So what time do you think you’ll be home?” Melanie asked Brad while driving her BMW SUV into the restaurant’s parking lot.
“Hopefully, not past eight. But you know how it is when the partners get together for dinner. Plus, we really need to spend some time discussing this case we’re going after. It’s worth millions.”
Melanie turned off the ignition. “Well, I’m here, so I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“Enjoy your lunch.”
“I’ll try.”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you, too.”
Melanie dropped her phone in her handbag and checked her lipstick. Normally, she wasn’t all that happy when Brad had dinner meetings, because he was already spending a lot of hours at the office. Today, however, she was relieved, because with Brad eating out, she’d be able to drink her protein shake for dinner as planned.
Melanie got out of her car and walked toward the building. She loved Gino’s, which had the best Italian food ever. It was too bad she wouldn’t be able to eat some of her favorite dishes.
When she walked inside, her mother smiled and Melanie couldn’t help noticing what looked like a new pantsuit she was wearing. Her mom had never worked much and had mostly been a housewife, but she bought whatever she wanted as if she were rich. Melanie’s father earned a good living as a distribution center supervisor, but they certainly weren’t wealthy. Her mother had always made it clear, though, that a wife deserved to have some of the things she wanted—whether her husband could afford them or not.
Gladys scanned Melanie’s body from head to toe.
“You look tired. How many hours are you working?”
“Wow, thanks a lot, Mom. It’s good to see you, too.”
“Girl, give your mother a hug.”
Melanie embraced her, and soon after, the young hostess escorted them to their booth.
“Trisha will be your waitress today, and she’ll be here shortly.”
Gladys smiled. “Thank you.”
Melanie pushed her purse closer to the wall and rested her elbows on the table.
Gladys leaned back and relaxed. “You look a lot more professional today. So much better than you normally do.”
Melanie kept silent, her face stoic.
“I’m glad you finally went out and bought some proper attire,” her mother continued.
“Well, it’s not like I got rid of my khakis, Mom. And if I wake up some morning wanting to wear them, it won’t change the way I do my job.”
Gladys waved her off. “Whatever, Mel. I’m only trying to tell you what I think is best. Specifically for your career. You could also stand to color your hair.”
“Why? I don’t have any gray strands.”
“Yeah, but a softer brown would look so much better on you.”
“Black is the color God gave me.”
Gladys shook her head. “There’s just no talking to you, is there?”
Their waitress walked up to the table. She was a petite woman with a pleasant smile. “Hi, I’m Trisha. And how are you ladies this afternoon?”
“Doing wonderfully,” Gladys said.
“Fine, thank you,” Melanie added.
“Glad to hear it. Can I get you something to drink?”
“We’ll both have water,” Gladys said.
There were times when Melanie’s mother made her want to scream. It was bad enough that she tried to control everything, but deciding for Melanie what she would be drinking? It was so uncalled for. Melanie had planned to order water anyway, but it was simply the principle of the whole thing.
“Great. Also, just so you know, we have two specials today. The first is a rib-eye steak with garlic mashed potatoes. The other is our mushroom ravioli with white sauce. You also get a choice of salad with either of those.”
Gladys scanned the menu. “Hmmm. I think I’ll have the mushroom ravioli with a house salad. And if you would, please replace your house dressing with a low-fat vinaigrette.”
“Will do. And you?” the waitress asked Melanie.
“I’ll have your house salad as well.”
“Will that be it?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get this ordered for you, she said, walking away”
“So,” Gladys said, “when are you and Brad going to give me my grandbaby?”
Melanie sighed. There it was.
“Mom, why do you always ask me that?”
“Because you’re not getting any younger. Neither am I, for that matter.”
“Well, it won’t be in the near future.”
“Why not?”
“We want to make sure we’re ready.”
“How much more ready do you need to be?”
“Can we talk about something else?”
“Fine. How about your workouts? Are you still getting one in at least six days a week?”
“Yes.”
“And eating healthy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?”
“Yes, but why do you ask me these same questions all the time?”
“Because they’re important. I know this is a tough subject for you, but I also don’t want you forgetting how heavy you used to be. Brad is a top attorney in this city, and the last thing you need is to go losing him. Appearances mean everything; I’ve always taught you that. You have a responsibility to keep yourself up.”
The waitress set two glasses of water on the table and walked away.
Melanie drank some of hers and looked over at a few of the other customers.
“I’m sorry that you don’t like hearing this, but if you want to know the truth, the reason I asked you about your workouts today is because you’re looking like a size ten again.”
Melanie stared at her mother, wondering why she hadn’t taken a rain check on lunch after all. Her mother did this kind of thing all the time, and Melanie wished that for once, Gladys would realize how bad she always made Melanie feel, particularly about herself and the way she looked. Her mother and her father had both been guilty of this when she was younger, but her mother’s comments had always been the harshest and the most frequent. For whatever reason, during Melanie’s teen years, her father had just up and stopped teasing her about her weight, but all that had seemed to do was make her mother worse. She’d said some downright hurtful things to Melanie, and Melanie would never forget them. Her mom, of course, had always eaten very little, and though she wasn’t much shorter than Melanie, she’d never weighed more than 150 pounds. She was fifty-two but worked out more intensely than most thirty-year-olds. She also ate healthily seven days a week without fail. That was, with the exception of days like today when she went out to a restaurant, enjoying and eating something “special” like the ravioli she’d ordered. Even with that, however, Melanie could guarantee that her mom would only be eating half of it. And Melanie saw nothing wrong with that. Actually, she was glad her mom took such good care of herself, but she still didn’t want her nitpicking about everything she could think of, judging and condemning Melanie every time she saw her.
“I guess you don’t have anything to say,” her mother said.
“Not really.”
“Well, I hope you hear me, because it also doesn’t look good for a nurse practitioner, of all people, to be overweight. That’s no different than being a hairstylist who walks around with her hair looking a mess. Or being a dentist with crooked teeth. It sends the wrong message to clients, and in your case, to your patients.”
“Mom, not everyone can be as perfect as you. I wish I could be, but I can’t.”
“I’m not perfect. But I try to get as close to being perfect as I can. For example, when I asked our waitress to bring me low-fat dressing, you never said a word. Even though you should have asked for the same thing.”
Melanie raised her eyebrows. “That’s because I focus more on watching my carbs than I do on fat content. It’s sugar that’s keeping most people overweight.”
“I agree. But for salad dressing, I prefer fat-free.”
Melanie didn’t bother arguing with her, and for the rest of their time together, she went along with whatever her mother said just to keep the peace. As of late, this was usually how things went during their visits.
Thankfully, time passed more quickly than Melanie had anticipated, and soon they were outside the restaurant, walking to their respective vehicles. But as Melanie prepared to head back to her office, she couldn’t help replaying her mom’s words: “…you’re looking like a size ten again.” This, of course, wasn’t news to Melanie, and it was the reason she’d resorted to her latest diet. But after hearing her mother sound so disappointed in her, she felt like eliminating all solid food, including salads, and having only three shakes a day. She wasn’t sure her body could withstand something so restrictive, but one way or the other, she was going to lose all this extra weight she was carrying around. Period.