# Patronage and Pierogi - by Madeline Maple (SSBBW, Romance, Imagery, ~XWG )



## Madeline Maple

_SSBBW, Romance, Imagery, ~XWG _ - A young woman grows into a new family and a new lifestyle while under the patronage of an eccentric admirer.

*PATRONAGE AND PIEROGI
By Madeline Maple 

A short story in 10 chapters and an epilogue.*​
*CHAPTER 1*

Victoria Berger sat on her worn, faded, couch with a yellow floral print and looked around at the dusty living room of her first floor apartment in Brooklyn. 

“This isn’t much of a home,” she said aloud, thinking of how it appeared gray and bleak, especially with the low light of the winter sun. She moved toward the edge of her seat and rose from the couch. She stood for a moment and noticed that she felt a bit winded just by standing up. 

“Oh…man…I know that feeling,” she thought to herself as she walked around the couch, down the hallway toward her bedroom.

She stood in front of her second least favorite possession: her full-length mirror. Vicki took stock of herself. She was a young woman in her late twenties, with smooth, milky skin, and dark brown hair that fell in loose, natural curls on her shoulders. She had big, brown eyes and a small, button nose above a pale pink mouth. Her cheeks were more than a little chubby, as they were surrounding by a rather substantial second chin. 

She wore a burgundy, wool sweater with a rolled collar that came up to the bottom of her chins. The sweater hugged her abundant curves rather tightly, as she saw her bulbous breasts above a bulging belly. Along her sides, she saw that the sweater was caught in a couple places by the soft folds of fat on her sides.

The largest part of her body was her hips, and the sweater rolled up a bit, not able to stretch across their width. She wore a heavy, black cotton skirt underneath the sweater, and Vicki turned to her side to see that the skirt was very tight around her bottom, which jutted out away from the small of her back in a steep curve. She turned back to face the mirror. 

“I have got to get back to the gym tomorrow,” she said aloud, knowing that she’d be needing a new skirt if she didn’t curb her recent weight gain.

After her bout with the mirror, she then left the living room to do battle with her least favorite possession: the bathroom scale. She pulled the rectangular contraption out from under the sink, and she heard it clang as she set it down in the middle of the floor. Vicki stepped on the scale, hearing the dial spin as she pressed her weight down. 

She looked up at the ceiling, scrunching up her face as she braced herself for the results. It had been a few weeks since she weighed herself, and she hadn’t been back to the gym in that time. She final got the courage to look down, and she gave a little shriek as she read the dial: 275. That was 5 pounds more than the last time, and Vicki figured she’d be a bit heavier, but that much of a gain she didn’t expect.

“Whoa, that's another jump!” She exclaimed to herself as she stepped off the scale. She silently cursed herself for getting rid of her fat clothes. But she had made a pact with herself. If she got under 250 pounds, she would treat herself to a new wardrobe. And the thrill of achieving that goal, along with the joy of having new outfits, made her want to forget the past. So she threw out all her old clothes to make a fresh start.

About a year and a half ago, in a moment of particular self-loathing, Vicki stepped on her dreaded nemesis only to find that she weighed only three pounds. At least that’s what her scale told her, but in fact, the dial spun all the way around, past the 350 upper limit, to begin again at the starting point. There was some blank space between the 350 and the zero, and it was impossible for Vicki to weigh herself precisely. All she knew at the time was that her weight was probably a little bit above the maximum weight for the scale. 

Right then and there, Vicki resolved to lose weight. She joined a gym, starting eating fewer carbohydrates and more vegetables. Pretty soon she could get an accurate weight from the scale, and she watched her weight go down, until a few months ago, she was thrilled to see her weight reach 248. She immediately went out to get her new wardrobe and get rid of the past.

But here was the past repeating itself. After the joy of the new clothes faded, her enthusiasm for the gym, which was never very strong to begin with, lapsed entirely. She started getting reacquainted with carbohydrates, and she saw her weight start to climb until today, when she saw the figure of 275. 

She had enjoyed being smaller. She felt lighter on her feet. She was able to fit into clothes she could buy at retail stores. But being a bit smaller didn’t solve her problems. She still felt lonely and without direction, no matter what she weighed. And her love for fatty foods never subsided, and she found that at 248 pounds, her body always wanted more food. Even at 275 she often felt hungry, and she was afraid that in no time she would be back, maxing out her scale.

Vicki looked at the clock on the bathroom wall. 

