Like Mother, Like Daughters (11)

“Have you noticed something different about Minnie?” Veronica asked as she relaxed deeper into her pedicure chair as a nail tech painted her toenails bright red.

Claire rolled her eyes from her own padded chair. “That’s a leading question if I’ve ever heard one.” She reached her freshly manicured hand out for another bite of shrimp cocktail.

Veronica shrugged and pressed on. “Well, have you?”

“No, I haven’t! And you shouldn’t be noticing anything, either,” Claire told her.

“So you have noticed?” Veronica continued, a satisfied smile on her face. “Denial is how we both ended up… well.” Veronica couldn’t bring herself to finish that statement, a little thrum of embarrassment drumming through her.

“Fat?” Claire supplied as she chomped down another shrimp.

“God, don’t say it so loudly,” Veronica murmured, as if avoiding the word would somehow make either of them thinner. “But… yes,” she sighed. “We’ve both gotten a little… heavy. And I’m worried it’s happening to Minnie, too.”

“I mean, even if that’s true–and I’m not saying it is!–why does it really matter?”

Veronica pursed her lips. Claire could be so insufferable sometimes. Of course it mattered. Not that she seemed to realize, stuffing her face like she was. Veronica was sure she’d put on at least ten pounds in their first week onboard. “It matters because none of us were supposed to end up like this. We were skinny once, not too long ago. Do you want Minnie starting to blow up, too?”

“Minnie isn’t going to blow up. We’re on vacation! So what if she’s getting a little thick. She’ll work it off as soon as we go home.”

Veronica winced. She’d told herself much the same when she first landed her food critic job. Any extra weight she gained could always be worked off at some later date that never arrived. She was sure Claire had told herself the same as she’d chubbed up on beer and university cafeteria food. And now here they were, bellies sitting in their plush laps, fat hips and well-cushioned asses spreading out beneath them, and very likely to get bigger by the time their cruise ended. “I mean, it starts as ‘a little thick,’ and then she’ll be too big to fix it.”

“So, what, you want to tell our skinny sister she’s getting chunky when we still have three weeks of our vacation left? I’m sure she’ll love being trapped on a boat with us after that.”

Veronica hated that Claire was probably right. But–“Isn’t it kind of worse if we don’t say anything?”

“It most definitely is not worse. We’re her sisters; we should be supporting her no matter what, not picking on her.” Veronica could hear the bit of hurt in Claire’s voice. Veronica felt a little bad about that; she’d been so hard on Claire, only to wind up in almost exactly the same place, if a few pounds lighter. “If you really can’t leave her alone, maybe just try to steer her in a positive direction. Keep her active, eating healthy–normal stuff. And remembering that we’re on vacation and none of us should be worried about getting a teensy bit chunky.”

The eldest Emple sister couldn’t argue with that plan. It seemed far more likely to be effective than just scolding Minnie–a tactic which Veronica had to admit had never worked once in their lives. In addition, Minnie couldn’t accuse Veronica of demanding she do something that even Veronica couldn’t manage. And there was the chance that trying to keep Minnie slim might even help the two larger sisters drop a little weight on their trip, or at least maintain their pre-cruise weights.

“You’re right,” Veronica said.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Claire said, cupping her hand around her ear as if to hear better and leaning towards her sister. “Could you say that again a little louder?”

“You’re right, and you’re the nicest of all three of us,” Veronica faux-grumbled.

“That’s right, and you should say it more often.” Claire finished off her shrimp cocktail. “Now relax and enjoy your pedicure while I figure out where we’re eating lunch.”

***

The next day, Operation Skinny Minnie was a go. Since the cruise was all-inclusive, they were able to plan their whole second week ahead of time, packing their schedules with excursions and activities, and making sure to book only the healthiest of dining options on the ship for meals.

The first day started with an early morning yoga class on the deck of the ship. All three sisters slouched onto the deck. Minnie griped about the early hour. “We’re on vacation, right? Shouldn’t we be sleeping in and relaxing?”

