Chapter 1: Email from An Old Friend

[Author's Note: This is a fantasy story about two consenting adults who rekindle a friend relationship. It involves weight gain between two amazing women. Natasha is visiting her childhood friend, who has taken up a teaching post at wizarding institution. Arriving by train, Natasha cannot wait to see her friend whom she has only been able to correspond with. As she journeys closer and closer, Natasha remembers an event from their past that she cannot seem to forget. Will this visit rekindle those memories in both women?
Disclaimer: This story borrows tangential elements from several popular wizarding book series, but as per the guidelines of this website, will not be explicitly named to keep the legal people happy. Enjoy]

They say that when you are travelling by train, that the window seats are always the best. You always find your trip passes a little more quickly and there’s nearly never a dull view. Natasha had never quite been on a train quite like this before and even though she didn’t have the seat nearest the window, she found there was plenty to look at from where she was sitting.

“Anything off the trolley, dear?” came a voice from Natasha’s left, taking her out of her reverie.

“Hmm?”

“Would you like anything to eat, dear?” said the woman.

Natasha put her finger in a page, turned her head and looked up. A woman of advanced age but who looked surprisingly spry gesticulated with pride to the cart she was pushing. It was now directly at eye-level, and it donned on Natasha that the woman was offering travel snacks to the passengers.

“Oh, not at the moment, no. But thanks.” She said to the woman who nodded with kind eyes.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’ll be back later on should you change your mind.” With a wink, she tottered down the corridor of the train and entered into conversation with the next seat.

This time, a little girl and boy of about ten poked their parents from their magazine reading and Natasha watched with interest as the children first pointed, then cheered when the woman handed them various sweets and treats that she had never seen before. Money exchanged hands between the woman and the children’s parents, and she proceeded down the corridor and finally out of sight.

As the children tucked into their food, Natasha noticed, blissfully, that the volume of the train car now dropping by several decibels. She returned to her work. She had her finger tucked between pages of a manuscript, red pen in her hand.

She clicked the nib of her pen back out, flipped to the page she was currently reading and flicked her wrist to look at her watch. It’s nearly lunchtime, she thought as her stomach gave a lazy grumble.

Natasha was a newly promoted editor of a well-known publishing company. She had been in publishing since college, having scrapped her way up the competitive ladder but loved every minute of it. Since she was a little girl, she always wanted to be a writer, as she had an inventive imagination. Five years on, she had gone from entry level ‘coffee gopher’ to the position she now held. It was good pay, but the hours were insane.

She tucked a lock of brown hair back behind her ear and poured over the manuscript she now held. It was a second draft and she and its author were making great progress. This novel, a detective noir, was the third in an already successful series and Natasha had every intention of making this one even more of a page-turner than its’ predecessor.

As she read deeper into the pages, her red pen making the odd note here, a scribble there; a low grumble echoed through her body.

“Hey, you, knock it off,” she whispered to her stomach as well as stifled a yawn. Hungry and tired.

Almost as if by summons, the woman pushing the trolley was working her way back up the train, her face beaming towards each previous customer with a look that read, ‘enjoying your purchases?’

Natasha raised a finger and made eye contact with the woman who stopped just opposite her now.

“Anything off the trolley, dear?” she repeated, the question almost lyrical, inviting.

“Yes, but erm—there’s so much to choose from?” she said it as a question and less of a statement.

“Oh yes, the Chogward’s Express offers its travelers many choices as our passengers tend to come from all over the world, these days.

“I can certainly see that,” said Natasha smiling.

Her eyes peered at the cart, recognizing nothing and noting many brands that did not exist in the United States. There were purple boxes of what looked like chocolates in the shape of toads, tall licorice-looking sticks that might be made to resemble magic wands; boxes of jellybeans that represented many flavors and other packages, parcels and bags of goodies that all seemed to look quite inviting.

“Might you have anything a little more filling than candy? I’ve really not eaten since breakfast,” said Natasha whose eyes could not stop taking in the items on the cart.

The woman nodded in understanding, “Oh, don’t I know the feeling,” she said pressing her hand to her abdomen with a gentle pat.
She looked down and selected a blue button next to the side of the cart, which Natasha hadn’t noticed before and the cart did something quite unexpected.

The items of candy and sugary sweets were vanishing only to be replaced by more adult selections. Wrapped sandwiches, boxed salads, smoothies on ice and what smelled like freshly brewed coffee now greeted Natasha’s eyes.