“Oh no!” she cried. She was going to be late for her appointment with the bankruptcy attorney in the city. Vicki rushed out of the bathroom, grabbed her purse, and left her apartment, moving as quickly as her 275 pound frame would allow.

On her way to the subway she passed a billboard for Zywiec beer, reminding her of the European flavor of her Brooklyn neighborhood. She hadn’t lived in Greenpoint for more than a couple of years, but she had come to enjoy living in a place with so many Polish immigrants. Vicki chose a Polish neighborhood thinking it might make her feel more at home, given her Polish ancestry. 

She didn’t know a word of Polish, and her parents, before they passed away, were never very big on teaching her the old traditions. But since Vicki didn’t have a family of her own, just being near people who came from the same place made here feel more comfortable. Plus, it made her feel like she was living in a world capital, hearing languages other than English as she walked down the street.

While on the train, Vicki noted that there was nowhere to sit, and she remembered weighing over 300 pounds, and how embarrassed she would be when people would give up the priority seating for her, which is typically reserved for the elderly. She knew people were just trying to be kind, figuring that a woman her size wouldn’t mind taking her load off her feet. But since she was young and healthy, her pride was always stung a bit when that happened. In the mid-200s no one offered up their seat, but she wondered for how long that would last if she didn’t get back in touch with her inner reserve of discipline.

Vicki’s mind turned from the subject of her size to an even less desirable topic: her finances. She decided it was time to see about her options for bankruptcy. She had a car loan, student loans, and mounting credit card debt. Her freelance web design jobs didn’t quite make enough money to make ends meet, and with every passing month, she kept going deeper and deeper in the red. She was considering get a side job as a bartender to try and chip away at her debt, but she wanted to see if bankruptcy was a better option. She didn’t want to destroy her credit by declaring bankruptcy, but she wasn’t sure she could find another way to solve her financial difficulties.

The bankruptcy attorney was in the East Village, and Vicki got off the train and started walking toward his office. She was focused on her appointment, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched as she walked down Third Avenue. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a black shape, and she turned around and noticed a limousine slowing creeping along, just about five feet behind Vicki. 

She stopped and turned to the car, watching its darkened windows as it continued on its way. Bit then the limo stopped in front of Vicki, and the power windows lowered in the back. A thin, elderly man then popped out his head. He had a crop of thick, white hair that seemed to stand almost straight up. His eyes were small and beady but also rather kind. He gave Vicki a warm smile, and said in a dignified, British accent,

“Hello, my dear. Would you be so kind as to direct me to Houston Street?”

Pointing in the direction of downtown, Vicki replied, “Oh…it’s just down that way about 10 blocks. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, my dear,” replied the man. “And may I say that you look radiant this afternoon.” 

And with that he faced forward and raised the window.

Vicki didn’t think much of the interaction, and she headed to her appointment.

The next day, she was sitting on her couch, looking over the literature she received from the bankruptcy attorney. It all seemed so complicated, and she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted this attorney. She figured that it was in the lawyer’s best interest to get her to see the bright side of bankruptcy because he wouldn’t get paid if she didn’t declare. She knew her finances were in a sorry state, but she wasn’t sure if it warranted such a drastic move. Vicki was about to reread one of the many pamphlets when she heard a knock at the front door.

Vicki opened the door to see a stern, middle aged man in a finely-tailored, blue business suit with sunglasses and a professional demeanor. Her initial reaction is that the man must be from the law firm of the bankruptcy attorney, but then she rejected that idea because why would they visit her at her apartment? Vicki asked the man what he wanted, and he replied,

“I represent a man by the name of Dr. Pretorious. He has a proposition for you, and he has asked me to relay it.”

“A Dr. who?” Vicki asked, dazed and confused by this strange turn of events.

The man repeated, “I represent a man named Dr. Pretorious. He wants to invite you to tea. If you choose to accept his offer, he will compensate you for your time in the amount of ten thousand dollars.”

Vicki wasn’t sure what this was all about, but she understood the part about the ten thousand dollars.

“Are you saying that if I have tea with this Dr. Pretorious, he’ll pay me ten grand?”

“Yes,” the professional-looking gentleman replied. “That’s precisely what I’m saying.”

“Where does he want to have tea?”

“He wants you to visit him at his mansion in Long Island. If you choose to accept, he will send a car for you at 3 pm on Sunday.”

“Wait,” said Vicki, feeling a bit nervous about the prospect of being taken to some strange man’s home. “How am I to know that I’ll be safe? And what does he expect me to do for ten thousand dollars.” 

