"Oh my god Mel! It's been forever!" my cousin squealed, before bounding across the room to give me a hug. Her arms, naturally, didn't reach all the way around me, but she didn't seem to care. I heard her murmur "Mm... soft..." as she squished up against me.
Damn right I'm soft! I give the best hugs in the world. One of the perks of being me.
Eventually she broke off the hug, but she looked at me with sparkling eyes. I suddenly remembered that we had had some good times together during family reunions and such. It had just been, as Krystal had said, forever since we had seen each other (and unfortunately, that had been during those dark days where social media hadn't really been a thing). "You were going to that fancy bee school, right Melly? You gotta tell me all about it!" she said.
I laughed, causing my everything to jiggle. The two of us sat down on a nearby sofa, and I regaled my cousin Krystal about my time at Buttercombe Academy. I mentioned the friends, the hardships, the unending struggle of keeping one's uniform updated. And, of course, I talked about the food. Krystal giggled when I talked about that. "Well, that explains this," she said, poking me in the belly. She said it in a teasing, but not hateful, way.
"This," I responded, patting my belly, "Was going to happen regardless of where I was. Buttercombe just made it easy for me. Anyway, how are you doing, Krissy?" My old nickname for her slipped out without me thinking about it. Damn, it was good to see Krystal again! She talked about her school and her friends, and was in the middle of a tale involving a boy who had tried to impress one of her friends when the both of us heard the front door of the house open and close.
I heard Aunt Rhonda say "Evenin', Hon," to someone who obviously had to be my Uncle Ted. Krystal quickly sprang up and ran off to give her Dad a hug. It took me a moment to lift my considerably bigger ass off of the sofa. I'd forgotten how flighty my cousin could be. Still, there were worse people I was related to. I headed into the dining room myself, and said hello to the man. Uncle Ted was a husky man with muscled arms and a paunchy stomach; he was obviously the kind of guy who worked hard and partied hard.
After that, it was time for dinner. Which was, needless to say, excellent. My Aunt Rhonda could have outcooked any of chefs back at Buttercombe, and I say that with only a slight bias. There were biscuits, fried chicken, potatoes, and I even got to try grits for the first time. I liked 'em! There was no conversation over dinner as everyone ate with a gusto that I had only before seen in fellow Buttercombe students. Even Krystal wasn't holding back, which made me wonder how the hell she stayed so thin. She must have had one of those super metabolisms that I was glad I didn't possess.
Dinner ended with hearty belches from everyone around the table. I was feeling very happy and very stuffed. These were my kind of people!
"Delicious as usual, Darlin'," Uncle Ted said.
"That was good, Mama," Krystal said, patting a stomach that I could swear was still as flat as a board. Where did it all go?
"That was wonderful Aunt Rhonda. Thanks!" I said.
"Aw, that weren't nothin'" Aunt Rhonda replied with a modesty that had to be false.
"So, Mel, got any plans yet?" Uncle Ted asked me, reclining in his chair.
"I was plannin' on taking Melly with me to the mall tomorrow!" Krystal said brightly. She hadn't run the plan by me yet, but what the hell? It wasn't like I'd had tomorrow figured out anyway.
The next morning, Krystal and I set out in the hybrid car that Uncle Ted and Aunt Rhonda had splurged on for Krystal's 18th birthday. I wasn't jealous at all that my cousin's awesome parents had bought her a car and my hard-ass mom had gotten me a diet book. Yup, no envy here. Anyway, Krystal explained the plan on our way over to the mall.
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