Lovely Leah

I'd been going to the Stardrop Saloon more and more over the course of the fall, thanks to the upgrades I'd made to my farm. My first year in the valley, I spent so much time watering crops and then milking cows, collecting eggs, and so on, not to mention exploring the mines, that every night I was so exhausted I just fell into bed. But now that I had auto-feeders, machines to collect eggs and milk, and a sea of quality sprinklers in my field and greenhouse, I finally had the energy to socialize.

Pelican Town is a wonderfully friendly place, and I enjoyed the company of anyone who hung around the saloon—well, not Shane at first, but I got through that hard shell eventually. The person I really looked forward to seeing, though, was Leah.

She had a small cabin not far from my farm, and she made these amazing sculptures. Mostly wood. I remember my heart fluttering the day she showed up at my front door one early morning having lugged a beautiful, twisted-up carving as tall as herself all the way up from her home. That must've been quite an ordeal! I recall her panting out of breath, her skin glistening with sweat, and her trim, firm belly heaving in and out. She told me she had just finished this piece the night before and couldn't wait to give it to me. It was titled, "How I Feel About You."

That was not long after I'd really gotten into cooking and baking, and Leah had been an early guinea pig—and fan—of my efforts. I made all kinds of things, but her favorites were stir fry, vegetable medley, salad, poppyseed muffins, and anything with goat cheese. Once I started making wine, I would regularly bring villagers a bottle every so often—her more often. She kept telling me how once spring set in, we really ought to have a picnic out in the Cindersnap Forest, just west of where we both lived. I looked forward to it eagerly. Every second with her was so wonderful.

We lived very different lives, but we clicked so well. I was so happy to hear how her art projects were going, to try to wrap my head around whatever new technique she was working on or how her online store was getting off the ground. I suggested she do an art show in town, too, sometime. And she would always surprise me with how closely she remembered what I was up to on the farm, offering helpful advice on prioritizing my many parallel endeavors. I owe her a lot for how efficiently things ran.

That brings us back to the Stardrop Saloon. It was a cold mid-winter evening, a few days before the Winter Market. I finished my chores early and walked into town to grab a drink. I was pleased to see Leah there, and I went straight for her table and pulled up a seat. "Hey!" she said, flashing a radiant smile. "You're in earlier than I thought."

"Easy day," I said, returning the smile. "Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" I asked, suddenly realizing how uncomfortable I'd instantly become. I started shrugging off my snow-dusted barn jacket.

"Gus just got the heater replaced," Leah explained. She fanned herself idly with a menu. I noticed that her cheeks were flushed red. She wore a thick, oversized green sweater, her typical winter attire. "It wasn't working quite right since before you moved here, to be honest!"

"You probably don't need the sweater," I told her, with no ulterior motive whatsoever. If I'd known what I was about to see, though, I would've been more than excited to say it.

"Yeah, you're right," she replied casually, slipping the heavy wool garment over her head. She was wearing her usual light green crop top and suspenders underneath it, and as she reached over her head, the top rode up, exposing a generous portion of her belly. I froze in surprise. Pleasant surprise. How had I not noticed she'd been gaining so much weight? Her stomach had been flat as a board when I first met her, but now it was a soft, doughy little paunch. It stuck out over the hem of her jeans, which dug in sharply. I realized now that I had noticed her thighs getting a little thicker, her pants looking extra tight, but that bulky sweater had covered her up so well for the past season. I stared longingly at that soft, chubby belly, her deepened navel, and the little squishy sides that now gave her a genuinely curvaceous figure.

"What?" she asked, giving me a perplexed look.

"I, uh," I spluttered.

Just then, Emily came up. "Can I get your order?" she asked. It jump-started me out of my fat-fueled daze. I thanked her in my mind.

"Yeah, I'll have a beer and crab cakes," I said.

"Those are going fast, good choice," the blue-haired woman replied. "What can I get you, Leah? The usual?"

"Yeah, I'll get a salad," she replied then added, "But throw in a spaghetti. I'm super hungry for some reason." As she said this, to my jaw-dropping glee, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed a hand over her newly plumped stomach. "Ooh," she said, snapping my attention away from that belly again, "Or do you wanna split a pizza?"

"I didn't know you liked pizza," I said.

"I don't normally, but… I don't know. I could kinda go either way. What do you think, spaghetti or pizza?"

"Both," I blurted out, and I was so shocked that it had come out of my mouth I immediately choked. On nothing, apparently? Spluttering and coughing, I didn't regain my composure until Emily had already walked away. Dr. Harvey was eyeing me with a concerned expression from her bar.