Now starting to feel a little insulted, Vicki continued, “Just what kind a woman does this Dr. Pretorious think I am?”

“I assure you,” replied the man, “that his intentions are above the board, and all that he expects is for you to join him at his mansion and have tea and conversation. And as a symbol of his goodwill,” handing her a slip of paper, “he asked me to give you this check for five thousand dollars.” 

Vicki took the check and held it up to the light. “You’ll receive the other five thousand when you arrive at his mansion.”

Vicki stood there, speechless, still holding a check for five thousand dollars.

“Here’s my card. Think about the offer, and call me by 5 pm tomorrow with you answer. Do you have any questions?”

“Uh…no,” Vicki said, finally. “Uh, thanks for stopping by.” 

And she closed the door and went back to her couch. In one hand she held a check, and in the other hand, she held a bankruptcy pamphlet. She felt like she was sitting at a crossroads. Not being quite confident about traveling to a strange man’s house, she didn’t feel right going to have tea with this Pretorious. But she didn’t really trust the bankruptcy attorney, either. She figured, however, that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and looking at the check for five thousand dollars, she picked up the phone and dialed the number on the business card.

*CHAPTER 2*

Vicki looked at the living room clock which read 2:59. She looked anxiously out the front window. The five thousand dollar check had cleared, so she had at least some reason to feel a bit more secure about her tea time. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was about to enter into a strange chapter in her life.

Just then a limousine pulled up in front of her apartment, and the driver exited the car and started up Vicki’s walkway. She left her front door, and met the driver halfway.

“Victoria Berger?” the man said.

“Are you from Dr. Pretorious?”

“That’s right, please come with me.” And he opened the door of the limo and gestured for you to climb aboard.

Vicki had never been inside a limousine before, and she got a kick out of imagining herself a celebrity on her way to the red carpet. The limo spead along the Long Island Expressway, and the bustling Brooklyn surroundings slowly turned to the more suburban Long Island, and then to more rural surroundings. She had been riding for almost an hour when they pulled into a long driveway. The limousine stopped in front of a massive home, built in an Edwardian style. The driver opened the door for her and motioned for her to exit the limo, while a man emerged from the front door of the mansion wearing a dark suit and tie.

“Please come with me, Ms. Berger.”

Vicki felt a little relieved that there were other people around, so if this Dr. Pretorious was going to murder her and chop her up into a million little pieces, at least there would be witnesses. Still feeling anxious, Vicki followed the man indoors.

The interior of the mansion matched, or even exceeded the opulence of the exterior. She marveled at a marble staircase, period furniture, and she wasn’t sure, but she might have even passed an authentic Degas hanging on one of the walls. She was being taken through a number of rooms until she was led to a sunlit room where an elderly man was seated. Vicki recognized him immediately as the man who asked for directions in the East Village the other day. And upon seeing her enter, the man opened his eyes wide and practically bounded up on his feet and rushed to greet her.

“My dear Victoria!” He exclaimed. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Pretorious.”

“Did you ever make it to Houston Street?” Vicki replied, dryly.

Laughing, Pretorious said, “Ah, you are such a delight, my dear. I apologize for the charade. I get so flustered when I see a beautiful woman that I sometimes put on airs.” 

He waved a hand toward an empty chair. “Won’t you join me?”

Pretorious pulled out the chair for Vicki, and she cautiously sat down.

“How do you like your tea?”

“Cream and two sugars, please,” answered Vicki.

“Lovely!” answered Pretorius, as if this simple answer just made his day.

Instead of having tea, Pretorious took a bottle from a counter behind him, and poured a small glass from its contents.

“You won’t mind if I have some Gin, do you? It’s my only weakness.”

“Uh, no,” replied Vicki. “Knock yourself out.”

For a minute or so, they sat in silence. Vicki sipped her tea and Pretorious sipped his gin. Then a person dressed as a butler appeared with a three-tiered serving tray, loaded with desserts.

“Won’t you indulge, my dear?” Pretorious asked. “You must be hungry after the long drive.”

Vicki was feeling a bit hungry, and she grabbed a small eclair and ate it in two bites. Then she had a couple of petit fours. And then she just loaded the small plate with a range of different mini desserts. This clearly pleased Pretorious, who just sat watching Vicki as she ate, until he said,

“I am an old man, Victoria.” He sipped his Gin, and then he continued, “I must indulge vicariously. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing a young woman relish the taste of a fine dessert. I must thank you for giving me a wonderful afternoon.”

