Chapter 13 - moving up

“I’ve just seen the ‘For Sale’ sign out front,” twittered Aunt Mildred. “When did you decide this?” she grumbled, sounding as if she was annoyed not to have been consulted.

“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. We just need a bigger place,” Zach explained.

“A bigger place?” Aunt Mildred hit back sceptically. “I know you haven’t changed your mind about having children, so what on earth do you need a bigger place for?”

Aunt Mildred was sounding more irritated by the second. “Well, it’s for Jennifer’s work, really. We need a larger kitchen and...”

“Her work!” shot Aunt Mildred with disdain. “All that fat lump is doing is posting a few videos of herself online!”

Zach didn’t reply; he simply gave the woman an unimpressed look. As the weeks had gone on, her comments about Jennifer’s weight had become more and more hostile.

“I’m telling you…” she went on unrepentantly, “…you need to get her back into a proper job. All this online nonsense is going to her head. Not to mention her hips! I’d have kicked her out months ago if I were you!”

Zach tried not to laugh. Aunt Mildred wasn’t joking. She’d been divorced five times. But just as he was about to scold her, as he usually did, Jennifer returned from the store with bags loaded with ingredients.

“Ah, Mildred!” Jennifer cheered. She went over and kissed the woman on her cheek, making the miserable old bat scowl like a grumpy cat that had just been picked up. “Lovely to see you!”

“Yes,” Mildred muttered back, pulling a tissue out to wipe her face and fix her make-up after Jennifer’s kiss. She eyed her as she walked back out to the car to pick up more bags, clearly looking with dissatisfaction at how wide her butt was appearing. “So this is your doing, this house move? Making poor Zach pack up and leave?” she asked, once Jennifer returned.

Zach rolled his eyes. “Jennifer isn’t making me do anything, Aunt Mildred” he sighed.

“It was my idea, yes,” Jennifer smiled at her. She had that twinkle in her eyes; the one that Zach dreaded. Jennifer had always loved getting a rise out of Aunt Mildred. She went to the cookie jar and filled her hands with some of the treats inside, snacking as she spoke. “I need a bigger kitchen to shoot my videos in. Plus the shower here is getting a little tight!” she chuckled, patting her own portly stomach.

Aunt Mildred had been eyeing Jennifer slotting the cookies into her mouth and her temper suddenly flared. “You mean you’re making my nephew move house because you’re too fat and lazy to go on a diet!” she roared.

Zach could see the very faint delight in his wife’s face; the slight upturn of her mouth in the corners was a giveaway. “Oh, come now, Mildred! That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” she smiled. “I’ve not put on THAT much weight, have I?” she questioned, lifting her blouse to present her fat, round belly.

Mildred turned her head to Zach, deciding to ignore Jennifer entirely. “Let me know when you get some backbone to stand up to this one. I always have space for you in my house if you need to take a break,” she offered, almost sweetly; standing on her tip-toes to kiss him on his cheek and then letting herself out of the back door.

“You’re awful with her!” Zach laughed, shaking his head at the massive grin that filled his wife’s face.

“Well, she deserves it!” Jennifer laughed. “Just because I’m fat, doesn’t mean she has to treat me like a second-class citizen!”

“Did you really have to show her your fat belly, though?” Zach chuckled at the memory of what Jennifer had just done.

“I’ll have you know that a lot of people would pay good money to see this belly!” Jennifer joked back. She wasn’t lying though; she’d developed quite an online fan-base as a big, beautiful chef. Guys were loving her; especially when they could see pictures of how much she had altered since starting the website. “Mildred should count herself lucky!”

“Is that stretch mark still itchy?” Zach asked, lifting Jennifer’s blouse again and deciding to change the subject.

“Yeah,” the woman nodded, taking a look with Zach; lowering her face and creating a massive ring of fat under her chin.

Zach didn’t really understand it himself; Jennifer’s stretch marks were hardly the most attractive thing about her weight gain, but the girl seemed to take a surprising amount of pride in them. “We could always go upstairs and I’ll put some cream on it? Amongst other things…” he hinted, lifting Jennifer’s blouse off entirely.

“Mmm, I like the sound of that!” Jennifer grinned, allowing her lard-filled belly to become exposed.

“Good!” Zach smiled, patting his wife’s swollen gut with pride. “Bring that cookie jar up with you as well!”