Worth the Weight

by Eileen Palma

  Jack slid the container to her. “They’re all yours.”

  “Save some for me.” Kate reached over and grabbed a few from the container before Lauren could eat them all.

  “Ha! If your show audience could see you now! They’ll be replacing you with Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser.”

  “Keep the camera phones away and I’ll be okay.” Kate dunked another fry in Jack’s milk shake.

  “Guys, don’t forget about our Glee marathon.” Lauren held up the DVD set.

  “How could we forget?” said Jack. “I’m dying to see the Britney-Britney episode.”

  Lauren raised her eyebrows at Kate and burst into hysterics.

  Kate stopped laughing just shy of choking on her food. “Seriously, I’m so glad I came here tonight. Lauren, I could use your help with something.”

  “What would you need my help with?” Lauren popped the last bite of burger in her mouth and leaned forward in her chair.

  “I’ve been thinking of doing a new segment for the show. I want to spotlight child athletes from all different sports to help inspire my audience to try something new to get in shape.”

  Jack nodded his head. “That sounds like a good idea. Do you need Lauren’s feedback?”

  “Way cooler than that. Lauren, how would you like to be the first child athlete I film?”

  “OMG! Yes, yes, definitely yes!” Lauren jumped up from her chair and Sarah Jessica Barker and Diesel looked up from their game of tug of war to see what all the excitement was about.

  “Your mom just has to sign a waiver. I can email it to her so she can do an e-signature on it from California.”

  “Wait till I tell Madison and Jules!”

  “I’m sure Harper will be fine with it.” Jack jotted down Harper’s email address on a New York Burger Co. napkin and slid it across the table to Kate.

  “We could film you conditioning and practicing your routines at the gym. Then we can film a bit at home if it’s okay with your mom. I want to feature one of your favorite recipes so we can show everyone how important it is to fuel your body with the right kind of food.”

  Jack wondered if Kate had invented this idea on the spot to distract Lauren. From her tone of voice it seemed as if she was making the plans on the fly.

  “Did Uncle Jack tell you I was an extra on Law & Order?”

  “Oh, you have acting experience! That’s a definite bonus.” Kate smiled at Lauren.

  Lauren and Kate prepped for Lauren’s show segment by trying out a few of Lauren’s favorite smoothie recipes and taste testing them. Then Lauren modeled her extensive leotard collection so they could decide which one would work best for filming. They settled on her competition one—a sleek silver leotard with powerful swirls of metallic black and red dotted with sparkling rhinestones.

  They filled the rest of the hours till Lauren’s bedtime watching the promised Glee marathon. Settled on the couch between Kate and Lauren, Jack was so relaxed he was able to forget about David and Harper for ten minutes here or there. When it was time for Lauren to reluctantly go to sleep she asked to stay in Jack’s guest bedroom so she would be downstairs near Jack and Kate. Lauren ran upstairs to grab her pajamas and her favorite stuffed dog and waited for Jack to come tuck her in.

  “I’ll be right back.” Jack called to Kate over his shoulder as he headed down the hall.

  Lauren stood on the double bed and pulled down a framed article, adding it to the pile of picture frames stacked on the bed.

  “Shit. I forgot all about this stuff.” Jack grabbed the top matted black frame. It was a Success Magazine article from when Considerable Carriages first came on the scene. The illustration was an oversized stroller rolling up a hill that was actually a money graph. Lauren and Harper had framed a bunch of magazine articles about the company and given them to him for his birthday last year. Jack thought it was a douchebag move to fill his home with articles all about his company, but he hadn’t wanted to hurt the girls’ feelings. So he lined the walls of his rarely used guest bedroom with the framed articles.

  “Quick. Just in case Kate comes in.” Lauren grabbed the last frame off the wall and shoved it under the bed. Jack grabbed the pile off the bed and added them to Lauren’s hiding spot.

  Jack shook his head. “Something tells me you’re going to be a handful like your mom was when you’re a teenager.

