chapter 4 a little at a time

Jason gave her a similar breakfast in bed every morning, whether they were working or not. Slowly, and gradually, he switched the milk in her coffee to single cream and increased the sugar content to a full teaspoon. Similarly, he added a little single cream to the milk in her cereal and increased her portion size by half an ounce.
It was the same with all her other meals. A little extra potato, a little bit more meat, a little extra butter, a little extra sugar, a bit more here, a bit more there.
In her packed lunch, he switched low fat spread for butter, he switched her low fat yoghurt to a rich and creamy one. He gave her a bit more sandwich filling, added a bit more mayonnaise. In themselves, each switch was barely perceptible, but all together they were slowly increasing her calorific intake and getting her used to more fat and more sugar.
The amount of exercise she did was a problem. Instead of running outside, she ran on the treadmill at the local gym. It was a problem he would have to work on if his overall plan was to work.
She had actually increased the amount of exercise she did since she got married because she had more time.
He could stop her going to the gym because she would go straight after work and she was a fully paid member. He did not need to go because he had his own bicycle on rollers in the garage along with his own treadmill and a few weights to help him with his triathlon training. He preferred to train outside, but, if he couldn't, due to icy weather or such, he could still keep up his fitness levels in the garage.
Nevertheless, after a month of marriage, Jason was sure his wife had put on a few pounds. Her slender (UK size) ten clothes still fitted, but he was sure there was a extra wrinkle here and there as they were getting tighter.
He continued to make little tweaks to her diet. He read out made up stories from the newspaper about women being abducted, or raped at knifepoint before being brutally murdered. He made it seem like there was a local serial killer on the loose so that she didn't like going out the house on foot and alone.
That was a little less exercise taken care of. Now she only left the house to drive to work and drive to the gym directly from there.
As the dark nights drew in, she was scared to walk from the car park at the gym to the main entrance during busy times because she had to park further away in areas that were not floodlit or covered by cameras. Anyone could jump out at her from those bushes, or hide in wait for her when she returned.
She became so scared that she stopped going to the gym and used Jason's treadmill in the garage instead.
Jason was pleased, but disappointed. That was not the kind or switch he'd been planning!
But, next there was a stroke of luck. The unfamiliar equipment gave Sarah an Achilles injury. She would need six weeks off running. Indeed, she struggled to walk at all in the first three weeks, so had to take the time off work.
Jason was overjoyed, but kept his emotions to himself. With a maid in the house and no work or exercise to do, Sarah was bound to put a bit of weight on! She would quickly get bored and boredom could lead to nibbling on snacks without even knowing it.
He left out a plate of biscuits left over from when they had guests at the weekend. Indeed, he added more to the plate. He was pleased to see they had all gone by the end of the day. He topped the plate up again and kept it topped up all day.
He put a bowl of mint imperials in a bonbon dish on the coffee table and watched them go down throughout the week.
He bought her a video games console so that when she got bored with the television she could do something else, without putting strain on her legs.
She thought he was being kind, thoughtful and loving. He would do anything for her. That was why he brought her breakfast in bed every morning. He liked to please her and she did not want to stop him, but sometimes she just wanted to do be able to something for herself!
She appreciated the games console. Daytime television was very predictable. She could emerse herself in a fantasy world all day with the games console, but feel the had achieved something with her day rather than just sit about, doing nothing. At least she had used her brain!