Like Mother, Like Daughters (13)

Oh my goodness, we're getting some actual, genuine conflict between these sisters! And on top of that, it seems like Veronica has found a way to make Claire hate every possible kind of exercise. I'm sure that's not going to bite anyone in the ass later.

Also, Patreon just introduced a new feature that I'm pretty excited about: collections! I'm going to work on getting my content a little more organized so it's easier to find things. Here's the new collection for Like Mother, Like Daughters, so you can find all the chapters in one place. If you have a suggestion for a collection you'd like to see, especially one that would make it easier to find your favorites, let me know!

***

It was the final week of their vacation, and long-suffering Claire was finally at her breaking point.

She was currently strapped into rock climbing harness that was digging into her belly and thighs something fierce, dangling from a rope as she scrabbled for another artificial handhold. Meanwhile, Veronica was down on the ground acting as Claire’s belayer, and offering “helpful” suggestions about what move Claire should make next. Claire was doing her best to try and ignore her sister and enjoy herself. It wasn’t like she got a chance to try rock climbing every day, and certainly not in a fancy cruise ship climbing gym.

The reality was, though, that Claire would much rather be lounging by the pool and enjoying the last few days of her vacation. She had the upcoming school year to think about, and graduation, and her whole life after that, and felt she deserved a little time to relax before real life set back in.

Instead, she was sweating, plump arms trembling as she dipped her hand into the pouch full of chalk dangling from her harness to try and make it easier to grab onto… well, anything. She was barely halfway up the wall and already desperate to be done with it. Meanwhile, other climbers who had arrived later had skittered up more difficult routes with ease and then bounced down the wall while their belayer cheered them on from the ground, only to start up another climb.

She stretched an arm out for a handhold again, finding her target just barely out of reach. She grunted and stretched, feeling sweat drip down her temple as she held herself up with one arm, toes barely perched on a tiny ledge. (She tried not to worry about whether it would hold her. That was what the harness was for anyway, right?) Meanwhile, Veronica was calling up to her to “just stretch a little further!” She wasn’t even adding a kind “you’re almost there!” or anything—just ordering her around. If she’d just shut up right then, Claire might’ve let it slide, but no—she kept trying to backseat drive, telling her how to move, and all with the condescension of someone who thought they were just so much better than their fat sister.

“I’m TRYING, Veronica, if you would just SHUT THE FUCK UP for a MINUTE.” The words were out of her mouth before she even realized, far louder than she intended, and she clapped her free hand over her mouth, barely registering that she had just pressed a white chalk handprint to her face. The entire climbing gym was dead silent for a moment; she could feel eyes crawling over her. She was embarrassed, but also pissed that she’d even been put in this situation. She hadn’t even chosen this activity!

In fact, she hadn’t gotten to choose any activities for the last two and a half weeks because Veronica had steamrolled her way into controlling everything. Claire had wanted to talk a moonlit sailing excursion, complete with a fancy four-course dinner and bottomless champagne. She’d wanted to talk leisurely walking tours at some of their stops. She’d wanted to sit on top of a pool floatie with her ass in the cold pool water, sipping a frozen drink and enjoying the sunshine. But every time she’d brought any of this up, Veronica had suggested something “challenging,” reminding both her sisters that this cruise was really a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and that they didn’t want to waste it. As if enjoying themselves while not sweatingwas a waste.

“Fuck it,” she mumbled under her breath. “I’m coming down!” she said, loud enough for Veronica, who was still standing in stunned silence, to hear her.

“You’re not even going to finish? Claire, you’re already halfway—”

“Did I fucking stutter, Nic? I’m done.” She remembered what the instructors had taught them about what they should do when they wanted to get down. “On belay?”

“B-belay on,” Veronica replied, keeping the rope connecting them taut as Claire pushed back from the wall with her feet and bounced down.

Veronica, for her part, was more than a little hurt by Claire’s outburst of rage. Her irritation grew as she struggled to hold the rope attached to her enormous baby sister and keep it from slipping through her hands too quickly. She was only trying to help, and all Claire could do was whine. So at the last moment, when Claire was only a few feet from the ground, she let her worst impulses get the best of her and loosened her hold on the rope, sending Claire’s soft bottom to the mats on the floor with a smack. “Ow! What the fuck, Veronica? Did you really just dropme? Are you really that petty?”

“Sorry, you’re just so heavy,” Veronica sniped. “That’s why we were supposed to spend the afternoon rock climbing, because you’re turning into such a fucking hog.” Veronica felt like they were children again, arguing over pointless bullshit but unable to stop herself.

