The Weigh to Happiness

Chubby Bunny

Felix had to smile as Hannah gave the waitress a shy look and then ordered half the menu as if that was normal.

"And a coke, please." Hannah finished, folding up her menu.

"Are you sure you don't want a diet coke?" Felix asked playfully, passing the waitress his menu.

Hannah's cheeks turned pink, and Felix was glad she didn't look upset at his joke. It had popped out before he intended, but she just smiled shyly as the waitress walked away. "I've always wanted to order like that." She admitted. "Everything just sounded so good. I couldn't decide. I think when you restrict yourself from something, make it taboo, it seems even better than it is."

Felix laughed. "Even I've never ordered like that before."

Hannah laughed but then that hesitant look came back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ordered so much. I didn't mean to waste so much--"

"We won't let it go to waste." Felix promised, shifting his weight on his chair, hearing it groan beneath him. "Do I look like I let food go to waste?"

Hannah's eyes lit up as she laughed and she gave him an appreciative once over. "No, definitely not."

When the waitress brought two plates over Hannah looked momentarily panicked but Felix just smiled. "The pasta over here, the garlic bread for my friend."

He lowered his voice when the waitress left to grab the next part of their order. "Are you okay with stuff being in front of you?" He asked, suddenly worried that his tiny friend was going to lose it. "You don't have to eat anything you don't want to, but I don't think everything is going to fit over here."

Hannah nodded seriously. "Yes. I think I'm okay." She inhaled deeply. "Do you think there are calories in smells?"

"No." Felix said, though he had no idea. "There aren't any calories in smells. Otherwise you'd only ever see fat cooks."

"Isn't there a thing about trusting fat cooks?" Hannah asked, but she didn't seem too concerned.

"You can trust all fat people." Felix said, starting in on the pasta. "The only lying we do is lying down."

It was a silly joke, but Hannah smiled anyway. "Can I try a bite?"

"Of course." Felix said, thrilled that she was going to eat anything. "Have as much or as little as you want."

Hannah examined his plate for the smallest possible ravioli and snagged it as the waitress brought over two more plates.

"Oh." Hannah's cheeks turned an adorable pink at being caught with a piece of ravioli but she didn't seem too upset. "Can I have the shrimp and my date will have the fajita?"

The waitress complied and Felix had to smile. Date. Hannah called me her date.

"So, do you have brothers or sisters?" Felix asked, smiling as she swallowed the ravioli.

Hannah shook her head. "No, it's just my Mom and I. My Dad passed away when I was younger."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize.--"

Hannah shrugged as if it didn't matter, but Felix could see the pain in her eyes. "It's okay. I know I'm lucky to have such a great Mom." She glanced at Felix, and pushed the garlic bread towards him. "I think--I think maybe that's where all of this started."

Felix picked up a piece of the bread. "With your Mom or your Dad?"

Hannah looked thoughtful for a moment. "Both, I guess. But I don't think it was their fault." She paused, and Felix ate quietly, not pushing her to share more than she wanted to.

"When I was a baby I was chubby." Hannah said, almost to herself. "Not fat, not anything abnormal, just an ordinary chubby baby." She smiled and picked up a piece of shrimp on her fork as the waitress squeezed two more dishes on the table.

"My Dad used to call me his chubby bunny." Hannah admitted, smiling at the memory. "I lost the baby fat as a toddler but he still called me his bunny."

"That's cute." Felix told her.

Hannah nodded, slicing her shrimp absentmindedly. "It was. I loved when he called me his bunny, even though I knew it was short for chubby bunny." Hannah pushed the fries towards him.

"Did your Mom call you bunny too?"

Hannah shook her head. "Sometimes, but mostly my Dad." Felix ate silently as Hannah put a paper thin slice of shrimp in her mouth. "When I was twelve my Dad died. Car accident."

"I'm sorry."

Hannah smiled sadly, her eyes on her fork, seemingly lost in thought. "I don't really remember a lot of stuff from around then. I remember just feeling numb."

Felix nodded, not protesting when Hannah slid a full plate onto his empty one.

"I remember getting ready for his funeral." Hannah took a deep breath. "I wanted to wear this really pretty dark blue dress he'd gotten for me. It wasn't black, but it was dark enough and it was special because he'd bought it for me." Hannah frowned. "But when I tried it on it was too tight."

"Oh." Felix hesitated, not sure what to say.

But Hannah just continued, seeming like she needed to get it all out. "I mean, he bought it when I was ten, so it made sense that it wouldn't fit, but it--" She broke off, shaking her head so Felix reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

Hannah smiled sadly. "I had no appetite, but at the funeral everyone kept trying to get me to eat. Just try this. Eat something. Have a bite." She wrinkled her nose. "I just couldn't do it, and the more they insisted, the more determined I was to not eat."

Felix nodded, watching as she put another tiny slice of shrimp in her mouth.

"And then my Mom called me bunny and--" Hannah broke off, her voice catching on the word. She looked down at the table, her voice becoming small. "I don't know. I've thought about this a lot, I guess. Like, sometimes I feel like if I can just figure out why I'm broken I can fix myself."

Felix smiled, fingers squeezing. "You're not broken." He pointed out, earning a genuine smile from her. He looked down at the mostly empty plates in front of them. "I think I might have broken some world records here though." He joked.

Hannah smiled, looking at their plates. "I think you're right." She looked at him shyly. "I know I didn't eat much, but.... I really enjoyed this."

Felix smiled, finding her hand on the small area of free space on the table. "Me too. I think our second date is going pretty well."

Her eyes lit up again and she squeezed his fingers as the waitress returned. "Do you want dessert?"

Felix wasn't sure if he could eat any more, but he was willing to try if that was what she wanted.

Hannah seemed to be eyeing him up, trying to decide if she could squeeze another bite into him, but then she shook her head. "Just the check please."

"I've got it." Felix said, already holding his card out.

"No, I'll pay." Hannah insisted, grabbing her bag.

The waitress left them to grab the check, a stack of plates in both arms, but Felix was firm.

"I did most of the eating." He pointed out. "I'll pay."

"I enjoyed watching you eat." Hannah insisted. "I'll pay."

"Watching me eat is free." He laughed, touching his distended belly. He handed his credit card over as soon as the waitress returned, and Hannah watched quietly until the waitress thanked them and left.

"Thank you, Felix." Her voice was soft and hesitant. "I'll pay for our third date."

He nodded, finding her hand again. "I might make you regret that." He joked.

But Hannah smiled, both of her slender hands on his fat ones. "I'm definitely not going to regret it."