Chapter 6

What no one tells you about being fat is that after you reach a certain point, the normal physical activity I used to take for granted becomes a chore. I constantly thought about how to avoid stairs. Sitting on the metro became a must, since even grabbing a bar and standing tired me out. And, while I first started overeating on purpose for Peter, now my habits had adjusted so I was hungry all the time. Even on days where I tried to pull back a bit, I found myself snacking on incredible amounts of food. What was once pushing myself now was just a normal meal for my bloated and massive stomach.

I had completely altered my life.

And then, it happened.

As I was going into Peter's apartment one night, I opened the door to his wife sitting at the table reading an iPad and drinking a bottle of wine. She was thin as ever, wearing a black turtleneck and tight khaki skirt. She looked posh, and I looked like a mess.

"Oh, hope I didn't interrupt anything," she said, barely glancing up from the monitor.

"Oh, no, I was just uh, dropping off something for the Congressman."

"There's no need to lie, Kelsey. I know all about this."


My heart sank. "What?"

"Peter is not as clever as he thinks he is," she said, taking another sip. "I saw you on the security system we have at our lake house, looks like you had quite a fun time at our vacation home."

I immediately thought about everything we did that weekend. I was a cow and laid around the house mostly naked and bloated. The idea that anyone could see that mortified me.

Rachel got up and walked over to me, and patted my stomach, "Looks like he did a pretty good number on you. Such a shame, you used to be pretty, and now look at you."

I wanted to cry.

"What, are you going to do to me?"

She paused for a few seconds, "nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Peter must have told you that our marriage has long been an arrangement. We each benefit from the other, and, I hope this makes you feel as pathetic as you are, but he would never have been seen in public with someone like you right now. He's too vain. You're always going to be his little secret. So, I'm not exactly nervous about you threatening me."
The room was spinning. I wanted to know why she decided to do this now. Where Peter was. Was I being fired?

"What...do you want me to do now," I wanted to cry.

"You know, I've always wondered how people let their emotions get the best of them, and they blind themselves to what's in their best interest. I know Peter will never change, and I don't want to look like the cow you turned into. The two of you have a nice little arrangement, and it's clear you can keep a secret. I'm not going to banish you from our lives, only to have this happen again with some new staffer that will tell the town that he's a freak.I think this thing you have should continue."

"What?" I was stunned. Was she actually condoning this?

"I saw on his calendar he'll be back in an hour. Why don't we talk more, about what the future holds for the three of us."

I stood there in shock, trying to process all of this. She walked behind me to grab something from their pantry, as she came back with a pastry for me, she pinched a love handle.

"You probably think this is a good thing, but I wouldn't be so sure. I already know both of us are going to make you very fat."

She was right.

---The end---