Chapter 6 - the website

“What’s all this?” asked Zach as he came in from work a few weeks later. In the hallway were several bags ready to be taken out. “Are you leaving me?” he joked, seeing that they contained a lot of Jennifer’s clothes.

“I’m having a clear out,” Jennifer announced. “I don’t know how I managed to get this many clothes in the first place. It’s absolutely ridiculous!”

“But I like this blouse,” Zach sighed, pulling one out of the bag. “You looked great in it at New Year. There’s that really nice picture of us at the party.”

Jennifer glanced at it briefly and carried on with what she was doing. “It’s too tight,” she stated simply.

“Well, it may not always be too tight,” Zach tried to reason.

“No, it’s way too tight. Trust me!” Jennifer laughed, entirely dismissing the idea of keeping it.

Putting the blouse back in the bag, Zach sulked a little. So it seemed that Jennifer really didn’t have any plans to go on a diet anytime soon. “Whatever you say…” he sighed, deciding not to get wound up about it.

Over the last few months, Zach had been aware that his wife liked to spend her days trying out new recipes online. She would talk endlessly about all of the marvellous things she had made; sometimes showing pictures that she had taken when Zach got home. But whatever she had made, there was never anything left by the evening, when Zach returned. Not that he minded; he had never considered himself to be a great food-lover and he had always assumed the same of his wife, until recently.

“I’ve started a little website,” Jennifer explained. “I’m compiling and rating recipes from the web. I’ve even started making my own recipes! It’s loads of fun! I get up in the morning, start preparing and then post pictures of my attempts; as well as a review.”

Zach smiled and couldn’t help looking down at the expanding stomach on his wife. “That sounds like a good way to spend your days,” he nodded. He thought about how much weight Jennifer had gained since quitting her job. That extra 40lbs she’d been carrying as a teenager, now seemed to have been surpassed by her currently look; for only that could explain the tightness of Jennifer’s underwear and how awkwardly her outfits were fitting over her swollen middle and bigger butt cheeks. “But you hated your job in web design. I thought you wanted to get away from computer stuff?” he asked. “Now you’ve started your own website?”

“This is just a hobby,” Jennifer shrugged. “But I’ve only had the site for a couple of weeks and I’m already starting to get some nice feedback from people.”

“You’ve had it for a couple of weeks?” Zach asked; surprised that this was the first he was hearing about it. “I’d love to see it,” he stated, adding more enthusiasm into his tone than he actually felt.

Jennifer seemed delighted and happily pulled out her laptop, clicking onto her new website without delay.

“There are a lot of pictures of you on here,” Zach noted with caution. “I thought it was just a recipe website?”

“It is,” Jennifer nodded. “But I have to prove that I’ve actually made all of these things as well.”

“It’s just…” Zach tried awkwardly, wondering how to phrase what he needed to say. “…These pictures aren’t exactly flattering,” he finally managed, noting with surprise at how each one had seemed to display his wife’s stubborn, chubby belly, or her emerging double chin. The angles and lighting were terrible. If anything, they made her look bigger than she was in real life!

“Well, no one trusts a skinny chef!” Jennifer smiled, seemingly delighted that Zach had noticed. “I like this picture the best!” she pointed at the screen.

Zach looked at the picture in confusion. In his mind, this picture was one of the worst. “Well, that’s what I mean. You look a really quite overweight there,” he commented cautiously.

“You think so?” Jennifer asked, suddenly unable to sit still. She studied the picture in question, her hips seeming to have found a life of their own; as if she had become highly aroused. She slipped her laptop off Zach’s knee and placed it down on the floor. Then she slipped herself onto Zach’s knee and straddled him playfully. “How about we head upstairs now?” she suggested, already leaning in for a kiss.