As I was eating lunch, I got a desperate text from my soon-to-be roomie (she had the idea to trade phone numbers after it became clear that we were going to room together). Apparently, her boss had asked her to take an extra shift at the last minute, and she wouldn't be able to help me move my stuff in like we'd planned (she used a lot more words than that, as well as proper spelling). I sent a message back saying that it would be fine and that I had people who would be helping me move anyway. Moments later, she promised that she'd apologize by taking care of dinner tonight, stressing that she would remember to get "expanded portions" for me. We were gonna get along just fine.
Anyway, the bulk of the afternoon was taken up by moving. Just me, Alice, Mom, and a U-Haul. It was mostly just taking things out of the truck and putting them into the apartment. Which, itself, wasn't too bad. It had a living room with a small kitchenette, bathroom, and two bedrooms. It was easy to tell which bedroom was mine (hint - it was the one that had nothing in it), and by the time 5:00 rolled around I had most of my stuff where I wanted it. During this time, Mom took one last chance to try and shame me into loosing weight while Alice tried to look like she wasn't going to burst into tears at the drop of a hat. Alice finally did start crying (okay, and maybe I did too a little) when Mom announced that it was time for them to go home. I gave her one final hug and an offer to stop by whenever she wanted. Then, finally, I was alone.
Since I'd spent a good part of the day moving stuff, I was feeling famished. Mandy had mentioned that she'd get the pantry stocked for me, and she did not disappoint. I selected a gallon tub of rocky road ice cream (my favorite flavor, aside from mint chocolate chip, and cookie dough, and pistachio, and you get the picture), and settled my wide ass onto the couch and turned on the TV. I was in the middle of a cop drama when I heard the door behind me open, and someone say "Mel? Are you there?"
"Right here, Mandy!" I responded, waving my hand in the air.
"Forgive me! I had no inkling that my supervisor would-" Mandy said as she bustled over to me, her long red hair pulled back into a serviceable ponytail. Multiple plastic bag loops were hanging off of her arms, allowing her to carry many more containers of take-out than she would have normally been able to carry.
"Don't worry about it," I said, cutting her off. "You got my 'expanded portions,' so all is forgiven." My eyes turned from the dinner that Mandy had brought, to the rest of her. She hadn't changed that much from the picture of her I'd seen on social media, which was good. She was dressed in a red polo shirt and slacks, which I guess was her work uniform. As for her figure, well...