Chapter 8 - The extra weight of planning a surprise

~August 22~
I woke up BEYOND bloated from last night's eating extravaganza. Jason is off work today so after we wake up, I ask him for some extra belly rubs. I have plans to meet up with Mary to coordinate the gender reveal. I encourage Jason to come because I want him to be a part of everything. We get dressed, get Zeke ready, pack some snacks for him (and partly me), and head out. We meet at a halfway point between our houses for lunch. We didn't exactly plan it, but in retrospect, I'm glad we got an SUV instead of a smaller vehicle a few years back. We're obviously going to need the room with our growing family.

We pull up to the restaurant and only have to wait a few minutes before we see Jason's older brother and sister-in-law pull up in their little blue car. I take a deep breath, expecting almost an overwhelming amount of attention around my size once I'm not hidden behind the vehicle, and carefully get out of the SUV. I grab my bag as Jason gets our son out.

Mary comes flying around the corner of the SUV before I can even walk around it and gasps. "Oh my goodness, look at you! You poor thing! That looks so heavy, but you look so incredibly adorable! Abel, come look at April and how adorable she looks!"

I glance through the SUV windows and can see Jason looking over at Abel, both of them rolling their eyes a little bit at Mary's enthusiasm to see a pregnant belly. The brothers give each other a quick hug as we walk towards the entrance.

"You weren't kidding when you said she's adorable, were you Mary?" Abel smiles as he carefully gives me a hug.

"Good to see you, Abel," I smile.

Inside we got a table, the only seat the busy restaurant had available for a party of 5. Secretly I'm relieved because I'm not sure if I can even fit in a booth honestly. Mary and I excuse ourselves to use the restroom as the brothers catch up.

"Seems like things are going pretty good for you guys, huh?" Jason askes his older brother.

"Yeah, we just celebrated 5 years last month. We started IVF last year but doesn't seem like Mary's body is taking to it."

"I'm sorry to hear that. When the time is right it will happen for you guys."

"And if not, I'm not stressed; there's adoption or surrogacy so we have options. How are you and April? Looks like you guys are eating well," Abel smirks with one side of his mouth, gesturing down at Jason's very small layer of fat.

Jason leans back from the table and pats his belly. "Yeah, we've been eating well. I didn't want to stress April out too much so I was bringing home take out for a while. I knew my metabolism couldn't keep up forever."

"Tell me about it. Mary's weight has fluctuated a little with treatments and injections, while I'm over here putting on the pounds like I'M actually pregnant." Abel pats his own small belly. Jason was always slightly more muscular and an inch taller than Abel who stands at 6'2", but both are over 6 feet tall and fairly thin. Jason's small weight gain is barely noticeable, but Abel's is slightly more noticable. "Side note: I know she's carrying twins, but April looks about to pop! She's so short, I didn't think she was capable of carrying that much on her front."

Jason laughs a little, lowering his voice so his son who's distracted by the coloring menu can't hear. "Her chest and butt are getting massive, too. We had sex last night and I couldn't believe how much of her there was. I'm kinda mad at her for keeping her body to herself so much last time. It's so hard to explain how a little white girl can get pregnant and gain weight in all the right places."

"I wasn't going to bring it up, bro, but April is almost busting out of her shirt."

"I know. She doesn't have a lot of good fitting clothes. She's still self-conscious and I can tell she doesn't want to buy certain sizes because of it. I'm just really proud of her for being more comfortable and actually eating. I noticed if I give her some attention, she will eat a little more. And I've been using her dislike of leftovers against her."

Meanwhile, in the ladies room:
Mary held the door open for me and pulled me into the large handicap stall and locked the door.

"I'm so happy to see you, girl. I wanted to fawn over you without Abel giving me cap about my love for prego bumps. I've always dreamed of twins since it's more likely with what I'm doing."

I laugh a little. "You know, part of me secretly wanted twins, too, but wasn't sure if I was ready for it. I worked hard to lose weight after Zeke and wanted to lose some more. I was always curious what I'd look like with a twin belly, though, and I got my wish."

Mary excited said, "You're glowing! Let me see that bare belly in all it's glory. You seem to wear black so often or I see you over video, I can't get a full read on just how big it really is."

"Okay," I said as I started lifting up my black shirt. I could feel the three buttons across my chest were strained, but that's not uncommon for me. I then lift my tight tank top, making my bump jiggle and push out slightly more. I'm wearing maternity jeans, so I pulled down the front panel to under my belly. I didn't even have to give her permission; Mary immediately reached out and started rubbing all over. It was in that moment as she leaned slightly forward I could see how tight her shirt stretched across her stomach. She's definitely put on some weight in the last 4 months, maybe 10-15lbs, all of which has formed into a pot belly. Not that I'm one to talk....

