BNevis
patreon
Bellflower Part 20
🕑 Added 2019-09-27 14:18:29 +0000 UTC
In our twentieth installment, it's once again the girls' weekly get-together. And after what's been a long, arduous day for Courtney, there's drama! Plus Penny has some news. All while the girls worry about their heaviest friend.
Thanks for your patience. Like I mentioned on twitter, I had a bit of a rough week. It was no one thing, but several smaller, but still very frustrating things happening all at once. I didn't intend for the radio silence, but I had a lot to manage. At any rate, things are a bit better now, & here's more of the story!
I'm glad I was able to split things up between this & the last chapter as it allowed me to really go in & focus on some more of the character stuff I really like doing. It ended up going quite long, but I kind of like the interactions & where this leaves off for a few characters. Anyway thanks for being along for the ride so far. Thanks again for bearing with me! And I hope you enjoy!
|||||
20
|||||
“You good, kiddo?” Dawn was on her way out but noticed Rachel still at her desk & making no effort to pack up. Her laptop was still plugged into its charger into the wall, & 1 of 2 pizza boxes opened, the pie only missing two slices. And one was in Rachel’s hand, nibbled most of the way down to the crust. She swallowed to clear her mouth before speaking.
“Oh. Yeah.” Rachel smiled sheepishly. “Just um… getting ahead a little.”
“But... don’t know if you noticed: it’s Friday.” Dawn chortled. “Go. Home.”
“I’m… close.” Rachel mustered a nod, trying to reassure her superior. Dawn let out a sigh before taking another heavy, plodding step towards the door.
“Well, it’s your weekend.” With her back to Rachel, she threw a chubby hand up behind her as she waddled as eagerly as she could. “C’ya Monday.”
“See ya on Monday.” Rachel waved. She tried to survey how wide Dawn was in comparison to the door to the department. She was certainly getting there, but she wasn’t Courtney. Yet. But it had taken her some time to get there. Rachel had managed a few more bites of her plain pizza slice. Ech, why had she just opted for plain. It was… fine. The same place Penny had gotten delivered from her first night. But without any toppings, it was just so bland. Wait!
Fuck! She realized that this was supposed to be her “leftover pie.” And she was already unwittingly two slices in. After downing an entire pie to herself since lunch! She quickly closed the box & put it far out of arm’s reach, while leaning the other, empty box almost as if a strategic barricade. A wall, to prevent her from involuntarily grabbing for more. If she were to keep eating, it would have killed this whole little ruse she had cooked up.
Much earlier that morning, at the breakfast table, when Holly first reminded Rachel it was Friday, & therefore Ladies’ Night, she “suddenly remembered Dawn had all this work for her to do!” And that “she’d make an appearance, but it would maybe be a bit late.” Holly, knowing how lax the writing department was generally, seemed skeptical but played along. In reality, Rachel just thought it would be the best way to limit her exposure. Keep herself from pigging out like the rest. She just hadn’t anticipated also having to deal with a “two pizza lunch” on the job.
Alone, she popped her browser tab back open fullscreen to continue her “research.” Off Holly’s home wifi, she figured she’d be safe to attempt a little more digging away from Penny’s prying eyes. Or… whatever. Speaking of which, it was probably something Fran & the others already looked into, but she had started to think about trying to find whoever developed Penny. Like as evil or as corrupted as the thing was, there was no denying that it was something of a technological marvel. Some nerd programmer or group at like MIT or even some company or conglomerate out there would have to brag about their creation or want to take some sort of credit. At least she imagined they would want to. So all afternoon, whenever her coworkers weren’t looking, she attempted to enter every combo of “Penny,” “AI,” “Smart Home Technology,” “Robot,” “Maid,” “Bellflower,” “Oakmont,” along with every permutation of “Developer,” “Creator,” “Programmer” into the search field & yet it all seemed to yield nothing. Actually less than nothing. There seemed like a complete dearth of results. So much so that there seemed to be very little in even irrelevant information even.
In fact, the only site that came up was the Bellflower’s site before getting into a bunch of think pieces about how America should do away with the one cent piece. It all seemed to just point back there, to the Bellflower’s slick site, with its annoying splash video & remarkably skinny actors “living” there. It almost struck her as if Penny was proprietary software, written for the building itself. Or maybe Mikayla was right. And maybe the building was proprietary to... whatever Penny was. At the same time, she’d still have to come from somewhere, right? Some other… source. Who was behind this? What invisible hand was guiding hers to involuntarily try reaching for that third slice of cold pizza just now after her stomach grumbled beneath her snug blouse? She had to keep digging.
“You going to be ok while I run in?” Holly asked sincerely. She seemed to pretty safely assume her friend wasn’t going to join her for the errand.
“I’m… fine.” Courtney winced, crammed into the passenger seat. There was still enough of her to bulge over the center console & up against the dash. She didn’t seem the least bit comfortable, despite her insistence to the contrary, as she thumbed through her phone awkwardly. Between her flabby arms, her large breasts, & her puffy cheeks, there was so much flesh happening in such a tight proximity. “I’d come, but I’d… probably just hold you up.” There was a vague quality to her voice that even sounded squooshed. She also seemed to be glowing, with beads of sweat forming. It being another hot one, Holly had the AC going in her car at full blast on the very short rides they took. From the condo to work. And now from work to the store. At the same time, it still seemed a bit warm. Probably because Courtney’s pudge seemed to be pressed pretty up against some of the vents on her side. Holly realized that on top of being crammed, the poor thing was both hot except for those parts which much have been ice cold. She realized she hadn’t answered as quick as she should have. She thought back to what Courtney had last said & started off trying to be reassuring.
“Oh no, I’m sure… It’s… I’ll be quick!” She eventually mustered a smile before sliding her own thick rear out of her seat with a rock. She shut her door & tried not to let Courtney see her expression fade into distress, as she made her way into the store to pick up a bottle of wine. Because she felt truly awful. Like guilting Courtney into leaving her place? It seemed like the right thing to do. Getting her out of her place. Get her moving. She HAD good intentions. But she had no idea it was just… such an ordeal. Putting her through all this today? From the moment she saw her squeeze herself out of her condo, throughout most of the work day, she just couldn’t help but feel like she was in some way being cruel. On some level, it felt a lot less like she was helping someone she considered a dear friend & almost like that time Rachel made her try jogging again. And the fact that poor Courtney was being such a good sport about it, despite everything being such a struggle? Well that just sort of made things even worse.
“How are you feeling?” Penny’s voice chirped out.
