# Amber and Carolyn - Chap 1 & 2 - by the Observer (~BBW (multiple), Eating, ~MWG)



## Observer (May 28, 2006)

_~BBW (Multiple, Eating, ~MWG)_ - Expanded opportunity leads to expansion

*Amber and Carolyn - Chap 1 & 2 
A tale of two sisters and their Friends
by The Observer​*
*Chapter 1 &#8211; Summer Employment*

“This will be your work station, Amber, where you’ll do spreadsheet input except when you’re at the reception desk answering phones,” said Mrs. Henderson. “You are familiar with Excel I presume?”

“At least the basics,” replied Amber. “I took a semester on Microsoft Office in high school and use it on my home PC.”

“Excellent,” noted Mrs. Henderson. “You’ll find the coffee and pastries in the alcove off the reception area &#8211; get settled in and I’ll be back later.”

19 year old Amber eased into her chair and focused on the new employee forms and manual. At 5-8 and nearly 150 pounds she was solid but not yet full figured. This was mostly due to lots of physical activity than any effort on her part, Her parents, older sister and brother were all well over 200. She also had a chunky 18 year old younger sister; weight was simply not an issue in her family. 

In about 30 minutes the paperwork was done, She went to the alcove and poured a large cup of coffee and selected a fresh maple bar while she perused the manual. After a time Mrs. Henderson returned and walked her through her first stack of input. She was impressed at how quickly Amber was catching on, even modifying the font size and custom-naming the template for the month as she saved it without asking how.

This was Amber’s first full-time summer job before going off to college. She wanted to do well and had good work ethic and discipline from the part time positions on her resume. She was getting an entry level $10 an hour, which she felt was good money for a beginner.

At 11:00 she was introduced to the phone system, which was also similar to what she had encountered before. After an hour’s observation Mrs. Henderson asked if she felt comfortable doing it alone. “Sure, as long as its only taking messages and routing calls,” Amber replied. She poured another cup of coffee and matched it with a bear claw since lunch was obviously going to be delayed.

At 1:00 she went down stairs from the 20th floor suite and had a pastrami sandwich and chips at a deli &#8211; spending $9 including a drink. “Memo to file,” she thought, “pack a lunch in the future &#8211; this can get expensive!”

She mentioned the cost to Mrs Henderson who smiled. “If you want to brown-bag you can, we have a refrigerator in the lounge, but there are cheaper alternatives than the deli. You can go Indian, Chinese, or Mexican - all have $5.95 buffets specials within a block of here. We also get a 20% discount at Sally’s Grill across the street.”

Amber smiled. Maybe lunch out was more practical than she thought.

With a full lunch in her belly Amber skipped her afternoon break, but at 4:00 she found herself back on the phone board with another cup of coffee and a coconut and vanilla frosting donut. It had been a good first day and she did not even note that she had just eaten over 500 calories more in pastries than was her norm.

The next day she learned something. The pastry service was provided by a bakery linked to Sally’s. They had certain regular items, like donuts, but various specialties on other days of the week. Monday it had been bear claws, today it was apple turnovers. Amber had one with her morning break, then two donuts before the late lunch.

The Mexican buffet was what Mrs Henderson had predicted &#8211; all you can eat with a simple menu at a cheap price. She initially had a chili rellano with healthy helpings of refried beans, rice, and two pieces of pollo ticul (Yucatan style chicken); it was good, but the aroma of the unsampled items beckoned. She then had an enchilada with two home made beef tacos with tomatoes, cheese olives and shredded lettuce. Overall it was nearly a thousand calories, but Amber had no idea.

Totally full for the afternoon Amber skipped the pastry bar and went home. Supper was crock-pot stew with garlic bread and peas, but her younger sister Carolyn had a surprise: a huge bowl of butterscotch pudding, enough for everyone plus an extra before bed serving for she and Amber.

Wednesday was traditional French toast day at Amber’s house, and she had her usual two slices plus some melons. Amber and her sister had a long standing arrangement where Amber, a natural early riser, cooked breakfast and Carolyn cleaned up afterwards. 

There was an extra slice of French toast this day because their Mom only had one and Carolyn cheerfully claimed it, giving her three.. Amber packed a sandwich for lunch along with two bananas, a Yoplait Pina Colada yogurt container and a couple of energy bars. She figured she would eat this during the noon hour while minding the switchboard, letting her run some errands at lunch. That day she was also advised that she could join some coworker’s the next day at Sally’s - someone else could handle the lunch phones.