"This is amazing!" Mary didn't take her eyes off my globe and I almost couldn't stop glancing at her own little belly. "Pictures and video definitely did not do justice in capturing your size!"

"I believe it. Most people are in disbelief at how large I am, even after finding out I'm having twins. It seems like almost everybody knows someone who had twins and apparently they weren't as big as I am."

"I mean, your belly IS very impressive. You're also filling out in all the right places. You look like a curvy fertility goddess," Mary swooned, not able to unglue her eyes and hands. She walks behind me saying, "I saw this thing online about relieving some of the weight a mom is carrying by picking up your belly from behind. Do you mind if I try?"

"If you even can, please do," I say. "I've gained almost 40 lbs already so I will take a moment of relief. Jason keeps feeding me!"

Mary puts her hands under my belly and slowly and gently lifts up. She only holds it for a few seconds before she grunts and lowers it. "My goodness, how are you carrying this around?? I can't hold it for even a few seconds. Jason is DEFINITELY feeding you good "

"It helps that it's been gradual over the last 4.5 months, but I definitely feel heavy all the time," I say. "I'm going to have to pull out my belly support soon. But now that you've jostled around your nieces or nephews, I really need to pee."

We leave the ladies room and come back to the brothers conversing and keeping Zeke entertained. We order our food and a few minutes later the waiter brings over a large basket of bread. When we tell him we didn't order this, he says it was bought for us by another table (but won't tell us which). Everybody takes one and I sheepishly take one myself. I know it's been awhile but why am I embarrassed to eat in front of my sibling-in-laws? We are all talking, having a good time and Mary pushes the last buttered bread towards me. I don't think about it or protest, even though it's my 3rd. Our food comes as I am chewing the last bite. I ordered a small 12" deep dish pizza with mushrooms and olives to share with Zeke, but then the waiter also brings out sides of fries, mac and cheese, fried pickles, bruschetta, and mozzarella sticks. Once again, we inform him these aren't part of our order and he says they are compliments from the manager.

I try giving Zeke some pizza but all he wants is the mac and cheese and fries, and he definitely ate as much as he could for a 3-year-old, but the side portions could have been small entrées on their own. This left me to eat the whole pizza by myself. When I finish I am feeling pretty full but have some room. As we catch up, without thinking I polish off the mac and cheese, fries, and 3 mozzarella sticks that Zeke or the others didn't eat. Zeke is having fun with his Tio Abel, making faces and silly jokes. Mary is sitting next to me, just staring at my belly. It is pushing up against the table and looks stuffed to the brim, so I push my chair back a little to make room. Mary pushes the basket of fried pickles in front of me. I puff out my cheeks and oblige.

After we all finish, Mary says we have to order celebratory desserts. The babies start doing somersaults at the thought of dessert so I take Mary's hand and put it on my belly to have her feel the movement. She is enthralled by the sensation, almost in tears. I notice this and decide it might not be a good idea to encourage her anymore. I know she's had her own fertility issues, but up until this point she seemed happy. Now, I start questioning encouraging her to rub my bump and how healthy this was for her mentally.

We pick out 2 desserts to share as a family, but like the other courses, the waiter brings extra, 6 desserts in total. He says the manager recognizes me as a local online reviewer and wants me to try all the desserts so I can put them in a review. I am a little flabbergasted. I indeed do quite a few reviews, but didn't realize I do enough for a business to recognize me. I thank the waiter and take pictures of the desserts.

"See, babe," Jason smiles. "Now you have to try them all...for your review." I take a fork full of each, my favorites being the tiramisu and Oreo cheesecake. But the chocolate lava cake, vanilla bean cream cake, pecan pie, and raspberry truffle cake are delicious as well. I don't want to make a pig out of myself so I wait until everyone else picks what they want and has their fill. Jason pushes the tiramisu towards me. "This one's your favorite so it's all for you," he says. I shovel the soft cake down into my over stuffed gullet quickly and easily, ignoring being full.

Mary pushes the remnants of all six plates towards me and tells me to enjoy. I slowly polish off every one and take a heavy sigh. My belly is once again touching the table with the addition of the desserts. I feel heavy and lethargic but full and satisfied, too full to push my chair back again. Mary's puts one hand on my belly, saying, "it's amazing how much you can fit in there, April."

