Chapter 14 - taste of success

Things became both easier and harder as Jennifer’s success grew. On the one hand, their financial strains were over. Jennifer was earning more money than either of them had ever imagined. Just her merchandise alone: t-shirts, aprons, chef hats, all bearing Jennifer's name, garnered her more cash each month than either of their old jobs had brought in. Likewise, it was also very clear that her huge, growing belly was more than an asset to her brand. People liked that she was big and unashamedly heavy. They enjoyed the fact that she loved her food so much and didn’t seem to mind that it was altering her appearance. It was as if her great love of food was infectious, and as Jennifer had slowly been introducing her own recipes, she’d developed a reputation for producing some of the best comfort foods around.

Out in the new back yard, they now had one of the biggest barbecues on the market and Jennifer had spent pretty much the entire summer out there recording her new features; raking in a ton of money from add revenues. As her profile developed, she’d started to do guest spots on daytime TV shows and was away a couple of weekends a months, offering live shows for food festivals.

But this was the part that Zach hated the most. He had never been joined at the hip to his wife, but it now seemed very strange to have to pencil in a weekend together in the diary. His wife was such a huge success, in more ways than one...

It was as if Jennifer had always known how to dress herself as a larger lady. She’d probably been imagining herself this way for many years. She’d cut her hair into a short bob that perfectly emphasised the roundness of her face. She also dressed like a lady who wanted to be noticed; with bright lipsticks and daring eye make-up, matched with outlandish, colourful clothes that hugged her physique. At over three hundred pounds and climbing, Jennifer didn’t need to grab anyone’s attention and yet, she simply loved standing out. Maybe part of her sex appeal to her fans was that she carried herself so well; a confidence that came from wanting to be a bigger girl; of still wanting to grow; strutting about and standing proudly in a manner that not many women of size dared to try and pull off. Reading through the masses of comments online, so many men wanted her and yet, Zach was the lucky one who got to call her his wife.

All of this was great; a dream come true. But as Zach woke up alone in their bed on yet another Saturday morning, he couldn’t help feeling that he’d been somehow left behind.