(Complete) New Year's Day is a time for resolutions. Jack Harris, still mourning the tragic death of his wife, vows to start living again. Maddie Evans dumps her boyfriend and vows no more meaningless sex.
Jack moves to The Point to live in his pa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Every morning Maddie fell into step next to Peter and each time she pushed herself to go a little further. After her first week, she liked the result on her scale. She had lost three pounds. She really didn't think it was difficult. Perhaps because it was winter, and she was practically hibernating. She went for her run-walk each morning, she worked and then she went home to stay hunkered down inside. It was too cold and dark at night, so everyone preferred to be at home. Nobody was meeting for dinner or drinks this time of year.
Maddie found she was perfectly happy, if she didn't think about how pathetic her life was. When she was younger, she never imagined that she'd be single at thirty-seven. Now she was certain she'd always live alone and was coming to terms with her fate as part of creating the new improved Maddie. The new, skinnier, single mature woman, who she planned to become, would find contentment in her life and relish her time alone.
Laura was still struggling with Maddie's decision to end her relationship with Steve. Maddie really did not regret it, but had trouble explaining this without sounding mean. Looking back she and Steve had very little in common. She remembered agreeing to their first date to please Laura. Their dinner was pleasant enough, and they had enough preliminary subjects to cover. It was a few months before Steve started to bore her with subjects she had absolutely no interest in. She would politely listen, but after three years she learned to ignore him as he talked. They had fun together, but rarely did Maddie remember laughing endlessly unless they were with Laura and Tim. She liked to laugh and never did enough of it with Steve.
He was only a little overweight when they started dating. Their relationship caused them both to gain. He wasn't a bad-looking guy. Truthfully, that was why she gave him a chance beyond making Laura happy. She wasn't sure why she let them progress to lovers. She took her time deciding, but she was a woman in her thirties with needs. He would satisfy them or at least try.
She reluctantly agreed to go to Laura's for dinner the following Saturday. She reminded her she was trying to lose weight and her friend agreed to cook light. Maddie knew Laura loved experimenting with new recipes, and creamy sauces were her specialty. She wondered if they'd have the same definition of light.
When she dressed for the dinner, she was five pounds lighter and her pants were more comfortable. She doubted anyone would notice the change, but she did and she was doing it for herself. Lily and Grace, Laura's daughters, greeted her. She had known them since they were babies when the friends had met at the library.
At seven and nine, they were big readers. "So any good books to recommend?"
The youngest, Lily said, "Jack and Annie."
"Magic Tree House! Perfect! Grace?"
Grace thought. "Everything."
Maddie laughed. "You need to stop by, I just got some great new books in."
She greeted Tim with a hug and was in the kitchen with Laura when the doorbell rang. Next, she heard that unmistakable voice. She looked at her friend. "You didn't!"
