chapter 4

Nancy's efforts to communicate her fears to Kevin were a disaster. He couldn't understand what she was talking about and he began to treat her as if her reluctance to get pregnant was somehow a reflection on her feelings for him. Frustrated with her attitude, Kevin was distant to Nancy and she began to feel alone. As Kevin's disappointment in his wife's hesitation increased, he began to stay later at the office and seemed to share less with her when they were together.

While Kevin probably perceived Nancy's physical transformation as gradual, taking the better part of a year, Nancy thought of the change in her life as having occurred almost overnight and she could pinpoint the day.

It was on her thirtieth birthday. Nancy had planned a quiet evening alone with Kevin and she was actually preparing to discuss children with an open mind. As she was getting ready for work, she was having trouble with the zipper on her skirt and asked Eric for help. As Nancy sucked in her stomach, he forced the skirt closed. Just as soon as the zipper was up, the seam on her skirt split. "Splitting the seams on your clothes is nature's way of telling you to stop eating," Kevin had joked. Something in the way he had said this struck Nancy as not being funny.

As Nancy changed into a less confining outfit, Kevin began to criticize the way she looked. "It seems like your really starting to let yourself go," he started in. "When I married you, I assumed that keeping yourself in shape was as important to you as to me."

Nancy was unprepared for a new confrontation. Particularly another one that had her body as the battleground.

But that evening, Nancy got home early and proceeded with her plans despite the morning argument. She prepared a gourmet meal of chicken breasts sauteed with tomatoes and peppers, fresh pasta, and a strawberry shortcake which she planned to serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. This was one of Kevin's favorite meals and, while it was her birthday, she was making an effort to fix things between them.

The meal was timed to be ready at 8:00 which would be convenient for when Kevin got home from work. At 9:00 with no sign of kevin she called his office and found out that he had gone out for a drink after work with several people from the office. She checked the answering machine which had been blinking since she got home with what she anticipated as being happy birthday messages from her family and friends. The third message was from Kevin. "I'll be home a little later. We're going out to celebrate a new account over a few drinks. I'll call if I'm going to be late." No "happy birthday." No "I love you."

At 10:00, Nancy sat down at the table and served herself dinner - alone. Sitting alone on her birthday with her husband out with his friends from the office. Nancy began to cry. Without really thinking about it, she finished the dinner she had made for the two of them and started in on the cake. Without any pattern, she cut hunks of cake and simply dipped them into the bowl of whipped cream as tears rolled down her hot flushed cheeks. Methodically, after finishing the cake and the strawberries, she ate the remaining whipped cream out of the bowl with a spoon.

Kevin walked in as Nancy began to clear the table. He seemed to know exactly what she had just done. Instead of apologizing to her for standing her up on her birthday, Kevin began to berate her. "I can't believe your this out of control. Just this morning we were talking about the fact that your getting chunky. Now, tonight you reward yourself with a feast? What are you trying to do?"

Nancy tried to answer but didn't know what to say. She wanted to be mad at him but instead he was making her feel guilty. "This wouldn't have happened, if you had come home for dinner," she cried.

"Is that supposed to be an excuse?" he scoffed. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Look at yourself in the mirror," he said pushing her into the dressing room. Kevin turned up the lights and forced Nancy to strip out of her clothes. Standing her in front of the mirror, Kevin made Nancy take full stock of her body. Nancy couldn't deny that her body was fuller and rounder with a sincere belly. Still she didn't look so bad and argued that Kevin was being unfair. "My bikinis would be a problem right now but it's not as if I'm a blimp."

Kevin responded, "Your clothes don't fit; you split the zipper on your skirt this morning and that skirt was too loose on you a few months ago. You've stopped exercising and tonight, judging from the number of plates and mess in the kitchen, you had a little food orgy." Kevin took a handful of the growing roll of soft flesh on her back. "I'll agree your not really fat yet, but I'm worried about your lack of concern for yourself and self-control. I’ve seen what can happen when a woman starts to let herself go.”

It wasn't the words but the tone of Kevin's voice that made Nancy think that his concern had less to do with how Nancy felt than with how it affected him.

Kevin's emotional assault on Nancy that evening was made complete when he compelled her to get on the scale. Even Nancy was startled when the needle came to rest at 159 lbs. "I don't think we need to talk about this anymore," Kevin concluded. "Obviously, your diet starts tomorrow." Nancy couldn't disagree. A weight gain of almost 30 pounds in less than six months had gotten her attention.

As they got into bed that evening, Kevin patted Nancy's plump ass and said, "Don't worry, Hon, I'm sure you won't have any problem getting back into shape. It will just take a little discipline."

Kevin pulled Nancy close to him and began to tickle her cunny and caress the crease where her crotch and thighs met while he kissed her. Now Nancy felt distant. How could Kevin feel like making love to her after he had just gotten finished exposing her to her physical imperfections? Nancy didn't object to his advances and fell into her normal pattern. She made all the right sounds and, assuming he had properly demonstrated his manhood, Kevin came. Even though he was drifting off to sleep with his arms wrapped around her, Nancy felt alone. As she was falling asleep, she realized that he never had wished her a happy birthday.