Chapter 5 - warm reception

Standing near the exit area/baggage claim in some sunglasses with some short shorts and tank top combo that had grown way too tight, she and Jason waited for her mom and dad to spot them. They had met Jason before – on a trip to attend one of their daughter's modeling exhibitions in L.A. They really liked him and were glad their daughter had met someone normal from a good solid family. As they rounded the corner towards the baggage area they spotted Jason waving to them but where was Brianna? As they drew closer, Jason started walking towards them, as did some woman standing near him. She must be waving at someone behind them, they thought. Why did only Jason come to pick them up? Maybe Bri had something wedding related to do and couldn't make it. As they drew close the woman started saying loudly “Hi mom! Hi dad!”. She was looking straight at them, they both turned and looked behind them and then looked back towards Jason, confused.
 
“Hey Mr and Mrs. Maxwell!” Jason said with a wave.
 
“Hi Jason!” They both said in unison. They were about to ask where Bri was when the fat woman standing next to Jason slid her sunglasses down her face and said in a slightly more incredulous tone “HI MOM. HI DAD.”
 
Jason and Brianna watched the Maxwell's faces as they confusedly scanned her plump body for a moment, the stupefied confusion clearly turning to shock and then quickly back to even more looks of confusion.
 
“...Bri??? Is that you?” her mother stammered out.
 
“Uhh...yeah, it's me, who else would it be?” Brianna replied, placing her plump hands on her flabby hips and shifting her weight from leaning towards one hip to the other.
 
“I..I uhh...what...I...” her mother stuttered.
 
“It's nice to see you honey, we didn't recognize you with your sunglasses on” her dad quickly covered, stepping in to give her a quick hug. He sunk into her body slightly with his arms. “What the hell has she done to herself?” he wondered.
 
“S-sorry, yeah – hi...” her mom finally managed, stepping forward for a hug of her own.
 
Jason gathered the Maxwell's bags and led the way to the car as Brianna's parents made small talk with their daughter about how she was doing, being careful to not outright address her obvious weight gain just yet. They had some burning questions and some major concerns, but they also didn't want to cause a problem or scene by over-reacting to it right away.
 
 
“So we're having a special Friday night family dinner with the Costello family” Brianna mentioned in the car on the way home. “Usually we do it on Sundays, but since the wedding is this weekend, they wanted to hold it on Friday so they could meet you guys and everything before our rehearsal and the service and all...” she added.
 
“Oh, that sounds nice, we can't wait to meet Jason's family” Mr. Maxwell responded.
 
“Yeah, they're really great people and super fun to hang out with – oh and their food! They're super Italian and OH MY GOD they make the BEST food!! You're going to love it!” Brianna said, getting carried away with her excitement at getting the Sunday dinner a few days early.
 
Brianna's parents sat awkwardly in silence with that statement. Her mom glanced diagonally into the front seat at the obese woman who only barely resembled  the daughter she remembered. Her thighs pressed against the center console, each other, and the door – she was in danger of becoming too wide for the vehicle's seat. Her thigh flab pressed upwards with a large roll forming where the bottom hem of her shorts dug into it. They were coated in cellulite. Perched on top of them was a round gelatinous dome of quivering blubber in a skin tight shirt that didn't quite cover the bottom roll entirely. As the car subtly bumped on the uneven points of the road, her entire form jiggled wildly in all directions. Her breasts, bisected by the seatbelt looked extremely heavy and in spite of obviously resting on top of her belly mound also strained against her over-stressed shirt. Where her arms and upper breasts met, there was a thick crease of flab visibly bulging on the side of the tank top strap, and her arms looked like enormous over-stuffed sausage casings coated in bright red stretch-marks towards her shoulders. Her chubby cheeks bounced with the rest of her fat over the bump, as did the roll of fat surrounding her neck and chin. Her mouth was moving – as she spoke the fat clinging to her face shook violently, and piled together on her cheeks as she smiled. Who was this person? What was her daughter doing to herself? How did this happen? How did it happen so quickly? How far was it going to go?
 