“More like it?” said the woman, knowingly.

“Definitely.”’

Natasha paused for a moment, her stomach making slightly louder grumbling sounds now. She selected two sandwiches and the salad, “Oh, what flavor is the coffee?” she asked, reaching for her wallet.

“Pumpkin, of course.”

“Sounds lovely.”

Natasha nodded and woman poured her the coffee as she made room and lowered the dining tray off the back of the train seat in front of her, her manuscript and pen now temporarily forgotten.

Items laid on the tray, Natasha gave the woman British pounds, money she had exchanged before she left for this trip and the woman smiled as she took the money and offered returned change.

“This coffee smells amazing, thank you,” said Natasha taking a first sip. Not scalding and flavored just right.

Her stomach gave a loud protest and the woman smiled. As she was pushing past Natasha to serve the next occupant, she laid down on the table, already laden with food, a wrapped package that looked like a dessert.

“On the house. Pumpkin Pasties,” said the woman with a wink as Natasha’s stomach gave a second “Urrp!” and she trod off.

A little reddened in the face, her stomach betraying her hunger, Natasha unwrapped the first sandwich and took a bite. It was amazing and tasted just like home. She smiled at the memory and leaned back in her chair and looked out towards the window. The occupant, a stranger, who had the window seat had been sleeping their entire trip and thankfully was not a snorer; had his face pressed up against the glass and partially obscured the view.

Natasha continued munching on her food as she thought back on the catalyst that started her on this trip, a mini break from work, to visit a friend she hadn’t seen since her days at college.

She and her best friend, Kristen has been next door neighbors since they were both in diapers. Their families got along, and they essentially grew up as unofficial sisters. They did everything together: family trips, birthday’s, meals and neighborhood explorations.

Then, when Kristen turned 11, her parent’s had informed her that she was going off to a ‘boarding school’ abroad. Natasha was crestfallen then and didn’t quite understand why. Kristen said she would be back every summer and promised to write (which she did) every other week. Natasha made new friends during her teenage years, but Kristen always remained her best friend.

After her ‘boarding school’, Kristen returned, as if she had never left, and the girls went to college together. It was like no time had ever passed and they had a very happy four years together. Natasha studying writing and Kristen taking education classes to become a teacher.

Graduation happened and Kristen and Natasha moved out of their old neighborhoods to pursue careers. Which is where Natasha was heading now: she had received an email from Kristen a month ago asking her what she was doing one long weekend in the Fall.

Natasha was so happy to hear from her friend, she replied back instantly.

“Heyyy, you!
It’s been so long, how have you been? How’s school, teach? Me, I’ve been working like a mule, but the bonus pay is amazing. I got that promotion finally – it was about a year in the making, but hey—who’s counting, right?

Of course, I’d love to come visit. The Fall is when we get hammered with work, so as long as it’s okay that I bring a little work along, I can stay for upwards of a week if you’ll have me. Oh, it’s going to be so good to catch up. Seeing anyone? Cannot wait to give you a great big hug!

Love from mom and dad also,

Natasha

X”

Kristen had replied shortly thereafter with similar sentiments and arrangements were made. Natasha smiled at the memory of their exchange. Particularly in one of the final emails where Kristen had told her the train, called the Chogward’s Express would be an interesting experience and that she should ‘just go with whatever happens, I’ll explain later.’

If the deal with the trolley car was any indication, she would certainly have questions for Kristen when she saw her.

Natasha was really looking forward to seeing her friend. She had been in and out of a few relationships, having just ended one that went rather badly just a few months prior. The stress of working had seen to that. Men couldn’t understand that she didn’t want to just watch them play video games all evening while she worked all hours to get manuscripts edited, scanned and sent on to the authors; or taking zoom calls with the editors and publishing houses to see where in the processes the books were.

Sure, the sex was great, and Natasha was a natural performer, but the men didn’t seem to last.

Kristen on the other hand was a little mysterious when it came to her relationships. She gave Natasha enough details through email to make her cackle with laughter at the misfortune of a bad date or two, but it seemed that she, too, put work before home life.

She thought back to Kristen and their years at university. They studied hard but they also found time for fun. There was one memory Natasha had locked away in her heart and the email from Kristen had bubbled it back to the surface.

Natasha closed her eyes and reminisced…