FICTION
Laura knew as soon as she walked into Georgina’s bright apartment that her friend wasn’t having a good day. Georgina looked sad as she greeted Laura and led her to the brightly colored sofa.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked.
Georgina’s face crumpled immediately. “I just feel,” she hesitated. “Bad.”
She grabbed a kleenex while Laura waited. Laura had learned that a conversation with Georgina sometimes needed a lot of silence. Georgina dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose.
“I know it must be partly that I haven’t been taking care of myself and that always affects my mood. In fact, it could totally just be moodiness because I’ve been eating so many sweets. But really,” the tears started again, “I just don’t feel like anyone thinks I’m attractive anymore.”
Laura put her hand on Georgina’s shoulder while she buried her face in the tissue. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I’m huge,” Georgina wailed, “And no one ever tells me anymore that I look nice or I look good, even when I wear a new dress. I just don’t get anyone’s attention anymore and I know it’s because I’m fat. I’m too fat and I just keep getting fatter.”
Georgina wept and rocked back and forth while Laura put her arm further around her soft shoulders. She let her friend cry it out for a couple of minutes. Sure, Georgina was carrying an extra 60 pounds, but Laura knew it was her charm, sense of humor and intelligence that kept her numerous friends in her life. Georgina was one of the most fascinating people Laura knew and people marveled to Laura all the time how unique and wonderful Georgina was and how lucky they felt to know her.
“Georgina,” she finally murmured. “If you feel like you’re not getting as much attention as you used to, it might not be about your weight. Maybe you used to be thinner, but you also used to be younger. It might just be that you’re old.”
Georgina stopped crying, raised her head and stared at a corner of the room. “You’re just trying to make me feel better,” she said. She dried her eyes. “Do you really think it’s about my age?”
Laura nodded. “It makes more sense. A lot of young women are fat and still get plenty of attention.”
Georgina considered this, took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about my age.” Her face lightened. “Shall we go to lunch?”
Laura smiled at her friend. “I’m glad you can still see reason. Let’s go.”
Mentioning the unmentionable since 2004