"Are you hungry?" Lisha asked, as she pulled the covers up to her belly after propping her pillow against the headboard, and sitting up in the bed. "Why?" Emma asked warily. "Are you?" "I hate to say this, but: no way!" Emma let out a sigh of relief. "Phew! I mean, if you were going to eat, I would've forced myself, but -- I'm tellin' ya -- it would've been ugly!" Lisha kissed her lover on the forehead, saying, "I don't think that 'ugly' could ever apply to you. You're so beautiful!"

"Okay," Emma said, "it's a cliche, but, Where have you been all my life?" "Ummm... I've been right here, only -- I didn't know I was SUPPOSED to be here!" They didn't say anything for a few minutes, just absent-mindedly stroked each other's bodies, lost in memories of the previous night that were short on details, but rich in emotions. Emma shifted herself around, resting her head on Lisha's thighs, then laughed and said, "Y'know, I can't see your face because there's this enormous mound in the way!" "I know!" She reached her hands around her belly and shook the blubber gently, feeling its solid softness, then said, "I think if it's a girl, I'll name it Ella -- short for mozzar-Ella, and if it's a boy, I'll name it Jean -- short for parma-Jean. What do you think of those names? After all, you're kinda like the father or something -- if it wasn't for you, it wouldn't have been half as big!"

They talked for a while longer, Emma sitting up and asking shyly, "So, when we made love... did you... y'know..." "Did I come? Girl, I thought we were gonna have to call the paramedics to get me to STOP coming! I felt my heart skipping beats, my pussy spewing out flames, and -- at least three times -- my head totally exploded! I was sure that I was going to wake up this morning in the ICU -- and I didn't care!" "I wasn't sure -- I mean I was certain, but I went so far over the top that I was pretty delirious the whole time, and I started hallucinating that the whole thing was a hallucination! Did that make any sense?" Lisha laughed, saying, "It made perfect sense! So either we're both sharing the same hallucination or--" "Or that was the most incredible lovemaking session in history!" "I'll take choice 'B'," Lisha said. "In fact --" she spread her legs open wide " -- I'll take choice 'B' right now!" "I would," Emma said, "except my tongue informs me that it's on vacation -- for a couple of hours, anyway!" "That's okay: I'm so swollen that that silly body-building actor-slash-singer-slash-fool I was going out with couldn't squeeze his itty-bitty needle-dick in there for even the ten seconds it ever took his speedy ol' self!"

"Well, I don't know who's the bigger fool," Emma said, angrily, "him, or you for staying with him as long as you did!" "I'm sorry," Lisha said. "I didn't want to talk about him. I was just joking about it. I don't want to make you feel bad or jealous or anything like that." Emma took a deep breath, then touched Lisha's thigh, smiled and said, "I don't. None of that matters now." "You're right. It doesn't matter. I was stupid, being with him -- and with all those others. It was just my way of hiding from myself -- denying what I was really feeling for years and years. It was like coming out -- but coming out to myself. And it was so difficult... It took so long..." "I know," Emma said. "Believe me: I know."

"When did you first know that you were a lesbian?" Lisha asked. "I still don't know that I AM a lesbian," Emma replied, then continued, slowly and thoughtfully. "I just know that I love YOU, and that I love being with YOU, looking at YOU, touching YOU, making love to YOU -- and YOU, coincidentally, are the same sex as me." She smiled and put her warm hand on Lisha's cool cheek, continuing, "I've been with other women and other men, and -- it's like my relationships with those others were like my relationships with my cats: a relationship between two different species that son't really understand one another, but co-exist nonetheless. But you and I -- I know we're the same species, and I think that we may even be two parts of the same individual."

Lisha felt the storm of emotion welling up inside of her; she couldn't keep the tears from pouring out, her voice quavering with amazement as she said, "Your words... I didn't know how to say what I thought... but you just said it, like you were in my mind or I was in your voice or..." They embraced, each trembling with passion, yet remaining still and silent in each other's arms. They stayed like that until they were capable of speech again.

It was nearly noon by the time they'd gotten themselves out of each other's embrace and out of bed and out of the soapy playground of the shower. Lisha stepped out on the deck, still wet, and stood in the ocean breeze, feeling the goosebumps rise all over her body as the sun dried her skin. She caught sight of her shadow, foreshortened next to her, the rise of her belly made even more prominent by the distorted proportions. Emma was inside, drying off and Lisha stepped over to the railing, surveying the beach. Elinor was down there, her enormous body taking up most of a blanket, and she looked up at Lisha and waved. "How're you doing up there, neighbor? You've got some company?" "Yes," Lisha yelled down, "my girlfriend, Emma." She felt a little tingle of wickedness at the new meaning only she knew for the word "girlfriend."