  “What kind of trouble did Mom get in? Tell me!”

  “Your mom would kill me if I ratted her out. Now get to bed. You have practice in the morning.”

  Jack threw his hand up for a high five followed by a low five, a fist bump then a kiss good night.

  “Don’t turn out the light all the way,” Lauren said, as she snuggled under the blankets.

  Lauren was so mature in so many ways, but looking at her with her stuffed animal sleeping with the lights still on reminded Jack just how young and fragile she still was.

  Jack dimmed the lights just a little bit and shut the door. He headed back to the kitchen where Kate had recycled all the takeout containers and was wiping down the table.

  “You clean too?”

  “Only other people’s apartments. You’ve seen mine.” Kate filled up Diesel’s water bowl and both dogs came over and happily lapped it up.

  “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” Jack grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge. He popped the caps off and handed one of them to Kate.

  “No problem. Although I think the yummy take out and that cute Mr. Schuester from Glee should take the credit for keeping Lauren distracted.”

  “Now I’m going to have bad ‘80s song remakes stuck in my head for the next week.”

  “Is that an actual backyard?” Kate looked out the small kitchen window over the sink that looked directly onto the postage stamp sized yard with Jack’s picnic table that was covered with stroller designs and bids from the steel and tire companies.

  “Yeah. I don’t think you want to sit out there now though. A mouse ran over my foot right around this time last night.”

  “I’m not really the outdoorsy type anyway.” Kate shuddered and plopped right on the couch. She tucked herself into the corner and both dogs hopped up and joined her immediately.

  “I hope David’s okay.” Jack sat down on the end of the couch that wasn’t occupied by Kate or the dogs and rested his foot on the coffee table.

  “When do you expect to hear from your sister?”

  “She texted me right before the food came. She made it to San Diego and was heading straight to the hospital. So I should hear something soon.”

  “Your poor sister. She must be a wreck.”

  “She’s a mess. I wish I could be there with her.”

  “You’re taking care of Lauren. She can’t focus on David if she’s worried about her daughter.” Kate tilted her head back and took a long sip of her beer. She had the neck of a ballerina, long and sinewy with a small brown beauty mark shaped like a heart above the dip of her collarbone.

  “I need a distraction. Tell me how you became America’s kids’ fitness queen.”

  “I feel like the star of a telenovela. Last week, the love of Kate’s life stole her show idea and went on to marginal success on the Food Network. Kate is left heartbroken, single and directionless. Cut to commercial break and weepy music.”

  “Was this all before or after Mrs. Fink and culinary school?”

  “After culinary school and while I was still living with Mrs. Fink, so she still boycotts the Food Network and attempted a Tyler Miller smear campaign with everyone she knows. Which explains why that show has abnormally low ratings in the Jewish community.”

  “Mrs. Fink is definitely not someone you want as your enemy.” Jack reached over and rubbed Diesel’s belly.

  “But she’s the best person to have on your team when life sucks. I had this amazing job at Pied à Terre as sous chef. But they fired me because I was a mess over the brea
k up. The last straw was when I went a little overboard with the flambé in the Banana Flambé I served to Time Out New York’s food critic. They fired my ass faster than you can say escargot.”

  Jack winced. “That’s pretty bad.”

  “Yeah, so then I could devote even more time to cyber stalking Tyler, being an insomniac and causing a Kleenex shortage. Mrs. Fink was at her wit’s end. So she found a job for me.”

  “At ABC?”

  “Are you crazy? She’s a matchmaker, not a TV producer. She hooked me up with one of her couples. That’s the thing with match making. These people feel like they owe her their lives—literally. So this one couple had a twelve-year-old son who had just been labeled obese from their family doctor. Mrs. Fink talked them into hiring me as the family chef and fitness expert to get him back on track.”

  “I get the cook part, but when did you become a fitness expert?”

  “I taught Tae Bo and yoga at Gold’s Gym to support myself in college and culinary school.”