"You okay?" Leah asked once I had regained my ability to breath.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Um, sorry, did you say something?" I asked weakly.

Leah grinned. "I said good idea. I can always pack up the leftovers."

"Yeah," I told her, "For those late-night carving sessions."

"Exactly."

As it turned out, there would be no leftovers. Leah and I got deep in conversation about our current work, and as we discussed the different uses of oak and mahogany wood, she scarfed down forkfuls of pasta and salad and slice after slice of pizza. Splitting the pizza meant I had two slices. She devoured the rest. At first, I was only passively noticing. Then I intentionally slowed down, curious how much she would pack away. I was not disappointed.

"Oof," she said suddenly. "I'm really full." She patted her stomach under the table, and her eyes got a little wider as she surveyed the table. "Did we really eat everything?"

"You… we did," I answered, playing it safe. I wanted so badly to peer over the table at her stomach, but it would've been super obvious.

Fortunately, I didn't have to. She leaned back again, and her full belly came into view. I felt my heart beating faster. She had bloated up so much. Her suspenders were tight over her swollen gut, and the button on her jeans threatened to pop off and take my eye out. She dug her fingers into the upper part of her belly, only making the lower part squish out further. "Agh," she moaned. "That was so good, but I'm stuffed." I wanted to suggest she unbutton her pants, but that didn't seem appropriate. If I didn't, though, they were likely to burst open anyway, I thought.

"Can I get you anything else?" Emily said, coming by.

"A second stomach," Leah joked. Emily's eyes got a little wider when she laid them on the other woman's rounded midsection. "I think we're good."

"It's early, why don't we have one more round?" I suggested, holding up my empty pint glass.

Leah breathed deeply but she licked her lips. "Sure. You have pale ale?"

"Thanks to your friend's hops," Emily said, pointing at me with her thumb. "The same for you?"

"Sure," I said, and she was off again.

"You're quite the town hero, you know?" Leah said, settling back down. Her stomach disappeared from view, but I could see just a sliver of bare flesh over the top of the table still.

"Just a simple farmer. Stewarding the land and all that," I joked.

One round became two after Leah enjoyed the first. I appreciated that it was my hops that'd gone into it. Then we got up to leave. All that food plus the two extra beers had bloated Leah's belly up tremendously. Her pants looked barely able to contain it, and she probably didn't need the suspenders to keep them up anymore. She struggled to pull her sweater down over her gut. "Oof," she said again as we stepped outside into the cold night. She put an arm around me, and we stopped. "Thanks. Tonight was fun. You mind waddling me home?"

I chuckled. "Of course."

We set off, slowly, passing the little cemetery. "Hey, you got any extra quartz?" she asked. "I've got an idea for a new sculpture. It's a little hard to explain at this stage. Conceptual, y'know?"

"Yeah, no problem," I said. "I've got a ton of it. I'll bring some by in the morning?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can come to you." She cuddled up a little closer. "Brr. It's cold."

I put my arm around her too, pulling her close. "Well, we wouldn't notice if—"

"If Gus hadn't fixed the damn heater!" she finished my thought. We both burst out laughing.

"Come after eight," I said, remembering how early she'd shown up with the wooden statue that one morning. "I'm gonna make poppyseed muffins. I'll give you a batch."

"Oh, I love those…" she said ecstatically. She hesitated, though, and we stopped.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's just…" she faltered, toying with the hem of her sweater. Even through the thick green wool, I could still faintly see her round belly poking out. It was so damn cute. "Well, it's embarrassing. Don't get me wrong, I love everything you make, but… well… I just, I'm just getting a little… fat." She blushed deeply.

I hugged her closer. "No," I said instinctively, denying the obvious.

She pulled back, placing a hand on her bloated tum. "No, don't lie. I saw you looking at me all night. You know I am."

"And?" I asked. "I was looking at you because you look great."

"Yeah?" she asked, smiling. "But what about now?" she asked, hesitantly pulling up the hem of her sweater to reveal her distended abdomen. "I'm a beach ball."

Before I realized what I was doing, I placed my hand on her stomach. I ran it along to her soft, warm side and gave a slight squeeze. She looked up at me, then stepped in closer, putting her arms around me. "You like my body, don't you?" It wasn't a question—a statement.

I nodded, and then she kissed me, long and earnestly. I felt her taut, full belly press hard against me. When she pulled away, she tugged her sweater down again and gave me a wink. "Well, I suppose you can make me those poppyseed muffins. Just make sure you bake enough. I'm a hungry girl."