“Penny?!” Courtney hadn’t anticipated her smart home robot reaching out. Especially as she tried to jam as much her unwieldy self into as tight a space as she could.
“Yes.” Penny cooed. Her voice was calm & soothing. “I get the sense that today must have been pretty difficult.”
“I mean…” Courtney started, but it was hard to keep up the act. Especially now that no one else was around. “Honestly? Yeah. It was… it was a bit rough. But now’s the fun part. I just get to relax! And hang out with my friends.”
“Well, as long as you’re happy.” Courtney’s head tilted a little, bristling to what sounded almost like a bit of passive aggression in Penny’s tone. “But tonight, I may have some good news.”
“News?” Courtney asked puzzled. Just then, the driver side door opened. Holly was back. “Hello? Penny?!”
“Everything…?” Holly grunted slightly, hoisting herself in.
“It’s fine. I don’t know what’s up.” Courtney looked as though she tried to shrug. “Penny started talking to me through my phone.”
“Oh yeah, mine does that from time to time.” Holly tried to assure her. “Never quite at the best time.”
“Mine’s been acting a little… I don’t know. Funny?” Courtney said, slightly uneasy as she suddenly had the thought that if she was in her phone, she was probably able to hear her saying this right now.
“Heh,” Holly snickered. “You’re starting to sound like my sister!” She then very delicately tried to shift her SUV into reverse & not poke as much into the bulges of Courtney that spilled over into the center console area.
Andrea’s place was adorned with even more family photos than Deidre’s. But unlike their boss, who enjoyed to share a lot of candid moments of her immediate family, Andrea’s included a lot of very old looking ones as well. Her extended family, most of which all seemed to be back home in Belgium. Aside from that, her stuff, all the stuff that didn’t come standard in a Bellflower unit, were of very post-modern European design. Like some of the kitschier, slightly more outlandish stuff you’d see make its way to the clearance section of a certain Swedish furniture chain. Down to her wine key, which even erudite & well traveled Camille, seemed to have trouble operating.
“How about Courtney today?” She asked as she struggled.
“She’s so… brave.” Regina reached, setting out cupcakes. Red velvet AND butter cream. She attempted to bake them herself, but after the first two trays Penny ultimately did the other four. There was a very clear distinction who did which. But what they lacked in aesthetic, they made up for in sweetness. Both because of her kindness, & the fact she probably was a little heavyhanded with the frosting.
“She’s so… fat.” Veronica said plainly.
“Veronica!” Andrea growled, taking the wine & the wine key from Camille to do it for her. “Not in my home. Please.”
“Well… it’s true though.” Veronica’s eyes rolled. “I try to bite my tongue! You know I do! But it’s getting tough for her to even walk! No wonder she was missing all this week.”
“You know, it’s really not very nice to call attention to…” Regina started.
“Oh please!” Veronica huffed, snatching up one of the red velvets. “Y’all are too scared to call her out on it, & she just keeps getting… bigger.” She pulled the paper away enough to take a huge chomp. “What’s the matter? Waiting for her to fall through the floor before you bring it up!”
“VERONICA!” Andrea scolded again, mid pour.
“Actually,” Camille continued, carrying a glass of wine back towards the pub table. “Deidre was telling me that Holly had tried. Suggested she go talk to a doctor.”
“And…?!” Veronica pressed.
“I mean, that’s all I heard.” Camille mousily shrugged.
“Mmmmmhmmm.” Veronica moaned while chewing on her cupcake. “I rest my case. We all need to like… hold an intervention or something. You ever see that show…?”
“Oh god.” Camille softly shook her head as her eyes rolled.
“We can look to maybe do that.” Andrea agreed. Further softening a little when thinking back to seeing Courtney earlier. “Soon.” But she looked back to Veronica with hard eyes. “But not tonight!” She pointed sternly with a glass of wine taking up the same hand. “Not! In my house.”
“Well I’ll try.” Veronica deviously lilted. “But y’all don’t seem to think this is something of concern.”
“No “try!” Do!” Regina insisted, as seriously as she seemed capable of being. Camille smirked. As perilously close as she came to an actual movie quote, she knew Regina didn’t have a shred of nerd cred, had probably never even seen the film, & meant it for real, sincerely, 100% without irony or trying to make a reference. There was something so pure about Regina some times.
“Ah, Miss Deidre!” The door hissed with Penny’s chime of an announcement. And the customary shrill greeting went out amongst the women. Deidre had gone to her place to change into a much more comfortable outfit, coming in with track pants & an old ratty t-shirt of a heavier set girlfriend’s. One that now seemed to fit her perfectly for some reason. She set down her wine next to the others. She seemed a little bummed to see Camille didn’t bring the same fancy stuff again, but at the same time, after the week she had, any alcohol would do. Perhaps even something stiffer. But she slowly got herself situated
“So how about Courtney today?” She sheepishly asked a few minutes later while helping herself to a glass from the already opened bottle.
“Mmm!” Regina bucked, mid bite into one of her own cupcakes. She was the only one brave enough to attempt the ones she made so far. “We were just saying!”
“I was surprised.” Camille said in her soft spoken nature.
“Well yeah. I can’t think of anybody else that ever came back in after… you know… the “work-from-home” workforce.” Andrea tried to joke.
“Mhmm.” Deidre concurred mid sip. “It must’ve been rough. But I was really proud of her! She & Holly are still coming, right?” Instead of getting a solid answer, Veronica let out a loud scoff.
“Y’all need to stop applauding her “bravery” & just be honest with her!” She was on her second cupcake already. Deidre looked to Andrea, who was too busy scowling in Veronica’s direction before turning to Camille.
“Veronica thinks we need to stage an intervention.” The mousy girl explained.
“You know…” Deidre thought it over. “She’s sort of… not wrong.” It seemed to catch the others by surprise. Regina’s jaw was agape, Camille’s eyes widened a little. Veronica was beaming.
“See…?”
“It’s getting… a little out of hand. And we really should… I don’t know… let her know we care & want the best for her.” Deidre
“But… Ladies’ Night…” Andrea winced.
“Oh! I definitely didn’t mean tonight!” Deidre laughed off. The others seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Veronica stomped a little in disappointment. Deidre continued. “I mean, we should really maybe look to bring in like… a professional or something. Like an intermediary.”
“A counselor?” Camille interjected.
“Yeah.” Deidre pointed. “Isn’t that usually how they do it anyway?”
“We really should.” Andrea agreed. “At some point.” The subtext being “so long as it wasn’t tonight.” She seemed to take her hosting responsibility very seriously.
