Page 5 of Milk
“Yes, of course,” I said evenly.
“So, we will use the time to secure all the additional materials. That leaves us the option of tomorrow at five?”
“Tomorrow at five, yes. I can do that,” I said.
“Thank you for your understanding, Agent Auble. Sunshine Sanctuary appreciates it.”
“Of course, that’s no pro-”
She hung up on me. I didn’t have time to get mad. I jumped up and down in joy. I felt the weight of my large breasts bouncing uncomfortably. I was wearing a tight sundress without a bra, lounging in the comfort of my home. Why shouldn’t I celebrate my victory? But as soon as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I stopped and frowned.
I looked at my reflection. My vitiligo spots were visible across my arms, my cleavage and my neck. The width of my very wide hips, thick thighs and pudgy stomach were also very obvious,pushing against the black and white striped dress. I should have loved my body the way it was, but whenever I looked at myself in the mirror, all I could do was remember all the awful names that I had been called due to my weight or my skin condition. Not to mention the few failed attempts at romance I had before giving up on that altogether. It was a shame, too, because I felt like I had a beautiful face.
My quick foray into dating websites taught me that any picture I cropped below the neck tended to attract a lot of attention. As soon as the same men who were eager to meet saw me in person, most of them would just walk backwards out of the door without saying a word. That became too painful to deal with quickly. I had set my sights on a higher cause than getting laid. And I’d just scored a big win.
My insecurities could wait. This was more important.
I called Jason to share the news. His phone only rang twice before he picked it up.
“Guess who got in?” I said, not even bothering with our usual small talk.
“Got into what?” he asked, “What are you talking about, Tiff?”
“I’m talking about Sunshine Sanctuary. I got in!”
“Shut the front door!”
“Well, hopefully, they’ll open it!”
He laughed out loud. Jason was the only one that made me feel remotely good about myself. Well, he and Wren, before she vanished from the face of the Earth. I even stopped going to the grocery store her family owned after she was gone. I felt bad for it, but Wren was the whole reason I went. If I was going to get glared at anyway, I would rather go to the local superstore.
“How did you swing that?” He asked.
“A really scary e-mail, a fake FDA badge and a lot of bluffing,” I answered.
“Wait, are you impersonating a Federal Agent? That’s a crime, Tiff. Afederalcrime.”
“It’ll be fine. It’s just for the tour. I’ll get the pictures I need, give them a false passing grade, and vanish from the map,” I plotted. “Then we’ll take those bastards down.”
“Just be careful, okay?”
“Oh, of course, Jason. Just relax. I’m not infiltrating a Scientology compound,” I laughed but sensed that he would need more than that, so I added, a tad bit more serious, “I’ll just go in, get what we need, and get out, okay? I promise I won’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“Okay, okay. Gosh, I can’t believe you got in. That’s amazing.”
“I know!”
“Sunshine Sanctuary!”
“I know!” I repeated excitedly.
“When are you going?” He asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“That’s not a lot of time.”
“It’s not. But if they have time, they’ll hide whatever they are doing wrong. We gotta surprise them, so they make mistakes,” I said.
