chapter 6

Claire paused her frantic retelling for a quick moment to catch her breath. In truth, she remembered with a certain sense of conflicted enjoyment, the way Paul had discreetly rubbed her belly while she’d gobbled up all of the cake. Once she’d finished, she’d let out a rather loud burp and Paul rewarded her with a gentle kiss on the cheek before whispering, ‘is my princess satisfied now?’ She loved the way Paul pampered her with affection, but her insecurities overwhelmed her marital sensibilities.

Resuming her vocal tirade, Claire continued in an irate tone, “I mean, he never forces me to eat, he just puts me on the spot. I’ve gained over a hundred pounds since we got married. My belly’s been getting noticeably bigger these last few months, my friends at the office even notice. My biggest bras are getting tight again, and none of my jeans fit anymore. *pant* What do you think of all this? Am I crazy?”

“Slow down, maybe a little crazy. If I’m being honest, it just sounds like you’ve got a loving husband and a serious lack of self-control.” Laura inferred from what she was able to absorb from her sister’s word-vomit. Eyeing her sister’s chunky figure from top to bottom, while her sister caught her breath, Laura thought her sister’s massive weight gain was a natural consequence of how secure, loved and happy Claire felt in her marriage. However, Laura couldn’t help but wonder, “Out of curiosity, how much are you weighing in at now?”

“Umm, *pant* I don’t know I haven’t weighed myself in a while.” Claire lied in order to protect her fragile ego, “I know I’ve put on a little weight since the last time we saw each other. But from trying on your clothes, I’m at least one full dress size bigger than you. So, I guess I’m probably around 260…”

“You’re not 260,” Laura teased with a poke to her sister’s thick and meaty belly, “I’m 260.”

“Oh…” Claire blushed, while Laura watched the way Claire’s belly jiggled from her touch.

“As a matter of fact, that dress is two sizes up from mine.” Laura added much to Claire’s embarrassment.

There was no avoiding the truth now. Claire knew she wasn’t the skinniest sister anymore. Trying to underplay her recent weight gain, Claire purposely underestimated her weight, “Well, then maybe I’m closer to 270.”

“Or 280.” Laura shrugged in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

“Gosh, does it really look like I’ve gained that much?” Claire nervously asked, as her sister took a step back and got a full look at her sister’s inflated profile.

“I mean, you know someone is getting really fat when they can’t put their arms straight down their sides anymore.” Laura bluntly noted, while she observed her sister’s pudgy arms, wide hips, and round belly. Focusing on her sister’s belly, Laura added, “Do you have trouble painting your toenails cause of your big gut?”

“Yes…” Claire shamefully admitted wishing her sister wasn’t so oblivious to her insecurities sometimes.

“Me too.” Laura admitted, as she jiggled her own substantial gut.

Laura teasing herself put Claire more at ease, her sister wasn’t making fun of her, she wasn’t judging her. Trying to deflect some guilt, Claire chuckled, “At least I’m not as bad as Emma. She probably weighs more than each of us combined.”

“Haha!” Laura laughed, “I can't believe that I'm finally the thinnest sister of the family... at 260lbs. Actually, my biggest ever. WHAT A LARD ASS FAMILY!!"

Unable to join her sister’s laughter, Claire objected, “Sh*t!! Not for long, I'm gonna lose it all! You’ll see. I'm gonna be fit again.”

Looking unconvinced, Laura gave her sister a hug and said, “Don't worry sis, you’re rich, you’re still two inches taller than me, you’re the smartest of the family, you have a loving husband who, obviously, loves you the way you are and, frankly, you are a natural fatty. It looks soooo good on you.”

“You… You think so?” Claire muttered in disbelief. She knew her sister was a little crazy, but this just proved it.

Pulling back from the hug and wrapping her hands around the areas of her sister’s body that she was describing, Laura responded, “This lower belly of yours is quite hot and your face is so cute. You are like a big round baby panda bear. I want to cuddle you forever!”

Enjoying the praise, even though she didn’t agree with it, Claire smiled, “Well, at least for the first time in my life my boobs have blown up... they are huge, right?”

“Oh, I noticed!” Laura laughed, as she eyed her sister’s full breasts, “It's like Paul’s has been giving you some breast expansion pills or something.”

“Wait, are they a thing?” Claire gasped in surprise.

“Hahaha no, dummy!” Laura chuckled, “How could you be an Ivy Leaguer? I'm kidding.”

“I knew that.” Claire proclaimed, while she adjusted her dress to better cover her big breasts, “My chest is the first place I lose weight whenever I diet. So unfair.”

“Then don’t diet.” Laura retorted.

“I have too,” Claire rolled her eyes, “I’m getting too fat.”

“I'm the one that should lose weight if I want to find a partner before I get too fat to even care about it... which is not far away.” Laura countered turning the focus onto her own overfed body.

“Ohh come on, you’ll find someone.” Claire disagreed.

“I need to find me a chubby chaser like your husband.” Laura teased.

Smiling vindictively, Claire responded, “Be careful what you wish for, otherwise you might not be the skinny sister for long.”

“Skinniest sister. None of us are remotely skinny anymore.” Laura exclaimed in a silly fashion.

“Hahaha, true.” Claire giggled. Even if she wasn’t the thinnest anymore, at least she’d never be the fattest sister of the family.

Looking at the time, Laura changed topic rather abruptly, “I don’t want to keep you longer than I need to.”

“Oh that’s right! I’m so late! Thanks for everything! I love you! We’ll go shopping soon! See you!” Claire erupted, while she shuffled to the front of her sister’s apartment and fumbled with the door.

“Drive safe!” Laura managed to catch up to Claire and call out before Claire opened her door and hurried to her car.

“*wheeze* I will!” Claire yelled back already out of breath from the tiniest of exertions.

As she watched her younger sister get into her car, Laura noticed the car’s balance tilt to the driver’s side once Claire plopped her butt into the driver’s seat. Even though she’d grown into a big woman, Laura thought Claire looked like a plus-sized model in that dress. As Laura went back inside her apartment to grab another donut, she wondered how many complements her not-so-little sister would get today thanks to her provocative outfit; however, upon opening the box of donuts and noticing that her sister had gobbled down an additional two sometime during her visit, Laura was struck with another epiphany, ‘Looks like I’m going to be the skinniest sister for the foreseeable future!’