chapter 1

In Kaley's opinion, her friend Hannah shouldn't have been surprised in the slightest when her husband started putting on weight. Kaley could see it from the moment she met him that he was one day going to end up tipping the scales. Max played football at college and that was how Hannah met him, falling head over heels in lust with him straight away; and why not? Max was charming, funny and kind. Kaley had to admit herself, she never met anyone so genuinely nice in her whole life. He was taller than anyone else on the team, with broad shoulders and an athletic physique. But Kaley could see that he also had thick thighs and an overactive appetite that would one day get him in to trouble with his weight; boys with big legs and bigger appetites always ended up getting fatter in Kaley's experience.

Hannah and Kaley had been best friends since the moment they met each other in college. This was despite the fact that Hannah was the total opposite to her, which was why they seemed to find each other so amusing. Hannah was cutting and brazen with a wicked sense of humour, making it seem very odd to see her going for someone like Max, who was so laid back and calm. She used to spend hours talking about Max's strong body and how other girls were jealous of her for dating him; part of Kaley felt like Max was just some kind of trophy boyfriend to her.

It didn't take very long for Kaley to work out that she had fallen in love with Max. It was easily done, in her opinion; but it didn't make her feel any less guilty about it; certainly Hannah could never know. Max was boyish and fun-loving with a love of food that inspired Kaley to want to cook more. They used to spend hours talking about food and Kaley would increasingly experiment with her own culinary delights, inviting Max and Hannah round to try out her creations. Hannah never had any interest but Max was always her most complementary critic. Kaley felt inspired by him and, after graduating with a degree in engineering, chucked it all in to start at rock bottom in the catering industry.

Hannah and Max seemed to plod on, much as they had always done in college. But Hannah was always the feisty one and, in Kaley's mind, she nagged Max so much about marriage, that at the tender age of twenty three, she was a bridesmaid at their wedding. Not only that, but she got to make their huge, towering, five tier wedding cake as their wedding gift. Hannah worked in finance, whilst Max took on a career in sales. And so it was that they all came to be deeply, deeply unhappy.

Max and Hannah hadn't been married more than two years when Hannah stomped over to Kaley's apartment one morning. 'Max and I. It's not good. He's getting on my last nerve!' she complained.

'I thought you guys were doing ok?' asked Kaley, a little shocked.

'Why would you think that? All he seems to want to do is eat. Everyone can see that he's put on about 50lbs since we got married. He's such a selfish pig. I haven't let myself go like that,' she went on, her face screwing up like an old prune as she whined.

'Well, he is an ex-football player, what did you expect?' said Kaley, feeling a little defensive of Max and disliking hearing Hannah speak about him like this. Then she realised that that wasn't how best friends were supposed to be. 'But yes, you're right. It's totally selfish,' she lied.

'I just need some space!' sighed Hannah. Then she looked sideways at Kaley and Kaley could tell that whatever came out of her mouth next was the real reason for her impromptu visit. 'Maybe he could stay here for a little while?' she asked, hopefully. 'To give me some space.'

Kaley was a little taken aback. She saw Hannah and Max about four times a year since they graduated, despite the fact that they lived within 20 miles of each other. Everyone was so busy with their careers. 'Why here?' she asked, confused.

'Well, you have the most space. And he would probably enjoy it, hanging out with you. You've always got on so well together,' she said, giving her best sales pitch. 'Plus, I know he's safe here with my best friend,' she added for further effect.

Kaley's catering career was taking off and with a small loan from her family last year, she'd opened her own restaurant that was very successful. Her apartment was more than big enough for a house guest. There wasn't an awful lot of room to compromise as far as Kaley could see.

'How long are you thinking?' she asked, feeling unsure.

'Just a week or two, maybe a month. You know how it is,' she said assertively, knowing she had won already. 'Two months, tops,' she finished. 'Just until we get back to normal'.