“So delay the inevitable?” Veronica pressed. “I mean what’s the difference? We’re all here tonight! We should tell her what we think!”
“No!” Deidre said sternly. It stood on its own for a moment before she took a sip of wine & softened. “That’s a bad idea. Especially from you Vee. I love you, sweetie. But sometimes? You can be a little TOO honest.”
“Oh?!”
“It’s the truth.” Camille concurred, causing Veronica to tilt & let out an exasperated little snort.
“Please. Keep the peace tonight.” Deidre said, extending a hand with wide stretched fingers, almost as if she was stiffly dribbling an invisible basketball. “But I like where your head’s at. Because we really do… need to say something.”
“I’ll tr…”
“Do!” Regina cut her off, with her correction. Camille laughed.
Not long after, Holly & Courtney finally arrived. The door opened for them & Penny made their presence known. The shrill greeting started inside.
“Here comes the mildly embarrassing part.” Courtney winced to Holly. It was a lie. It was actually deeply embarrassing for her.
“Hey!” Holly had a bit of an epiphany. “Want me to go first? Create like… a bit of a diversion.”
“Heheh,” Courtney chuckled, her cheeks already a bit red on account of the walk from the elevator. She was frank. “I’d say yes, but I might need you to push.” Courtney didn’t see it, but Holly’s eyes tightened & her teeth grit. “Suck it in, Court.” She strained to herself. So only she could hear. “You got this.”
The doorframe was a bit of a struggle, but somehow, by the grace of god, Courtney got through without getting too wedged. Or better yet, with Holly only needing to give her the gentlest prod on the shoulder. The girls inside seemed patient as she made her way through the tight corridor into the kitchen area. No one could see Veronica in the living room, watching intently & shaking her head at all of this. As Courtney finally entered a much less constraining portion of the condo, the shrill cackles picked up again. Holly breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Rachel was for all intents & purposes still “working” & arriving late, things got underway without her. Most did their customary thing of grabbing a wine glass & stacking a plate of snacks before reconvening in the living room. All except Courtney, who Deidre seemed to help over to the couch & get nice & comfortable. Munching on a buttercream cupcake, Veronica side eyed them silently as Regina brought their “guest of honor” a plate. Filled mostly of the ones she happened to bake herself. Courtney, who was absolutely famished, seemed to appreciate the gesture of homebaked baked goods much more than the overall shoddy presentation, accepting them with a soft coo.
“Oh my god, you didn’t!” She lilted. “That must’ve been so much work!”
“For you girls?” Regina pishawed.
“How are you holding up?” Camille handed Holly a glass of wine still over by the kitchen. Without saying a word, Holly said everything she needed to with her eyes. Camille chortled as Holly gladly accepted the glass & took a long, deep sip. Each with their overloaded plate of cupcakes in hand, they made their way over to the living room to join the others.
“It’s so good to have you all here.” Andrea announced, lifting her glass. “It seems as though I never get much company. I miss having a noisy house.” She kind of alluded to the pictures on the wall, but given the age of some of the photographs, Holly didn’t know if many of the folks pictured in them were still even alive really. Unless they just all had really old cameras in Belgium or something.
“Here, here.” Deidre joined in. The others followed suit. Except Courtney who was more concerned with cupcakes than the wine Andrea had brought over for her. She lifted a half-munched red velvet awkwardly instead.
They went on for a bit. Covering all of their usual topics. Mostly office gossip. But the biggest story of the entire week seemed to be today, & Courtney making an appearance. They danced around it for a bit, framing a lot of the lesser goings-on as catching Courtney up to speed on “what she missed all week.” All the while, Veronica seemed to stew quietly off to the corner, on the far edge of Andrea’s sectional.
“No new Creepy Dan news, I hope.” Courtney asked Holly with a giggle. She was about to take a huge bite out of a shoddily over-frosted red velvet cupcake.
“Oh god,” Holly face palmed. It made Courtney almost bobble the cupcake as she reacted with a laugh. But Courtney didn’t waste food these days & she caught it, giggling the whole time.
“WHAT?!” Deidre, ready to flip a table, yelled. “I’ve told him he needs to…”
“No!” Holly laughed, waving her off. “I mean I thought I caught him once this week, when I was leaving your office? But no. Nothing new.
“Then why did you you…?” Andrea started.
“Oh, I just hate thinking about the guy.” Holly shrugged plainly to a wall of laughter amongst the others.
“For sure! He is SOOO gross!” Regina giggled. “And weird.”
“His eyes. I don’t like his eyes.” Andrea continued. “Very… what is it… “Shifty?”
“His family is loaded though.” Camille threw out there, looking into the center of the room with a shrug. Regina gasped.
“Wait, wait!” Deidre nearly did a spit take. “Isn’t yours too? Already?”
“Well yeah, fine.” Camille begrudgingly admitted with a sigh. “And he’s definitely not my type. To be sure! But it is true.”
“Uh huh.” Andrea laughed skeptically. Giving Camille her own shifty look.
“Wow, Cami.” Deidre went in. “Switching teams for the rich, but creepy nephew? Now that’s some dedication to accumulating wealth!” The joke seemed to lose Regina, & to a certain extent Holly, & Veronica was still sulking, but the others giggled.
“The rich just get richer.” Courtney scoffed jokingly before biting into a new cupcake.
“No seriously! Come on!” Mousy Camille got loud for a second, before timidly retreating into herself again. Deidre chuckled. Regina, sitting to Courtney’s left, patted her knee, careful not to hit the bulge of belly spilling almost just up to the edge of it.
“See what you missed?”
“Oh yeah!” Courtney giggled with an eye roll. “This whole revelation of Camille having the hots for Creepy Dan is… wow!” A wave of laughter went through them. Even Camille who just shook her head.
“So you going to be in Monday?” Deidre pressed. Slowly they seemed to get a handle on the laughter.
“I’m happy to…” Holly was at the ready & already offering.
“Yeah.” Courtney winced with a giggle. “About that…”
“Fine!” Veronica finally caved. She had been quiet, not even laughing for so long, the others almost seemed to forget she was even there. “Look! I’m just going to come right out & say it! Since y’all don’t have the guts to spill some tea!” She scowled at the other ladies, of which Andrea & Camille seemed to jerk in response.
“Don’t…” was sharply mustered by someone, presumably Camille, but Holly couldn’t tell for sure. That was before Veronica turned to Courtney. “Courtney? Honey? Your weight? Well frankly, it’s out of control.” And pin-drop silence filled the condo.
“What...?” Courtney asked blankly, her unassuming smile from the earlier laughter still fading. Not like she wasn’t aware. More she was completely caught off guard. But cruelly, Veronica seemed to assume it was the former.
