Chapter 2

…and there I was, hiccuping while trying to swallow little sips of water at a time. Everything tasted amazing, and it seemed like someone was constantly spooning additional helpings onto my plate. I could have protested…said no thank you…said I’m full….or left it on my plate untouched. But instead I pressed on, eating more in one sitting than I typically would eat in an entire day. Struggling to breathe I thought to myself “I’m so stuffed” and suddenly became alarmed…why on earth did I do that? Why didn’t I stop after the first plate? Or even the second? Everyone else was chattering on about the next holiday, cleaning the table and I was just sitting there, glassy eyed, holding my glass of water in one hand and feeling the dome of my belly with the other. It was soooo tight, pressing out in front of me, stretching the button hole of my pants to it’s limits. I glanced over at one point, thinking I should probably help clean up and I swear I saw two of my cousins quickly look away from me and exchange a look. Oh my god, was everyone aware of what I had just done? Then suddenly, over my other shoulder came a huge piece of cherry pie, landing right in front of me from Cheryl…”Here you go, first slice lucky lady!” It looked massive. What am I supposed to do with that? I’m way too full to even think about it. I don’t even - then came the dollops of whipped cream on top of it. You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s enormous. But it looks picture perfect, is it even real? I should at least try some and not be rude, looking around everyone else had a slice and were edging their forks into them. And so did I, just a small one, just to taste it. It was truly heaven, my all time favorite desert and it was pure perfection. I savored that bite, so incredibly good. Maybe just another little taste. And another. Another. Discussions started about the job market how tough it is, interest rates, Ukraine, while I methodically cut one bite after another and slowly watched it disappear. Yep, you guessed it, eventually it was gone. All of it. Along with my water, and apparently my self control. I sat there actually amazed that I was able to fit that in my body considering the discomfort and fullness that I had before it. Which was now a feeling of utterly and ridiculously stuffed. I had literally stuffed myself. I put my hand to my mouth to cover up a small burp,which felt amazing. What the heck is wrong with me? I am going to have to work for days to make up for this evening. Eventually I stood up, cleaned my place and helped put things away, all the while letting out small burps and trying not to hate myself. Finally at the end of the evening I was able to get in my car and away from the food. The drive home was short but felt like an eternity as I drove along, completely confused and feeling Iike I could explode at any minute.