Ok, let me explain. These stories are not at all related, they don't connect. They are glimpses of the person before Hairspray, and why they act the way they did. Anywho, enjoy!
Edna Jean Bordain was, by far, a worrywart. Her family was full of free spirits, still living in the buzz of the Roarin' Twenties. Edna Jean Bordain, on the other hand, had chewed her nails to the quick by the time she had started school.
Edna Jean Bordain was curvy. By no means was she a skinny girl, but she wasn't fat. By the time she was in third grade her mother had driven her through the part of town where the Pinky family's store, the Hefty Hideway, was. Her aunt shopped there. Edna's Aunt Belinda was like a soft balloon, and very pretty, but little Edna promised herself she would never shop there.
In high school, Edna met Wilbur. He was a free spirit, too, but Edna liked him. For a long time, she smiled pretty and dropped hints with him. He never responded to her, until senior prom. Edna felt beautiful in her dress, and had commented to Wilbur that there was good dancing music. He shrugged, and Edna retreated to the bathroom, tears streaming down her cheeks.
It was there she stayed until she overheard someone saying he was looking for her to ask her to dance. Quickly, she composed herself and re-entered the dance hall. Soon after, she lost ten pounds to squeeze into a size ten white tube and changed her name to Edna Jean Turnblad.
Her husband, Wilbur, had a dream. He loved to make people laugh, and wanted to make a career of it. A nearby grocery store hired him, and they set aside money every week so that he could start the store, eventually. To help keep up with bills, Edna did the neighbor's laundry.
One day, she woke up with lower back pain. Deciding to ignore it, she went about her buisness, finishing her elderly neighbor's laundry. Her back started to hurt terribly. She went to the restroom, and, to her dismay, she had stained her underwear. It wasn't her time of the month, she was fairly sure, but there was nothing she could do but change her underwear and treat the stains immediatly so they didn't last.
It all happened at dinner. A sudden and striking pain filled her, and she kneeled over, clutching her sides. Wilbur panicked. After the pain did not cease, he walked her out to the car, supporting her. They reached the hospital in record time, where Edna was put in a room where another young woman slept deeply. Several tests occured, and none too soon, the doctor returned.
Wilbur was holding Edna's hand when they found out she had been pregnant, but had just suffered an early-term miscarriage.
After that, it all changed. Before, when Wilbur had Friday or Saturday off, they would go out to eat, maybe dance. Edna just wanted to stay in now. She had a constant bad taste in her mouth, and took to carrying hard candies in her pockets, and leaving them laying around so she always had one.
Everything came together three months later. There was a small store for sale across town, and they had saved enough for a down payment. The only downside was that Edna's clothes were becoming tight. Much to her dismay, the Pinky's Hefty Hideway's clothes fit better.
One night, she sat down and counted her dates. Her heart filled with hope. After consulting a doctor, she could confirm it. She was pregnant. This was a temporary need for larger clothes.
A brief disappointment, because the money going towards Wilbur's shop now had to go to baby expenses. But nine months later, they were blessed with a baby girl. Tracy Edna Turnblad was a chubby and gay baby, one that brought Wilbur unending joy.
Edna's baby weight did not go away. Neither did the sadness. Even when, a year later, they moved into an apartment with a joint shop, both ailments lingered. She went out less and less, taking on more and more laundry jobs.
The second miscarriage was the worst. Edna knew she was pregnant, had even told Wilbur. It pulled her down, pulled her in. She stopped leaving the house. Tracy grew into a beautiful (yet large) girl, and Wilbur danced with her while Edna sat to the side, chewing on her stubby fingernails, eyebrows drawn.
Tracy was a free spirit, truely her father's daughter. She had huge dreams from a young age. Edna felt out of place in her own family. She spent the days alone, thinking, wondering, and pondering about everthing. Soon, the temporary on the side laundry job became full time because Wilbur's shop didin't have a smooth start
Edna Jean Turnblad tried not to think about it. But she couldn't help but worry about everything.