Chapter 3 - making progress

It was November and Piper became increasingly snared in Scott's web of tricks. For one, she increasingly relied on M & Ms for emotional comfort, which was helped by Scott keeping the candy dish freshly stocked. In addition, she was starting to drink alcohol on a weekly basis; she usually had 1-3 per week. The addition of alcohol was particularly effective as it caused Piper to indulge in the more of the junk food that Scott was slowly sneaking into the house.

Despite this progress, actual change in Piper's weight was slow going. She had lost some muscle definition from her lack of exercise, but she still appeared thin and fit. With her newly formed habits though, Piper was sure to put on weight in the coming months. However, Scott still felt the need to remind himself that he was a fighting a war, not a battle.

The next phase of Scott's plan involved increasing Piper's stomach capacity, which, with the upcoming holidays, was a very realistic goal. Scott figured that she might benefit from a primer to make the most of the holidays though, so he began to cook extra portions. He started to take a more aggressive approach to fattening up Piper.

"Eat up," he said, heaping another helping of pasta onto Piper's plate.

"Oh, I probably shouldn't have another. My shift starts in an hour," Piper said as she rubbed her small belly.

"Exactly! You need energy for work. Plus, if you stuff yourself now you'll be less tempted to snack later, right?"

Piper considered the idea. "Well, I guess that makes sense." In blatant disregard of the satiety signals she was receiving from her stomach, she grabbed another piece of garlic bread, added it to the pasta, and resumed eating. Later that night at work, she failed to notice herself mindlessly grazing on candies and other junk foods.

Scott continued to encourage Piper in this manner for most of November and his persistence paid dividends; by Thanksgiving she was regularly consuming second helpings of her meals. It also turned out to be excellent prep for the holidays too. Scott and Piper decided to visit their families for Thanksgiving in what would be a jam-packed day of feasting. Their first stop was Scott's mother's house.

Scott was an only child and his father abandoned him as a baby, leaving only him and his mother. She was extremely proud of Scott and doted on him whenever she could. Thus, it wasn't surprising that she had crafted an extravagant dinner upon learning that Scott and Piper were visiting. After they arrived and exchanged pleasantries, Scott pulled his mother aside to talk privately.

"Mom, I was hoping you could help Piper and I out with something. You see, Piper wants to join a roller derby league."

"Oh, I didn't know she was interested in that," Scott's mother said.

"Yeah. The problem is the team wants her to gain some weight before they accept her. You know, so she'll be tougher and sturdier. She's been trying to eat more lately but she's still very sensitive about it. Think you can encourage her to eat a bit more? Just don't mention that I told you about it."

"Anything for my little Scotty and his girlfriend," she said fondly. Scott smiled and they both returned to the dinner table.

Scott's mother did an excellent job. Throughout dinner she used a variety of tactics including refilling Piper's plate automatically ("Piper, you look like you could use some more turkey") and guilt ("Is there something wrong with the stuffing?") which resulted in Piper eating third helpings of nearly dish. The piece de resistance of the meal was dessert.

"Who wants pumpkin pie? I made it myself. Piper?" Scott's mom said excitedly.

"I'll have to pass Ms. Bridgeman. I'm just too full."

"Oh. Well, I made it just for you; all of this was for you." She sighed and said sadly, "You know, it's tough living alone and when company comes I just---"

"On second thought, I'll take a big slice with ice cream!" Piper interrupted, completely guilt-ridden.

Scott and Piper left shortly after dessert. In the car, Piper was the first to speak, "I love your mom but damn, she is an expert at guilt-tripping! And I thought I was pushy." Piper's distended stomach rumbled loudly. "How am I still hungry!? Maybe I'll have room to eat at my parent's after all..."

After Thanksgiving, Scott was happy to see Piper continue to indulge herself. Of course, she was greatly helped along by the time of the year, as its holidays, work parties, and inclement weather greatly encouraged overeating. Still, Piper seemed to finally be upholding her end of the deal. It was mid-December when Scott first noticed the fruits of his labors.

Piper was changing out of her hospital scrubs and had just removed her shirt when she felt Scott grab her hips from behind.
"What have we here?" Scott asked. He squeezed Piper's sides which felt uncharacteristically soft and spongy. Looking over her shoulder and down at her abdomen, he confirmed that her formerly flat belly now bulged outward ever so slightly. Piper's once toned arms and legs now just looked fleshy. "Do I detect a bit of extra padding?"

