"Would you like any desert, sir?" Our waiter said politely.
	I smiled at him. "Sure. Bring the tray."
	Clarise smiled at me. We were sitting in a booth in the back of her favorite restaurant. She was tall and slender, sporting no less than four separate colors in her fur. She had definitely received the better portion of our gene pool; my own fur had always been two shades shy of white all over my body. She licked her paw and drew her fingers through her whiskers, leaning forward while she did so.
	"Are you sure you should have desert?" she whispered across the table.
	"Why not?" I said, perplexed.
	"Well . . . you've put on a bit of weight lately."
	I stole a glance downward, toward my stomach. She was right. My tummy had rounded out recently, peeking out from the bottom of my favorite red knitted sweater. My paw involuntarily stole down and squeezed a soft roll of furry flesh. I WAS too plump.
	I looked back at her, seeing that she was gritting her teeth, afraid she had hurt my feelings. She did, really, but she was my sister, and was worried about me. I forgave her, but couldn't help feeling vulnerable and self-conscious.
	"Perhaps you're right." I replied. I shook my head at the waiter as he walked towards us carrying a desert tray. He gave a half-hearted smile and turned around again, going back into the kitchen. Clarise was kicking herself for bringing the subject up, I could tell, but we both know it had to be said. I paid the check, and we left shortly thereafter. She gave me a hug and promised lunch would be on her next week. We left gong in opposite directions, she feeling terrible about what she had said, me feeling absolutely wretched for letting myself get so tubby in the first place.
	I had always been in a constant battle with my bulging paunch, which was the source of a bit of teasing from the other mice in my grade school years. I rubbed my head, wondering why I hadn't called it to my own attention before this. I was so fat I had difficulty seeing my feet as I walked. I guess I just didn't want to think about it.
	I stopped at a traffic signal, waiting with the rest of the crowd for the perpetually red light to change. From somewhere off to my left, I heard a voice.
	"Glenn, is that you?"
	I turned around, noticing the woman who said it. She was a rather tall mouse, with a killer physique and obsidian black fur, save only a tiny patch near her left ear. It took me a second to remember her name.
	"Nila?"
	"It IS you!" She squeaked, coming up to stand beside me. The light had turned green, so most of the crowd was filing beside us. We stepped out of the way.
	"Where have you been all this time?" She asked me, obviously more excited to see me than I ever expected her to be.
	"Here and there. Wow, its great to see you. It's been a long time since high school. I never thought you would have remembered me."
	"Oh, of course I do."
	We reminisced for several minutes after that, mostly high school stories. But then she nervously glanced at her watch.
	"Listen, I am running late." She said, her eyes staring at the ground.
	"Well then, I won't keep you. It was nice to see you again." She repeated a similar goodbye, and I turned to leave.
	"Wait, Glenn?"
	I turned back.
	"Do you have plans for dinner tonight?"
	I almost laughed. "Nila, are you asking me out?" I said mockingly. To my surprise, her nose twitched and she had a look of pure despair in her eyes.
	"As a matter of fact, I am."
	My heart leapt into my throat. Nila, who had for all those years loomed like a titan in my wildest dreams, was actually asking ME out!
	"I'd love to," I said, almost stuttering with shock.
	Her eyes flashed another emotion, this one of supreme delight. She scrawled her address and phone number on a scrap of paper.
	"My place at eight?"
	"Sounds great," I said, trying to keep my cool exterior but not succeeding. She gave me a smile I would have killed to see in years past.
	"Great. See you then."
	
	It was exactly the kind of ego boost I needed. For the rest of my walk to the tailor, I felt extremely giddy. Gone was the shame I had felt when Clarise had said I was too fat. In its place was the kind of excitement only a young man with a date with his dream girl could feel.
	I entered the tailor's office. Richard Ozu was a good friend of mine, and he brought me back almost immediately.
	"My my." Richard said, looking at me.
	"What is it?"
	"You have fattened up considerably."
	My spirits fell immediately. Richard was quite a rotund mouse, with a belly that protruded quite a ways in front of him. His chubby cheeks formed cute dimples when he smiled. Even though he was still by far the fatter of the two of us, I still felt bad by his remark. I feigned nonchalance.
	"Yes, I do need to diet off a few pounds." I said, patting my tummy. I hoped the ripples it sent across my front weren't as noticeable to him as they were to me.
	"Well, just don't get as fat as a bumblebee, like me. Well then, what did you need that I can get for you?"
	"I need a new waistcoat. I have to go to a formal party my sister is throwing next week."
	"That's fine. I do need to measure your waistline. Why don't you take off that sweater? I am just going to go to the other room to fetch my tape measure."
	I removed the sweater and dropped it on the floor. My reflection in the mirror was not what I wanted to see. I rested my paw on my big, round, soft, well-fed belly. Then I pushed inward, feeling the rolls of fat cover my paw. Glenn, I thought to myself, you are too fat. As of this moment, you are on a diet. I removed my paw, and my tummy returned to the expanse of off-white fur.

	I arrived home an hour later. I wasn't feeling any better, as my waistline measurement had increased substantially since my last visit to the tailor. I marched straight into the bathroom and once again removed my sweater. I knew the best way to get into the right frame of mind would be to scold myself in front of the mirror. The image was just as disheartening as it had been at Richard's shop.
	Just then, my roommate burst in. He was rather short, and was covered in sort of mangy light brown fur. It gave him an outdoorsy rugged look, something that kept him with a fresh supply of interested female mice.
	"Don't mind me, I'm running late." He said, grabbing his toothbrush and beginning to brush.
	"Dan?"
	"Yes," replied as he turned to me, his words garbled by his quickly moving brush.
	"Do you think I am too fat?"
	He spat before answering. "Actually, yes, you are too fat. You really put on weight these last few months, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to make you feel bad, but now that you ask, I really think you should get back to the gym." He poked my tummy twice for good measure.
	I frowned. "Well, thanks for being honest, at least."
	"No prob," he said with the toothbrush back in his mouth.

	It was fifteen minutes to eight, almost time for my date with Nila. I had taken the bus across town. I was dressed rather nicely, and she had promised dinner at her place. I stole another glance down at my stomach. You're still on a diet, I told myself.
	She greeted me at the door, smelling of lavender and giving me a sisterly peck on the cheek. I relished the sensation of her whiskers brushing against mine.
	She gave me a quick tour of her apartment. It was lavishly furnished, with an excellent view. We sat on the balcony sipping plum wine for a while, and then a timer went off in the kitchen. She beckoned me in to sit at the table, while she brought out a steaming plate of fettuccini alfredo, generously slathered in sauce.
	My mind screamed at me to only eat a tiny portion. Mustering all the willpower I possibly could, I somehow managed to refuse seconds.
	She gave me an inquisitive look. "I'm sorry. You don't like it?"
	"Absolutely not. It was exquisite. I'm just on a diet."
	"Whatever for?"
	That was the last reaction I expected. "Well, I've gotten a little pudgy lately . . ."
	"Yes," she said, scooting over into my lap. My heart was racing. "I think it is incredibly sexy." She pushed her paw into my stomach. "If anything, I would want you to plump up a bit."
	That was all I needed to hear. I polished off the rest of her extravagant meal.

	I rose and proceeded to the restroom. It was dark in Nila's expensive apartment, so I flipped the switch for the light. My place was always so close to the street there was never a shortage of light.
	I looked at my tummy again, this time with pleasure. So nice and soft, I thought, grabbing two big pawfuls of it.
	I stood in front of the mirror for another few minutes. Nila came up behind me and gave me a squeeze around my chubby midsection. "Come back to bed, butterball," she said sleepily. I smiled and complied.