Work Text:
December
“One more bite?” Julia playfully asked her boyfriend, swirling the spoonful of coffee gelato in front of his mouth. Nicholas leaned back on his chair and patted his clearly overstuffed, taut belly.
“Julia! I'm beyond stuffed!”
“Puh-leasse?” she begged. “This is the last of it, I swear. Come on, baby. I know you can do it.” Nicholas smiled and opened his mouth. He knew he was helpless whenever Julia looked at him, her red lips in a pout, and with her large, bright blue eyes pleading with him to overindulge for the third night in a row. Her explanation was that with their parents in town for Christmas, they won't be able to partake in their “normal” feeding activities while they are there.
He agreed and succumbed to her, and as a result he will be going to bed extra full for the third night in a row. He really didn't mind. These last nine months have been the best in his life, and he could not wait to introduce her to his folks. There was just one small thing he was worried about.
Well, maybe not a small thing.
He has not told his parents about how his already ample waistline has expanded due to the extra 45 lbs he has gained since he and Julia started dating. He’s just not sure what their reaction will be when they see him. He debated about telling them last week, but chickened out. After he hit 375 lbs, his mom talked to him about the weight he gained after his job let him go due to downsizing.
For that first month, all he did was eat. At the time, he was using his savings to pay for his apartment, but later Nicholas found temporary jobs where he could work from home. That only made it easier for him to eat whatever and whenever he wanted. He knew his weight was getting out of control, but deep down he kind of liked how his body was growing and changing. At times, he would look at himself in the mirror and not believe that the big, round, heavy, and jiggly belly was actually his.
And then he met Julia, and his whole outlook on how he looked changed. Julia liked him the way he was, and told him numerous times she would love for him to grow his belly even bigger and heavier than it already was. She loved playing with it as much as he did.
Nicholas voiced his concerns about his parents and his weight. Julia listened intently, but told him she was more worried about whether or not they were going to like her than if they were upset that he gained some weight. She fully anticipated that they would be surprised to see their son was now over 400 lbs.
“People gain weight when they are in a happy relationship. And we are happy, right? I mean, who cares? I happen to think you are the kindest, loving, and handsomest man I've ever known,” she told him that evening after they went to bed.
“You do realize most people are not like you, right? You are truly a unicorn!” She giggled into his soft chest, snuggled in close, and drew figure eights on his belly. She shrugged.
“I, mean, it is what it is, right? I don't really see things changing. Unless…” She sat up abruptly and looked Nicholas in the eye.
“Unless what?”
“Unless you don't want to help me anymore. I don't have to bring work home. I can go out by myself-”
“Whoa! Who said I don't want to help you anymore? I absolutely love that you can share your work with me.”
The work in question was the food Julia would bring home as a part of her review as a food blogger and influencer. Nicholas would also accompany her to restaurants in order to experience the full ambience, mostly on the weekends. He treasured those moments with her as she critiqued the entire dining experience. It also brought a whole new level of food appreciation to both of them.
“Well, okay, then. We both have to live with the consequences. And you know I am more than okay with what those consequences are!” She lifted Nicholas's T-shirt up and licked her lips. She mounted his wide thighs and grabbed his love handles and gave him a jiggle. She then hugged his belly and kissed him from his belly button all the way up to his double chin.
“God, you look amazing! I cannot wait to make you even fatter!”
“What am I gonna do with you?”
“I can think of a few things…”
The next morning, Julia was up early cleaning and arranging the guest bedroom for Nicholas's parents. After she explained to her parents about Nicholas's size, her mother volunteered for them to sleep on the air mattress.
“I hate that the first time I meet your folks, they have to sleep on the floor!” Nicholas opened a family-sized bag of Doritos, and took out a handful.
“Okay, one, it's not the floor, it's an air mattress. Two, they understand our situation, and completely understand. And, three, I told you they go camping all the time, so they are used to sleeping on air mattresses! It's fine, really,” Julia said.
“Wait a minute.”
“What?”
“You said they understand about our situation. What situation?”
“Oh. Um, I told them you would have a difficult time sleeping on the floor. Because, well, you know why!”
“No. Tell me.”
“Honey, they've seen my social media posts. They know you're fat, okay?” Nicholas munched in silence.
“Makes sense. You're sure they don't mind?”
“About you being fat? No, they don't mind in the least.”
“Not about that! Never mind…” Julia kissed him on his cheek, brushed off some crumbs that landed on his shirt, and went back to her cleaning.
Although Nicholas's mother was visibly shaken when she saw her son, she never said a word about his weight gain. That was probably due to the fact Julia and her parents treated him normally. Both he and Julia refrained from serving the large portions he was becoming used to so as not to emphasize how he’s gained those 45 lbs the last nine months. After everyone went to bed, Julia would quietly make her boyfriend a plate of sweets and leftovers and take them to their room to help satiate his growling stomach.
On Christmas Eve, Julia and her mother made an assortment of appetizers and finger foods in addition to three different kinds of Charcuterie: cheeses, meats, and sweets. Julia explained that was kind of her family's tradition. Everyone seemed to enjoy grazing all day, and it made clean-up easy. They all played cards, talked, and discussed plans and visits in the new year.
Christmas morning, Nicholas's mother made a large pan of homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. Julia winked at Nicholas when his mother plated him two of the biggest rolls, and patted her son on the shoulder, much to his surprise. Julia told him after they left that his mother confessed to her she could see how happy her son was, and although she will always be concerned about his weight, she will not interfere in his life.
For their formal Christmas dinner, Nicholas's father prepared the ham, while Julia and her mother made all the side dishes. Julia made sure to include Nicholas's favorites that she made on Thanksgiving.
On December 28th, Nicholas's father arranged for an Uber to take them and Julia’s parents back to the airport. It turned out their flights departed within twenty minutes of each other, so they decided they would grab lunch together at the airport so that their kids would not have to deal with the after-holiday traffic. All in all, that first meeting of Julia's and Nicholas's parents could not have gone better, and was everything they'd hoped for.
They spent a lazy afternoon watching movies, finishing off all the sweet treats and cookies, and making out like two teenagers. Before Julia began their dinner, she tossed a present over to her boyfriend.
“What's this?” he asked her. “I thought we already gave each other our gifts.”
“I guess we missed one. This one I wanted to give you after our folks left. Go on, open it!” she told him excitedly. She sat on her knees waiting patiently for Nicholas to open the beautifully wrapped box with a bow. Nicholas carefully ripped the paper at one end and slid the box out. When he opened it, he narrowed his eyes.
“I don't understand, Julia. Why would you wait to give me these shirts?” As soon as he pulled one out to look at it, he gasped. “Why on earth would you buy me 8XL shirts? These are huge!” Julia giggled, took one of the shirts, and held it out to its full width.
“I know! Aren't they gorgeous! Can't you just see yourself in this some day? I can! That's why I got them!”
“You actually want me to grow so big that this will fit?”
“No! Of course not!”
“Then I don't understand…” Julia moved closer and whispered into his ear.
“I don't want you to just grow so big that this will fit. I want you to get so big that you grow out of it.” Nicholas shook his head and took the shirt from his girlfriend.
“I guess there is plenty of room to grow. Are you sure this is what you want?”
“We are going to be eating a lot of food this upcoming year. My next three months are already booked, and quite honestly, I don't know how I'm going to review everything without your help. I know how that could potentially affect your waistline, and to be completely honest, I cannot wait. Also, I have some ideas how we can address that…”
To be continued next month…