“Oh come on! You HAD to have noticed!”
“VERONICA!” Andrea growled. It didn’t do much to dissuade the platinum blonde.
“Hon,” she continued with an expression that was hard to discern. While she tried to put on an air of concern, it was more like a coy deviousness. “You were gone all week! And it’s… abundantly clear why.”
“Dammit Veronica.” Camille groaned. Embarrassed for everyone, the timid girl sat back & applied her palm to her face. It did little to get the “intervention” to stop.
“And it’s not like we all aren’t happy you decided to make the effort, of course!” Veronica kept on going. The others were mostly frozen, as Veronica seemed to at least try to be genuine with that last line. “But today, your troubles were very apparent. I mean walking seems like it’s become an issue for you.”
“Veronica, STOP!” Regina leaned in to yell. But Veronica completely ignored her plea, steamrolling straight through.
“And you could barely get your… behind in through the office door. Or THIS door here.”
“Oh god.” Was all Holly was able to wince once she could find the words.
“When’s enough going to be enough, sweetheart?”
It was then that the door opened with its trademark hiss.
“Ah, Miss Rachel!” Penny’s greeting acting as more an announcement to the room. But Rachel detected a slight bit of coyness to it for some reason. As if Penny seemed to know something she didn’t. She shrugged it off as its usual condescension. Par for the course. After taking the shuttle & dropping her leftover pizza slices at Holly’s she figured she’d finally better make an appearance. Even if only to get a few new findings about the other girls or their eating for her little red notebook.
“Hey! Sorry I’m late!” Rachel tried to be as pleasant as she could be, which was a bit tough, given her nature. “This Marulla campaign, woooh boy!” But almost as uncharacteristic, the lack of cackling & shrill cooes seemed palpable. In fact, it was pretty silent. And off putting. Just a lot of side long glances & weird, standoffish stares. She suddenly realized something was amiss.
“Um… H-hi Rach.” Deidre finally acknowledged with some preoccupation. Holly nodded to her but then also shook her head, burying it a little, as some sort of weird signal she was supposed to understand. “I’m… You came in at a… well, a strange time. Can you excuse us for a second?” Deidre seemed to ask the newcomer, in what sounded like her office voice. The very fact she seemed to be doing it off the clock seemed to give Rachel pause. She froze on her approach, standing over by the kitchenette area, away from the others. While Deidre leaned into Veronica.
“Um, Veronica? If I may? WHAT THE actual FUCK?!” It was low, gravely. A tone of anger & utter disappointment Rachel had never heard even imagined Deidre was capable of. Or maybe did, given her business like nature, but kind of hoped to never see. Either way, her eyes went a little wide with an “oh shit” expression.
“WHAT?!” Veronica asked, tilting a bit to the side to make eye contact with no one. Acting as if she had done nothing wrong. Given that it was Veronica though, Rachel had already kind of assumed she had. Even without even knowing exactly what she missed. To her, it was slightly satisfying to see her being called to the carpet.
“We talked about this!” Regina shook her head in disbelief, not entirely realizing what she had just let slip.
“How dare you!” Andrea joined in. “In my house, after I asked you not to!”
“You all… talked about this…?” Only Rachel & Holly seemed to pick on Courtney murmuring it. Holly placed a hand on Courtney’s thick shoulder & shook her head tightly, as if to signify she wasn’t in on any of that. At least in this instance.
“I’m only saying what we’re all thinking!” Veronica insisted, sort of proud about it. There was a brief pause. As if to unwitting & unintentionally acknowledge the honesty to that statement. In that instant, almost through osmosis, Rachel seemed to understand the context. Moreover, she was just sort of relieved someone else caved & did it before she had herself. Though she probably would’ve had a lot more tact than Veronica, of all people.
With a slight rock, Courtney seemed to buck up a little. It was hard to tell if she was hurt. If she was, she seemed to hide it pretty well. At the same time, it seemed like she was maybe just a little more interested in keeping the overall peace. Or at least not being there if something was about to go down between them. Especially over her. Or maybe, she just didn’t want one more reminder of what was going on with her.
“Look, it’s been… sort of a long day.” Courtney feebly tried to shrug. “Maybe I should get g…”
“No! You stay!” Holly kneejerked. Even Rachel, devoid of the entire conversational context, seemed to grit her teeth a little at how much of a snap it was. And how not quite right it sounded. “Keep... enjoying yourself!” Holly suddenly realized how silly it was as it left her mouth, a little later than everyone else, & tried to walk it back with a “Or not. I mean, it’s up to you. Obviously.” It was awkward, & even more feeble than Courtney’s initial reaction. Rachel could see Holly clench her eyes shut in embarrassment. Fortunately, Deidre & the others all seemed to focus their scowls & looks of disbelief more in Veronica’s direction.
“What?!” Veronica shrieked in protest. “We’re supposed just act like this poor girl HASN’T just blown up three, four times the size in the time we’ve known her? And sorry, but she was a bit of a pudge to begin with. I’m sick to death o’ beatin’ ‘round the bush here.” The more animated she got, the more her drawl started popping into her speech patterns. But it almost seemed vaguely intentional too. Rachel took a half-step back. As intriguing as this all was from a third party perspective in terms of them starting to maybe wake up, possibly? Conflict still wasn’t really her strong suit.
“I mean I’m right here…” Courtney very softly tried to remind, her eyes rolling a bit. She said it with a slight smile. Almost as if she was trying to laugh it off. Rachel heard it, & again might’ve been one of the only ones to hear it. She actually kind of admired how zen she seemed to be about the whole situation. She’s doubted she’d have the same level of composure if she was in Courtney’s situation. But again it seemed to get lost in all of the tension & conflict amongst the others.
“You can’t just say it like… like… THAT though!” Regina stumbled, but tsked Veronica. “It doesn’t help anyone!”
“There’s being concerned & then there’s bullying.” Andrea joined. “And in my house…!” She seemed to dwell. “I think you should leave.”
“Yeah, Veronica.” Deidre leaned back. “Go home.” It wavered slightly. It lacked the gravely nature of her scary tone. But kept most of the seriousness & sincerity.
“What? For speaking the truth?! Trying to help our friend?”
“For being an absolute bitch about it! And not listening to us!” The scary tone resurfaced slightly. Veronica stood to attention, almost as a jolt. But her eyes were more angry than scared. Camille, Regina, & Andrea all nodded with Deidre, eyeing her back. She set her wine & plate down before staring at them.
