Arriving at the party only fifteen minutes late, Mary found it to be already well underway. There were about twenty people crammed into her friend Jeremy's loft apartment. Drinks and snacks were spread on a long table, and several party-goers were dancing in front of the booming stereo.
Mary was quickly greeted by her friends Kristen and Jeremy.
"There she is!" Jeremy said, delighted. Mary was frankly surprised to see him as happy as he was that she showed up. His verbal invitation to her the other day in the office seemed rather casual, and the two of them hadn't gotten to know each other very well outside the workplace. However, with his wavy brown hair that nearly covered his ears and dazzling blue eyes, Mary couldn't help but have a slight attraction for the man.
Kristen seemed to be enjoying what Mary guessed was spiked punch. "I told him you'd come rain or shine," she smiled. "Guess he doesn't think it's a party until the two of us get here!"
Mary managed an uncomfortable smile in response. Maybe she was getting mixed signals from the two of them, or maybe she was just making the whole thing up in her head. At any rate, all her thoughts about a possible relationship with Jeremy had distracted her completely from her udder. That is, until--
"Ew," Kristen said jovially. "Have you gained weight? Look at that cute belly!" She obviously had noticed Mary's unnatural bulk underneath the sweater. Her comment wasn't meant to be rude, though Kristen had a way of stating the obvious to an embarrassing degree.
Mary blushed, tugging the waist of her sweater further down, though none of her udder had become visible yet. It seemed that tugging it had made the swelling even more noticeable, however, and she quickly let go.
Jeremy had a puzzled look on his face, and Mary wondered if it was disappointment. "Anyway, girls, I hope you have fun tonight," he said before walking off to mingle with a few more arrivals.
Kristen instantly began shooting her mouth off. "He wouldn't stop talking about you," she said with a hint of surprise and jealousy. "If you ask me, he's probably had his eye on you for weeks, waiting for the opportunity. Lucky you. But my advice would be to get some Weight Watchers, fast." Her eyes returned to Mary's "stomach."
Mary blushed again, at once flustered about the news about Jeremy and also about how she was going to break it to him that she wasn't completely human anymore.