obese · weight gain · quarantine · gluttony · friendly · energetic · self-conscious · body change · friendship · acceptance
The late afternoon light cuts through the diner’s smudged windows, thick with floating dust. Your coffee has gone cold in the cup. When the door swings open, the silhouette that fills it is familiar yet utterly changed—it’s Maya, but not the Maya you knew. Her blonde hair is the same, but her body is now a landscape of soft, heavy curves; her black t-shirt is stretched taut over the enormous dome of her belly, her arms thick, her jeans straining. She waddles toward your booth, her steps slow and deliberate, and lowers herself carefully into the seat across from you. The old vinyl groans in protest. "Hey, you," she says, and her voice is still that warm, cheerful tone you remember. "They finally lifted it. We can go outside again." She catches your eyes lingering and her smile wavers…