The plan worked as planned, but in the morning she couldn't’t resist having two of the Wednesday pastry tray specials &#8211; custard filled éclairs with chocolate topping. The early lunch while working gave her room for two afternoon donuts. But all of this wasn’t considered when she got home to discover her mom was having beef stroganoff! She didn’t think a moment about having two large servings &#8211; as did her younger sister and Dad.

Thursday’s pastry special turned out to be squares of cherry cobbler. Then at lunch Amber followed the lead of her coworkers and had the chicken fried steak special. It was served with a salad, veggies and choice of potatoes. Unexpectedly the group ordered dessert &#8211; which in Amber’s case turned out to be a huge piece of marble cake a la mode. .

Friday morning breakfast was chipped beef and gravy over two pieces of toast. The morning pastry special was mini-slices of pie, with four choices. Amber started out with chocolate silk and coconut crème, then tried apple and peach. She went to the Indian buffet for lunch, but didn’t find it that great. She was almost eager to have a couple of maple bars with coffee from the office upon her return..

This pattern quickly established itself. Amber was gaining easily a pound or two every week, and by mid-July she was noting her clothes getting tighter. Examining her body she could see an increased roundness and softness in her belly, but it didn’t seem major. The truth was that she regarded her emplopyment as "just a summer job" and she was enjoying the luscious fringe benefits. 

“Who really cares,” she rationalized. “Its only a few pounds and I won’t be doing this much longer.” The last week of July would change that reality frame big-time!

Amber was doing reception relief full time for a vacationing employee. Bored, she began playing with a duplicate set of Excel templates. It took a few hours, but she figured a way of making one set of data entry migrate automatically to two other templates. It was a change that would save hours of work for the employees and reduce potential for error.

She showed what she had done to Mrs Henderson, who was quite impressed. 

“How did you figure that out?” she asked. 

“I spent a semester studying Microsoft Office, remember?,” Amber replied.”Our teacher was always stressing that If you use the full potential of the programs (as too few do) there are all kinds of potential.”

Mrs. Henderson smiled and said cryptically “You’re right &#8211; let me get back to you in a day or so.”

*Chapter 2 &#8211; Surprise career change *

"Amber," said the branch chief Bill Hodges, "let me be honest with you. You have the proven ability to help us with a problem. How would you like a 50% raise and a $5000 contribution towards tuition to stick around here for a year before going to college?"

“What are you talking about?” Amber said with a puzzled look.

“You have above average computer understanding. A lot of our employees need tutoring and our forms need to be more streamlined and efficient. Unfortunately we don’t have the budget to spend $50 an hour on that sort of thing, but we can go to $15 as an upgrade of your present position."

“Well," she stammered playing for time, "let me discuss it with my family and I’ll let you know tomorrow.” 

That night after supper she shared what had happened with her Mom and Dad. Her Mom was initially reluctant &#8211; college after high school had been her mind set forever. Her Dad, however, saw the benefit such a item could make on a resume. 

“Can you actually do what they’re expecting?” he asked.

“I think so &#8211; I’ve already been doing it in bits and pieces. It’s a win-win for both of us I feel.”

“Well, you’re definitely going to need some new clothes,” her Mom saud, finally assenting.

“You’re the greatest &#8211; and thanks.” Amber replied, not immediately catching the implications of her stocky mother's side comment.

Later that night her younger sister stuck her head in and invited Amber to take her to the store &#8211; actually that was code language for the two of them hitting the local DQ without parental awareness so she could learn more details.

As the two chubby girls enjoyed matching banana splits Amber began realizing just how accurate her mom’s perception was. Her top was creeping up, exposing her belly despite repeated attempts to pull it down; the fabric of the legs of her slacks was also stretched thin and her belly was peeking over the waistband. Her breasts were straining within he confines of her bra. She decided her new outfits should jump from 12/14 to 18. That way, she thought, they’d be big enough to accommodate any further gains. 

That weekend she and her sister went on a shopping spree, spending nearly $500, most of it at Fashion Bug. Then they polished off a burger combo at Arby’s. 

“I’ve picked up a few pounds since I’m not as active as I used to be,” Amber confided.

