chapter 13 join the club

Marge watched as one of the girls ahead of her in line step onto a scale and the girl's friends let out a mini cheer when she was announced as 226 pounds.

"Are they seriously going to weigh us?" she laughed nervously, looking to Charlotte incredulously. "I guess they don't mess around at this thing, huh?"

"Guess not," Charlotte concurred from one spot ahead of her in the line.

"I think it's genius," Luke smiled. Of course he did.

It was almost noon, but it had already been a long day. The three of them had spent a few hours in the car just to get to Washington D.C. for the annual BBW BBQ picnic, hosted by BBWsEverywhere.com, a site that Charlotte frequented. She had wanted to meet her online friends in person for a few years now and it was finally happening.

The group in front of them was finished signing in - and weighing in - and Charlotte found herself stepping up to the table next.

"Hey, how are you?" the woman asked with a cheerful smile, sliding three blank name tags and pens across the table. "So we just need you guys to fill out those top two spots and then we'll get the last one from the scale and you're all set."

The top spot was your name, and the second one was your screen name from the website. "Marge" was easy enough to put down, but she didn't have a screen name on the site and had to leave the second line blank. Charlotte didn't have that issue - or rather, 'TheF@rmersD@ughter' didn't.

Charlotte was the first to step onto the scale, which spit back '217', and did a goofy little dance as the woman wrote the number in the final blank spot on her nametag. Marge giggled at the sight before the woman waved her over next. She was nervous but couldn't exactly back out now, so she gingerly stepped onto the scale, Luke's hand resting gently on her back the whole time. It was, after all, kind of the point of coming in the first place - to try opening up about things to somebody other than just Luke and Charlotte. What better place than a crowd of fat admirers? She wasn't even that big compared to those around her and nobody made a fuss when the woman called out "186", writing the same on Marge's nametag. "Enjoy yourselves, ladies," she said with a smile before turning to Luke, who was in no danger of being embarrassed by his weight.

Marge's cheeks got a little red as she pressed the nametag to her chest, her weight boldly listed for all to see, even if she knew nobody would judge her for it. There were men and women of all sizes in attendance, a lot of them around her size but also people who seemed twice as big. There were even skinny people milling around, surely chubby chasers or at least weight admirers. Still, it felt weird and she was glad to have Charlotte around to make her look small in comparison.

"I'm supposed to meet up with some people near the food tents," Charlotte said, checking her phone. "Y'all can come with me if you want."

"Sounds like a good place to start," Luke smiled while affixing his own nametag to his shirt. He looked like a kid in a candy store.

After a short walk they approached an area with picnic tables and tents billowing with smoke, smelling all sorts of wonderful. Charlotte smiled upon spotting an online friend at a nearby picnic table.

"Hey you!" she said as the woman hoisted herself to her feet to accept a hug. "It's about time we met for real!"

"I know, I know," the older woman laughed. "It feels like we've been talking about it for ages." She was a rather large woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late forties. "This is my husband, Pat," she said, gesturing to the thin man with the gray goatee beside her.

"You must be Luke," the woman said with a grin, as though Charlotte had told her all about her brother.

"Yes, ma'am," he said politely, gripping her hand. "And this here is Margie."

"Hi," Marge smiled through her nerves, eyeing the '254 pounds' on Brenda's nametag with admiration. Her listed screen name, 'bigmomma7849', seemed more than appropriate.

"I'm Brenda," the woman replied with a smile just as warm. Though she was graying a bit, she had the same hair and eye color as Marge and they probably could have passed as mother and daughter without much resistance. "Where's the rest of her, Luke?" Brenda chuckled, having heard about Luke's preferences.

"You should've seen her before I got a hold of her," Luke laughed, pulling his girl in tight against him as she blushed. It still felt weird for everyone to be talking so freely about this stuff.

"Oh gosh," Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."

"Good idea," Marge answered, placing a hand on her own rumbling stomach. She was still a little red in the cheeks, unused to being open about her appetite.