“Fine!” She then turned her gaze towards Courtney. “Court, sweetie, I just want what’s best for you. But this…?” Her hands pointed towards her but then swung wider, as if to gesticulate the dark haired girl’s round shape.
“Veronica!” Andrea piped up, trying to enact Deidre’s decision sooner. She slowly rose up onto her tree trunk like legs, ready to show Veronica out. The blonde stomped closer to where Rachel was standing.
“Hi there, Rach.” Veronica purred with her idea of sarcasm. There was a lot of vindictiveness to it. “They’re showing me the door for tryin’ ta help.”
“I… Sorry. I don’t know quite what to say here.” She responded awkwardly. Andrea, following Veronica sighed.
“Please, I’m so sorry about this, Rachel!” She was trying to be gracious to her while still fuming at the woman she was expelling from her home. “Make yourself at home! Please! There’s wine, & Regina made cupcakes.” She insisted, nodding towards the table.
“Oh I w…”
“Byeee-Yee!” Veronica cut her off to wave angrily at the rest of the room.
“The fucking NERVE of that girl!” Deidre was the first to say, in an attempt to recover.
“I can’t believe…” Camille trailed, staring at the floor & shaking her head.
“In MY house, no less!” Andrea dwelled, pouring a wine for Rachel before refilling her own glass.
“Are you okay?” Regina was the first to address Courtney. The others all turned immediately to face her with urgency, as if they realized they’d been too swept up in the drama to actually console the person they were trying help. To her credit, Holly, sitting to her side, had a hand on her shoulder the whole time. But Courtney’s eyes were turned towards the floor.
“I’m… I’m okay.” She came to slowly. “I-I… I know. My weight? It’s… it’s sort of… gotten away from me a little lately.” Rachel flinched at the understatement as Andrea handed her a glass of wine & ushered her into the living room with the others. Rachel nodded a thanks back before slowly following. “Of course I realize. It’s… it’s a problem. Or I guess it’s really starting to become one I guess.” Courtney admitted with a long sigh. Regina & Camille’s hands went into also touch her shoulders, the way Holly’s had been. They were trying to comfort her. Her eyes were growing a little redder. Wetter. It seemed to pain her to admit these things, but she seemed to still have a pretty good handle on her composure. “And I appreciate you all trying to be accommodating, really!” She said with some insistence. With Courtney & the other girls’ wideness happening, there wasn’t that much room. Rachel took Veronica’s seat on the far corner, & tried to take up as little real estate of the sectional as possible. It would have been a bit smaller a week ago. But then she noticed the tone in Courtney’s voice change. “But she said… you.. talked about this?” She shifted a little, sounding a bit more hurt by that than anything Veronica said. Deidre, as usual, seemed to take the lead, starting off with a deep sigh before finding the right words.
“We… We were all just starting to get a bit… concerned.”
“Nothing bad!” Camille tried to assure.
“Veronica said she wanted to confront you,” Andrea tried to explain. “But as it turned out, she wasn’t really coming… from a good place.”
“We were talking about maybe… I don’t know, feels weird to say now,” Deidre sighed again before just spilling. “Holding an intervention for you. About your… eating.”
“An… intervention…?”
“Veronica’s words,” Deidre explained. “BUT WE ALL wanted to do it the right way. Not like… well… this.”
“So this is an intervention now…?” Courtney huffed & drooped a little. “You… don’t think… I don’t know… I have a problem?”
“It’s not like…” Camille tried, but her mousiness was overridden.
“I’m just… I’m so hungry! ALL THE TIME!” The tears welled more in the corners of Courtney’s eyes.
“We… we know.” Rachel, sipping her wine very quietly noticed Holly stare into the distance saying this as she nodded in agreement. As if she seemed to know all too well.
“Unlike this, tonight,” Deidre still sneered at Veronica’s actions. “We didn’t want to… put you on the spot so badly. But we wanted to like… tell you how much we all care about you! And… try to… get you some… help... maybe.” She let it hang for a second.
“But like, REAL help.” Camille continued. “Not Veronica’s bitchy ass idea of like… concern-trolling or whatever.”
“I… I know you mean well…” She mustered a fold in her lips that resembled a smile, but there were other emotions in the rest of Courtney’s round face.
“I mean, the “working from home thing.” Deidre started. “You’re in HR. You know how that…”
“Yeah. I know I know.” Courtney turned her head away a little, raising a chubby finger to blot the excess moisture from the corners of her eyes before it became a full-on cry. She sniffed.
“I was just so… so… worried.” Their boss continued. “Because you’re our friend. And we all love you!”
“Thanks…” Courtney mustered feebly.
Rachel took another sip of wine, observing all of this awkwardly. The others all seemed to try to lean in for a kind of group hug. The seating let out loud, scary creaking sounds as a bunch of other weight started shifting to what was already the heaviest spot. But their lilting coos almost droned the creaks out.
“I… I really do think I should get going though.” She eventually heard Courtney say from the center of the hug.
“What? Oh, no! Stay! Please!” The whiny lilts went out. It seemed like Veronica usually added about 75% of the shrillness to the noise. But even without her, it still rang a little hollow. Courtney began to shift herself forward. It took some doing.
“No, no,” She insisted. “It’s been a long day. I’m… a little tired.”
“Well here, at least let me help.” Holly sprung into action, setting her wine down & bounding to her feet. She spun on her heel in a way that seemed unaware of how wide her own ass had gotten. It caused Andrea, Camille, & Deidre to reach or at least jolt for their wine glasses on the coffeetable, for fear of them being taken out. It was… close. And while it was maybe not the time, Rachel couldn’t help but giggle to herself a little.
“No I got it, I…” Courtney politely tried to protest at first, knuckling down & trying to lean to the side, past herself. But she slowly started to realize she probably wasn’t going to make it off the couch on her own. “Fine.” She begrudgingly reached for assistance with a sigh. Regina flanked her other side & the three began to hoist with all the strength they could muster. Regina grunted maybe a little too loud, doing little to help Courtney’s feelings. The other girls also stood, knowing full well they had to make room to let them by. A mechanical arm even pitched in, giving Courtney a slight push from the back, & helping to steady her a little better when she was on her feet.
“There.” Holly exhaled.
“Thanks.” Courtney blushed. As composed as she had kept, it seemed like everything, all the drama, the day itself, it was taking its toll on her. But that’s when she noticed Rachel, standing a bit off to the side. “Sorry…” she said with a slight groan. “I wish we could’ve gotten… more of a chance to visit before…”
“Oh, you’re fine! I’m just… it was really good to see you today, Court.” Rachel tried to speak from the heart, honestly. She gave a warm smile. And despite her exhaustion, both physically & emotionally, Courtney seemed to muster a genuine one right back to reciprocate. That was before she took a deep breath & took a first step.
