary and thyme, along with roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnips, as well as Brussel sprouts with walnuts. The final dish to be brought ceremoniously to the table was the turkey, adorned with rolled bacon strips and chipolatas. The bread and cranberry sauce was already on the table, so they all got stuck in while Tony carved the turkey.

     By the time everyone had eaten the main course, they were all stuffed to the brim. The very suggestion that they have some Christmas pudding with brandy butter, had them all groaning in protest.

     ‘Can we take a breather, Mum?’ Michelle asked. ‘Why don’t we have the Christmas pudding after Dad comes over to give us our presents? We might have made some space for it by then.’

     You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. ‘I beg your pardon? When was that arranged?’ Karen asked in a caustic voice.

     Michelle grimaced. She’d meant to mention it earlier, but hadn’t had the time or the opportunity. ‘He rang me on my mobile this morning. Sorry, I forgot.’ She then gave her mother one of her cringing, apologetic smiles. It usually worked, but perhaps not today. Karen was not amused.

     ‘God, that’s all I need,’ she groaned. ‘Now I’ll have to get changed…’

     Everyone looked at her with their eyebrows raised. Tony was the first to ask her why she thought that was necessary, having told Karen he thought she looked great in what she was wearing.

     ‘Because I’m not ready to let your father see the new me yet. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to clap eyes on him till after the New Year. I should have lost a few more pounds by then.

     ‘Does it matter?' Laura asked. ‘I mean, why should you care whether he knows if you’ve lost weight or not... I thought your divorce was going through after the house was sold?’

     Karen looked back at them, close to tears. ‘I know it probably sounds silly, but when your father left, he called me a fat cow. I was looking forward to him eating his words, that’s all. I’ve got another stone to go before I’m back to the way I was five years ago. I’m just not ready yet…’

     Karen’s admission nearly reduced Michelle to tears. She’d known her mother and father had argued before he left, but she had no idea he’d been so cruel.

     ‘There’s no way you can hide your weight loss now, Mum. You’ve lost too much. You might have got away with it when you wore all those sweaters a couple of weeks ago, but not now.’

     Laura interrupted her. ‘What about that fleecy lined waistcoat you got at the Salvation Army?’ she suggested. 'That would certainly bulk you out a bit. Have you not got a baggy blouse you could put on top of it?’

     Michelle agreed. ‘And if you wear a pashmina shawl around your neck, your missing chins won’t be so obvious.’

     ‘Chin, if you don’t mind,’ Karen retorted. ‘I never remember there being several! Seriously though, do you think that would work?’

     They all agreed that it might, so by the time Mark arrived an hour later, Karen was sitting at the table with Laura and Paul, looking as plump as a Sumo wrestler. As long as she didn’t get up while he was there, Mark wouldn’t see her weight loss from the waist down.

     Karen could feel her hackles rise the minute Mark walked through the door. He was, as usual, immaculately dressed with a pair of grey slacks with a matching v necked sweater over a white shirt. After he’d handed Michelle and Tony their beautifully wrapped presents, he looked over at Karen with a nod of his head and wished her a happy Christmas.

     ‘You too,’ she grunted, before taking a swig of the only glass of wine she’d allowed herself with the meal. For the sake of the kids, she decided to be hospitable and offered him a drink.

     ‘No, thank you,’ he replied. 'We haven’t had our meal yet, so I can’t stay long.’

     ‘Ah Dad!’ Michelle moaned. ‘Surely you can stay for one drink at least? We haven’t seen you for ages, and look, there’s still some of the champagne and smoked salmon left that Laura and Paul brought… Surely you have time for half a glass?’

     Mark checked his watch. ‘Why not?’ he decided. ‘Just the one though,’ he added as Michelle grabbed a glass from the sideboard and started to pour the last of the champagne into it.

     There was then a moment of embarrassed silence before he raised his glass and wished everyone a merry Christmas.

     ‘So, go on then,’ he said to Tony and Michelle. ‘Are you not going to open your presents?’

     Karen gritted her teeth when she saw the designer handbag he’d bought for Michelle, and the two Xbox games he’d bought for Tony. She couldn’t afford to get them anything until Mark’s last payment of a thousand pounds came in on the twenty-eighth of December, although the kids had claimed that was cool because the after Christmas sales would be on by then.

     ‘Are you okay?’ Laura whispered when she saw the look of hatred in Karen’s eyes.

     She turned to her friend with a saccharine smile.

     ‘I’m fine. In fact…’ she said as she looked back at Mark laughing along with their children as he drank his champagne and ate the left over hors d'oeuvres. ‘I couldn’t be better…’



 After Mark left, Laura followed Karen into the kitchen with his dirty glass and the near empty plate from the coffee table. ‘Where do you want me to put this?’ she asked.

     Karen snorted and grabbed the plate from Laura’s hand before tipping the last smoked salmon hors d'oeuvre into the pedal bin. ‘Best get rid of the evidence,’ she said with a smirk. ‘By my reckoning, they won’t take effect for a while, so that skeletal tart, Sandra, will cop the blame.’
     Laura looked back at her with a puzzled frown. ‘Cop the blame for what?’

     Karen picked up the packet of Senakot from the kitchen counter and read the back of the packet again. ‘Yep, I reckon they should take effect at least a couple of hours after he’s had his dinner…’

     Laura’s hands raised to her mouth. ‘You didn’t!’

     Karen let out a victorious chuckle. ‘I most certainly did. I knew the greedy bastard wouldn’t be able to resist them. He adores smoked salmon, and the walnut cream cheese was a perfect place to hide them after I chopped them up. That’s why I made a fresh batch of six, with two pills in each, before he arrived. There was only one left, so I think ten pills should do the trick, don’t you?’