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The two women sat down with the group and amazingly quickly everyone was talking freely about their dietary habits and worries.
‘It’s just so complicated,’ one woman moaned as she looked at the diet sheet. ‘I know you’re meant to eat more fish, but which fish?’
‘Oily fish is good,’ Samantha told her. ‘Things like mackerel, sardines, salmon.’
‘I know what I’m meant to eat,’ another woman said, ‘but I haven’t got the time to cook one thing for me and another for the family.’
‘So we need to find recipes that are low in fat and suitable for you,’ Holly said quickly, ‘but still appealing to the family.’
‘But they don’t want to lose weight,’ someone protested, and Samantha nodded.
‘That’s true, but almost everyone could do with cutting the amount of saturated fat that they eat, so what you need to do is plan a healthy menu and just give them larger portions. They can eat more potatoes and more pasta and fill up on vegetables.’
‘How do I stop eating chocolate?’ someone asked. And some of the other women chipped in with ideas and suggestions to help.
By the end of the session all the women were firm friends and agreed that sharing their problems had somehow made it all more interesting.
‘Will you be doing this again next week?’ one of them asked as they were leaving, and Samantha nodded.
‘Definitely, if you’d like to. Why not all choose a recipe that your family has enjoyed and then we can share them around?’
There was a murmur of agreement and the group left the room, chatting.
‘Ready to go home?’ Mark was waiting for her in the corridor, his car keys in his hand. ‘Tina and Ian are locking up this week. Our turn next week.’
They said goodnight to the rest of the team and walked out towards the car park.
‘How on earth did you persuade Caroline to help you with your posters?’ Mark looked at her curiously as he held the door open for her to pass through. ‘I thought she was being less than helpful before?’
Holly gave a shrug. ‘She just offered. I don’t know why. Ever since her days off she’s been more cheerful. She was being really nice to me this morning.’
‘Hmm.’ Mark fiddled with his car keys as they strolled across the car park. ‘I noticed her talking to Greg earlier in the week. I wonder—’
Raucous laughter interrupted him and Holly froze as she saw a group of teenage boys drinking and misbehaving in the street outside the medical centre.
Realising that she’d stopped walking, Mark paused and glanced back at her, his eyes narrowing.
‘Holl?’ He closed the distance between them and frowned down at her. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’ She was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help it. It took so little for it all to come rushing back. In this case it was the sound of laughter. Totally innocent laughter, but it just reminded her...
Instinctively she moved closer to Mark and he slipped an arm round her shoulders in a protective gesture.
‘How long is it going to take you to tell me about this?’ His voice was grim and his arm clamped her firmly against him.
For a brief moment she allowed herself to enjoy the safety of his arms and then she pulled away.
‘There’s nothing to tell, Mark,’ she said, her voice firm. ‘I’m fine now. I was just a bit... cold.’
‘Cold.’ He stared at her for a long moment, jangling the keys in his long fingers as his eyes searched hers. ‘Right. We’ll leave it at that for now. But sooner or later you are going to have to tell me what’s going on and it had better be sooner, Holly.’
* * *
She was drinking coffee on the deck the next morning when Mark joined her, his dark hair still damp from the shower.
‘You’re looking smart for a Saturday,’ he said on seeing her tailored skirt and neat blouse.
‘I’m going to see Anna Watts,’ Holly told him, finishing her coffee and putting the mug down on the table. ‘She was so desperate when we saw her on Thursday. I don’t want to leave it until next week.’
