Sweet afternoons

Chapter one

Maybe it was just hard for some people to understand, but being called fat wasn't that big of a deal. When you're 26 years old and overweight, you get used to the constant insults people throw at you. Being a large woman in Texas, I found myself with plenty of people by my side who saw past my large frame. But I'd also found my fair share of cynics along the way as well.

Moving from England to America at 19 years of age was hard on me, but truthfully I couldn't deal with my life in the back in the UK. The beauty standards where I lived, the ones my parents held, definitely didn't represent my body type. 250lb women weren't as easily accepted and my short frame didn't help me carry the weight gracefully.

Moving away from my hometown did wonders for my self-esteem; people, where I moved to in Texas, were much nicer. Of course, I couldn't expect everyone to be open-minded. Some people would always feel the need to degrade others for the way they looked.

"Look, Jeff, good ol' daisy from the farm has come to pay us a visit," an old, ugly-looking fellow was sitting on a rusty park bench next to a smaller, similar-looking man. The pair had creepy grins plastered to their smug faces, showing off their cracked and dented yellow teeth.

It had been a while since anyone in this town had insulted me; most people had come to like me. Still, my past had taught me not to be hurt by harsh words anymore and so I smiled politely at the two men.

"At least Daisy is still better looking than the pair of you," my reply was short and without giving them any time to think up another genius insult I strutted away from the two men. I usually didn't like to say mean things to people, but since they openly insulted me I thought it was only fair to reciprocate; calling somebody a cow was just plain rude and immature.

Looking at my watch, I realised I didn't have the time to teach inconsiderate people how to treat others. They'd have to figure that out for themselves. I had a job to get to and I was already running late. I started speed walking away, my hips and shoulders shaking with adrenaline.

My morning hadn't exactly gone as peaceful as I had hoped it would. After waking up late and rushing to get ready for work, I then had to deal with being insulted on my way.

I was very lucky because I loved my job so my day was only going to get better. Working in my own bakery was a dream come true for me. Not only was I my own boss, but I also got to bake all day long, every day and earn money doing it. Baking was my passion, that's why I'd spend the majority of my time learning the right techniques to be a professional baker.

When I was 22, I had saved up just enough money to start up the small bakery. It was the happiest day of my life but a hard few months as well. Trying to manage a bakery alone was tough; long hours, small returns and self-doubt were really difficult to manage. I got very lucky when a regular customer asked me for a job at the bakery, insisting he not be paid until the Bakery was properly established.

Not long after that, Nate was made my business partner and we continued to work hard on our dream. He insisted immediately that we change the name from 'Bake away' to something more unique. It took lots of evenings together but we eventually named it after our favourite time of day. Hence it became 'sweet afternoons' bakery.

When I finally arrived at the bakery that warm Tuesday morning, I was happy to see a few customers already inside. Nate was also already in the bakery as he had decided to work the early shift that morning. I spotted him easily, standing behind the counter chatting to a customer. His shaggy black hair was tied up messily and a thin black hairband pushed any loose strands away from his face.

The tall boy was extremely good looking and incredibly fit for a 21-year-old man. There were many ladies (Young and old alike) who came to the bakery just to see him. Admittedly, he was very good for business and he always left customers happy; he had a cheerful disposition and a tendency to flirt with everyone.