chapter 1

As soon as Kevin and his wife arrived at the party, but before he could make the rounds of his guests with her, Nancy headed straight to the buffet tables. For the next two hours, as Kevin cultivated the crowd, Nancy cultivated the feast.

Kevin's law firm had gone all out and the choices ranged from barbequed free-range chicken to beef tenderloin medallions, to various plates of pasta, to a whole table of different types of cheeses and pate. There were wonderful kinds of bread and a wide assortment of pastries and desserts. But despite this elaborate and generous array, most of the guests were too busy talking and drinking to really take advantage of the food. At times during the evening, Nancy had the entire cornucopia to herself.

Kevin moved from group to group congratulating the new partners, chatting with his friends, and reminding everyone, with his charm and clever repartee, why he was the firm's chief rainmaker.

Nancy moved from table to table helping herself to generous portions from the various platters and chafing dishes, carefully bypassing the dessert trays which she figured to attend to at the end of the evening. After completing her first-round clockwise, Nancy reversed direction and repeated her feast in reverse, moving counter-clockwise. This time she knew to skip the so-so linguini but to double up on the just perfect lasagna. She worked deliberately and slowly but with an easy fluid motion, finishing one serving from her plate just in time to refill at the next table. Nancy seemed to be eating with an obstinate devotion to consumption. It was as if she was making an effort to ingest as much as possible in a restricted time but knew to pace herself so that her ingestion could be continuous. She seemed oblivious to how obscene her behavior appeared to the room full of her husband's partners, clients, and employees. Or maybe she knew exactly how it looked.

Finally, Kevin walked over to make her stop. "Can't you do something other than eat? You haven't opened your mouth since we got here except to put something in it" he had whispered harshly. "Watching you fill and refill your plate is gross."

She swung her wide, round face into his and, with her mouth still full, sputtered, "I told you I didn't want to come here. You insisted."

"That's still no reason for you to try and embarrass me. You could just pretend to be pleasant and talk with some of the people who know you. You could have gotten me through this with a minimum of humiliation." Kevin took a clean napkin and blotted sauce from his wife's chin, "Everyone's stopped believing that your sick every time there is something social that we're supposed to do together. I'm tired of trying to explain why you never show up. The way you look makes things difficult enough. You don't have to make things worse by standing at the buffet and gorging yourself publicly."

"Well, I came. Your partners and friends have seen me. If my social responsibilities are complete, maybe I should leave," she taunted. Kevin startled Nancy by agreeing that this was a good idea. "But I didn't get to have any dessert," she blurted, surprising herself how much she sounded like a spoiled child. Kevin shuddered at the thought.

Taking Nancy's elbow firmly, Kevin walked her out of the room. Nancy could feel the substantial quantity of food sloshing in her gut as she walked. Walking down the stairs, comfort dictated that she steady her distended belly with her hands. Helping her into her coat, Kevin asked the doorman to get her a cab. "Let me get back upstairs. I don't want to fight with you now. We can talk when I get home. This is getting to be too much for me."

Nancy watched as Kevin trotted back up the stairs to the reception leaving her with the doorman. She knew he was eager to return to his scene. After all, this party was to welcome his assistant as a newly made partner. Kevin took pride in the fact that Lisa had made partner in record time under his guidance. With the way that Lisa had blossomed and seemed to float around Kevin, Nancy wondered if his mentorship was limited to the business of law.

As she slid onto the cool bench seat in the back of the cab, Nancy felt relief finally being able to sit down. She had been standing at the buffet for more than two hours and, since she had put on so much extra weight, standing for long periods of time caused her feet to swell and her back to ache. Even sitting after eating the equivalent of a dinner for six could be discomforting. She settled back into the seat and tried to relax for the ride home by herself. Driving through the city night with light rain falling, Nancy began to drift off. She gently massaged her massive belly to try and ease the pressure imposed by her binge. Slowly, as she was able to work some of the gas out of her guts, she began to feel more comfortable. Confused, the cabby rolled down his window.

As the cab started to turn the corner onto her street, Nancy leaned forward and told the cabby, "You can let me out here. I need to pick up a few things at the all-night market."

After having successfully disembarked his wife without a major scene, Kevin walked up to the bar and fixed himself a fresh drink. His partner Dennis and Dennis's wife came over. "Nancy have to leave?" asked Dennis.

"She wasn't feeling well," answered Kevin surveying the room.

"Maybe it was something she ate," mused Dennis's wife Trisha. Dennis shot his wife a critical look but Kevin was already moving across the floor to where Lisa was laughing with a friend.

As he walked up, Lisa gave him a smile that said, "You poor guy. You shouldn't have to put up with your wife's crazy nonsense. I understand."