“We have a bunch more days to sleep in,” Claire said, far too brightly. “This is something we would normally never get to do together, so let’s enjoy it!”

They all grabbed a spot on a provided yoga mat, and for the next half hour were instructed through various poses. Minnie, always the least flexible of the three of them, kept mumbling through her teeth about how she’d rather still be sleeping. Veronica and Claire were both discomfited by the new limits to their flexibility. Claire in particular, who still thought of herself as a bendy cheerleader, couldn’t quite seem to get the hang of any of the poses. No matter which way she turned, there always seemed to be a bulge of fat in the way, thwarting whatever natural flexibility she still had. Her face slowly reddened with frustration over the course of the class.

By the time the class ended with them all flat on their backs in savasana, no one was particularly happy, and they were all starving. (Un)fortunately, they’d booked breakfast at a restaurant that served mostly smoothies and salads. “Oh my god, you’re going to make me eat rabbit food after all that? I was at least hoping for pancakes,” Minnie pouted as they sat down.

Claire and Veronica exchanged a quick look. Neither of them really disagreed with their sister–but that was why they’d gotten so flabby, wasn’t it? “I bet the oatmeal is really good! Not quite pancakes, but still hearty.”

They all wound up getting smoothies to start with. There was a make-your-own parfait buffet that Claire took heavy advantage of, loading up on sweet yogurt, fruit, and granola several times over the course of their meal. Veronica opted for a salad with her smoothie, only to regret it when she noticed after she ordered that the menu said it was over two thousand calories of sugary dressing and chunks of breaded and deep-fried chicken. Minnie ended up getting a second smoothie and making herself a massive bowl of granola and yogurt. Veronica tried not to think of the meal as a bust. We’re trying to build healthier habits; it doesn’t need to be perfect right out the gate, she told herself, while trying her best not to calculate the full caloric content of all their meals.

After breakfast, they left the ship on an excursion: a guided hike on the small tropical island the ship had docked at for the day. It was nearly three hours long, and more challenging than any of them had expected, given that it was listed as a “beginner-friendly” hike. They could hardly appreciate the tropical beauty around them or the guide’s narration about the island and its flora, fauna, and history. By the time the hike was done, they were all sunburnt, sweaty, and famished. With aching feet, they headed back towards the boat, only to be waylaid by the delicious smells near the port.

Hawkers had arrived, peddling all sorts of delicious things. Exhausted as they were, the girls couldn’t be bothered hauling themselves back onto the ship for their afternoon lunch reservation. Veronica knew it was the wrong choice to stay, given their plans… but how could she pass up shaved ice drowned in guava-flavored syrup, deep-fried seafood, and the dozen other delicious things on offer? It wasn’t like she got to take vacations like this often.

They walked from stand to stand, ordering according to their hunger, which only grew as they discovered more and more options. Once they were so loaded down they couldn’t carry it all, they found a place to sit and dug in, gorging on fried shrimp, plantains, yellow yams and saltfish, among far too many other dishes. “Fuck, this is good,” Minnie moaned as she shoved another bite of roasted goat into her mouth. They continued their exclamations about how delicious everything was in between asking to try a bite of this or that from a sister’s plate.

Right around the time they were all so full they weren’t sure if they could stand up, they realized the boat was about to depart. This required them all to break into a jog, clutching their stuffed bellies while they whined at each other about how someone should’ve been paying more attention to the time.

They made it onto the ship just under the wire, and waddled back to their cabin, each flopping down in bed, cradling their bellies. Minnie was particularly full. Once upon a time, she’d had the biggest appetite of all of them, and so she’d kept pace with her sisters unthinkingly. Now, her belly bulged forward, bowing out from her slim hips, rock hard and straining against her tank top.

“I’m never eating again,” Veronica moaned, followed by a burp.

“Amen,” Minnie agreed.

Claire said nothing, having hiccupped herself into a fitful nap moments earlier.