The Investment

A sibling cons her wealthy sister

1998 Words (AI Generated Image is the only AI Information used)

Jennifer Butterman slowly drives her black Mercedes-Benz up the middle-class suburban neighbourhood. A group of what she deems as teenage delinquents treat the road as a basketball court. Terrified, she rechecks the car is locked. They clear the road; she passes, now terrified they will hit her car with the ball. She comes to a stop at her sister's timber-framed home, scrunching her face at what she considers to be a disgusting shade of green. She groans in annoyance at the haphazard parking in the narrow driveway. Space is at a premium between her sister's clamped-out Honda Accord and her husband's oversize Dodge Ram truck. She parks between both, blocking in the truck. There is no chance she is going to leave her precious car roadside. She takes her Vera Wang handbag and a black leather-bound A4 diary off the passenger seat.

Jennifer takes a moment to brace herself for her family's affections which come laced with insults. For her a weary tradition, she never mastered mainly being butt of the insults from her siblings. Millie is the worst.
She groans as she gets out of the car, her knees take the brunt of hoisting her corpulent frame up as gingerly she squeezes out, struggling to make herself smaller to fit through the acute door angle, a necessary act not to hit and damage her car door against Millie's less valuable Accord. As she adjusts her tailored black business suit, behind her, she hears the house door shut and her sister Millie chuckling voice pierces the air "You were nearly stuck in that pompous car of yours." Millie is twelve years her junior, standing at five feet seven, she towers four inches over Jennifer. "Hi, Millie." Her forced smile quickly evaporates upon Millie's choice of attire, her tight grey jogging leggings and pink short-sleeved t-shirt both complemented her well-toned body, a body Jennifer envied, and despite all of her wealth, she could never attain. Jennifer smiles, "Where are the girls?" disappointed not to see her ten and eight-year-old nieces, Hannah and Kayley.

Millie smiles mischievously, a bad omen for Jennifer while checking that the door is locked. "Oh, Tony brought them to the park, they would want to come and we'd get no peace!". She places a puma sports bag on the ground and spreads out her hands, her face broadens with a smile, "Come here, Squishy Aunt Jenn, and give me a hug" her lack of filter irritated Jennifer.

Jennifer tolerates the children calling her that, but not adults, it makes her self-conscious of her size. She forces a half smile.

They embrace, and Jennifer feels caged as Millie wraps her arms around her tightly, demonstrating her superior physical strength. " Everyone loves a hug from Aunt Jenn! You're soft like a pillow".

Jennifer's family's oblivion to body-shaming irks her; she's unsure if they do it to ensure she doesn't get too big for her boots. "I may be soft on the outside, Millie, but inside I am like a rock," she states defiantly.

Millie opens the rear passenger door of her Accord and throws in the black sports bag. "I'll drive". Immediately, Jennifer regrets not blocking her.


Jennifer opens the passenger door, cursing silently the low sports bucket seats. She groans as she lowers herself in "Are you fifty or five hundred?" mocks Millie

Jennifer closes the car door resentful of Millie's agility. She glares at Millie in disgust, who basks in Jennifer's struggle; the sport seat feels like a rock in comparison to her car. "I'm just used to my own, it's better for my back".

Millie starts up the engine. "This is a sporty car made for sporty young women like me."

Jennifer purses her lips at the jibe, "Well, no wonder so many young people have back problems!"

Millie turns her body towards Jennifer pointing her right finger, "Your problem is you're not used to roughing it out. " Jennifer gasps open-jawed. "You're used to your fancy car, opulent hotels, and fancy pants business lunches and dinners. Aren't you Ponce?" She laughs reaching out giving Jennifer's lower chin a gentle tug with her right thumb and index finger. Ponce, a put-down she commonly receives from her siblings "Of course you do Ponce!". Jennifer's face blushes feeling small, a result always enjoyed by her siblings

The only roughing up you do Millie is of me" as she gently massages her lower chin, coveting Millie's slender strong jawed facial structure. "I can rough it with anyone in the business world!" she boasts gathering her breath, "I don't apologise for enjoying the finer things I work hard for". For a long time, she hated it; she hated how her chubby cheeks contoured to unite and form her double chin, a constant reminder of her lifestyle. She tried to ignore it, tried to deny its existence when looking in the mirror, but after time she accepted its presence, comforted that people do business with her not on beauty but on her business acumen.

Jennifer checks the time on her Michael Kors Parker watch. As always, she's anxious about deadlines. "we're sticking to scheduled time. I have a client proposal to review and I would like to spend a few moments with the girls before leaving."

Millie smirks, "It's all business with you, isn't it?"

Jennifer's cheeks redden with anger, "It has to be about business," she snaps gaspy, "I'm a self-employed Businesswoman, if a high net worth client rings me and tells me to have the proposal tomorrow rather than Friday, it has to be done." She draws a gasp "I HAVE BILLS TO PAY AND PEOPLE DEPENDING ON SALARIES. I DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY OF MAKING CLIENTS WAIT!".

Millie turns to her and laughs, taking delight in rising her, "I got you going there, didn't I!".

.Jennifer steams with rage she has no time for this gutter humour. "So what's this investment opportunity?"