“Mom??” she heard snapping into reality, her daughter turning with a grunt and slight effort to look into the back seat.
 
“Huh? What was that honey?” Mrs. Maxwell said absently.
 
“I asked how Amber was doing, and when she was flying in” Brianna repeated, wondering what her stick thin model sister would think of her when she saw what she'd done to herself.
 
“Oh, uhh...she's doing great, she's finished up a shoot in Paris yesterday and should be flying in for the rehearsal tomorrow, I think..” her mom replied.
 
“So what time are we going over to the Costello's house?” her dad asked.
 
“Soon - dinner usually starts pretty early, like 6 or so because everyone's so hungry, but it usually lasts a couple of hours” Brianna said. “Basically, we'll have some time to get your stuff dropped off at the hotel, but then we'll head straight over so we don't keep everyone waiting.” she added.
 
“...the dinner itself lasts a couple of hours, or we're going to be over there for a couple of hours?” her dad inquired, a quizzical look on his face.
 
“One or the other or both!” Brianna said with a giggle.
 
Brianna and Jason drove her parents to their hotel, and waited in the car as they got settled with their room arrangements.
 
“So did you see the look on your mom's face when she realized it was you?” Jason joked, poking his finger deep into Brianna's protruding belly.
 
“I'm just glad they didn't totally freak out, but it's unsettling that they've said nothing at all about it at the same time...” Brianna said apprehensively, adding “god I wish they'd hurry up and get back down here though, I'm STARVING!” while shaking her flabby belly up and down.
 
Up in the room, the Maxwells were having a conversation of their own.
 
“How?!? How does that happen???” Mrs. Maxwell shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air.
 
“Honey, settle down. I'm concerned also, but Bri is a big girl...” he cringed internally at the wording he had just chosen. “...and she's obviously been making her own decisions, and that's led her to...put on a little weight...” Mr. Maxwell offered sheepishly.
 
“A little weight? Honey, she looks like a pig! Like an entirely different person! We saw her just over a year and a half ago, and she was fit and in shape! I have no idea how she put on that much weight that quickly without there being some other serious problem!” Mrs. Maxwell shouted.
 
“Well, I don't know, maybe she's depressed? Or maybe it was difficult moving to a new area like New York. Maybe she's stressed at work or something...” her husband responded.
 
“She didn't SEEM depressed, she was as chipper as ever in the car. We've talked on the phone, she said she's enjoying her new workplace, even mentioned she made a great new friend. Never said ANYTHING at all about turning herself into a...a...A COW!” Mrs. Maxwell said frantically, adding “I wonder what Jason thinks about all of this?”
 
“Well he must be alright with it, I mean they're still getting married – I didn't really sense any tension in the car or anything either, they seemed to be getting along like the last time we saw them...” Mr. Maxwell observed.
 
“All I can say is that SOMETHING is up here, he meets our daughter, they date for 2 years and everything is perfectly normal, they get engaged and move to his home town and then not even one year later LOOK at her – fat! My daughter! As big as a house!” Mrs. Maxwell lamented.
 
“Do you think she's pregnant? Is that why Jason doesn't seem upset?” her husband wondered.
 
“Are you kidding? You saw the same body I did, that wasn't a pregnancy body, it was pure lard.” Mrs. Maxwell shot back. “Besides, she wouldn't keep something like THAT from me – I'm her mother!!” she added.
 
“Well you'd better calm down and come to grips with it – there's nothing we can do about it right now. You can talk to her later if you want, but for tonight they're waiting on us and we've got to go meet the in-laws and be civil.” Mr. Maxwell pointed out.
 
“That's another thing – she was almost slipping into a daydream talking about their family dinners and the amazing food and the meals that last 2 hours...” she shot back.
 
“Honey, come on, take a deep breath and let's get back down to the car” he replied.