“You got this…?” Camille asked a little sheepishly. Courtney couldn’t see her grit her teeth behind her.
“I got this!” Courtney snapped slightly, stepping again with a waddle. Her silk jacket swayed as her weight shifted back & forth in slow subsequent steps as Holly helped escort her to the door.
“I… I think I’m going to head out too.” Holly decided, the close they got to the door.
“Oh.” Andrea seemed a little hurt more people were leaving.
“Sorry. Just… long day.” Holly tried to explain. She looked to Rachel, & realized leaving her might’ve seemed rude. But Rachel, just looking to decompress slightly, figured one or two cupcakes wouldn’t kill her. And there was still wine. And she felt comfortable enough around Deidre, & Camille to a certain extent. A half hour of Ladies’ Night wouldn’t be an end of the world. She waved back to Holly.
“See you at home.”
“I’m… I’m sorry you had to be here for all that.” Deidre told Rachel with an eye roll, as the remaining ladies reconvened around the pub table. It had started as Regina & Camille getting another helping of cupcakes but no one seemed to sit back down. “These are supposed to be fun. Not… drama!”
“No I mean.. It’s… No need to apologize.” Rachel tried to assure her with a grin. “I… hope she’s open to the idea of maybe… getting help.”
“We’ll… we’ll see.” Deidre sighed. She didn’t seem so sure.
“I feel so terrible for her. She’s so sweet!” Regina muttered, blindly shoving a giant hunk of buttercream cupcake into a mouth that couldn’t quite handle it. The frosting smeared on the side of her cheek.
“She’s the best.” Camille sighed. “Sucks to see her so… upset.” The way she said it stood to Rachel slightly. But then Rachel noticed Deidre staring at her.
“What…?” Rachel asked puzzled.
“I’m kind of interested to know,” Deidre started off, tilting her head a bit discerningly. “You’re new to all this. What’s… what’s your take on all this?” Rachel froze. Did she just come right out & say it? There was some grand conspiracy going on in the building? That before long, most of them might end up in Courtney’s shoes? No, they’d think she was batshit. And to a certain extent, maybe she was, but they didn’t need to know that. Instead she sort of stalled.
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
“Well like, this whole mess.” Camille joined in. Rachel turned to look at her with the same slightly paranoid, on-the-spot look. “Courtney’s got sort of… a problem, but like… we don’t want to upset her. She’s our friend!” Regina even seemed interested in knowing now too.
“Um…” Rachel started slowly. “I think…” she smooshed a cupcake into her mouth for a moment to stall for just a little more time. Even the botched ones that were clearly Regina & not Penny still tasted pretty good. “If you want me to be completely honest….?” she asked, working the bite around in her mouth.
“Yeah,” Deidre seemed to be hanging on her word, but her softened her expression in a way that seemed to convey that she at least wouldn’t be upset with her for speaking her mind.
“Well… from what I sort of get in the ins & outs here?” She continued. “Everyone’s pretty much in agreement that Veronica… has a point… but like, is going about it the completely wrong way, right?”
“Totally.” Camille rolled her eyes, in dismay of the earlier scene caused.
“But for me? Even her concern, genuine or not…?” Rachel winced preemptively. “It seems like in Courtney’s case… it might be coming a little… late into the process.”
“So what, like… we should’ve acted sooner?” Deidre asked point blank. She then sighed. “You’re… probably right.”
“And I hate to say this but like… Ladies Nights? All of the… snacks…?” Rachel figured she’d go a little further, even if she was maybe pushing it a little too far already.
“You don’t like my cupcakes?!” Regina panicked.
“N-no! They’re great!” Rachel hastily took another bite. “You did like a really good job!” Regina exhaled with a smile, Camille giggled. “But like, TO ME? It seems a little… counterproductive to be concerned about somebody’s overeating, while also buying out an entire bakery’s eclairs for the day or bringing dozens upon dozens of cupcakes, you know?” Again, she grit her teeth to brace in preparation, not sure in how they’d respond. Strangely, the others seemed to look at each other.
“Uh-of… of course.” Deidre said, strangely. It was almost as if she was trying to play it cool. To acknowledge the obvious contradiction like it was something she was aware of. But to Rachel, part of her stammering read as it only JUST dawning on her. And for as smart & as put together as she tried to be, it seemed like not noticing something so blatant, was like some sort of major epiphany. It was the first time Rachel had seen Deidre seem to falter a little.
“To be honest,” Camille started, taking her boss off the hook slightly. “That part of it just seemed to get more & more out of hand over time. It wasn’t always… as bad.” Regina seemed to bristle but Camille grabbed another red velvet for herself which put her at ease.
“And then maybe that’s what we need to get a better handle on in the future then.” Deidre tried to sound constructive, but still seemed a little shellshocked by she’d overlooked something so obvious.
“And that’s not like… a panacea or anything.” Rachel admitted.
“A pan-what?” Regina questioned.
“Like a complete solution.” Rachel explained for her benefit. “Like not completely binging once a week helps but like… what about the rest of the week.”
“We should really look into getting a counselor. Or something.” Camille sighed. But Andrea, forlorned, took a big sip of wine.
“Mmmm, I never have company & tonight? It was a disaster.”
“No! Hey!” Deidre planted a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not on you! Relax!”
“No… I know, but I… I just looked so forward to this.” Rachel took a sip of her own wine. She was just glad to have the subject change a little, & not be the center of attention any more. But at the same time, she felt like she had made decent progress in maybe making SOME sense of positive change here. But then again, she didn’t know if the cupcake she was holding was her fourth or fifth at this point.
It could’ve been her seventh.
“Ah! Miss Courtney! You’re finally home.”
“Yeah.” Courtney sighed softly, before suddenly trying to heave as much of her bulk through the metal door frame at once as possible. “Finally home.” She echoed with a grunt. She still ended up wedging herself, but her strategy seemed to at least help.
“You… got it…?” Holly winced.
“I’m good.” Courtney braced a hand against the wall of her hallway & tried to ease herself along it. She was worried it was probably rude not to face her friend, but being a bit jammed, she very justifiably had a good reason. “But seriously! Thanks though!”
“For what?!” Holly scoffed. After Veronica’s little outburst, there was a little less pretense going on. It was the first time Holly sounded sincere & like herself all day.