  “So Mrs. Fink was the brains behind your whole operation?” asked Jack.

  “Yes, which is why she has a pretty decent amount of KidFit stock. Which you would never guess looking at her apartment.”

  “That Mrs. Fink is such a character.”

  “Tell me about it! So anyway, I was less than thrilled to use my culinary experience on this spoiled Upper East Side kid. But Mrs. Fink guilted me into it.”

  “Let me get this straight. You didn’t start out as some Save the Fat Kids crusader out to demolish high fructose corn syrup, Happy Meals and Play Stations?”

  “Hell no. In fact, I distinctly remember telling Mrs. Fink I didn’t go to culinary school to make fat-free fish sticks for some rich spoiled brat.”

  “Holy shit! If your audience could hear you now.”

  “I know. I cringe just thinking about it. But I quickly figured out that I was damn good at getting this poor boy, Carter, was his name, motivated to eat healthier and to exercise. And it was amazing to see the results.”

  “So did Carter’s mom happen to be an ABC exec who ended up hiring you for the show?”

  “You skip to the last page of books, don’t you? No. Long story short, I became the kiddy Weight Watchers for all families east of Sixth Avenue. Someone from New York Today got wind of it, wrote up a story about me and next thing I knew I had my own show on ABC.”

  “That’s some crazy shit.” Jack whistled through his teeth and both dogs perked up.

  “Sometimes I feel guilty. You know? Like I’m not exactly the person everyone thinks I am.”

  “I totally get that.”

  “I try to make the right choices every day. But every now and then I indulge.”

  Kate Richards, Mini-Munchies

  Chapter Ten

  “Okay, now that I shared my telenovela with you. It’s your turn.” Kate polished off the lingering bit of beer and put the bottle down on the coffee table.

  “We’re going to need more beers for my life story.” Jack shook Diesel off his lap and headed to the kitchen.

  He returned with the beers and handed one to Kate. “Seriously, there’s not much to tell.”

  “Well you’re this great funny guy, who’s obviously very successful in the dot-com industry.” Kate spread her arms around the richly furnished and decorated room.

  “That’s true. But I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my work in the Internet trenches.”

  “That’s right. But I do want to know how such a great guy is still single at your age, which I’m guessing to be, what, thirty four?” When Jack raised his thumb up Kate said, “Thirty-six?”

  “Thirty-seven,” Jack said, and ducked his head sheepishly.

  “What’s the deal? Do you know how many of my friends sift through the endless divorced-twice-house-in-foreclosure-never-wants-kids profiles on eHarmony for a guy like you? Seriously—how are you still on the market?”

  “You can only come on a date with your thirteen-year-old sister so many times before you start to scare women off.” Jack shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’m judging by the ten-year-old girl sleeping in your guest bedroom that Harper must be old enough to stay home alone by now.” Kate raised an eyebrow at him.

  Jack grabbed a throw pillow from behind his back and threw it at Kate. “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”

  “I just tell it like I see it.”

  “Stephanie Riggins was the girl I probably would’ve married if my mom hadn’t died. We started dating our junior year of college. She was actually pretty cool about Harper always hanging around. But she wanted to become a surgeon, which meant med school in Seattle and then an internship and residency God knows where. If I didn’t have Harper I might have followed her, but there’s no way I could’ve uprooted Harper like that.”

  “Let me guess—after that you learned not to get too serious?” asked Kate.

  “Clearly you speak from experience.”

  “I totally get being in a place where you just can’t go there with someone. But that was a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, and just when I thought I didn’t have to worry about Harper she goes and marries David pretty much right out of high school and has Lauren while the guy goes on two tours to Iraq and another two in Afghanistan.

  “It’s her.” Jack grabbed his cell phone and jumped off the couch. He picked up the phone and whispered a greeting as he peeked his head in the guest room to make sure Lauren was asleep. He carefully clicked the door closed before speaking again.

  “Thank God!”