Piper turned to face him; her small, pert breasts jiggled slightly as she rotated. "What did you expect? Did you forget about our bet? I've still got 27 more pounds to go..."

Scott was somewhat surprised at Piper's willingness to discuss her weight; he thought she might be defensive. He decided to question her gently, "How are you feeling about it so far?"

"It's not horrible," Piper replied. "I mean, at least these are growing a bit," she said as she cupped her breasts with both hands. "Plus, all my clothes still fit and nobody has said anything...yet. Eating is just so much damn work for me."

"Thinking of backing out?" Scott asked, hoping to get a rise out of her.

"Uh, yeah right! You think I'd stop after coming this far?" Piper slapped her little, but conspicuous belly. "Besides, I've still got to take advantage of Christmas dinner this year."

Christmas arrived two weeks later and they decided to spend the holiday at Piper's parent's house. Piper's family celebrated Christmas Eve with the "Feast of the Seven Fishes", an Italian tradition that is exactly what it sounds like. Her family also met all of the common Italian stereotypes: they were loud, ill-tempered, Catholic, numerous, and most of all, they loved to eat.

Although Piper enjoyed family parties, she often dreaded interacting with her older sister Natalie. Their contentious relationship formed during childhood as they both competed over everything. She was 4 years older than Piper and of a similar height, though, she had put on a considerable amount of weight in the past few years after she married; Scott estimated that she weighed about 180 pounds.

The feast was incredible and everyone ate to their heart's delight. Piper especially seemed to enjoy herself as she sampled heartily from each of the seven seafood dishes and drank two glasses of wine; for dessert, she gobbled down two cannoli. Despite feeling incredibly full, she felt compelled to grab another cannolo. She reached the dessert table and was approached by Natalie.

"Aww, how cute. I love your little food baby, Piper," Natalie teased as she pointed to Piper's swollen middle.

"Shut up, Nat."

"No need to be sensitive. It just looks like you might finally be filling out after being such a scrawny girl all these years. You've still got a while before you catch up to me though," she said, hefting her prominent belly toward Piper. She leaned in close to her and whispered, "Are you trying to gain weight?"

Piper was so astonished by her sister's insight that it left her tongue-tied. "I...I...just go away sis."

"As you wish...good call on the cannoli though."

Piper felt embarrassed. Was her gain already that obvious? Of all people, Natalie would be the one to notice and make her feel inferior. She felt a rush of anger looking at the table of desserts. She impulsively grabbed three cannoli and stormed back to Scott where she sat hungrily devouring her treats for the rest of the night.

A week later was New Year's eve and Piper found herself still ruminating about Natalie's comments. She needed to unwind and a quiet night at home with Scott, as well as a number of alcoholic drinks, would do the trick. Scott purchased beer and they ordered a large pizza. At the start of the evening, Piper seemed intent on drinking and eating at a breakneck pace; she ate handfuls of chips and finished one beer before the pizza arrived. "Finally, I'm starved," she said, opening the pizza box. She downed two slices before starting on another beer. As Piper's consumption continued, all the beer, fat, and grease created a pressure in her stomach.

"URRRRP!" Piper's belch was deep and loud. She rubbed her bloated belly afterwards and said, "Much better."

Scott disbelievingly watched his girlfriend's display of gluttony. She was acting different; something else had to be going on with her. The night flew by and Piper ended up consuming 5 beers and half of the large pizza. By midnight, she was quite drunk and her mood had gone from hypomanic to somber.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Scott asked. "You've been going hard at things all night"

Piper, whose energy was quickly fading, looked at Scott and said bitterly, "It's my goddamn sister. She made comments about me gaining weight at Christmas. And it's this whole deal. I'm ***ing it up. I've only gained 10 pounds as of this morning." She began to cry softly. "I don't want to move; I love it here!"

Scott appreciated how vulnerable Piper made herself as it stood in stark contrast to her normally fierce and independent persona. She looked at him again and said drowsily, "I need help. Help gain weight. Help me...get fat? Get...fat..." Her eyes closed heavily as she spoke; she was out cold. The clock struck midnight.

"I think you have a big year ahead of you, Piper"