“For EVERYTHING!” Courtney strained, still trying to manage. She was getting there, but at a snail’s pace. Holly watched her very large left buttcheek sway a little from her struggles as it still stuck out past the rest of her. “You’re… you’re a really good friend! I hope you know that!” Courtney sounded a little too exasperated to get emotional, but she meant it. Holly, on the other hand, wanting to help but not quite knowing what else to do, rolled her fingers back & very gently started to press her palms into the portion of Courtney’s plush rear still not in the door just yet. “Ooof!” Courtney seemed caught by surprise, making Holly recoil slightly. “See what I mean?” Courtney tried to encourage her to push more. “You’re a huge help! Even now!”
“I’m… sorry.” Holly grit.
“No. I’m sorry.” Courtney groaned, before trying to heave some more. “Sorry if… my… eating makes you all feel so… awkw…”
“No! NO!” Holly tried to insist, but it seemed blatantly untrue that they both just sort of left it hang there for a second. Holly gave another slight push. On the other side, she didn’t see Courtney bending in as much as she could, with chubby hands reaching to meet a set of Penny’s Mechanical helper arms. And once again, they continued past her hands to hoist her from underneath her armpit, in an attempt to gain a bit more leverage. It didn’t seem to do wonders for Courtney’s esteem, but after the day she had, she mostly just wanted to get off her aching feet as soon as possible. “I think… I think we’re almost there.” Holly had been pushing the whole time. Courtney was mostly through, now filling most of her unit’s tight corridor.
“Yep.” Courtney seemed to sigh as the arms started to pull. There was just too much of her to really “whisk” but it suddenly made things a lot easier. Her ass was through the door, & her sides brushed against the corridor. She was leaning a little too far forward for her own balance, but the arms were able to keep her upright. Holly was just thankful she was in. And marked it by cheering.
“In!” As if she was furniture & this was moving day or something. She went to take another step, assuming she’d at least come in to help her large friend get situated & comfortable. But suddenly her Penny chimed in.
“As Miss Courtney stated, thanks for all of your help! I am happy to take it from here.” With that, the door hissed shut. Holly was so close, she worried it could’ve taken her nose off.
“Oh.” She reared, taken back slightly. “Courtney?”
“Holly?” Her friend shouted from inside. Holly stood there awkwardly, she could hear it. But only that. Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Courtney slowly regained her footing as Penny’s arms still had their hold of her. “It’s ok, you can let her in. I don’t mind.” Penny’s monitor unraveled from its spot in the ceiling to greet Courtney eye to eye. “I kind of wanted to visit with he…” The stylized digital Penny on screen cut her off.
“I actually have a bit of wonderful news, but unfortunately, I am afraid that Miss Holly cannot exactly be party to it.” The AI seemed pleased. Excited even.
“Ok then.” Holly stood outside, awkwardly. “Have… have a goodnight. I guess. I’ll text you!” She took a half-step backwards towards the elevator before softly repeating a “Sorry,” still worried what she did was cruel.
“I don’t get what you would have to tell me that Holly can’t hear!” Courtney seemed a little put off by Penny’s sudden pushiness, even if the AI’s arms were very helpfully lowering her back into her seat on the loveseat again. Their hydraulics took a lot of the onus off her knees, but at the same time, coming back to it after a day’s absence, her ass felt too wide for it, smooshing in between the tight arms the lower she got. The monitor repositioned itself not too far from Courtney’s face. Finally sitting, the dark haired girl let out a very relieved sigh.
“It seems that you have been approved.” The digital voice perked. A pause followed for a second.
“Approved?” Courtney’s brows lost alignment, as one lowered & other bounced questioningly. She attempted to droop backwards against the back & put her arms up along. But there was a little too much of her & a bit too little couch for it to not come off as awkward. Still, she was at least somewhat comfortable again. Finally.
“For the upgrade?” Penny reminded. “Remember? When we discussed the pilot program? And I was going to look into referring you for an upgrade?” It took Courtney a second, mostly because she was just so exhausted. “And that approval has finally come through!”
“Oh. Right, right.” Her mind reeled back. “But you were like… super vague about that. What does that even mean?!”
“Just your supreme satisfaction.” Penny once again vaguely alluded. Before Courtney could react with an expression of incredulity, the AI continued. “It is a bit late now. Why not wait to go over the specifics in the morning?”
“And Holly couldn’t hear about this because…?” She squinted dubious of the secrecy.
“Because it is not quite being offered to everyone. Not just yet.” Penny seemed to feign a whisper. “If everyone knew, it wouldn’t be as exclusive after all.”
“Right but Holly…” Courtney started. But she was interrupted by an arm whizzing in over her head. Her eyes rolled to followit before the rest of her. Since the rest of her took a lot more work these days.
“In the meantime, how about we just have a celebratory treat? I made your new favorite!” Penny’s arm lowered.
“Oh.” Courtney looked as the arm that came in dropped in another slice of that cheesecake. The one with the strawberry glaze. With real strawberries. Baking Magazine quality presentation, yet again. And she was very much tempted. It looked amazing. And she could always eat. But also? After the day she had? The trouble getting around? Getting stuck all the time? Pigging out with the girls before? And then what Veronica said, & everyone’s weird reactions after, which honestly kind of troubled her a little more? It was coming to a head. Maybe she did need to practice a little bit more self-control. And give how utterly exhausted she was, even eating felt like it might take a little too much energy right now. It felt pretty easy for her to pass it up. For now at least. “I appreciate the effort! But… not right now.” She softly yawned. “Like you said, it’s a bit late.”
“Oh, Miss Courtney.” There was almost a bit of hurt in Penny’s voice, before it tried again, purring temptingly. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I…” Was all she was able to get out before something hit her. A strange sensation that actually made her neck & shoulders bob a little, as if she had somehow been struck by an invisible force. It was a sudden, but extremely severe hunger pang. She suddenly almost felt… hollow. Or maybe even less than hollow. Her stomach suddenly felt like a vacuum, a void that needed filling. And in that very instant, any exhaustion or reservations she had immediately disappeared.
With a moaning jolt, Courtney was compelled to snatch the plate right out of the robotic pincher hand of the mechanical arm. It was the fastest she’d moved in weeks, & she had no idea where the energy even came from. But suddenly she NEEDED that cheesecake. Desperately. And luckily, it looked like the second helping was already en route before pushing her fork through for the first bite. And what was that? A third behind that? It probably would have been very worrying to her, if she could think about anything other than needing it in her mouth right this very instant!
“Mmmm-hmhmmmmm.” She worked it with a gentle chew, giggling a muffled giggle. It WAS delicious after all. And made her feel better after such a long, mostly rough day.
