The Love We Choose

Chapter 24

After she had finished the SAT prep lessons with her niece and nephew, Lynne found herself lounging in Julissa and Travis's backyard with a glass of cold lemonade and multigrain bagel. It was still early in the afternoon and she hadn't planned on heading home until the next morning, so she was enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.

Julissa, fresh out of the shower after returning from her exercise class, took in her sister's posture and announced the two of them were going to the mall. It had been ages since the two of them had spent any alone time together. Besides, Julissa was a clotheshorse who probably took in Lynne's oversized sweater and fraying jeans combination and had a mild heart attack just looking at her. The two grabbed their wallets, jumped into Julissa's bright red Honda CR-V and took off to the mall.

Three hours later, the two had put serious damage on their credit cards and amassed a considerable amount of filled bags. They had already dropped off their first hour's load of bags into the trunk of Julissa's car. Throughout the day, Julissa had tried to pick out several form-fitting outfits for Lynne that she had to deflect from buying since she would not be able to wear them much longer.

"Sorry Juls, but it's not my style. Plus, it doesn't go well with my conservative job's atmosphere." She told her sister as she put the plum, sheath-dress with the delicate lace overlay back on the rack.

"Don't give me that. You can still buy it and wear it when you go out. You'll need something for your next date, whenever you decide to drag yourself out of the funk that your break-up with Orlando left you in. Which, by the way, was three years ago. He moved on. So should you. Besides, you'd look hot as fuck if you put this on. Your tits look amazing these days, by the way. The support your bra is giving them makes them look tasty." Her sister remarked as she picked the dress back up and thrust it at her.

"First off, ew. I don't think you should be making advances at me, you old woman. Second off, why do you have to bring up old dirt?" Lynne asked, rolling her eyes. "And I'm not in a funk over Orlando. It was good riddance to bad rubbish in the end. But I'm not buying the dress, I don't need it," Lynne retorted as she put the dress on the rack with finality. "I have enough of what I need to update my wardrobe."

Julissa peered at the few tops that Lynne had picked up, "everything you have is a size-up from your usual. What's up with that?"

Lynne's brain froze as she tried to quickly come up with a valid enough answer. "Uh. Uh, well, it's embarrassing."

"Try me," Julissa told her sister, with concern on her face.

"Each year, I pack on at least ten to fifteen pounds during the holiday season. It tends to rest on my midsection and butt. Hence the buying bigger clothes."

"Hmm..I've never noticed it before."

"I am the master of creative dressing. Don't worry, I normally slim down come the summertime." This was indeed true, since she started working, Lynne's weight would fluctuate from November to March. The influx of baked goods plus stress of closing quarters combined with big donor events yielded the variance in sizes that made up her wardrobe.

"Okey-dokey. But you need to watch that, Lynne. You're not getting any younger and if that weight sticks on your small frame, you could have serious health problems in the future."

"I thought that Vinny was the doctor in the family," Lynne replied to her, gathering up her choices and heading toward the check-out.

"I'm serious, smart-ass. Being that we are the two tiny sisters that take after mom's side of the family, we are more prone than everyone else to the weight gain and complications that go with it. You need to take care of yourself."

"I am. I am. I still do my sunrise yoga, go to Zumba, and I'm looking into a few other fitness classes to switch things up a bit. Now, in the vein of taking care of ourselves, let's get something to eat after this. I'm at the 'drop' part of 'shop till you drop' and am positively starving."

"I concur. Food sounds great, my treat."

"Oooh. Aren't you feeling magnanimous today? Ha!"

"Watch it, baby sister. I can rescind my offer in a heartbeat."

"Apologies, Duchess. Your humble servant begs forgiveness." Lynne added a sweeping bow in front of the cashier to accentuate her point.

"Hmm..you're lucky you have caught me in a gratuitous mood or I would make you carry all of my bags."

"Even my humbleness has its limits," Lynne told her with a laugh, handing her card over to the cashier who had released her own chuckle at their banter.

Bags in arm, Julissa and Lynne strolled through the mall on the way to the food court catching each other up on the details of their lives.

"I keep grinding my teeth in my sleep. I'm waking up with my bite block on the bed next to me. So I think it is safe to say that my body is a little bit restless these days."

"Lynne. You have to learn how to relax, babe."

"I will, eventually. Ooooo, let's go get soba!" Lynne exclaimed as she crossed the food court toward a Japanese-style restaurant.

"Why not? It's cheap, fast, and hot!"" Julissa remarked as she trailed after her baby sister.

"Just like you!" Lynne called over her shoulder.

"Bitch. That's it, no longer my treat. Lunch is on you," Julissa declared, pointing a ruby-manicured nail at Lynne.

"Ok, I definitely brought that upon myself." Lynne said with a smile as she held the door open for her sister.

XXX
A/N:  Don't forget to like, comment, and share with your friends!  See you next chapter for a visit with Dr. Ulias.