Part 1:
It was cold, well of course it was; it was November in the Midwest. He stood at the corner looking smaller than his thin 6 foot frame because he was huddled into himself for warmth. It looked as if he'd raided his grandfather's closet: green tweed pants and a heavy, black, wool pea coat. No hat. No wonder he was cold. His ears were shining red against dark hair, but were only just visible as he'd pulled his coat up and tucked in his chin—all for warmth. Why wasn't he wearing a hat? So absentminded.
I stood watching him for a moment, just wondering: what would he say, would he say anything, what was going to happen? A stiff breeze seemed to smack him right in the face and as he turned from it, he saw me. What was the look on his face? His eyes burned like blue flames in the icy air, his cheeks were just as red as his ears. Otherwise his skin was perfectly pale. He was just as I'd expected. He looked nervous and I wondered what thoughts were streaming through his head. Then his eyes went wide and I knew.
He didn't move other than to step forward once, away from the pole against which he'd been leaning. Then he stood there, quiet, still. He hadn't even said hello. I smiled and walked toward him. It was a little matter of a few steps and we were standing together, face to face—or as near to that as we could get. He was 6 inches taller than I, but I was at least two feet wider. The bulk of my belly stood between us, the last gulf of distance to be crossed. His eyes were still wide and I knew he was thinking, "she is the biggest thing I have ever seen." His eyes met mine and I smiled. He grinned like he'd been caught red-handed and, finally, said, "Hello." I took another step closer.
We both stood for a second, smiling at each other, our hands in our respective pockets—to the average passer-by, we must have looked pensive and tense. Without taking my hands from my pockets I leaned into him; instinctively he bent toward me slightly. His ear was cold against my lips, but I didn't flinch. The fullest part of my cheek grazed his bony, slightly scruffy cheek.
"Hello, Andrew." I whispered into his ear. A pause while I slid my hands from my pockets and around his waist to the small of his back.
He trembled. The cold? Me? It hardly mattered. I stepped even closer, the length and girth of my body pressed lightly against his. With my lips still pressed to his ear, I couldn't see the movement he made, but I could feel it. He swayed back slightly and then righted himself, reaching out instinctively and getting, for his trouble, two hands full of my corduroy jacket and decidedly more than two hands full of the fat beneath. Again his eyes widened and he said nothing, but his grip grew tighter.
"Say it," I whispered, tracing his jaw line with my lips, down and then back up to his ear, "say it."
His hands became vice like, but his body sank into mine. A sound died in his throat. His jaw moved a few times before he half whispered, half stammered, "say what?"