Chapter One

Getting Bruce to Stick to His Diet

Gwendolyn Chang had just about had it. Her husband Bruce had really put on the pounds in recent years to the point where she believed, as did his doctor, that he was putting his health in jeopardy. What was just as bad, Bruce was constantly complaining about his weight and how ugly it made him feel. He made Gwen feel especially bad when he repeatedly asked her if he was repulsive to her. Really, he was not and he had never been a slender man but his asking her about it all the time put her in a very awkward position. What could she say? What did he expect her to say?

In other respects, the Changs had a good marriage. It had lasted almost a quarter of a century. Both Chinese-Americans, they had a lot in common. They were both solid Republicans although Bruce was a little more conservative than Gwen. They were born again Christians and Gwen regularly attended a Holiness church while Bruce was a bit more intermittent.

Gwen was short, of average slim build but with large breasts that she enjoyed showing off with low-cut blouses. She had a round face with medium gold-yellow skin and regular features. Her hair was long and getting gray in places. Rather formal in her manner of dress, she usually wore her hair up in a chignon.

Dwight was a handsome, regularly featured man. When he and Gwen had met, he had been just a trifle paunchy. He still looked good in the face. An actuary, he had worked at his most recent insurance company for five years and recently earned a raise. He put in long hours and sometimes worked weekends.

When the kids were young, Gwen had been a stay-at-home-mom. After they were in school, she got a job as a checker in a supermarket, the same type of job she had held before they were born. She was still working in a supermarket and trained new cashiers and baggers as well as running her own register.

They had raised two children together, Nancy and Dwight, both of whom were living on their own now. Nancy worked as a medical assistant in a doctor’s office. Dwight was an accountant and had recently made them grandparents, something they were glad about although they wished he would marry that live-in girlfriend of his.

Bruce’s downfall was his love of pastries and donuts. He would stuff himself with one donut after another. Then he would express remorse about it to Gwen but say, “I just couldn’t help myself. I love them so much.”

“Do you love them more than your health?” Gwen would ask rhetorically. “Do you love them more than me? I’d like you to be around for a good long while, Bruce. I don’t want