150 Pounds Part 23

"But aren't you the face of Fat and Fabulous?" Oprah asked. "How do your readers feel about you no longer being, well ... fat?"

"This brings us to the main point of today," Alexis said, wanting to rescue Shoshana. "We are here to unveil a brand-new blog."

Behind them on the screen, the words WORTH THE WEIGHT flashed in hot pink.

"Wow!" Oprah said, crossing her bright yellow leather heels at the ankle. "Tell us a little bit about this new venture."

"The idea is to combine Fat and Fabulous and Skinny Chick," Shoshana said. She felt nervous, but as she spoke she gained confidence. She could see her mother giving the thumbs-up from her seat, and seeing this took the wobble out of her voice. She was her father's daughter. He had loved her so much she had a store of it inside her, giving her strength. It was a wide, silver river, and she could dip into it whenever she wanted.

"Now, I know a lot of readers will feel shocked by this, since Alexis and I had such opposing viewpoints. But lately we've come to realize we have more in common than we thought. We both want what's best for women-to eat healthily, exercise at least twice a week, and have good self-esteem. We are bringing the doctors and nutritionists from both our blogs to Worth the Weight, as well as all our contributing writers. We will have a search-engine feature for news articles about nutrition and body image, and continue to fight the war against negativity for women's body issues that the media perpetuates. We'll also include posts that pertain to us personally, such as healthy eating during pregnancy, and ways to feel good about your weight, no matter what size you are."

"I have to admit, I am shocked," Oprah said. She turned to another camera for a close-up. "After watching that video of the two of you arguing, it's wonderful that you were able to find common ground."

She turned to someone working backstage.

"Now, I want to tell you all, I was horrified when I picked up my New York Post and saw the photograph printed of Alexis. Steve, can we bring up that picture?" It materialized like a wave of the Good Witch Glinda's wand: the picture of Alexis coming out of Whole Foods, her hand protectively covering her stomach.

Alexis turned away. Shoshana smiled rea.s.suringly at her.

"Alexis, you're wearing a cute little black shapeless dress, so it might be kind of hard for the audience to see you, but do you want to tell us why you were covering your belly in this shot? I don't think it's because you gained weight, right?"

Alexis let out the breath she'd been holding. "I'm pregnant, actually," she said proudly.

The audience cheered. Shoshana clapped so hard her hands hurt.

Oprah shook her head. "It's really a shame that the media seems to only like to print negative stories sometimes. I know the paparazzi have caught me unawares before, and it ain't pretty. They also seem to have totally missed that you gained weight because you were pregnant, which is necessary and healthy for the baby. Most women gain an average of thirty to fifty pounds during pregnancy."

She looked down at her notes. "Now, Shoshana, you followed this up with a comment in the same paper. You said, 'I think Alexis looks much healthier with the additional weight. It's a sad day for feminism when we start criticizing other women's bodies.' Honey, I completely agree with you."

So did the audience, from the sound of it.

"Now I'd like to invite questions. Don't be shy!" Oprah smiled widely.

A tall woman with blond curly hair wearing a black pencil skirt and pink silk blouse stood. "Hi, Alexis; hi, Shoshana. I've been a reader of Skinny Chick for a while now. I lost eighty pounds two years ago, and your recipes and advice really helped me through the process."

Alexis nodded. "First of all, congratulations. You look wonderful. And yes. I promise that kind of help and support will remain true with Worth the Weight."

"My question is for Shoshana. Shoshana, as someone who was formerly heavy ... how do you think you'll be able to continue making girls feel positive and good about themselves at higher numbers than your own weight? Won't it be hypocritical to tell them to be happy being fat?"

Alexis squeezed Shoshana's hand.

"That's a great question," Shoshana began. "The fact is, women often go up and down in their weight throughout their lives."

"I can attest to that," Oprah said wryly, eliciting a big laugh from her loyal audience.

"As a woman who has weighed nearly three hundred pounds at one point in my life, to someone who now weighs a hundred and fifty, the truth of the matter is that my hopes and fears have not changed because I can fit into Juicy sweatpants. I still have insecurities. Alexis and I agree that both of our blogs were too extreme. Just blogging about being heavy or being skinny is boring. Most women are somewhere in between. I lost this weight through changing where I bought my food, and getting a ton of cardio setting up my apple orchard. I didn't starve myself or diet, because dieting is not listening to your body. I feel confident I can continue to counsel and understand women. 'Healthy at any size' is still my motto. That's why Worth the Weight is so important; Alexis and I are starting a blog for every woman, not just skinny or fat. Weight is a gray line, not so black and white. I think America is ready for a Web site that doesn't care what number your scale reads back to you."

Thunderous applause.

Oprah scanned the audience. "It seems we have one more question, folks."

Really? Alexis had to pee and hoped they could wrap things up quickly. What else could they possibly say on the subject?

"Yes, I have a question for one of your guests, Alexis Allbright."

Alexis looked up. She knew that voice. She turned her head, and Shoshana was grinning at her like a loon. So was Oprah. What was this all about? Suddenly she saw Noah standing in the aisle with a microphone. Her heart flipped in her chest.

