CH50: Healthy eating

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie."

- Jim Davis

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Delilah was munching on some potato chips when Aubree dropped by at her cubicle. For once, it was a slow day where there wasn't much work to tackle on. Even if there was, it was not that urgent so Delilah can spend more time slack-- researching on the work.

"Hey D."

Turning around in her seat with her mouth full of potato chips, she blurted out, "What?"

Aubree frowned with her hands on her hips. "Didn't your parents teach you about manners? It's rude to talk with your mouth full."

Delilah swallowed her food and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Sorry, my bad. I didn't realize how rude my manners were since it's just you. I got used to it."

Aubree rolled her eyes. "Anyway, want to go down to the lobby with me? Ashlynn is here."

"Ohhhh…" Delilah said slowly, her face showing a bit of surprise. It has been awhile since she last saw Ashlynn. Nearly a year if she counted.

Ashlynn was an ex-employee who used to work in Kang Company before she was hired to work in a government office. (See chapter 8).

"What is she doing here?" Delilah asked, confused as to why Ashlynn was here. It was not that Delilah did not welcome her here but wasn't she supposed to be working at this hour? It was still 3 PM in the afternoon. It was not the time to go home just yet.

Aubree headed towards the stairs that lead to the ground floor and said, while walking, "Nothing. She's here to send me the cakes that I have ordered from her sister."

From what Delilah could remember, Ashlynn's sister, indeed, has an online business where she sells her homemade cakes. Delilah had tasted one of her sliced cakes before and it was delicious. Aubree used to buy them a lot back then and then she stopped. It looked like she was back to ordering them again.

Coming to the lobby, the two women saw a lone woman sitting at one of the sofas. On her lap was a white box, tied with a pink ribbon. When the woman saw them approaching, she placed the box beside her on the sofa and stood up with a huge smile.

"Aubree! Delilah!" she greeted, opening her arms for a hug.

Aubree immediately walked over to give her a hug. "Ashlynn! It's been so long! How are you?" she asked politely.

Ashlynn laughed softly. "I'm doing good. How about you?"

"I'm good too."

Ashlynn then turned to Delilah and gave her a hug too. And then she suddenly froze. She then started to touch Delilah; on her hips, her arms, her back, much to Delilah's surprise.

Delilah immediately pushed Ashlynn away and covered her body with both of her arms. She stared at her with wide eyes, as if she was scared that Ashlynn was going to 'harass' or 'molest' her again. "What the heck are you doing?" she exclaimed in shock.

Ashlynn's eyes narrowed as she studied Delilah, looking at her from top to bottom. "D...." she said slowly, her hand underneath her chin, looking as if she was thinking.

Delilah took a step back, trying to hide from Ashlynn's wandering gaze and hands. "Yes…" she said slowly.

Ashlynn suddenly stood up straight, both of her fists on her hips. "Did you just gain weight?"

Aubree just raised her eyebrows and looked over at Delilah. Delilah, on the other hand, just stared at her. "What do you mean?" she shrieked, looking down at her body.

"You seem like you've been gaining weight since the last time I saw you." Ashlynn then turned to Aubree. "Don't you think so?" she asked.

Aubree shrugged. "I see her nearly everyday. I wouldn't have noticed whether she's gotten fat or not," she replied casually.

Ashlynn nodded. "True true!" she agreed.

"Nooooooooooo!" Delilah denied vehemently. She covered her face, as if she was in agony and pain. "I do eat a lot of snacks recently," she reluctantly admitted.

She then tugged on her blouse and continued, "No wonder my clothes are getting tighter. I thought it shrunk or something."

Both Ashlynn and Aubree just rolled their eyes.

Delilah clenched both of her fists and said, "I'm going to control my snackings now! Just you all wait and see!"

----

The next week.

Delilah was typing on her computer while munching on a green apple when Aubree walked past her cubicle. Watching her eat, Aubree cocked an eyebrow and knocked on her cubicle.

Delilah turned around, still munching on the apple.

