chapter 6

The next evening, Mary stayed at home, analysing the data she had gathered the night before. She sent him the blurry images he had taken of her and then deleted them.
She uploaded all the pictures she had taken of him to her computer. She put some of them into a document and commented on how baggy his clothes were. Look at him hitching up his jeans because he couldn't get any more holes in his belt. She noted his hollow cheeks and chiselled jaw. He had dark circles under his eyes. His hands were so thin, his tendons were visible beneath the skin, not just his bones.
With his top off, he showed off his pigeon chest. every rib was visible. His collar bones stuck out as much as a starving supermodel on the catwalk. From the back, she could count his ribs and see his sharply protruding shoulder blades. His hip bones stuck out so much that it made his abdomen appear concave. His thighs were as small as some women's forearms. How he had the strength to stand at all was beyond her! There was no muscles in his arms. They went in where they should go out.
Then finally, there was that figure on the scales she had caught.
Seven and a half stones. Seven and a half stones! Many women would be proud of that figure, but he was an adult man of about five foot eight or nine. She guessed he should be at least three stones heavier, just to be healthy! She wanted him to be much heavier than that!
She tried to imagine his wrinkled sallow skin filled out. What would he look like then?

The shock of jim's weight came back to her throughout the day. He was so malnorished! He was starving himself. Africans in the middle if a famine would likely weigh more than he did!
No wonder he had got so drunk so quickly! The alcohol had gone directly into his bloodstream, there had been nothing in his stomach to absorb any of it.
No doubt, he needed many more drunken gaming nights just like that one.

Jimmy had enjoyed his night gaming with Mary. It was nice just to play with one person for a change, instead if a whole host of others.
Mary was keen to make it a regular feature and he was too. He was sure he could teach her so much about how to develop her character and how she ought to be thinking about outwitting her opponent. But he really should stop drinking so much.
Mary paid only as much attention as she needed to, to the games. She was outwitting her opponent at something much more challenging. After a whole month of weekly gaming sessions any plying him with drink, biscuits, crisps and chocolate, he'd gained only two pounds in weight. It was barely anything. maybe there was something physically wrong with him. Then she deduced there was. He was still starving himself the rest of the week. She had to make sure he got in even more calories!

She gave up her Saturday nights out to have a second gaming night every week.
On Saturdays, he didn't have the excuse of work the next day. She pushed his beer drinking to six cans in one night. She made sure he had plenty of snacks available and near to hand, then she would make mad passionate love to him and stay the night.
In the morning, she would make him a 'hotel breakfast'. She assured him it was THE best hangover cure. A full English. Bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes. It was full of goodness!
He would eat the breakfasts bleary eyed and lethargic, then go back to bed, still nursing his sore head, feeling a little less nauseous.
By lunchtime, he felt bloated and still a bit off colour. Mary had the perfect cure... more food!

After a second month, he'd put on only half a stone. There was only one thing for it! She had to move in!