A New Dawn

I

Idalia huffed, batting a stray coil of her hair out of her face. The metallic clanging and raised voices from the kitchen echoing in her ears as she waited for her table's order, eyes watching the LED screen that hovered above the heated food line.

It's too damn hot in here.

  Her shirt was sticking to her back, the sensation slightly uncomfortable. She fiddled with her uniform for a few seconds before just deciding to leave the huge oven she and a few other servers gathered in.

"Hey Anais, you mind keeping an eye out for my table's food? I need to cool off." Idalia looked at her, her big brown eyes begging her best friend of seven years to relieve her of the stress that is a busy restaurant kitchen.

  Anais, an average height dark skinned woman, nodded her head, waving her hand.

"Yeah girl, I got you."

  Idalia blew a quick kiss in thanks, and hurriedly turned the corner out of the kitchen. She loved Anais. She was more than a friend, and more like a sister. Despite Idalia dropping out of college after her freshman year, she and Anais remained close friends and communicated everyday while she continued her schooling.
   Anais was beautiful, to put it simply. Her dark brown skin with golden undertones, her hair which was locked and usually kept down unless she was at work, and her smile, most of all. Anais was naturally slim, her body toned and cut in all the right places.
Her body was everything Idalia wished she had.
   As Idalia made her way to a cooler area of the restaurant, out of her table — and the camera's — sight, she quickly pulled her phone from her back pocket and unlocked it. The wet material of her polyester shirt began to irritate her skin.

"What're you up to later? I was wondering if I could come over." A text read.

   Idalia couldn't help the small leap her heart did once she saw who the text was from. Jonas.

  He was her.. boyfriend? Friend with benefits? She wasn't sure, honestly. He never really formally asked her, but they did all the things normal boyfriends and girlfriends do. Jonas was Idalia's first "real" relationship, all the men before him being just hookups with nothing to ever result from them. He treated her well for the most part although he sometimes went a day or two without speaking to her. It bothered Idalia to some extent, but anytime she'd think or even attempt to bring it up he'd woo her — buying her flowers, bringing her to nice restaurants, things of that sort. Oh, and he'd fuck her. Most times were the latter.
  However, she'd made it up in her mind that the next time she was able to get ahold of him, they were going to discuss what exactly they were.
 
  "Sure," Idalia texted. "I get off at 6."

  "I'll be at your place at 7." Jonas, not surprisingly, quickly texted back.

  Idalia smirked and hummed to herself, responding to his text with a thumb-up emoji.

"Idi, your food's ready!" Anais said as she quickly passed her friend, a heavy black tray of food on her right shoulder.

"Thank you!" Idalia shoved her phone back into her pocket and grabbed a serving tray, taking one final breath before rushing into the muggy kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   It was a quarter till seven.

   Idalia studied herself in the foggy bathroom mirror of her single bedroom apartment.

   Idalia worriedly chewed on her bottom lip as she hesitantly removed her bath towel, quickly averting her eyes from the mirror before she could see her naked body.

   God, this is so embarrassing. She thought. I hate this.

   Idalia's brown almond eyes slowly made their way back to her reflection, starting at her thighs and turning to the side to look at her bottom.

   Massive, dimply things. She thought. If my ass was just a little bit smoother, I'd be throwing that shit everywhere.

   Idalia read somewhere that those who suffer from self-image issues should take five to ten minutes to look at their reflection, to study themselves and note the things they find appealing. This, however, proved to be a difficult task for her as the minute a part of her body gained her attention, she immediately had an insult to throw at it.
   "This exercise sucks," she muttered to herself, eyes rising to her stomach. A part of her she hated the most.
   Idalia was what society — and herself — deemed as plus sized. She was nowhere near thin or fit, a reality she reminded herself of often. Too often. She was happy that social media gained a newfound love for people her size, or at least pretended to.
  Idalia was not the conventionally attractive plus sized girly. As envious as she was of those body types, she accepted that she was the complete opposite. Her stomach was not flat, not in the slightest. She slowly placed one hand on her apron belly, the other right above, and lifted her stomach.
   "I can't even see my damn bellybutton," she chuckled humorlessly, rolling her eyes before raising towards her breasts.
   Now, these she had some pride in. Idalia's eyes twinkled at the site of her pierced twins. They were small for her body size, sure, but she absolutely loved the sight of them. Her dark brown nipples contrasted nicely with her rich caramel colored skin.

   Yeah, these babies are to die for. She smiled to herself.

   Finally, her eyes landed on her face. Idalia felt that her face was quite nice, despite her body. She had a round face, the freckled apples of her cheeks prominent, especially when she smiled. Just like her thighs, her left cheek had the faintest trace of a dimple. Idalia gave herself a healthy smile in the mirror, noting her straight, white — they could be whiter, though — teeth, and the dynamic dahlia dimples on the sides of her mouth. She dropped her smile, watching the natural shape her lips formed. She stopped herself from tilting her head, inspecting the darker brown skin of her top lip and the same color that bordered the perimeter of her otherwise lightly pink colored bottom lip.

  I wish they were a bit fuller. Like Anais'. She bit the inside of her cheek, as she shook her head.

   Bitch, you're supposed to be appreciating this. Why're you nitpicking one of the few things you actually like about yourself?

   Another part of herself that Idalia actually liked was her nose. It was wide and freckled like her cheeks, a feature she was proud of as it reminded her of Nanny, — Mary Alice — her maternal aunt who basically raised her as she had no children of her own.
   As she adjusted the L-shaped stud in her right nostril, she sucked her teeth in admiration at the beauty mole that sat beside her left nostril. Idalia had her flaws, but what she could appreciate about herself she always tried to take the chance to.
  After giving herself one final look over and lightly picking her out her kinky hair, she quickly dressed.

Jonas will be here soon.
  
   She giddily slipped on her cutest underwear and matching bra set, layering them under a pair of high-waisted shorts and a random cropped OutKast graphic tee.
   Right on time, she heard a quick rap on her apartment door.
   Nearly stumbling as she slid on her house slippers, she made her way to the front of her apartment. Idalia took one deep breath, adjusting her shorts and primping her hair before opening the heavy door with a bright smile.