"I'll grab something for us," Luke offered, giving her a quick peck on the forehead before following after Charlotte. Pat followed to get another round for he and his wife, leaving Marge and Brenda at the table. They chatted about this and that for a few minutes, nothing too personal until Brenda circled back to a comment Luke had made earlier.

"So you're a gainer then, Marge?" Brenda asked, referring to Luke's comment about how much she'd grown since they met.

Marge shrugged with a nervous laugh. "I guess I never really thought about it like that but, I don't know..." She had come across that term - 'gainer' - when she used to watch videos of girls water bloating, and she got a little thrill from being labeled one herself. "... I guess so?"

"I'm always fascinated by that," Brenda admitted with a laughed, not seeming to judge Marge for her habit like the girl often judged herself. "What makes a skinny girl want to get fat? Is it just boredom? I mean, I've always been a big girl, so I wouldn't know."

Marge blushed but still smiled, more willing to open up than she had been in the past. While she and Luke talked about her weight a lot, it was never in a cathartic, reflective sort of way. It'd be nice to get it off her chest with someone who didn't seem to think it was strange.

"Well, I was never a big eater, really, but I kind of hit this rough patch after high school," she admitted, being honest about her mistakes and shortcomings for the first time maybe ever. "I guess that's when I kind of discovered comfort food and..." She chuckled nervously, surprising herself with how candid she was being. "I guess I, you know, I started putting on weight and then I met Luke and he liked me the way I was, extra pounds and all. He just wanted me to be happy and I guess I'm just, you know... happier when I'm eating? I don't know." She laughed a little again, trying to fit in with this woman, though her smile was genuine as she thought about Luke.

"Amen, sister," Brenda said, knowing full-well how enjoyable eating could be. "So just how big do you want to get?"

"Oh, I don't know," the younger girl laughed.

"Come on, you've thought about it," Brenda teased. "What's the fattest you've ever pictured yourself? Fatter than me?"

That "f" word brought a smile to Marge's lips. "Really, I don't know. But, yea, maybe, like, 250 or something?" She felt a jolt just saying it, but quickly backtracked. "But, I mean, I don't think that'll really happen or anything."

"Never say never, especially with Luke around," Brenda joked. "You probably wouldn't fit in bed if he had his way."

"You're probably right about that," Marge laughed. It was nice to speak freely about these types of things with someone who understood, even if it was a little surreal.

"Would you stop him if he tried?"

"Um... I don't know... probably not," she gushed sheepishly but truthfully. She loved that Brenda considered 250 pounds a realistic weight for her. Was it really? The thought of being Brenda's size would've seemed impossible once, but now it merely felt unrealistic. The fact that it was even a possibility now made Marge's heart flutter.

"Did he tell you to ditch the bras?" the woman asked, motioning towards Marge's unsupported chest. "So you'd start to sag? I've heard a few gainers talk about that."

Marge just blushed with another sheepish laugh, shifting a little in her seat and sliding her arms back on the table a little closer to her chest. "Oh, uh, no... it's..."

"Oh, to be young," Brenda laughed, seeing right through Marge's non-answer. "Whatever makes you happy, dear. It's nice to do things for your man, but it's more important that it's what you want for yourself."

"Oh, no, yeah, I, uh... I think I... I kinda want it as much as he does," Marge admitted.

Brenda grinned. "You know what I think? I think you're gonna be as fat as I am next year, just you wait and see. No, really, you're gonna waddle up to me all excited... 'Brenda! Brenda! Look how fat I got!' Mark my words."

"I don't know about that. Maybe?" Marge blushed as they shared a laugh. But it sounded so good. "I'd actually kind of love to have a body like yours someday." It felt so weird to say out loud but she meant it.

Brenda put a hand on her own large, round belly. "If this is really what you want, then I'm sure you'll get there, honey."

They talked for a bit longer before the others came back with the food. Luke had barely put Marge's burger down before she grabbed it and took a huge bite. Ketchup stained her lips as she gave Luke a kiss, beaming the entire time and looking to Brenda to share another laugh. It was kind of surreal to be talking about her weight like this, but she hadn't felt so comfortable in her own skin in a long time.