  Kate settled back into the couch cushions while Jack talked to his sister. He was talking too low for her to hear anything, but at least she knew they weren’t dealing with the worst-case scenario. Diesel hopped up on the couch with her and snuggled up to her legs. She pulled a crocheted throw off the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  Despite the stress of the night, Kate wanted to stay in this homey townhouse with the overflowing bookcases and the coffee table jumbled with Wii remotes and DVD’s. There was something comforting about being surrounded by the mess of a family.

  Jack walked back to Kate and sunk into the couch, leaving only an inch between them. Kate’s legs warmed up from the heat radiating off Jack’s body.

  “By no small miracle, David’s alive and has all of his limbs.”

  “How bad is it?” Kate could tell from Jack’s wobbly voice that his brother-in-law wasn’t completely out of the woods. She wanted to reach over and wrap her hand around his, but both his fingers were laced together supporting the bottom of his head.

  “David had internal bleeding. But the doctors think they got it under control. It’s his eyes that are the problem.” Jack stood up suddenly and walked across the room.

  “See those black and white pictures on the wall? David took all of them. A gallery on Sixth Avenue showcased some of his work right before he left.”

  Kate walked across the room to the long hallway where rows of black and white photographs lined the apple cider colored wall. Lauren with her curls slicked back and secured with slender ribbon extended into a perfect handstand on the high bar. Her toes pointed in the air like an upside down ballerina, but what stood out was the expression on her face, proud and determined. Lauren running through a rainstorm with Diesel nipping at her heels. Her hair hung down her face in rippled sheets and her mouth was wide open in laughter.

  “These pictures are amazing. This one is my favorite.” Kate pointed to the last picture in the series. It was of Jack with someone who Kate now recognized as Harper, her long dark hair a mass of interlocking waves. Her eyes were locked on Jack’s as she listened to whatever he was saying.

  “He better get his sight back.” Jack turned back to face Kate, his dimple back in hiding.

  “He’s lucky to have you here to take care of Lauren and Harper.”

  Jack winced and grabbed the top of his neck. “At least I ha
ve till the morning to figure out what to tell Lauren.” He rolled his head around and pressed his fingers into the loops of curls at the bottom of his head.

  Kate gently pushed Jack’s hand away and rubbed her fingers into the knots of tension.

  “Whatever you’re doing—don’t stop,” murmured Jack.

  His breath came out in jagged edges as Kate moved her hands over Jack’s skin. His breathing quickly became light and feathery like cotton candy.

  Jack turned to face Kate, his voice low and husky. “Thank you for being with me tonight.”

  Before Kate could answer he placed both hands in the hollows of her cheeks. His hands felt almost rough like the smooth side of an emery board. Jack tilted Kate’s face up so she was looking directly into his eyes, which had turned the color of an early summer lake. All at once Kate felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  “We can’t do this now,” whispered Kate, as she held onto Jack’s gaze. Sarah Jessica Barker sidled up between them, planting her drool-covered snout on Kate’s calf. Kate nudged the dog to the side with her foot.

  “You’re right. We need to stop.” But Jack didn’t take his hands off Kate.

  “It’s too soon.” Sarah Jessica Barker moved back between them snorting and sniffling as she pawed at Kate’s leg. Kate shook her off and stepped closer to Jack, filling the space between them.

  “Too soon.” Every nerve ending in Kate’s body crackled as Jack buried his fingers in her hair and gently pulled her face closer. His lips were Chap Stick smooth as Kate met Jack’s mouth with hers. Kate parted her lips and Jack’s hands wrapped tighter around her hair as he opened his mouth. Jack’s tongue trailed around hers with such detail and purpose, it made Kate wonder what he could do to other parts of her body.

  Jack kept his lips pressed into hers, his tongue tracing patterns while he slowly pulled her blazer off first one shoulder then the other and dropped it on the floor.

  Diesel picked up Kate’s abandoned jacket and tried to initiate tug of war with Sarah Jessica Barker, who was too busy trying to get in on whatever game Kate and Jack were up to.