Fat Chances by J.S. Wilsoncroft Page A

I replied, smiling crookedly, and Cory chuckled too. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at me or the doctor, but either way, he had the cutest laugh and most gorgeous smile as he sat in the chair talking to the doctor like they were the best of friends.
    The doctor left, promising to be back in a minute.
    “Do you want me to leave while he sticks a needle in your leg?” Cory asked. Another wave of heat rushed through my body when I glanced up at him. God, he was beautiful . Cory was still wearing the navy blue sweater from this afternoon that fit snug against his hard chest and muscular arms. 
    “If you don’t mind ,” I replied, not wanting him to stay with me, but I didn’t want to take another chance of him seeing my fat, hairy legs again. I was almost certain that he got an eyeful when the nurse had pulled back the sheet. Having him see them twice ... I couldn’t handle that kind of humiliation again. Just then the doctor and a young nurse came in. The nurse was carrying a blue basket filled with syringes, gauzes and other medical paraphernalia.
    “Cory! How have you been?” The young nurse squealed. She set the basket down by my feet then quickly turned around to hug him.
    “Beth! You look great! How have you been?” Cory said, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. I ground my teeth together when I saw how tightly he was hugging her.
    “Oh, my gosh! You look great! What are you doing here?” She squealed again, as she leaned back to get a good look at him from head to toe.
    “Oh, I took a job as a fitness instructor down at the Civic Center. I didn’t want to move back to Florida. I wanted to try living in a small town for once.”
    I stared at them dumbfounded, wondering how the two of them had met.
    Just then the doctor re-entered the tiny cubical. Clearing his throat, he hinted for the nurse’s attention.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. Let me finish with this patient f irst then we can chat for a bit,” she said, quickly grabbing the basket and handed the doctor a piece of gauze saturated with rubbing alcohol. Before Cory had a chance to leave the room, Dr. Sears threw back the white sheet then pulled my gown up to my belly button exposing both of my fat legs, my pink cotton underwear and worse ... my fat rolls. I was mortified. I closed my eyes and lay back against the pillow while the tears trickled down my cheeks. Please kill me now , I thought to myself.
    A few pinches and five vials of fluid removed from my knee later, I instantly began to feel relief. My knee was no longer throbbing or burning. I opened my eyes to see that some of the swelling had already gone down.
    “See, I told you. Now with all the swelling that you had, the muscles and tendons are going to be sore for a few days, so I want you to take it easy for a while. But soon , you’re going to be as good as new,” Dr. Sears said. Then he shook my hand and left the room, leaving me with Beth, the nurse. I studied the girl carefully as she gathered up the used gauzes and puss filled vials and threw them into a separate garbage can marked ‘Hazardous.’ Then she opened a few bandages and gently placed them on my knee where the needle had punctured my skin. She was beautiful with long auburn hair that was pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her eyes were aqua blue like the waters of Aruba and her body … well, let’s just say that my stomach tightened when I saw how perfect her body was. It would have taken ten of her to make up one of me.
    “How do you feel, Annie?” Her voice was sweet when she spoke.
    “Okay, I guess.” I was feeling queasy again, but it wasn’t from the medication. It was more because I was disgusted with myself and with her. I hated her perfect body!
    “Do you need more pain pills?” she asked as concern filled her eyes.
    “NO!” Cory said when he came in through the curtain. “She had a bad reaction from them earlier. I forgot to tell the doctor.” 
    “Oh, I thought I smelled something in here. I’ll make