chapter 3

Amy settled on a park bench beside the lake, near to a small tea stall by the park's entrance. The pair had passed the tea stall when they'd entered the park, and from this particular vantage point, Amy could survey her husband's slow but steady progress. She stopped her wristwatch.

It read a '7.50' split-time for her own lap. She'd gone a little faster than her usual 8.00 minute pace. She felt that she had to in order to make a point after James had selfishly tried to leave her for dead mid-lap. She raised her head and watched in amusement as she saw James - still in the distance - plodding along comically as he struggled, admirably, but inefficiently; his jogging motions now more dramatic than anything else.

'Poor technique James,' Amy muttered to herself. 'Poor technique, and a few too many pounds'. She giggled. 'Serves you right.'

She watched as James continued to plod, his chest puffed outwards and his arms waving wildly. His belly bulged ever so slightly out in front of his chest. Amy almost swore she could see it wobble from where she sat, perhaps just a bit. Was it really that big? Or was her mind playing tricks on her now? She bit her lower lip. She couldn't think about that. Not like this; not in public. That would be too dangerous. She wouldn't be able to control herself.

James was in no danger of arriving anytime soon, and so Amy decided to pick up a coffee from the tea stall beside her. It helped to put a halt to her deviant day-dreaming. Whilst buying her coffee, she spotted that the stall owner also sold ice cream sundaes, so she bought two, along with a calorie-laden mocha for James; his favourite. The stall owner seemed thankful for the early morning trade and was therefore very generous with his servings. Amy smiled at him appreciately. Being beautiful certainly had its perks, she thought. Her lycra bottoms and cropped sports bra left little to the imagination after all.

*** ***

Amy sat back down on the bench and awaited James's arrival. She sat in silence, taking in the early-morning bird-song, and shivering slightly as a cool breeze swept up towards her from the lake. She grew increasingly bored with waiting and so decided to start eating her sundae. She hid the second sundae beneath the park bench. She felt like taunting James a little. Try and teach him a lesson for attempting to leave her for dead as they'd ran.

No more than three minutes later, James finally arrived. Amy watched intently from the corner of her eye as he attempted to sprint the last fifty yards, presumably in some false demonstration to her that he was still in some sort of shape. Amy didn't buy it, not one bit.

Once he'd stopped puffing hard, James collapsed down heavily next to Amy on the park bench. He was fighting valiantly to regain his breath and slumped into an awkward-looking slouch, his legs wide apart and his cheeks flushed a bright red. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he sucked in the air. He mopped his brow with the bottom of his t-shirt, which revealed his gut to the ealry-morning sunshine. Amy watched on in awe as it quivered as he breathed. She bit her lower lip. Damn, he looked good.

'Nice of you to join me,' Amy finally announced, with mild sarcasm, as she turned to look at him and did her best to mask a wry little smile as she continued to eat her sundae.

'Oooooooopph,' replied James, pushing himself back upright, still fighting for air.

'Old sporting injury must've flared up you know ...', he muttered in between laboured breaths, his face grimacing as he squeezed his right thigh with his hands.

'Sure,' replied Amy knowingly, passing him his mocha. 'You've never mentioned it before though'.

She glanced at her watch.

'Must explain why you're a little off wide receiver pace'.

James accepted his drink.

'Uhm, yeah, I guess so".

"Little early for ice cream isn't it?' said James, gesturing towards Amy's sundae, attempting to rapidly change the subject.

'Maybe,' replied Amy. 'It was a spur of the moment thing I guess. I'll work it off during the week. You know that'.

'Fair point,' replied James, finally starting to breath more normally now.

The pair fell silent for a brief moment. They both sat staring out across the lake, watching in awe as a white swan elegantly landed onto the dark blue water less than thirty feet away from them.

'Uhm, ... don't I get one too then?' ventured James tentatively across the silence, gesturing towards Amy's sundae, but clearly a little fearful of his wife's response.

'Hmmmm ...,' Amy began, '... Not until you loose that little belly, okay?'

She failed miserably to stifle a large grin as she reached across to pat her husband's bloated midriff with her free hand for good measure. She didn't dare to look at him as she did this, knowing full well that it might be a hurtful thing to hear.

'Oh! ... Uhm ... yeah, ... right, right,' replied James, coughing and clearing his throat. He quickly sucked in his gut in response to his wife's unexpected touch, and added, 'yes-yes, ... probably for the best ... after last night and all'. The hurt of another barbed comment from his young wife was clearly written upon his face.

Amy quickly melted and leant in to kiss James sweetly on the cheek.

'Awww ... silly! I'm only messing with you. You know that, right?'

She ruffled his hair playfully, like she would a child's.

'Here's yours right here,' she announced as she reached to retrieve the large sundae from its hiding place beneath the bench. She passed it to him eagerly, along with a clean plastic spoon from her pocket.

'C'mon now. Tuck in! ... You've earned it'.

'Oh! ... right, ... yes, yes of course, ... errm ..., I guess I have, haven't I? ... Thanks,' replied James, a little taken aback, but greedily accepting the sundae and beginning to shovel it into his mouth nonetheless.

'Fat and getting fatter,' Amy thought to herself. She smiled contentedly.

*** ***

The pair sat on the bench for a good ten minutes, both enjoying their sundaes and coffees in the sunshine as the crisp early-morning spring air cleared both their heads of the stresses of the working week. It was a Saturday morning, and the living was easy.

'I think it's quite cute,' interjected Amy abruptly across the silence, as she continued to stare across the lake, her eyes now completely devoid of any readable emotion.

'What's cute?' asked James, half expecting a harebrained comment about the ducklings that were waddling along nearby.

Amy stood up and tossed her empty sundae and coffee cup into the trash can beside her. She didn't answer straight away and began stepping backwards slowly as she clicked a button on her wristwatch and broke into a steady backwards jog.

She cupped her hands into a loudspeaker.

'Your little 'wedding weight'!' she shouted.

She winked at James and finally turned her back on him and sprinted away, bouncing lightly once again on her finely sculpted calves.

'See you back home chubby!' she shouted back when at a distance, stumbling as she said it and almost doubling over with laughter as she strode, realising her mistake.

'Hubby! ... I meant hubby! ...' she cackled loudly.

James heard his wife's faint cries of laughter and looked down at his middle. Perhaps she had a point. his waistline certainly didn't look like it used to. He prodded it gently with his finger, surprised at how much finger disappeared.

How has this happened me? The middle age spread is something that happens to friends and colleagues, but not to me, surely? A former athlete?

James finished his sundae and promised it would be his last, at least for a while. And no more snacking, he thought as he stood upright.

He winced at the tightness in his legs tight after running. He arched his back and belched unexpectedly. The sundae had been larger than he'd expected, and he was still full after last night's pizza. He broke into a slow, laboured homeward-bound jog, where no doubt knew his wife and her jibes about his weight would be waiting ...

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