The Kitchen
Berni left the Food room, and immediately she was again wearing her burial suit. She had been eating for quite some time, eating all the delicious things she’d denied herself on earth in order to stay slim, but now she was standing in the hall and thinking.
Pauline appeared out of the fog. “Have you been to the Fantasy room yet?”
Berni’s eyes widened. “What kind of fantasy?”
“Anything you want.”
Berni perked up. “Medieval men? Dragons?”
“Anything.” Pauline stepped toward a golden arch, Berni behind her, but Berni halted.
“I was wondering what happened to Nellie. Did she lose the weight? Did she marry her hunk?”
“She lost the weight, but she doesn’t see Mr. Montgomery anymore. He’s still in Chandler, but I think he’s about to give up hope. Nellie won’t see him. Right through here is the Fantasy room.”
“Wait a minute. Why doesn’t she see Montgomery? I thought he’d like her when she lost the weight.”
“Mr. Montgomery loves her—his love has nothing to do with her size—but Nellie is bound by the wishes you gave her. She can’t leave her father’s house and disturb the comfort of her father and sister.”
“Oh,” Berni said, looking down at her feet. “I never meant to do her harm. She seemed like a nice kid. I thought—”
“What does a fatty like Nellie matter anyway?”
“Nellie matters. Look at the way she was always helping people. People like that count. Nellie never—”
She stopped
because Pauline had stepped through the Fantasy arch and the fog had cleared. Before them was indeed a scene out of Berni’s wildest dreams. A beautiful young woman with blonde hair to her waist, wearing a clinging pink silk gown, was chained to a post. Before her was a large but rather cute dragon, with a forked tongue and fire coming out of his nostrils, fighting an incredibly handsome, muscular, dark-haired man wearing chain mail. Berni nearly swooned.
“Come on,” Pauline said, “you can be the maiden.”
Berni took two steps forward, then stopped. “No, I want to see about Nellie.”
“Nellie can wait. Did you see the man’s horse?” The fog cleared to the right, and there was a beautiful black stallion draped in red silk.
Berni swallowed and took a step backward. “No,” she tried to say firmly, but her voice quavered. “I want to see Nellie.”
Abruptly, fog closed over the scene, and Berni let out a sigh of relief. She grinned at Pauline. “Anyway, I’d never be able to choose between the man and the dragon.”
“Your choice,” Pauline said, and she led the way through the fog to the arch of the Viewing Room.
Berni settled down on the banquette and watched as the fog before her cleared and she saw the Grayson living room. Nellie was there putting branches of pine along the mantelpiece.
“She looks great,” Berni said. “She’s really built, and now she’s much prettier than her little sister, so what’s the problem? Why doesn’t she have Montgomery? In fact, why isn’t she at some party? Looking like that, she could have any man.”
“Nellie has never been much interested in appearances. All she’s ever wanted was to love and be loved. Mr. Montgomery sensed that.”
Berni watched Nellie hanging up Christmas decorations, tying greenery along the banister. She was so very pretty now, but in her face was a deep, deep sadness. When Berni had first seen her, and Nellie had been fat, Nellie hadn’t looked sad as she did now. Berni couldn’t understand it. On earth she’d spent many thousands of dollars for plastic surgery so she could look half as good as Nellie, yet here Nellie was, with a face that could cause a war, a body better than any centerfold, and she was all alone and looking miserable.
“So why doesn’t she go after him?” Berni snapped.
“Two reasons: because of the wish you gave her and because Nellie doesn’t know how. You can’t just put wolf’s clothing on a sheep and expect the sheep to turn into a wolf. Nellie is Nellie, whether she’s fat or thin.”
Berni turned away from the scene, putting her hand to the side of her eyes. “I can’t bear to see any more.”
Pauline waved her hand, and Nellie and the room disappeared.