“Because of me?” Claire laughed, the sound a little manic, her harness jingling as she struggled to first disconnect herself from the rope tying them together, and then had to fiddle with the buckles and straps tying the harness around her waist and thighs. “I’m sorry, whose clothes did you ask to borrow this morning because you’re too fat for all the athleticwear you brought on this trip? Don’t get all high and fucking mighty when you’re wearing my shorts, asshole.” She was finally able to undo the last buckle and drop the harness to the floor with a clatter. “If you could calm down for five seconds and stop freaking out about putting on a little weight, we could actually have fun on this fucking cruise we paid thousands of dollars for, but instead we’re all miserable in this gym that smells like feet!”

It was at that moment that Minnie finally showed up. Neither of them had been able to wake her up that morning, and she had managed to escape Veronica’s latest torture. She was wearing one of Claire’s dresses, and it looked odd on her—too loose around the belly and bum and too tight in the chest, too brightly colored. “Oooh, what are we fighting about?”

Veronica immediately tried to control the situation and get Minnie on her side. “Claire’s being completely ridiculous. I set up time for us in the climbing gym and got climbing lessons and everything, and she came, voluntarily, and now is bitching about how she doesn’t want to be here.” She crossed her arms and threw in an eyeroll for good measure.

Minnie raised her eyebrows and looked at Claire, who was still absolutely fuming. “She’s been trying to keep us all ‘active,’” Claire said, with finger quotes and her most mocking tone, “because Veronica is terrified she’s going to have to admit her new career is giving her a big, fat ass. And I guess she thought it was a good idea for us all to try and get skinny on a cruise. Because that’s what cruises are known for—helping people shed all that awful fat.”

Minnie laughed at that. “I mean, Claire kind of has a point. And now that we’re talking about it, you guys both have gotten… bigger. Like, before the cruise but also during the cruise. Whatever you were trying to accomplish with all the activities and whatever, it doesn’t seem like it’s working.” Minnie had a smug look on her face, as if she wasn’t at least 30 pounds heavier than she had been before they walked onto the ship.

Veronica was apoplectic, but shouldn’t have been surprised: both her little sisters had always ganged up on her in fights. “God, you’re both awful. We always talked about how we would neverget fat, but we’ve all been absolutely disgustingon this trip. I’m the only one who’s been trying to do anything about it! You’re practically a blimp, Claire. By the time we leave the ship, we’re going to have to roll you off.”

“Jesus, Veronica. Let’s say that’s true—which it’s not, you’re being fucking ridiculous. Why is that your responsibility? Why does it matter so much to you if I’m fat or skinny?”

“Because it just matters!” Veronica said, stumbling over her words. “Do you wantto look like a fucking pig?”

“What, like our mom, you mean?”

Minnie nearly whistled when Claire threw down that gauntlet. Man, if only she had some popcorn. This was getting spicy.

Claire continued. “Ask yourself this: has Momma ever been unhappy with her weight, or at least said so to us?”

“How could she not be? She’s massive, Claire! And you’re, what, only two hundred pounds lighter than she is? You’re bigger than she was at your age! Are you seriously saying you’d be okay being fatter than Mom?”

Claire paused for a beat. That was a real thinker. It was one thing to be fat and (far) on the wrong side of 200 pounds. It was another thing to be the size of their mother, who none of them knew the exact weight of but who had always been their barometer for truly gluttonous, almost fantastically-proportioned fatness. And it was still another to not only achieve that size, but surpass it. “I think I would be,” she finally replied. “Better than being a diet-obsessed bitch like you.”

“You’re impossible!” Veronica shouted. “You’re just being a fucking contrarian.”

“I’m serious, Nic, I’d rather be the size of a house than end up as bitter and afraid of my own body as you are.”

“You fucking—”

“Okay, let’s pack it in!” Minnie said, stepping slightly between her sisters. “I think we’ve put on enough of a show for everyone here. Let’s cool off, and maybe talk this out somewhere else…”

“I’m not talking about shit,” Claire said, stomping off.

“Yeah, I don’t think we really have anything more to discuss,” Veronica said, slowly unbuckling her own harness.

“Right…” Minnie was conflicted, not sure whose side she should take. Veronica was completely out of line, but seemed much more discomfited by the whole argument and like she might need Minnie around more.

On the other hand, Claire was probably about to go eat her feelings…

Minnie’s stomach growled a little—she’d slept in too late to have an actual breakfast, just a few little snacky things from one of the buffets right before it closed—and that made the decision for her. “Nic, I’ll check in with you in a bit, okay? I’m going to try and, um, help Claire calm down. So we can sleep in the same cabin without killing each other, and everything. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Veronica answered as she gathered up Claire’s harness to return to the gym’s front desk.