chapter 1 a delicious proposal

Kate sat there that warm, starry night, thinking about how to save her and her wife’s farm. Her cows weren’t producing enough milk, and so they weren’t meeting demand for shipments, shrinking their profits, making it impossible to pay off the bank loan on time. She already ordered more cattle to be delivered next week, but it seemed unlikely to save the farm, more like delaying the inevitable.
Kate lost her concentration in planning for the future, and began to reminisce about the first time she met her wife Mara. It was back in college, they bumped into each other into the cafeteria. It was a very minor shoulder tap, not enough to normally stop a person, but Kate felt like a lightning struck. She turned around and saw Mara, who was a slightly tall brunette, with very attractive facial features, although painfully skinny, so much so, Kate could feel the severe starvation she must be going through. Kate herself, was a medium height, redhead, with a rounded face, and was chubby enough to be slightly overweight. Kate’s heart skipped a beat, as she tried to think of a suave way of asking this beautiful woman out. Even though Kate liked plumper women, she felt drawn to Mara somehow, part of her telling her this is the one. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Mara blurted out in a panic, as if expecting Kate to retaliate in a particular cruel way.
“No, it’s ok, really, I think it might have been my fault, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you at all?” Kate replied, taking care to sooth her worried crush. Mara blushed and said, “I’m ok, I was just surprised.”
Kate then noticed Mara’s tray barely had anything on it, except for a few pitiful vegetables, while hers was filled with all sorts of treats. She said, “You know you’re so skinny, you could probably stand to gain a few pounds.” Mara sheepishly looked away, informing her, “I have several allergies and can’t eat much. Even if I wanted to, there’s not much I could do about that.” Kate was internally disappointed, but also sympathetically said, “I’m sorry that’s awful.” Trying to change subjects, Kate asked, “Can I sit with you? My name is Kate” Mara silently nodded, and said, “I’m Mara.”
They talked for hours, sharing a very lovely conversation, talking about their favorite movies and books, they seemed to have a lot in common. Thankfully, it was a lightly scheduled day by coincidence for the pair, so they didn’t have to worry about being late to class. Kate found out that Mara was a transgender girl post transition, and that her family disowned her for it. Kate related to this too in a way, as her family did the same for her being gay. As they were cleaning up their trays in the now empty cafeteria, Kate asked Mara, “I’m going to be forward with you, I’m gay and I wanted to know if you wanted to go on a date?” Mara excitedly, if a little flustered, spurted out, “Me too! And yes, I would love that!”
The date at the movie theater went smoothly, with Mara ending up at Kate’s apartment, but not for sex, just simply hanging out and chatting. Towards the end of the evening, Kate figured it was time to tell Mara her secret.
“Mara, there’s something I have to tell you, I like to fatten my girlfriends up. Like, really fatten them up, not like immobility fat, but definitely in the obesity range. I want to be honest with you ahead of time, but I won’t force you to gain weight if you don’t want to.” Mara seemed a bit more at ease than usual when she replied, “This doesn’t surprise me somehow. However, I feel like you may have chosen the completely wrong girl to fatten, I don’t think it’s possible to make me overweight, nevertheless obese, with my allergies.” They both were a little sad at this realization, with Mara in particular worried that Kate would ditch her. They pensively thought about the future, but then Kate spoke up, “You’re still beautiful to me on the inside and the outside, and I would like to try to have a future with you, regardless of your weight.” Mara was stunned, surprised that anyone would want her for being herself, and here was Kate, proclaiming that despite everything that could be an issue, she still wants to be with her. Mara could only muster up a thanks, before leaning in and kissing Kate on the lips.
After that night, they stuck to each other like glue, they may have been social outcasts for their queerness, but they could be outcasts together. They graduated three years after meeting, with Kate’s major being agriculture, since her dream was to own a farm. They took a loan from a bank after graduation and bought their own farm. The estate was a really good size for the price they got it for, plus it came with a barn and a charming two story house. There was only on dirt road into the farm, and it was half an hour to the closest town. They were living an idyllic rural life.
At least until they fell completely behind on bills, through no fault of their own. She started to go back to contemplating solutions, as impossible as the task was, when she heard a shuffling and a clattering noise outside the house. She opened the door outside, and spotted a cloaked, middle aged women with a large pack. It was rare for visitors to show up during the day, and completely unusual for this strange woman to be here at night. She asked, “Hey, what are you doing here?”
The woman turned around and replied in a raspy yet comforting voice, “I’m traveling westward, and on chance, I’ve stumbled onto this farm of yours. I’ve been walking for awhile now, do you mind if I take a short rest, and chat with you?” Kate had no idea why, but she said yes, despite this being a clearly inadequate response. But she went with it, and they talked about various happenings in the area and such. Eventually, Kate felt compelled to talk about the issues with the cows and possibly losing the farm. The woman told her, “There’s something with those cows, I’ve seen this before, and I know how to fix it.” Right after she said this, Mara walked out the door groggily, who was upstairs sleeping, but decided to come down when she awoke due to the chatter.
She asked while yawning, “Who is this lady?” Kate explained to her that this old lady had a fix to their problem and turned to her and asked, “If you can fix it, I’ll give you anything I can.” She was clearly desperate in her tone.
The strange woman explained, “I don’t want anything in return, simply having a nice conversation was enough, and I feel for your plight. Now let me tell you that I am a witch.” She said this in a calm way, as if this wasn’t a bombshell of a reveal. Kate and Mara looked at each, nervous that the she would turn them into frogs or bats or worse. “I’m specialized in the art of transformation,” she continued on, only making their concern worse. “I see the look of worry on your faces, and there’s no need for that, I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. I’m merely offering you a choice. Now, I can make a special potion that one of you may take to gain the power to help the cows. There is a curse associated with this however, although some might consider it a blessing.” The witch gave a small chuckle upon saying this. “The drinker of this particular potion will grow fat and become part cow.”
“Part cow?” Kate questioned, with the witch explaining, “yes part cow. You’ll still be able to talk and walk and such, but you’ll become a little more bovine.” Kate was wondering what to do, she didn’t want to become part cow, and she was already a little chubby, which she loved, but she didn’t want to be any bigger. However, being on the farm with her lover was her dream, and she was considering what she would be willing to give up for it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Mara said, “I’ll do it.”
The witch quickly searched her pack before pulling out several vials and begin ferociously mixing them, before pouring several liquids into a bottle, corking it, and handing it to Mara. “Here you go dearie, or should I say dairy?” She cracked a smile at her own bad joke. “Now I must go, the decision is up to you!” She shuffled off rather quickly for a tired woman, and the couple were too flabbergasted to say anything for a few minutes.