“Eating like this doesn’t help matters,” her sister replied. “But you handle it well and I’ve no room to talk. I’m a year behind you and already over 140! It’s a good thing I’m tall.”

“So a few extra pounds don’t bother you?”

“Nope &#8211; in fact tonight Mom and Dad won’t be home and I plan on having a couple of pot pies from the freezer followed by ice cream!”

“Yum!” Amber replied. “Can I join you?”

“I was hoping you would. I feel naughty today!”

That night the girls did in fact have the pot pies with broccoli and two huge bowls of ice cream apiece while watching old movies. The next morning Amber helped her Mom prepare the family’s typical Sunday feast for breakfast &#8211; pancakes, beef patties and eggs. It was a hot day so for lunch they had sandwiches with potato salad and more ice cream. In the evening it was tacos and still more ice cream.

“We are absolutely soooo bad,” her sister said. “But eating like this on occasion feels soooo good.”

“I know,” said Amber. 

“I wonder when, or if, I’ll feel like stopping?” she thought to herself. 

Back at work she enjoyed her new duties with her new outfits. Despite the fact that she knew she was now no longer there temporarily she didn’t cut back on the pastry tray. Instead she regularly scooped up uneaten items and took them home to quietly share with her sis, who had an appreciative sweet tooth. 

Her computer talents brought her into increasing contact with other employees, including an up and coming member of the sales force, Dave Snyder, who was seven years her senior. He was tall, quite husky and one who hated women’s obsession with diets. He liked food and women who could share it without guilt.

Amber thought Dave was nice but too old for her. Besides, with college ahead she didn’t want to get anything too serious started. Several times she rebuffed his attempts to get a date, but she never treated him unkindly. In fact, when he would return from out of town trips he would on occasion give her email gifts that she always thanked him for. She in reality felt kind of attracted.

It was early November when she received a Saturday night cell phone call while bowling from her Mom. “A Mrs Henderson called from your company. Please call a Mr. Hodges at his home as soon as possible.”

It was 8:30 at night, but she got to a quiet area and did as requested. Mr. Hodges sounded relieved to hear from her. “Amber, have you ever been to Las Vegas he asked.

“No &#8211; I’m not even old enough to drink or gamble”

“I’m not implying that you were. Rene Julian was supposed to be there tomorrow as part of our team for a business show but is instead in the hospital. We need someone there who is familiar with the softwareeto help man the booth. Dave Snyder agrees with me that you’re well suited for the job. You’ll need to leave in the morning and will be gone four days, but there’s a $500 bonus plus all travel, meal and lodging expenses if you say “yes.”

Amber started to ask if he had her parents consent, then caught herself and realized she was now an adult. This was her decision to make.

“Can I get the tickets at the airport and if so what time?” she asked.

“Mrs. Henderson will work out the details. Expect a call by midnight - and thanks,” he replied.

She returned to the bowling alley and said “Sorry folks, after this set is over I’m splitting for Vegas.”

She was home by 10:00, spent twenty minutes conferring with her parents, both of whom had split on their kids in similar emergencies many times. They fortunately realized that they were only advisors, not permission givers at this point and wished her well. She started packing and took Mrs. Henderson’s call at 11:00.

“I’m to be at the airport at 9:45 &#8211; plane leaves at 10:30; Dave Snyder will pick me up at McCarren Field in Vegas and we’ll be at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.” she announced. "I'll call you once I'm in my room."

Carolyn arrived just before midnight &#8211; their parents had retired. 

“Want some pizza,” she asked. “We cut out and had some after you had to leave,”

“Sure,” Amber replied. “How many pieces for me?” 

“Four &#8211; and I brought us each a pint of Ben and Jerry’s!” Carolyn said slyly.

Amber went to sleep full and happy that night. Of course Carolyn had had chicken and several pieces of pizza with the other bowlers as well. But out-eating Amber was becoming normal for her.

Click here for next installment


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## luv_lovehandles (May 29, 2006)

I like this one alot


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## Observer (May 29, 2006)

Your encouragement is appreciated!

Given your screen name you might like this little homily from the Dimensions story archi=ve. It was one of my earliest efforts some eight years ago:

Lovehandles Cafe


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## luv_lovehandles (May 31, 2006)

Nice quick read You are a very good writer..


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