"Alexis Allbright, mother of my child to be. Would you marry me?"

Shoshana let out a little squeal of glee.

Someone in the audience let out a loud whoop.

Alexis swallowed.

"Well, dear, what do you say?" Oprah asked.

Noah made his way down the aisle, getting clapped on the back by a few people, but he ignored everyone and kept his eyes locked on Alexis's.

Her voice trembled, then grew stronger: "Yes. Yes, of course I will."

"She said yes!" Oprah said, beaming. The audience gave them a standing ovation, and the cheering was deafening.

Noah climbed the three steps onto the stage and got down on one knee. Shoshana clapped until her hands hurt. She loved proposals. And weddings. And anything romantic, for that matter. Noah slipped a very small, humble ring on Alexis's hand. Shoshana loved the diamond; it was small, pear-shaped, and not at all the kind she would have a.s.sociated with Alexis. She would have figured her for a Tiffany girl. However, the ring was beautiful and Alexis was clearly thrilled.

Noah kissed Alexis, to even more cheering. Alexis's cheeks were a bright rosy red.

"Well, I love a happy ending," Oprah said. "And I greatly look forward to reading Worth the Weight posts, and having you two back on the show in the near future. I wish you nothing but success," Oprah said, and she stood up to hug both of her guests before they made an exit off the stage.

Oprah turned to the camera closest to her. "When we get back from break, we have a very special guest returning to the show, my friend and yours, Dr. Oz, here on a break from his own show to talk to us about the importance of eating heart-healthy foods."

The ceiling camera panned over the audience as they clapped for Alexis and Shoshana, who exited just as they'd come on the show, holding hands. Once they were out of view they grabbed each other tightly and hugged.

"We did it!" Shoshana shouted.

"We really pulled it off!" Alexis screamed.

"You're getting married!"

"Holy s.h.i.+t, I know! You better be a bridesmaid!"

"I will! I'd wear taffeta for you, I swear!"

They jumped up and down.

Last year felt like a lifetime ago-Shoshana and Alexis couldn't wait to start pooling their resources of advertisers and contributors. They'd rented a studio above Noah's restaurant, where they would share a writing s.p.a.ce. Neither could have afforded such an extravagance before. Interest from sponsors was already high, and they had plenty of money for the start-up from a combination of Alexis's inheritance and the money Shoshana had saved from Fat and Fabulous advertis.e.m.e.nts.

Pam watched Shoshana gracefully leave the set, head held high, shoulders back. Grabbing the brand-new soft, pretty pearl-gray coat she'd bought herself that morning in a size x.x.xL, she couldn't help but beam with pride as she went to congratulate her daughter backstage. She found her holding a gla.s.s of champagne.

Gathered together were Billy, Emily, Alexis, and Noah. "To Worth the Weight," Alexis said, taking a very small sip, then leaning over to give Noah a soft kiss. The tiny diamond glinted on her finger. Shoshana winked at her, and felt the sweet taste of the bubbly slide down her throat. She looked around the room and felt extremely lucky. It didn't matter if she weighed 150 pounds or 215. What mattered was that she found happiness. And she had. They both had.

Acknowledgments.

I'm not sure that anyone ever bothers to read the acknowledgments page, but when I was young and developing a love for reading books it always struck me as a secret pa.s.sageway into the author's mind; after the reader lives with fictional characters for many pages, when the book is done they are suddenly thrust into a cold bath of reality, and reminded that the world they'd just inhabited has come to an end. Because of this, I hope the warmth behind my words s.h.i.+nes through, spreads cheer, and that the gratefulness I feel is evident.

Thank you to Ryan Fischer-Harbage, my agent, who almost a decade ago allowed a kid just out of college to bombard him with a ma.n.u.script and a dream, and made that dream a reality.

This book would have never happened if it weren't for my amazing editor, Katie Gilligan, who totally gets funny, quirky women. Katie, you are not only a smart and talented person, but you run marathons! You are my hero.

Thank you to the entire Thomas Dunne Books team, the art department for creating such a fun cover, and Dave Cole for copyediting 150 Pounds. Without his dedicated work I would have dates out of order, characters spouting nonsensical sentences, and Shoshana's bra size wrong.

Thanks also to Kate Harding, author of Lessons From the Fat-O-Sphere, which I picked up one day and could not put back down. Thanks for letting me call you up and interview you all the way in Chicago! Shapely Prose, though closed down, was a blog that had a huge impact on me.

Thank you to my friend Kevin O'Donnell for helping me come up with a very important expression that Billy uses, and to Dana Spencer for giving birth to the real Noah.

Thank you to my loyal readers, who have not only provided support on Facebook as I wrote 150 Pounds, but actually bought my first book and therefore made me a writer.

Thank you to my parents, Michael Rockland and Patricia Ard, and my brother, Joshua Rockland, for listening to me talk about this book for two years.

ALSO BY KATE ROCKLAND.

Falling Is Like This.

end.