Chapter 1

“I’m warning you,” said Geena, in between her labored huffs and puffs, “everyone who spends the holidays with my family leaves at least ten pounds heavier than they came.”

She continued to breathe heavily; I was always astounded at how even the most effortless of tasks, such as sitting, talking, driving, would leave Geena absolutely breathless. No doubt, this was just one of many consequences she faced from being so heavy herself.

“I’ll take my chances,” I said assertively, though deep down I couldn’t deny that I was a little nervous.

“Okay, Penny,” she chuckled, still wheezing as her huge stomach pressed up against the steering wheel, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I answered, looking over at her from my place in the passenger seat, rolling my eyes playfully.

Looking Geena up and down, I was amazed at her size. Of course, she was my roommate, and I saw her nearly every day, but being next to her in the front seat of her little hatchback, being so close to her expansive body as it seemed to explode outward from her place in the driver’s seat—her wide hips bulging out over the edges of the seat, her jiggling love handles bursting out so far as to rub up against the stick shift and the emergency brake, her large bosom and top belly-shelf crushed up against the wheel—it was impossible to ignore just how enormously fat she was.

Could I ever get that big myself? I couldn’t help but wonder. It was hard to imagine, as I had always been rather slender and lanky. Sometimes I couldn’t help but feel that, even though I was a woman in my twenties, I had the body of a twelve-year-old boy. Part of me couldn’t help but be a bit envious of Geena and her overwhelmingly feminine curves. She looked to me like one of those ancient fertility goddess figurines.

“Well, just make sure you are able to eat everything that you’re offered,” Geena said, looking over at me briefly as she continued to navigate our way down the highway on this cool and cloudy morning, “my mother and grandmother get extremely insulted if anyone ever refuses to eat their food.”

“No worries about that,” I said, “I’m so hungry right now I could eat a horse!”

It was true. I hadn’t had anything to eat all morning. It was my senior year of college, and I was dedicating so much of myself to completing my studies that I rarely made time to handle basic day-to-day tasks, like grocery shopping. If Geena wasn’t so good at shopping, the fridge would probably always be empty in our apartment.

“I told you to grab breakfast before we left,” Geena teased. At that moment, I had to say that I agreed with her. My stomach was growling like a wild animal, and I felt that I was in danger of making a total pig of myself when I arrived at the Castiglione household.


When finally we pulled into the driveway, I turned to Geena and told her how grateful I was to her for inviting me to her family’s holiday celebration, and how gracious it was for her family to welcome me in. “Don’t thank me yet,” she giggled with her tongue poking out through her front teeth, “remember, I didn’t get this fat by accident.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll see,” she said in a low voice, still laughing, but somehow sounding a bit more ominous in her tone. “You’ll see.”