Chapter 9 - foodie road trip

"You ate the last one, but there's a four liter tub of ice cream left. And I got lots of Nutella and chocolate sauces to load up on it." I replied.

"Bring it on, I'm starving here." Derek said as he slapped his fat belly.

The road trip took a few weeks to organize and just before we were going to leave I finally got a reply from Javier. Derek grunted as he sat down on the couch waiting for me to finish up on the computer, he'd packed on another twenty pounds in the three weeks since we left the Steampunk gathering. His weight hit five hundred and forty-eight pounds after that event and now he was five sixty-eight. His shirts rode up nicely showing off the rounded flabby belly that was developing a nice over hang.

"So what does it say?" Derek asked.

"He's asking if we've seen or heard anything strange in the house, things moving, cold drafts, lights flickering, images and stuff. I think he knows this place is haunted." I said.

"What are you going to say?" He asked.

"He's also saying that he's aware of the antiques in the attic and is asking if we would give them back to the family..." I continued.

"Are you going to?" Derek asked.

I turned the chair around and looked at him; I swallowed and shook my head. I didn't want to lose Edward and I think Derek understood that. He groaned and lifted his bulk off the couch.

"We can give them back the photos or some of the furniture, but I think we should keep the clothing. Tell them that they fell apart or got eaten by moths or something. That way we can keep Edward's ghost with us, I'll wear his clothes anytime you want me to. At least until he makes me too fat to fit into them anymore." Derek said.

"I think we should look through them one more time before we give it back, I'm going to reply and say that we haven't seen anything strange or unusual in here and that I'll give him back the antiques. But not until we come back from vacation. It will give us some time to tell Edward about what's happened and see what he thinks." I said.

"Sounds like a plan. I've actually grown quite attached to Eddie myself, literally. I don't want to lose his company or the strange ghostly powers he uses on me to make me gain faster." Derek replied.

"Thank you, for letting him stay and for letting him exercise his indulges through you." I said.

"It's nothing that I didn't want to do on my own anyway. He just gave me a good start towards my goals." Derek said.

I sent the reply and shut down the computer, we set the automatic timer on the lights and the alarm before we left the house. Derek had packed one of Edward's shirts so he could travel with us I needed to tell him what was going on. The month long vacation goal was for Derek to gain fifty pounds before we came back, putting him over into the six hundreds. There were a lot of places on my list I made from site that had them listed as the best places to gain weight, what restaurants had the best food and when certain events were coming up. It was the fattening-up-my-husband itinerary; listed by places and events that were closest to the ones that were farther away. Derek was eager to gorge himself on all the delicious foods and once Edward took over he was on board too.

"I have never heard of a road trip; what is the point of such a thing?' Edward asked.

"The point is to travel and find all the best places to eat at that most people wouldn't think of. This is really more of a foodie trip than a road trip; the goal is to make Derek gain fifty more pounds by the end of the month. I know you'd want to help him out with that so he bought one of your shirts along with us." I replied.

"And what of the email you were waiting for?" Edward asked.

"Your great-grandson Javier has asked for the antiques back, I told him that we would let him have them after we returned from this vacation. Except we won't be giving them your clothing, we've decided to lie and say they were ruined over time and that we couldn't save them. I also wanted to know if there was anything else you wanted us to take out and keep before we gave them back." I explained.

"I see. That is a good idea, I am most attached to those clothes and it's what makes my connection to Derek strongest. He wears them and it allows me to bond tighter to his body. There are some things in one of the armoires that I want to stay with you; very personal items, like my wedding band and a locket I gave my wife on our anniversary one year. I believe it was the same year my son Joshua was born, 1904. I would very much like to see you wear that locket my dear, it would look so beautiful on you." Edward said.

"And your wedding band? What do you want to do with that?" I said.

"I want Derek to wear it when I'm in control of him. It should still fit." He replied.

"That's... wow, quite a personal thing to let someone else wear don't you think? Are you sure?" I said.

"Very sure; I do not want to lose sight of those precious items." He said.

"And what about your wife's wedding band? Is that in the same place?" I asked.

"It should be, unless one of my children took it...I would love to see you wear that too." Edward replied.

"Edward...I don't mind wearing the locket but your wife's ring? That is just too much...it wouldn't feel right." I said as I gripped the steering wheel.

"My dear Andrea it should be clear by now that I am in love with you, I think I have been for a while now. When I'm with you, it feels right; like it was meant to be I am also happier than I can ever remember being. Can you honestly say that you don't feel the same way about me? There must be another reason other than my body why you can't stand the thought of losing me. If it isn't love then why would you want to keep my clothing? Clothing is a personal item that has a strong attachment to a ghost." Edward said.

"I don't know if love is the right feeling, it's something strong for sure. You take over my husband's body, when I touch you, I'm touching his body; something that I know very well but it's not him that is in control of it. It's like he has a split personality...I don't know what else to say." I said.

"I understand; perhaps asking you to wear my wife's ring was too much. I apologize." Edward said, "However I do not apologize for telling you that I am in love with you. I have wanted to tell you for so long now." He added.

I didn't say anything; I didn't know what to say. Inside I was in turmoil over how I felt for Edward and Derek. I married Derek and I know I love him but Edward has also managed to make me fall for him somehow, is it love or just lust over what he's done to Derek? I don't know. I focused on the road and made the turn off for the first place on my fat list for Derek. It was a country buffet and barbeque restaurant known for their humongous ribs drowning in a rich, sticky, sweet sauce that the owners kept under wraps. Everything was deep fried or battered so thick that it made up the entire dish; their desserts portions could feed a small army alone. Derek literally drooled when I read him off their sample menu that was posted on their website. As soon as we entered the front door it was apparent that this place was a fatty's heaven, everyone looked about three hundred pounds or more in this place, even the staff. We were seated quickly and Edward/Derek ordered nearly everything they had on special and some regular menu items. I just went with a small salad and a cup of tea, the waitress obviously knew our situation and left smiling.