We sit around a while longer to catch up when the older manager comes over and askes us how everything was. We tell him great and how much we appreciate the complimentary items.

"It's not a problem. My wife and I just had a daughter last year and I remember how much of a sweet tooth she had, especially towards the end of her pregnancy. Do you mind me asking when you're due?"

I look down and laugh for a second. "Um, it was beginning of January but found out we're having twins so they're probably coming a little earlier."

"Congratulations! How exciting! Such a blessing. Your bill is on the house, kids."

"You don't have to do that!" Jason says.

"It would be my pleasure. Besides, I kind of forced desserts on you folks. I just saw you pregnant and figured you'd enjoy some dessert. But twins? That's going to be a handful. Is there anything else I can get you guys? Ooo, let me get you a couple desserts to take home."

Before we can protest, the manager walks off and returns with a bag with a few dessert boxes inside. "I hope you don't mind, I grabbed you a couple different ones. Please, enjoy yourself. Pregnancy seems to go so fast. My wife started asking for another kid because she missed it so much."

We leave the waiter a tip and exit the restaurant (me more slowly than the others). On the way out to our cars I hand Mary the envelope with the genders. She hugs the envelope before putting it in her purse. During dinner we agreed because of the pandemic, we were just going to do a little party for local friends who felt comfortable coming, and then invite the family from out of state for the baby shower in December. During lunch we coordinated dates, times, and location for both since Mary is going to be taking over both events. I don't have a ton of close friends, and Mary is very excited to take on the task, so I couldn't have picked a better person for the job.

We walk over to the small outdoor mall behind the restaurant to walk around. This is a great idea so I can get a little exercise in and Zeke can burn off some energy. They have the misters on so it doesn't seem as hot. It didn't take long for me to put my hands on the small of my back and to notice how many people are staring at me. I don't blame them, I'm quite the sight to see all fat and pregnant and full on top of that, waddling around the mall with my 3-year-old. I really need to get my belly support out, especially if I'm going to be eating like this and trying to walk. I am doing pretty well and only have to ask Jason to slow down once before he started paying attention. We haven't been physically going out and doing a lot recently because of the heat, so I don't think he realized how slow I've gotten. Plus I'm really full which adds another level of weightiness.

Most of the stores are still closed but some reopened. There is a mama and baby store that Mary insists we check out. We walk inside and are immediately greeted by a middle-aged woman. "Hello. Anything I can help you find?"

"My sister-in-law here is pregnant so we're just taking a look around," Mary says.

"Congratulations," the woman says, unable to see me behind a clothing rack. "Maternity clothes are on this side of the store and baby things are on this side. We don't have a fitting room currently but we have a generous exchange policy. If you need anything just let me know."

Mary immediately starts looking at all the cute onesies, trying to predict if we're going to be buying pink or blue. "You look like you're carrying low, so based off the old wives tales you'd be having a boy, but on the other hand, you're also having 2 and you're all belly so it's hard to tell. Ugh, I want to peek in the envelope so badly!"

I tell her I don't want to get anything yet, but she insists when she finds gender-neutral twin onesies that say "best friends since the womb." I didn't see Jason disappear, but he comes from the maternity clothing side of the store and shows me a cute stretchy grey shirt that read "twin mama". "What size should I get you?" he asks.

"That's a hard question. Not sure how much bigger I'm going to get and how much stretch that shirt can handle. I'm wearing larges comfortably right now so let's go with that since it's maternity and should stretch."

We check out, walk around a little longer, and decide it was time to part ways. I'm happy to see family but also wanted to lay down. On the drive home, I still feel so very full that with every turn we make I feel the food sloshing around my stomach. Jason reaches over to put his hand on my bulge. I lean my seat back slightly and he start to rub. It feels so nice that I almost fall asleep before we get home. Zeke is asleep so Jason carries him inside and puts him in his bed, then comes back out to the SUV to help pull me out. I lay down in bed, partly still in a food coma from lunch. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Jason spoons with me, rubbing my belly until I drift off to sleep.

I had a dream about Mary for some reason. She and Jason were plotting to fatten me up and to keep impregnating me. My belly was so big I was bed bound and Mary would bring in her delicious cooking all day. I woke up to Jason's hand still cradling my belly. I use the restroom and look at myself in the mirror. I want more kids but it's silly to think about that while still pregnant.

I grab a snack from the kitchen and go sit on the couch. Zeke wakes up and joins me. I soak in these only child cuddles before 2 new additions take up my time as well.