chapter 3 helene continued

Helene could barely stand three hours later when they reached the outback station. One of the ranch hands had to lift her out of the truck and take her to her room, which was one of many above the stables. They let her rest, then Brigitte went to see her with something to eat.
Helene still felt weak and a little feverish. Maybe she was coming down with something?
Brigitte explained the nearest doctor was back in Alice, which was three hours away by road, but they could call out the flying doctor, who could be here within the hour. Helene played her illness down. She could not be that bad because she was still hungry! Nevertheless, she was so feeble that the fork kept dropping out of her hand.
So Brigitte fed her, mouthful after mouthful. First there was beef stew and dumplings with sliced potatoes and carrots - double the standard serving size. This was followed by a Black Forest gateau. Andy had bought it back in Alice and kept it safe in the cool box. Helene had already had sufficient to eat, but she did not want to cause a fuss. Brigitte had already been so kind to her. So she kept eating, until Brigitte thought she’d eaten plenty. The three big slices of cream, chocolate cake and cherries sat heavily inside her, on top of the beef stew. She didn’t understand. Normally she did not overeat. Why was she suddenly so greedy?

In the morning, physically, she was no stronger. She had tried to get out of bed on her own to go to the toilet, but her legs collapsed underneath her and she ended up peeing on the floor. Brigitte came to see how she was doing, bringing a hearty greasy breakfast that was enough to keep three people going all day.
Once again, Brigitte fed her until she was stuffed full and could not possibly eat any more.
Two of the female ranch hands helped her to wash and dress, then half carried her to the kitchen in the main farmhouse, where someone fed her to excess all day.
Helene had never eaten so much in her entire life! Yet, no matter how round and hard her belly was becoming, she still opened her mouth for more.

It took Helene a week to get the power back in her limbs. Every day, she had overeaten to excess. Now she felt fit and well, but her belly had expanded somewhat to take in more food. It expected to be fed.
It had only been a week since she left Darwin, but her new clothes were already too tight around her middle. She didn’t care. What she did care about was satisfying the gnawing hunger inside her. She didn’t want to be filled with healthy salads either. She enjoyed eating stodgy foods laced with butter or fat, followed by a stodgy pudding, served with extra sugar and cream.
She felt slightly guilty. They had all been so good to her here. She was going to have to work hard to pay them back for their kindness. She guessed she could be working here for a whole month just to pay for her train journey. So far, no one had mentioned what her working responsibilities would be. How much was this excessive food costing them? She might be working here for six months to a year to pay all that off! She thought it best to keep quiet about not doing any work. She was enjoying her gluttony too much!