chapter 2: big arrival

Ashley sighed to herself again. At least she wasn’t here by herself, she reasoned.

“There you are, dude,” she heard from her left in a light but husky voice. Ashley turned around to greet her companion.

Melanie might have been almost equally as fat as Ashley, but, unlike her more recently ballooned friend, she had always been a bigger, steadily gaining girl. Melanie might not have worked her way up to 500 pounds just yet, but anybody could see that the girl was swiftly on her way there. She was just finishing a large bear claw, licking the icing off of her fingers before she took a long swig from an iced coffee in her other hand. Ashley watched her friend chew with a sense of longing Sure, she had just put away two heavily buttered croissants just moments ago, but Ashley was a stress eater tried and true and the impending arrival of her guest had her craving comfort.

Melanie was no stranger to the look of hunger that grazed Ashley’s pretty features.

“You want something else from the coffee shop?” Mel asked her friend.

“I do,” Ashley replied, “but Steph is probably going to be here any second.”

“Right right,” Mel said a bit more softly, “still not over the diet book thing?”

Ashley and Melanie had been best friends since middle school. Back when the two of them were much younger (and much, much thinner) they’d often hang out at this restaurant or another or kill time together at the mall food court. Even after Ashley had joined the cheerleading team in a desperate attempt to keep the weight from piling on, they would still meet up after for fries and milkshakes. And, of course, little sister Stephanie would usually tag along.

Ashley parted her lips to respond. “Like, she said she was sorry. But its whatever.” Ashley heard a buzz from her phone and quickly fished it out of her cleavage. “She says. She just got off the plane.”

“Oh yea? Where is she?” Melanie’s face lit up, her jowls becoming even more pronounced as her lips curled into a grin.

I’m sure we’ll hear her before we see her,” Ashley said.

Melanie had to stifle a giggle. “Right?” She added.

Sure enough not a second later, a cry from across the terminal alerted Ashley and Mel to the new arrival.

“HEEEEEY BIG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN!!”

Ashley grimaced. She did NOT like being called that in public.