“What do you think of this one, Mom?”
Delaney had always wanted to be a chef. Ever since she was a little girl, begging for Easy Bake Ovens and peeking her head curiously around the corner around dinnertime. Like plenty of Bailey women before her, she had a natural affinity for the kitchen. It wasn’t until she’d gotten older that she’d been able to truly apply this talent, and even then she’d been forced to start small. Enrolling in elective courses at the Community College was the best way to get her foot in the door, but she had taken to it like a fish does to water.
“I-I don’t know, honey, I think it still needs a little work.”
“But you didn’t even taste it!”
The rule had been, once Delaney was old enough and enrolled in college, her mother couldn’t tell her what courses she could and couldn’t take. Even if she’d strongly suggested something practical like a Bachelor’s in Business or Communications, Donna had no right to tell her mostly-grown daughter what she could do for the rest of her life.
“Honey, Nancy’s waiting on me, I’ve got to go—”
“Just one little bite, please?”
Just One Little Bite… how often had she heard that in her life? Those were four of the most dangerous words in the human language, and she ought to know. Shaking her head and grabbing at her purse, Donna pulled the door wide open before hurrying out.
“I’ve got to go honey; try not to go overboard again tonight, okay?”
Of course she knew that hadn’t been the right way to deal with what was bothering her. But how else was she going to phrase it?
Honey, Mama’s worried about you blowing up like a balloon, it’s genetic, so hop on the treadmill and mind those cupcakes!
Donna had worked her whole life to keep her only daughter from going through what she had when she had been a teenager. And for the most part, it had worked! Delaney still had the thickset Bailey build, but she was about as slender as a girl in their family could get. With curly dark hair and cute country girl features, plus the wide hips and full chest that had blossomed as she’d gone through high school and become a woman on her own, Delaney had put in her time at Boiling Springs High School and come out as one of the prettiest, most popular girls in school!
Her mama, on the other hand…
Well, that was all in the past now. At least, that’s where Donna would have liked to leave it. She had always been (admittedly) a little crazy about keeping track of Delaney’s eating habits, but something about her joining that cooking class at the community college just rubbed her the wrong way. It was almost as if, now that her poor baby girl was going to be spending a lot of time around indulging her interest in food on an academic and (probably) career level, someone was going to sneak up behind her and pull the pin out of her butt like a life raft.
Donna flinched as she pictured her daughter steadily inflating before her very eyes, swelling up and out butt to gut first until she was a carbon copy of her mama, custom-ordered graduation gown and all.
“Look, I know you’re real proud of yourself for gettin’ back in shape after high school, but that was a little cold.” Nancy punctuated her sentence with a pointed sip of her tea, “Don’tcha think?”
Donna sunk her head down into her hands and let out a low groan.
“So what if she decides to go into cookin’ an’ bakin’ and puts on a few pounds?” Nancy gestured to her own plush frame, filling out the confines of her pink blouse, “It happens to the best of us, trust me.”
“Ugh, you don’t understand.” Donna picked her head back up, a sad furrow to her tight brown brow, “Delaney’s always been my little girl—I’ve done everything that I can to keep her happy and in control while not letting her know that I’ve been steering her away from junk food and cake and pie and…”
A small, sad sigh escaped her as she confessed, moreso to herself than to Nancy.
“All the fun food, basically.” She said afterwards, “I’ve always been in control of what Delaney could eat because… well… I didn’t want her to go through high school like I did… I mean, you remember what they used to call me.”
Double-wide Donna.
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Delaney’s out of high school now.” Nancy said with a sassy little point of her finger, “She’s enrolled in college, she’s got no friends from high school around her, and she really needs her mama right now—for a lot more than taste-testin’.”
Donna frowned tightly, sinking about as low into Nancy’s dining room chair as she felt.
“Ughh… you’re right.” Donna hung back into her ragdoll position, “I suck.”
“Not usually, but this time a little bit, yeah.” Nancy took another sip of her coffee, “Have you really been keeping little Laney on a diet for her whole life?”
“Of course—she eats pretty much what I eat.” Donna nodded sagely, “We don’t go out a lot, I’ve always made sure to talk about making healthy choices when she goes out with her friends, and I cook almost every night.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you loosen up a little, hun.” Nancy’s palm came to rest on the back of Donna’s hand, “Like I said, your little girl’s all grown up now. It’s about time she starts to make her own decisions.”
“I know, I know…” Donna pushed herself away from the kitchen table, “Thanks for listening, but I better get home soon. You know… apologize.”
“Remember hun, it’s just one little bite.” Nancy said with a raised-brow Mom Look, “It’s not gonna kill you.”
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