The Scoop by Fern Michaels Read Free Book Online

with one stone type of thing. She’d think of something to help Sophie put on a few pounds. Sophie had always been the prettiest of the four. Thick, shiny black hair with almond brown eyes. She’d had a figure to die for, too. Now all she had to do was figure out a tasteful way to get Mavis to stop stuffing and a way to get Sophie to start stuffing. She smiled at the thought.
    They retrieved Sophie’s four suitcases from the luggage carousel. Toots was glad she’d driven the Range Rover instead of the Town Car.
    Toots pulled the largest of the two bags behind her while Sophie wrestled with two smaller pieces.
    “Here.” Toots directed her gaze to the lounge. “Now, remember, not a word about her weight.”
    Toots skillfully maneuvered their way through the throngs of travelers, hearing scattered bits of varied conversations in dozens of languages as they made their way to the lounge. The group of loud men at the bar had been replaced by a group of women who were just as loud, if not more so. Amidst the chatter, Toots led Sophie to the booth where Mavis and Coco waited.
    Sophie hid her surprise at Mavis’s appearance, but Mavis didn’t bother to restrain herself.
    “Girl, you look like a stick! Do you ever eat?”
    They hugged and air-kissed before Sophie answered, “Yes, I do but not enough. I’m so busy taking care of that old goat, I don’t have time to eat.” Sophie raked her gaze over Mavis’s bulk. “From the looks of you, I can see food or lack of is not an issue with you.”
    “Sophie!” Toots admonished.
    “It’s okay, Toots, I know I’m fat and need to lose all this blubber. Maybe Sophie can teach me a thing or two.”
    “I never thought our roles would be reversed. Remember when I went through my fat phase our junior year? I didn’t think I’d ever lose those extra thirty pounds. It’s not easy to lose, especially at our age,” Sophie said as she pulled a chair up to the end of the booth.
    “Don’t discourage me, Sophie. I just promised Toots I’d go on a diet. I don’t know if I’m up for this or not, but I sure as hell am going to go for the gusto.” Mavis eyed the next table in front of her as the waitress delivered a heaping plate of french fries with crumbled bacon and melted cheese piled on top. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll just die fat and happy!”
    “Like hell you will! Tell me you don’t remember all those nightly jogs we took through the park? If memory serves me correctly, Mavis dear, you were the skinny little shit that ran alongside me encouraging me, reminding me that Billy Bledsoe wasn’t worth all those late-night binges,” Sophie recalled.
    “I do remember that. I was skinny, too. Well, I don’t know if I’ll ever get as thin as I was back in high school, but I wouldn’t mind losing some of this fat. It’s so uncomfortable at times, I want to take a knife and slice it off!”
    “Lose the weight, and I’ll check into reconstructive surgery if you’re healthy enough, that is, if you want it,” Toots volunteered.
    Mavis shook her head. “Don’t know that I’d go that far, but it’s something to consider. Just promise me one thing? The both of you.” Mavis looked at Toots, then Sophie.
    “Anything,” Toots said.
    “Whatever you want,” Sophie added.
    “Whatever you do, keep the ice cream, potato chips, cakes, and pies out of the house. I don’t know if I could resist if I saw a pint of Cherry Garcia. Those four things are what got me in this mess.”
    “I’ll make sure there’s nothing in the fridge to tempt you. Now”—Toots glanced at her watch again—“I’d better go see if Ida’s flight arrived. She’ll be pissed to the teeth if I’m not there to greet her and roll out the red carpet.” She rummaged through her purse, thrust another twenty on the table, then gave her car keys to Sophie.
    “Take these to the valet and wait for us there. Ida and I might need a few minutes alone.”
    “I can’t believe she’s still ticked at you