Seeds of Tomorrow

Eleven

Krist hated when Atira had to go out of town, not only because he was insecure but because he liked having her around and would miss her, even if it was just for two days. So it was just him and the kids, which was fine, they were cool though.

Krist was typically pretty strict about routine, chores, eating healthy, and the like overall but on the days Atira would be away, he would let them veg out, eat shitty food, play video games, and watch movies. Jeordie would come over and kick it, not that he and Krist didn't chill on the porch most nights as they lived across the driveway from one another but they definitely smoked a significant amount more weed when Atira was out.

His weed smoking bugged her but she had accepted that was something that came with the territory of being his wife so he tried to not get hella ripped around her. When she was gone, he would get hella faded and take bong rips with his buddy and occasionally Rocco. When the kids were younger, he obviously didn't blaze but they were all pretty much teenagers who were self-sufficient so he didn't need to do much beyond being physically there.

That night, the takeout food flowed. It was a smorgasbord of McDonald's and pizza for the boys, sushi for Audrey, followed up with a DoorDashed order of Baskin Robbins....and that kind of eating was how he ended up with a dad bod. He wasn't hella fat, just heavier than he'd been. His chest, shoulders, and arms looked good but he had a belly going on.

He was out on the porch with Jeordie who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned, hairy paunch exposed for all to see.

"Anyone ever tell you that you look like Dale Gribble?" Krist snort laughed.

Jeordie patted his gut, eyes low, and laughed, "Anyone tell you that you look like fat K-Fed?"

The two burst into snickers like they did when they were young.

"Bro, I ain't even kidding but my fucking gut was slapping Atira's ass last night, it sounded like balls but that was all this," he pointed to his lower stomach, tears rolling down his face.

"Welcome to the club," Jeordie howled with laughter.

"Fuck, bro, never in my life would I have thought that shit would be happening to me. I need to start hitting the gym for real."

"I probably should too. Since Cami lost all that weight, she's at the gym every day, she wants me to go but I'm lazy, dawg," Jeordie told him.

Now Cami had been thick/bigger since high school. She ended up getting a gastric sleeve in Mexico and lost hella weight, to the point she was unrecognizable. She was always cute, it just sketched Krist out to see her look so drastically different.

Her surgery had been a rare point of contention between her and Jeordie, they were a couple who had seldom fought but the prospect of Cami losing the weight had brought out a surprising streak of insecurity in her husband. He was worried she wanted to change her appearance to leave and tried to convince her that she needed to stay how she was.

Cami didn't take shit from anyone, telling him that she cared more about her health and having a longer lifespan than she did about his insecurities. While she was metabolically "healthy" as in her cholesterol was good, A1C was good and blood pressure was fine, the fact she was nearly three hundred pounds and approaching forty scared her.

She wasn't going to let him stop her from getting healthy and got the surgery. In the year since she had gotten her sleeve, she had lost close to 150 pounds. She raved about her newfound energy levels. Cami had become a gym rat, going daily with Atira after work, the two took yoga classes, and spinning classes and went bike riding while Krist and Jeordie sat on the porch with their dumpy ass bodies.

Rocco stepped out on the porch, gave his father a pat on the head, and sat down on the front stairs, "You gonna let me hit that?" He asked nodding in the direction of the bong.

Krist clicked his tongue, "Get the fuck outta here, bro!" He chuckled.

Jeordie passed it to Rocco, who scrunched up his face at his father, "And that's why Jeordie is cooler than you," he teased.

"Shit the fuck up," Krist laughed.

"How are things going with your girlfriend?" Jeordie asked.

Rocco shrugged, "Good, she's still grounded so I only see her at school and I'm pretty sure her parents hate me now."

"Just go apologize and say it won't happen again," Krist suggested.

"That's embarrassing, no."

"Probably your best bet," Jeordie said.

"And stop sneaking in her window," Krist pointed out.

Jeordie laughed, shaking his head at Krist, "Oh like you weren't doing that stuff at his age."

"I can honestly say I never snuck in or out of anyone's window," he told him, "Never had to."

"But you snuck in Atira's," he pointed out.

Krist pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows, "Dawg. I went on through the front door. Her parents weren't home," he corrected his friend as though it were better, "Her room was on the second story anyway."

"Oooohhh, you snuck into Mom's house?" Rocco asked, raising his eyebrows before taking a bong rip.

"Yup. Pretty much got caught in the act by her mom. You think having Evie's dad see you climb out the window was awkward, imagine getting caught in the...well, you know.

Rocco tried to choke out the word "Gross" between coughs.

"It was all bad. Her parents didn't like me anyway and that was the final straw I guess and sent her off to her aunt."

Jeordie took the bong from Rocco and sat it on the small table to his side, "That was such a fucking overreaction," he said, shaking his head.

"They sent her away?" Rocco asked, still coughing.

Krist nodded, "Yup, I know they had their reasons, even if it didn't make sense but they sure the fuck did. I guess it was meant to be though."

"You think you and Mom would have still been together if they didn't?"

"Hell naw, I was a fucking dipshit like Mark back then. She'd have bounced in a heartbeat."

Jeordie scoffed, "Bro, you were way worse than Mark, don't downplay."

"Ok, when I was with Atira I wasn't," he argued, "After she got sent off, I got worse."

"Was she who you got pregnant?" Rocco wanted to know.

"Naw, told you bro, that was a completely random chick."

Rocco clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, "Jeez dad, you worried about me when you were out slutting around," he teased.

"That's what I keep reminding him of," Jeordie said shaking his head, "Look at you as a teenager and look at Rocco. He ain't nothing like you."

"And I hope to keep it that way," Krist countered.