A FRIEND INDEED

“It’s not fair! It’s just not fair!” Terese yelled at herself. “I’ve been trying so hard, giving up chocolates and lollies, no take-away for months! Why haven’t I reached my goal weight?” Her husband john was eavesdropping from the other room. “Stop worrying about it! You’ve been in a bad mood ever since you started on this stupid diet. I preferred you with a few extra pounds on anyway!” “Maybe you did, but I didn’t like myself, and that’s what it’s all about! I’ll be back a little later John, I’m going to see Marie, maybe she’ll give me a little bit more incentive.” Terese threw on her coat, grabbed her bag and walked out the door. Driving to the next small town, 30 minutes away, Terese pulled into Marie’s driveway. As she went to knock the door opened. “Hi Terese, come in! Ted and I were just saying we haven’t seen you for a while. Wow! You look amazing! How much have you lost?” Terese smiled at them warmly, this was what she wanted to hear, encouragement! “I’ve lost 10 kilos and gone down a dress size, but I haven’t reached my goal weight yet. I need to lose another 2 kilos. The thing is, I am supposed to reach my goal by tomorrow night!” “Well okay then, we better see what we can do! Let’s go to the gym!” Marie said. It was still early and there weren’t many at the gym yet, so they had their pick of training. Marie suggested the running machine first, as running was one of the best ways to lose weight all over, as well as strengthen muscles. Terese had been running every day, sometimes two blocks, sometimes four, but now the weather had warmed up it was too hot to be outside running. The gym instructor came over and they explained the situation to her. “Don’t worry, you can do this, you’re already on the right track!” Terese beamed at them both, she was so happy to have someone believe in her goals. Terese stayed on the running machine for half an hour. After she had cooled down she got on the cycle and rode for another half hour. After a session with the medicine ball she was spent. “That’s it, I can’t do any more today. Now to see if it has made a difference!” With apprehension Terese stepped onto the scales. A grin split her face as the numbers came up in the window. “I’ve lost another kilo! How great is that! Just one more to go!” When Terese looked at Marie and the instructor they weren’t smiling. “What is it, what’s the matter?” “Terese, tomorrow is New Years Eve, the gym is shut for the next two days.” Marie said. The smile faded from Terese’s face. She had just one kilo to lose and no gym. Her heart sank, she had so wanted to be able to reach her goal by New Years Day. “Cheer up Terese, we have a gym at home remember, Ted uses it all the time!” “Oh Marie, do you really think I can do this? I feel like a failure. Every time I try to reach a goal I never get there. Maybe John is right, maybe I should just give up. He said he preferred me with a few extra pounds anyway!” “No way! You are not giving up! You’ve come too far to give up now! I will train with you and we’ll get through this together!” So Terese and Marie spent all day New Years Eve training in Ted’s home gymnasium. By 4pm they had done all they could, they were both worn out. “Okay that’s it, no more training today! There’s a big night coming up and we need to get some rest for a few hours.” “You’re right Marie, we’ve done everything possible. If I haven’t reached my goal by now, I’ll just have to make another goal later on.” Terese gave Marie a sheepish grin as she stepped onto the scales. Her whole face lit up as she grinned from ear to ear. “I’ve done it Marie! I’ve lost the extra kilo! How can I thank you? If it weren’t for you I would have given up yesterday!” Marie smiled at her best friend. “That’s what friends are for!” Terese went home with a smile on her lips. She walked in and gave John a big kiss. “You’re right John, I haven’t been very easy to live with lately. Now I’ve finally reached my goal weight that will change. You’ll see, if I’m happy you’ll be happy too!” Back at Marie’s house she was sitting on the floor next to the digital scales. “What are you doing?” Ted asked. “I altered the scales so that Terese would think she had lost another kilo.” “What! You mean you lied to her?” “No, I didn’t lie to her, the scales did! “She is so happy she has reached her goal weight, by the time she weighs herself again she will just think she has put it back on over New Years Eve celebrations. Terese is my best friend, I wasn’t going to have her in a bad mood on New Years Eve and upset John as well." When Terese and John arrived at the Jupiter’s Restaurant for the New Years Eve dinner, Marie knew she had done the right thing. Terese was beaming and they both looked so happy. “I would like to have a toast to my lovely wife Terese. She set herself a goal to lose some weight and she made it. I think she looks amazing and I love her for being able to reach her goal.” They all toasted Terese who gushed her thanks to Marie for all her help. Several weeks later Terese arrived at Marie’s house. “Hi, come in! How is everything going? I still can’t get over how amazing you look after losing that weight!” “Yes it’s great to be able to get into a 14 again, I haven’t been able to do that for quite a few years! I have found some great new recipes which are really yummy, but still keep the weight off. John has decided that the food I eat isn’t that bad, so he is gradually losing a bit as well. We are both very happy. I have put on a kilo over the New Years celebrations, but I won’t take long to lose that again.” Marie turned her head away so Terese wouldn’t see the blush on her face. “Are you okay Marie? I came to ask if you wanted to join me at the gym next week. Just one day a week should keep the weight off. If you don’t feel well though I will go by myself.” “No, no I’m fine, just a bit of a headache. I’d love to go to the gym with you once a week!” Terese and Marie have been going to the gym once a week for three years now. Terese lost her extra kilo and kept it off. Marie never ever told her about altering the scales. She always believed she had done the right thing to make her best friend happy on New Years Eve.