The Chances You Take

Isobel

Isobel had pitched the calendar story idea to her boss shortly after Jack's phone call (once she'd pulled herself together.. the thought of Jack just holding a length of copper pipe had made her feel dizzy). Luckily he'd been all for it and was happy to feature the story next week. This meant she needed to pull a story together by Friday, and she currently had no clue who the other guys were, the charity they were supporting or what the calendar even looked like.  She'd have to quiz Jack on it when he came round later. She had all sorts of jumbled up feelings about this evening. She was excited to see him but also very nervous. She knew once she'd said what she had to say to him, there was no going back. Their friendship would be altered forever, especially if he didn't want the same thing as her.

She just had to get through the day. She'd got quite a bit of work to get through as she'd fallen behind yesterday, speaking to printers.  She wanted to get Jack the best deal she could, so had spent most of the afternoon researching and calling companies. It was hard to sell the calendar when she didn't have a design or a charity, but thankfully she'd found a local business that was willing to help, as long as their company name was included on the back.  This seemed like a fair deal, in exchange for 500 free prints. She'd also agreed to mention their name in her article. She was planning to take a few behind the scenes photos at the shoot tomorrow to include in her story, although she'd have to remember to divert some of her attention away from Jack.

Isobel had also roped in Natalie and Mel to help out at the shoot. Mel had already heard about the idea from John and was trying to persuade him to have his photo taken for her own personal calendar. He wasn't keen on the idea. Not wanting to feel left out, Nat was coming home a day early to get involved too. Anna had told her she'd need an assistant to apply the baby oil, and Nat didn't realise she wasn't joking. Isobel was sure Natalie was romanticising the whole thing in her head, whereas in reality they were going to be in a slightly grotty sports hall and it would all probably be a bit awkward. If nothing else though, it would be laugh.

She'd got a lunch with her colleagues today too to celebrate a birthday. They were going to a buffet place in town. Isobel hated buffet restaurants. She always ate too much and then felt ill afterwards, she just got carried away with all the options. She also couldn't resist a chocolate fountain. She was going to try and control herself today, just have a couple of plates. She was planning on making a lasagne later and wanted to actually be able to eat some of it. She made a start on her to-do list and took her watch off. She needed to stop clock watching, otherwise the day was going to be even longer.

...

Of course she'd overdone it. She'd dashed to the supermarket after work to grab some ingredients but felt nauseous just walking around, surrounded by more food. She really hadn't needed a second helping of strawberries and marshmallows swimming in chocolate, bit didn't have the willpower to resist. It wasn't often you get faced with the option of a bowl of liquid chocolate, who was she to say no? Well she regretted it now. It was half past 5 and she was trying to fry off some mince to go in the lasagne, but had to keep sticking her head out of the window to get some air. Once it was done she could just get it in the oven and forget about it for a bit. Hopefully by the time that Jack was done sorting out the boiler, she'd be able to face some food. She didn't really want to just sit there, watching him eat..

She had just added a layer of cheese and bunged it in the oven when there was a knock at the door. He was early, unusually. As Isobel walked through the house to open the front door she felt a new wave of sickness and had to steady herself, leaning against the wall. She didn't feel good. Her mother had always said she had eyes bigger than her belly and she was absolutely right. "You in there Iz? Lemme in, it's rainin'", Jack shouted through the letterbox. She pulled herself together and opened the front door.