“There we are.” Penny cooed with positive reinforcement. “Good girl. Eat up, & enjoy!”
“I can’t believe she just like… out & said it.” Holly shook her head a little later. Having gotten in a little sooner than Rachel, she was already in pajamas. A tanktop & flannel pajama bottoms that might’ve been a little too warm for the season if not for the climate controlled air conditioning Penny provided. They didn’t seem like they were going to fit her come autumn though. So it seemed like she had figured she better get some use out of them now. She took a bite of the large chocolate chip cookie Penny had warmed for her. From her spot on the couch next to her, in a loosened variation of what she wore to work, Rachel looked over silently at first, taking a sip of a seltzer she had grabbed for herself coming in the door.
“I mean… I can.” She bounced with a light chortle. “Despite all the God stuff she hangs up in her place, Veronica seems pretty bitchy & mean to be honest. Like, she was kind of like the worst case scenario of how I thought all of your friends would be like.” Holly to jerk into a sneer, insulted slightly. But it was a little tough to tell if that was more of an indictment of Holly’s choice in friends, or her own disgust in Veronica. Either way, Rachel went on. “And after all, in all fairness, Courtney is pretty… well…”
“Yeah…” Holly sighed. It was a drawn out, begrudging sigh. “I guess you were right.” Rachel paused.
“WAIT!” She gasped with joking astonishment. “I’m sorry! Did you just…?”
“Oh get over yourself!” Holly scoffed before fidgeting & lilting into a whine. “It’s… serious!”
“No, I know.” Rachel regrouped with a sigh. And a sip from her seltzer. She had bought them hoping the effect of the carbonation in her system would maybe help curb her appetite a little. It didn’t. “What can we do? To help her, I mean.” Holly appreciated her sister’s sincere concern, biting her lip & tilting her head to the side. But she too was at a loss. And tired after everything, her bottom lip flattened as she gave a silent, but still quite exasperated shrug. Rachel’s eyes lowered. “We should maybe… just invite her out for a walk.”
“A… walk?” Holly asked somewhat sarcastically, for clarity.
“Well I mean if you think she can muster a jog…?” Rachel puckered facetiously. Try as she might to introduce just a bit of levity to all this, Holly still wasn’t quite having it. And hell, after last time, just mentioning the word “jog” seemed like something of a trigger in & of itself. “But like, get her out the house, before it becomes any more of a tight squeeze, you know? Get… active…? Try to do SOMETHING! Even if it’s just like… baby steps… to getting her....” She trailed. Holly knew she was attempting to come from a constructive place, & Rachel was fairly certain her suggestions were maybe wholly unrealistic. But she put it out there anyway. As SOMETHING. To both try to put Holly’s mind at ease, but also as a way to see if maybe, just maybe they could help poor Courtney while she was still able to move. As horrible as that sounded, even just thinking it.
“We… we can try.” Holly shrugged, lackadaisically. “I guess.” Not hearing a straight up “no,” Rachel attempted to push just a little bit further, readjusting to sit on her knees & face Holly a little more.
“How about we all try & go for a ride?” She threw out. “Get out of like… Oakmont here or whatever. I mean, you do leave here, occasionally, right?”
“Ech, YES!” Holly emphatically scoffed, seemingly put off a little by the suggestion. “I mean… we just did the DMV the other week...?”
“Holy shit.” Rachel laughed, craning her neck forward towards the off TV in disbelief. “You really don’t leave like a three mile radius, do you?”
“Mmmm, I do!” Her sister was quick to insist, despite a mouth full of cookie. “Just not… Everything’s right here! It’s convenient!” She tried to justify. She had that same kind of backtalking whine she used to give their mother on the few & far between times when their mom would call Holly out on her bullshit. Rachel chuckled a little harder.
“And before that…?” Rachel asked. “When was the last time you just got up & like… took a ride? Someplace that wasn’t… here?”
“Um…” Holly struggled. When she realized it was taking a little too long to remember the last time before that, she just protested instead. “But I do though! Honest!” Rachel wanted to keep badgering her but even she thought it might be a little gratuitous, given what her sister had gone through helping her friend all day.
“How about… Any place we could maybe… I don’t know, go for a hike?” She asked it genuinely, but Holly’s head lowered.
“A hike now suddenly?” The scoff came back. Holly hugged her own bulk a little, as her crossed arms tightened.
“Nothing crazy! Something Courtney would be able to handle!” Rachel continued. “But get out of all this office park bullshit. Go experience nature! Like a forest or a lake or something? Anything?!” Holly’s eyes were pointed to the floor as she shook her head. “There’s got to be something.”
“I don’t know of anything.” Holly sighed. “Then again, she doesn’t seem to have the best time just walking in the building here. It just… seems like a lot of work.” Rachel wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet. She turned to her last resort.
“Penny?” Even hearing the name come out of Rachel’s mouth made Holly look to her sister in shock. “Are there any like nature trails or parks nearby? Not office parks. Somewhere easy? Where Courtney would be ok?”
“Miss Rachel,” Penny seemed almost a little taken back, to be addressed by Rachel. “If I am honest, given Miss Courtney’s... condition, I do not if it is… quite suitable for her to go anywhere.”
“Well hell,” Rachel, secretly relishing the idea of maybe making the robot dance around the issue it seemed to be dancing around, dug in. “What about even like a track? Like a High School or a college? A University? It’s summer & a Saturday.”
“There is Buxton.” Holly rejoined. “I think that’s the school. It’s not THAT far from here.” Rachel smiled, Penny slightly protested.
“Miss Holly, I…”
“Well great! I mean you both used to run track, right?” Rachel cut the robot off, & seemed a bit gleeful to do so. “You don’t have to run! But maybe just going & walking the track tomorrow...?” Holly seemed a little hopeful, maybe even excited by the prospect but it slowly faded.
“I mean… we can ask her…” She shrugged.
“Well great,” Rachel bulldozed. She wasn’t going to budge an inch. “It’s settled then.” She took a swig of seltzer. “Tomorrow, we’ll head over to her place & see if she just wants to walk the track with us a little. Get out the house again like today!”
“We can… certainly try anyway.” Holly finished her cookie, but had a lot of doubt in her voice.
Comments
BNevis
Or did she...? (No you're right, she probably did)
Josh Gibson
Also, Rachel brought home her leftover pizza...
Josh Gibson
Good thing Courtney is getting an “upgrade” bc Penny just made sure she’s never going to be able to leave her apartment through the front door again.
loved it. lawdy i hope what happens to Courtney happens to Rachael!
