This is the story of Tameka Elliott and Heather Dillard who grew up on the same tree-lined street, Magnolia Lane, in the heart of the bustling city, Capitol, Michigan. They are college seniors at Prospect University in Emerald, Rhode Island.
Prospect has one of the best business programs in the nation with the renowned business professor Addison Milford to add to its stellar reputation.
Sandy-haired Tameka is golden brown in tone with a vibrant personality that complements her modest demeanor. She’s a lovely polite young lady with loads of charisma. Her bright eyes sparkle often with jubilant pleasure.
Some people believe that Tameka’s weight is a hindrance. She’s of average height with weight count that is in excess by about one hundred pounds.
Tameka’s mother, Cassie, frequently reminds Tameka how beautiful she is, inwardly and outwardly.
Tameka believes that truth as her parents raised her to have healthy self-esteem with most of her concentration on the condition of her heart.
Cassie and her husband, Daniel, instilled in their only child the need to care and share and to be considerate of others. Cassie and Daniel continue to be deeply in love after more than twenty-seven years of blissful matrimony.
The Elliott’s are a God-fearing family, as evidenced by the consistent love in demonstration both at home and elsewhere.
Heather lives with her vain single mother, Rita. Infrequently, the two get along. They don’t know the whereabouts of Heather’s father, William. He abandoned wife and daughter when Heather was ten.
Heather and Tameka were once fast friends. Over time, their lives diverged in different directions. Their individual choices affected their close relationship as they embraced lifestyles that weren’t in common with one another.
Heather, tall, slim, and some consider gorgeous, is into the party and club scenes. She has numerous admirers of the male persuasion. They dote on her physical attributes but most of her suitors soon discover that Heather’s beauty is largely surface.
There is one man that Heather pines for; oddly, he’s not at all her type.
His name is Marcus Chance. He grew up in the neighborhood but moved away for college and landed a lucrative job in Georgia. He’s a straight arrow who forsook the party scene years ago. He and his family are close with the Elliott’s.
Tameka has an earnest aim to be a lawyer that specializes in workplace issues.
Heather has her mind set on being a force in the field of public relations.
The week of graduation approaches.
Professor Milford informs Tameka that something in excess of what she expects will be presented on graduation day.
Tameka implores her professor to reveal the information.
He smiles but refuses; she must wait.
Cassie and Daniel decide to invite Marcus and his parents, Edward and Jessica, to Tameka’s graduation ceremony at Prospect.
Tameka is pleased. She hasn’t seen Marcus for more than a year. She has had a secret crush on him since they were adolescents. There goes that sparkle in her eyes!
Heather and Rita head to Prospect. On the way they have an argument. Neither of them is happy with how their lives have developed. They are “gorgeous” women without contentment.
Heather has many male admirers, none of which appeal to her. She thinks of Marcus, the one man that she desires who obviously doesn’t desire her.
At the graduation, the graduates get their diplomas, speeches are made, photos are taken, and much joy is in the air.
The final announcement is the clincher.
John Jacobs, a well-known business millionaire approaches the podium and announces that he will fully finance Tameka for law school.
Tameka is joyously stunned.
Her parents leap from their seats, embrace her, and high five the Chances.
As Tameka, to applause, walks onstage to Mr. Jacobs, Marcus says to himself, I sure do like how she has filled out.
Tameka’s excess weight is a plus for Marcus.
He recalls what he remembers about her caring heart. And oh yeah, he thinks, she is pleasingly plump, and bright to boot! He senses within him an urge to engage Tameka on a whole new level!
After the ceremony, the Elliott’s and Chance’s dine together.
Throughout the meal, Marcus and Tameka exchange admiring glances as they catch up on things. They both sense that their friendship has the potential to be more.
A revisit of the earlier statement here in this story, “Some people believe that Tameka’s weight is a hindrance – …with weight count that is in excess by about one hundred pounds.” Oh well, so much for what those people believed.
Marcus Chance has excess on his mind, and his heart beats with admiration for Tameka, a plus size lady of beauty. He thinks to himself, This could be an excess Chance!
Forward seven years:
Tameka became a high-powered lawyer who specializes in workplace issues. Her expert skills resulted in judgments for her clients in excess of $37 million. Her success rates and monetary award amounts are unprecedented for her level of experience. She married Marcus and they are expecting their first child who they have decided to name, Justice Excess Chance.
Heather’s career turned into a public relations nightmare. She depended on her looks to the detriment of her career.
Her flame extinguished; she reflected on her unwise choices and sank into deep depression.
Tameka got wind of Heather’s plight and reached out to help her. She found a superb professional to counsel Heather.
It took months, but it proved worth it.
Heather found her true self and became a successful and prominent owner of a public relations firm. She named it Weight Lifted Enterprise.
Copyright 2012 - Sandra Renee Hicks
This story is included in an e-book titled, Zest and Gusto in Christian Short Stories. It is available for $2.99 from Smashwords.com. You don't need e-readers to read e-books; they can be read online, as well. A free sample is available to read on the subject site. Here is the link https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lioneagle
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