"Why don't the two of you grab some blankets and come on down. You can't say you've been to the Hamptons unless you get some sand in your... well, in everything!" Emma came out in time to hear the invitation, and Lisha looked at her questioningly. "Sure! Why not? Let me just put on a bathing suit or something." Lisha tsk-ed at her friend, saying, "Do you see any bathing suits on that beach? When in Rome..." "Okay. No problem. But, later, when we've got sand in our crotches and we're in a state of excruciating annoyance -- don't say I didn't warn you!" They trudged down the wooden stairs, then across the warm sand to where Elinor was sitting up and moving some things around on her blanket. Lisha handled the introductions, and within a couple of moments, they were all stretched out on their blankets involved in a lively chat session, as if they'd been close friends forever.

"So," Elinor asked, "how's the diet going? You probably didn't eat a thing yesterday after that dinner at my place the other night." Lisha and Emma both laughed, then Lisha got up on her knees and shook her still-full stomach, saying, "Does it look like I'm starving myself?" Elinor shook her head, saying, "No, it looks like you're trying to make yourself look as fat as me!" "That wouldn't be so terrible," Lisha said, "but it's gonna take a while!" Elinor looked at her and said, "Why are you doing this to yourself?" Emma answered, saying, "Basically, it's because she's insane. Has been since birth. We've done a good job keeping it from the papers." "Don't listen to her. I'm not insane -- a little loony, maybe -- but, basically, it's just because I love to eat, and I hate this constant police state I've got to keep myself in. Y'know: don't eat that, have only one of those, exercise, exercise, exercise. Yecchhh!"

"Well, what about your career? I figured you were joking the other night when you were saying that everyone will get used to it. I mean, you're barely chubby right now, but I'm sure that there's some parts that you'll be judged too heavy for." "Please! When I was just starting, I weighed 119 pounds and I was turned down for three good TV parts in a row because some anorectic-loving directors thought I was too fat then! One of them told me that he'd reconsider me for some work if I got down to 105. It was really upsetting, especially since..." Lisha looked at Emma, then said, "What the hell! It's gonna be in all the tabloids next week, so... It was really upsetting to be told to lose some weight since, I'd been really heavy all my life -- about 250 pounds in the tenth grade -- and I'd starved myself and exercised like crazy and controlled everything that went in and out of my body, just so I could get down to 119. It took me three years of total self-deprivation and up to that point, it was my major accomplishment in life. I'd been so proud of myself when I took off for Hollywood, and everyone around me was supportive and full of praise for my new self.

"I was totally devastated when this guy told me I was too fat, and I half-considered taking his suggestion and losing even more weight. But, then I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a window -- it was still a new experience for me to see myself looking like that -- and I realized that I had a really nice body, a sexy shape, and if this guy didn't think it was right, well someone else would. So, I just said to him, 'What you're looking for is a seven year-old boy with tits -- you might want to try casting in the elementary school bathrooms.'" "You said that to him?" Elinor asked, in a gleefully incredulous tone. "Lisha may have been capable of controlling what went into her mouth," Emma said, "but she's NEVER been able to control what comes OUT of her mouth." "Yeah, it wasn't the smartest career move for me. After he'd kicked me off the set and told everyone he knew to avoid me, I was incredibly lucky to even get an audition for that TV movie -- the one that got me noticed for the music videos. But, I got the best revenge." "What did you do? Something incredibly wicked, I hope!"

"Sort of -- see he was recommended to me by my agent to direct this next movie I'm producing. She's his agent or friend or something, too, and he'd never really gotten out of TV, so he was looking for his first feature film job. I called him up and my lawyer and I met him for lunch -- he remembered me, because he was all full of compliments, telling me that I looked good, and how I must've lost a couple of pounds. That's when the waitress came over and I ordered this really big pizza and asked him what he wanted. When the food came, I made sure I ate the entire thing while listening to his bullshit -- him talking about his 'ideas and conceptualizations' for the film, which coincided with mine so perfectly that I knew my agent had coached him incredibly well. He was getting angrier and angrier, because I kept turning around and waving to people and interrupting him at every possible juncture with irrelevant question, and all the time just kept eating. Then, as soon as I'd finished stuffing my face, I told him that I didn't think he'd be right for the job; I told him I thought his directing experience was just too 'thin' and that maybe, once he'd taken on some juicier projects -- ones with more 'meat on their bones' -- I might consider him as Assistant Director on another project.

"I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel or something, because he got so incredibly angry that if we weren't in a public place, I was sure he would have hit me right there. He stormed off, and I couldn't resist one more dig, so I smiled and waved and called out to him, saying, 'Oh, and don't forget to say hi to those delicious little boys of yours!' He totally lost it then, hysterically screaming at me, calling me just about every name imaginable, then he lunged at me, threatening to kill me -- right in front of about twenty or thirty people. He actually got close enough to rip my sleeve before the security guard got him in a chokehold and called the cops. My lawyer suggested that I press charges against him for assault, because that would make it easier to get a restraining order against him. It was weird because I'd intended to piss him off, but he must've had other things on his mind or a guilty conscience or something to go off the deep end like that. So, I played it pretty gracious when the reporters got wind of it and asked me questions, just saying that I felt sorry for him and hoping that his rehabilitation went well."

If you've got any comments or criticisms, you can post them on the WeightBoard or e-mail me at: melaniebel@aol.com.

And don't forget to visit my website at http://members.aol.com/melaniebel