Milly ignores her momentarily as she checks for oncoming traffic at a T-Junction to take a right turn. "You'll see; it's the best investment you'll ever make".

Jennifer points her left index finger towards Millie's leggings. "Your attire tells me I'm hardly meeting the elite of the investment world!".

Millie slows up at a red traffic light and checks her rear mirror. "You're such a ponce!!" Trust me, you'll be sorry you didn't invest in this sooner!".

Jennifer scrunches her face "I will be the judge of that!"

They turn left into an industrial estate, with old and dilapidated buildings. Millie continues to drive until she reaches her destination and parks .

"So where is it!" Jennifer's tone impatient.

Millie points towards The Beacon Gym. Jennifer glares in disappointment and anger, "THIS will not add value to my private portfolio!"

Millie switches off the engine and stares at Jennifer. "You Ponce!! It's because I want you to work out with me; a needed investment in yourself!"

Jennifer grinds her teeth in anger "HOW DARE YOU AMBUSH ME LIKE THIS. look at me! I look like I'm about to buy it, not use it!" Jennifer pauses momentarily, "Did it ever dawn on you that I may be quite happy the way I am?"

Millie tosses an unopened new black Adidas tracksuit onto Jennifer's thighs, "I got you this". Jennifer looks down at it, disgusted. "I certainly am not going in" her stubbornness to relive past failures preventing her "am content with my lifestyle which is none of your business!".

Millie tuts and rolls her eyes towards the Heavens, "Don't be a Diva!! You have to, you won't regret it!" She then places her right hand around Jenn's shoulders. " we worry about you. You swear you've done a marathon after climbing a flight of stairs."

Millie's words cut through Jennifer like a knife "I spend at least eighty hours a week running my business so I don't have time to be a gym bunny like you and your ilk."

Millie massages her right hand on Jennifer's beefy left shoulder blade. "Jennifer! Your seventy-two-year-old mother is fitter than you, do you not find that embarrassing?"

"I'm aware," snaps Jennifer like an injured lioness, a fact she continuously ignores, "you all love to remind me?"

Jennifer's mind races to a recent family weekend city break to Charlotte for her parents' anniversary, when she wasn't working, her lack of fitness humiliated her, but again she chose to ignore; she had no time to ponder.

Millie sighs again, in a direct tone, "We care, that is why!! I have a friend working in there, she will help you with scheduling and diet!"

Jennifer's lower chin quivers. "DIET!!" the word sends shivers down her spine, "Let's play a game, you name the diet and I'll tell you I failed it!" Her voice now quivers, "Add in my thyroid, the stress in my life, and the fact that it seems I only have to look at cake and I gain weight!" She takes a shallow gasp drawing her breath "So I gave up and accepted shovelling food in my gob will come at a price, now leave me alone!".

Jennifer squirms as Millie places both her hands on top of her left hand and squeezes tightly. "Jenn, we want you healthier, that's all." Jennifer processes what Millie is saying when she feels fingers press into her tummy. "Wouldn't it be nice just to get rid of some of this soft belly? You're not getting any younger, as you age with your lifestyle, you’ll just get doughier!"

Jennifer smiles tightly, easier than admitting the poke hurt more than it should have. She casts an envious glance at Millie’s slender, well-toned torso, the word doughier still echoing in her head, still stinging.

“You’d be right at home on the set of Mean Girls,” she snaps catching her breath. “I’m a successful businesswoman, sixty pounds overweight and gaining, and I’m comfortable with that. Now let that be the end of this.” She flicks her hand dismissively. “Let’s go back.”

"We're not going back, Jenn." Jennifer fails to react as Millie playfully squeezes her right cheek. Jennifer crunches up her shoulders to her ears and partially compresses her double chin into her neck. "I'll drag you in like this if I have to!" She laughs as she removes her grip on Jennifer's cheek.

Jennifer gently massages her cheek, she glares at Millie with disgust, "You know Millie, the pen is mightier than the sword".

Millie shakes her head, still smirking. “The pen wasn't much good to you there, honestly, you are the queen of ponces. No doubt you sweat Perrier!". Millie laughs as she grabs her cell phone from the centre console and begins scrolling , “I will show you something, this will be you!"

Jennifer watches a video of an obese lady in her 60's, confined to a mobility scooter and downstairs in her home.
Jennifer hands back the phone to Millie. She feels goose bumps pop up around her body and a cold chill. Could she be looking at herself!! She freezes as Millie massages her beefy shoulder blades. "C'mon, Jenn, do it for yourself, it won't take much time away from business".

Jennifer's lower lip quivers, her sister's rare gentle words unmasking her softer side, which she quickly tries to mask. "Fine!" she replies.

"Excellent", Millie's face lights up. "Come here, give me a hug," as she twists in her seat and places her arms around Jennifer's upper body, planting her arms around her tightly.

Millie wipes her moist eyes. "We're with you all the way!! You won't be on your own".

An emotional mix of fear and hope seeps through Jennifer. She opens the car door, "Right, come on, let's start this investment!". Mille smiles and takes the key out of the ignition "Please don't be a big ponce in here". For the first time Jennifer manages a half smile at the slight. With hesitance she gets out, her heart pounding and silently praying history will not repeat itself.