"Eating healthy, are we?" Aubree teased.

Delilah swallowed before giving Aubree a pout. "Stop teasing me. At least, support me, you bish," she scolded.

Aubree just laughed and waved her goodbye as she went to her cubicle.

Few minutes before working hours ended, Delilah had rushed over to the restroom with a sports bag. And soon after that, she walked out, no longer wearing her casual office clothes, but in sports attire.

Aubree was about to leave the office when she saw Delilah looking motivated and pumped up in her sports attire. "Where are you headed to?" she asked.

"I'm going to the stadium. I'm going to go jogging there."

Aubree nodded. "Alright then. Be careful back there."

"I will. Thanks!"

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Aubree had entered her room at her home when her mobile phone beeped. Looking down at her phone in her hand, she saw a text message from Delilah. Swiping right to open the message, she let out a laugh when she saw the image sent by Delilah. It looked like she had sent several images to Aubree.

For the first picture, Delilah had sent a selfie of herself, standing in front of the stadium. The message reads, 'I'm hereeee!'. The second picture was of a red track, which leads to the stadium. It looked like a long track as the stadium looked smaller, indicating the distance between Delilah and the stadium. The message reads, 'Ugh. I'm so tired!'. And the last picture was of several food trucks lined nearby the stadium. The message reads, 'OMG! No, D! You can resist this!'.

Aubree laughed again when she read the last message. She quickly shot a reply to Delilah. 'You can do it, D! I'll see you tomorrow!'

Shaking her head in bemusement, Aubree placed her phone on her vanity table before heading to her bathroom to take a shower.

----

It was a few minutes before the sun was about to set when Delilah finally arrived at home, feeling tired and sticky. She immediately went straight to her room, wanting to take a shower. However, before she could enter her room, Miya yelled from the kitchen. "D! Come on down for dinner later! It will be ready in a few minutes."

"So early?" Delilah yelled back, as she stood at the top of the staircase, her hand on the banister.

"Yeah! Dad is going out for a company dinner so it's just us! I'm cooking early because I got some markings to finish off."

Miya worked as a primary school teacher in one of the government schools. She was known as a strict teacher, which was the opposite of herself, compared to her at home. She has been working as a teacher, even before she got married. So she has years of experience when it comes to teaching.

"Alright!"

Shortly after, Delilah walked into the kitchen, looking freshly showered with her hair covered with a towel.

Miya was already sitting at the kitchen table, with Kael in his baby chair and his father sitting beside him. Delilah sat across them and grabbed an empty plate. She scooped some rice onto her plate and saw that Miya had cooked some 'Kangkung tumis' [1].

Delilah grinned. "Oh, one of my favourites!" she exclaimed as she scooped a generous amount of 'kangkung tumis' onto her plate.

"That's all you'll be eating?" Miya asked as she glanced at Delilah's plate.

"Yes, I'm controlling my intake now."

Miya rolled her eyes. "Right," she said sarcastically, not believing her.

"Say what you will but I am," Delilah protested.

She then grabbed a magazine for her read while eating. Reading the articles inside, she munched on the 'kangkung tumis'. Biting the crispy stalks of the water spinach, it tasted soft yet crunchy. The water spinach was actually slightly sweet on its own. But together with the flavours from the 'belacan' [2], dried shrimps, shallots, garlic and chili, it was made more tasty, letting out a strong umami flavour. Despite the strong fishy smell, Delilah still could overcome the aroma. When she ate it together with a spoonful of rice, she loved how the rice mixed together with the juices from the stir-fried water spinach, bursting with flavours in her mouth. The crunchy stalks of the water spinach was addicting, especially when she ate it all, together with the leaves.

Reading an article in the magazine on healthy eating, one phrase caught her eyes. It reads, 'Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie'.

Crunching on the stalks of the water spinach (Kangkung), she scoffed as she read. "He forgot to add 'Kangkung tumis' to the list."

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[1] Stir-fry water spinach

[2] Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks (Taken from Wikipedia).