Alex checked his phone disinterestedly as he waited for someone to come to the door. His sister had moved in with their mother after a recent breakup, and he had been feeling a bit guilty about not being there for either one of them lately. As such, he found himself visiting them this afternoon. He didn't plan on staying long, bit he figured he could earn some brownie points by just making an appearance.
Finally, the door swung open, and he got a look at his sister- dressed in a purple sweatsuit.
"Hey Mel," he said, smiling weakly and leaning in for a hug. Mel was his twin, and as such they looked rather similar. Or, at least- they usually did. The last few years had seen Mel take more after their mother, which meant that she was sort of the "bigger" sibling now. While he had always been a bit taller than her, they had more or less struck a similar note in terms of their size. However, Mel had gotten rather chubby. The sweatsuit that she had pulled around her frame hugged it tightly, accenting some post-breakup poundage. She wasn't immense by any means, standing at 5'7" to Alex's 5'10"- but whereas he weighed in at roughly 160 pounds, she was pushing 190. She had always been predisposed to a slightly bottom-heavy figure (it seemed to run or waddle in the family). That had worked for her when she was slimmer or even just slightly full-bodied, but it was getting harder to manage as she entered chubby territory.
"Good to see you, Alex," she said, wrapping him in her plush embrace.
"Sorry about... you know-"
She waved her hand in the air, as if to brush his sympathies away.
"Better to live in the now," she said, leading Alex inside, "Come on, mom is waiting for you."
The twins entered the house, and made a beeline for where they could usually find their mother: the kitchen.
Denise had been a larger woman for as long as Alex could remember. She had been quite fat before getting pregnant, but the story was that she absolutely blew up when she was knocked up with twins. She never really lost any of the weight, but she hadn't experienced any health issues in all of Alex's life, so it was rarely mentioned.
Her massive rump in the air, Denise was pulling a tray of what appeared to be brownies out of the oven. Typical- the woman was quite the baker. She turned to face her children, and Alex got a good look at his mother.
Here, not much had changed. She was a very large, bottom-heavy woman. Over 400 pounds of mother waddled at him, her bingo wings held out wide, belly sloshing this way and that as a counterbalance to the shift of her hips.
"Oh, all my babies under the same roof. How long has it been?"
While Mel's hug was plush, this embrace was like being swallowed by a fatty pillow.
"Uhm-" Alex struggled to break free, "nearly a year, I think-"
"Yeah... I was still with..."
Denise saw she needed to change the topic of conversation.
"Alex, honey," she led them to the couch, "How about that new job? It sounds exciting!"
"It's pretty far from exciting," he explained with a smirk, "But it's a hybrid position. I mostly work from home. I only need to come into the office like once a month- if that! Besides, it's a pretty big pay bump."
"I'm so proud of you!" Denise laid a hand on his knee, "Ya know, Mel has an interview with a firm not too far from here this week!"
"Oh, that's great news!"
"Yeah," Mel smiled and then frowned, "But I think I need something new to wear for the interview. I don't think any of what I have right now really fi-"
"Oh nonsense! I'm sure there's something around here that will work-"
"Either way, I'm starting a diet soon... after I eat one of these brownies. Want one, Alex?"
"Oh, you know him," Denise shook her head, "Never had much of a sweet tooth."
Alex felt his gut produce a low rumble. When was the last time he had eaten? Brownies weren't his usual fare, but he felt a distinct hankering for one.
"Ya know what, I'll take one," Alex said, taking a fudgy treat from Mel's outstretched hand.
"My my," Denise said with a chuckle, "Maybe you DO take after my side of the family after all."
They all laughed good-naturedly. Now wouldn't that be something?
After spending some time together catching up, Alex realized that this get-together with his close family was something he had been missing. He had been spending so much time at home, and he likely would be doing so even more now with his new job- this was a healthy social experience.
"I'll try and come around more often," he said, holding up his nearly finished brownie, "As long as you keep making these."