In a small US Republican town, Scott Carey (divorced, 6ft 4, a web designer) goes to his retired doctor friend Bob Ellis because he's losing weight without his appearance changing. Not only that, but what he wears/carries doesn't add to his weight.
Married 30-something lesbians Missy (friendly) and Dierdre (pretty and a bit mad) live nearby. They run a failing restaurant and their dogs use his lawn as a toilet. He politely points this out to them (the first time they've talked). Dierdre over-reacts. Missy apologises.
We're already 30 pages into the novella - 25% through.
He overhears anti-lesbian jokes in his usual diner and causes a scene. He tries to befriend the couple. He learns that Dierdre used to be a national-level marathon runner, and is entering the local 12k charity run. He enters and would have won (being so light yet with the same muscle power - he's "never been happier in his life") except that he helped Dierdre win. Chapter 6 is entitled "The Incredible Lightness of Being". The publicity that Dierdre gets saves the restaurant. Dierdre's grateful. When he's almost weightless he asks Dierdre to help him float into the sky with a firework attached. He lights it.
No. Were it much shorter it might have had a chance.
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