June 2085: break free, part 1

Natty is 20. Ashley is 50, Cabe is 48. 

Soundtrack: “I Want to Break Free” by Queen


Natty's room at her parents' new house in Sunrise Shores was probably larger than her whole apartment back home at LCU. Boxes in the corner were still packed, things she didn't need but couldn't get rid of, like old dolls, yearbooks, and prom dresses she'd never wear again. Her bed was brand new, not the twin-sized she'd used as a girl. Now that she was a grown-up, her parents decided to buy a large and cozy queen-sized bed for her and Charlie to share when they came to visit, where they would deny they did any more than cuddle each other at night, but would maybe steal some quick, polite, very quiet sex underneath the covers once or twice while they were here.

She'd never even been here to visit them without Charlie before, and the bed was much too big without him in it.




Nine in the morning, and it was already eighty-five degrees outside. People were already out on sailboats and sunning themselves on the beach. Summer was always Natty's favorite time of year. She loved to wake up and see the water, to walk outside and hear the waves, just like she did when she was a girl. Her apartment on campus was near a river, which was also technically water, but it wasn't the same.

"Oh, God, Natty!" her mother shrieked from the door. Natty found a look of sudden horror on her mother's face, hands over her mouth, rushing closer to poke Natty in the ribs and hip bones. "When did you get so skinny?"

It was chilly still when she'd left Michigan yesterday, and Natty had arrived wearing a bulky sweater, but it was too hot for big sweaters here. She pushed her mother's hands away. "I'm not that skinny."


"You’ve never been this skinny. Are you sick? Have you been eating? I know you’ve been upset, but this isn’t a healthy way to cope with things. Oh, God, you haven’t been...” Ashley pointed a finger down her throat.

Natty's mouth dropped. The sound she made was halfway between a laugh and a gasp. “Oh my God, Mom. No!"

“You would tell me if you have, wouldn’t you?"

"Stop it. I'm fine."

"How much weight have you lost?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, we don't even have a scale."

"You weren't this skinny at Easter." Ashley shook her head. "I haven't seen my own daughter since Easter. What kind of mother am I? That's my fault. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left. It was too soon. And Charlie? What does Charlie think about it? I’m disappointed he didn’t say something. He sees you every day, how didn't he notice this happening? Why didn't he say anything? Isn’t he concerned? Has he been neglecting you?”


“No, Mom, I don't know. I mean, he hasn’t been neglecting me. I don't know if he noticed. I didn't even notice.” Natty sighed. That was a lie. Of course she noticed, it was more like she couldn't find the energy to care with everything else on her mind.

She should have expected she couldn't run away from her boyfriend in a fit of tears and not have her mom ask questions about it. “He’s a guy, Mom. Guys don’t notice stuff like that.”


Natty went inside, locked herself in the bathroom and stepped on her mom's scale.

"Oh," she sighed. Twenty pounds.

She knew she lost a little, but she hadn't expected it was that much. She remembered how her cousin used to tease her, "chubby little Natty-Patty-Pie". Natty hasn't been what anyone would call skinny since she was ten years old.

It wasn't intentional though. She wasn't trying to lose any weight. She'd just been so occupied lately, sometimes it was hard to remember to eat. And Charlie did notice, kind of. In their last few days together, as they were lounging around in pajamas or underwear or even less, with his hand up her shirt and a suspicious look on his face, he asked her, "Are your boobs getting smaller?"

It wasn't the kind of concern her mother would appreciate, but yes, he noticed.

Natty went looking through her drawers of old high school clothing for something baggier to hide herself in.


Natty knew the smell of what her mother was making before she even saw it. Buttermilk pancakes with hand-whipped fresh cream. Ashley Deppiesse was an award-winning chef—that was the reason she'd moved here, to split her Lakefront Bistro into a franchise and open up a new restaurant here. And she seemed hell bent on making sure that Natty put on five pounds by the end of her first week.


Natty took a big bite of fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk pancake, drenched in real butter and dunked in whipped cream and powdered sugar. "This is so good," Natty moaned with her mouth full.

Ashley smiled. "You should come out to the restaurant one of these nights, give me a hand in the kitchen. It'll be just like old times."

"I think I've probably forgotten how to cook anything," Natty said.

"Please don't say that. It hurts my feelings," her mother teased.

If there was one concrete reason Natty lost any weight since her mother moved away, it was probably because she wasn't eating this cooking every day anymore. It made her feel homesick for the way things used to be. It made her feel happy and sad all at once.

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