“You’re welcome,” Victoria said, with her mouth full of another eclair.

“I must admit that I had an ulterior motive for inviting you here, today.”

Upon hearing this, Vicki stopped eating and looked at Pretorius suspiciously. He noticed the distrustful expression, and he quickly smiled and said,

“Oh, my dear, you needn’t be concerned. I just want to give you another proposition. I’m hoping that this tea is just the beginning of a mutually beneficial business relationship.” Pretorious said.

“I’m all ears,” Vicki said, already on her second plate of desserts.

“You see,” Pretorious continued, “I’m an old man with a strong stock portfolio and a weak libido. I must take pleasure in small things. Having tea with a lovely lady, for example.”

At that, Vicki raised her tea cup and toasted Pretorious, with her mouth full of cake.

“I consider myself a patron of the arts,” he said. “I like to give my money away to young women with a certain potential.”

“Potential?” she inquired.

“Yes,” answered Pretorious. “You see, some women are born with the ability to reach their full potential without any outside influence. Others need a little encouragement to be all they can be. I like to serve as a patron for women who need a little support. To…encourage their art, so to speak.”

“I’m afraid I’m a little lost here, doctor. Unless you count my web designs, I’m not really much of an artist.”

“Oh, but you are wrong, my dear, dead wrong.” He was getting excited again as he continued, “I see much potential in you.”

“Oh, yeah?” said Vicki, feeling rather amused by this eccentric old man.

“Oh, my, yes.” He said. “Please, consider accepting my role as patron.”

“And what would this entail?” She asked.

“I don’t get involved with the details, my dear. My associate will explain those to you.” 

And with that he got up, raised Vicki’s hand and kissed it gently. “I must bid adieu, but I thank you for a wonderful tea, my lovely Victoria.”

Vicki sat for a moment, finishing the last eclair, surprised by how much she had eaten. Then another one of Pretorious’s attendants appeared, saying,

“May I guide you to the library, madame?”

Vicki got up, feeling her stomach full of rich pastries, and followed him into a room with dark wood and a sea of books lining the selves. She was directed to a plush leather chair, seated in front of a desk. Behind the desk was the same professional-looking man who came to her door inviting her to tea.

“Nice to see you again, Ms. Berger. Did you enjoy your tea?”

“It was okay,” she said.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m an attorney for Dr. Pretorious. As he explained, he is inviting you to become a recipient of his patronage. I am here to explain the terms of the patronage, and if you choose to accept, I will guide you through the contract. Before we begin, do you have any initial questions?”

“Well, I can think of a billion questions right now, but let’s start with an explanation of what he means by being a patron,” she said.

“Put simply, Dr. Pretorious sponsors women to gain weight. He pays them if they reach the weight of 400 pounds.”

“You are kidding me?” said Vicki. “He pays people to gain weight?”

“That’s it precisely, Ms. Berger. If you chose to become his patron, and if you chose to grow to the weight of 400 pounds or more, he will pay you $100,000. You will call me at the number I gave you before when you reach the agreed upon weight. We will then arrange a day and time for you to come to the mansion, be weighed, and then have tea with the doctor much like you did today. The date when you come to the mansion will be the yearly day for you to check in to maintain your patronage status. For every year you arrive at the mansion on that date weighing 400 pounds or more, you will receive $100,000. If, for some reason, you arrive weighing less than 400 pounds, the contract is considered void. If you fail to arrive on a check in date, the contract is considered void. However, for each year you arrive on the check in date weighing 400 pounds or more, you will receive $100,000.”

Vicki sat stunned, and the lawyer just waited in silence until she finally said, “So if I weigh 400 pounds I’ll get 100 grand, and if I come back a year later weighing 400 pounds I get another 100 grand, and so on and so on?”

“Precisely,” he replied.

“And how long do I have to reach 400 pounds?”

“3 years,” he answered.

“And what if the old man kicks the bucket?”

“His will is set up to uphold the contract in perpetuity,” he said.

“And I don’t have to do anything else? Just gain weight and have tea with him once a year?”

“That’s it, precisely,” he said.

After a few moments pause, “I have just one question: Is he off his rocker or just totally insane?” said Vicki, hoping to extract some personality from this humorless bureaucrat.

“I’ve found him to be of sound mind and body, but to have eccentric tastes.”

Vicki and the lawyer went over the contract, and it was explained that by signing it, she wouldn’t have to gain the weight, but that she would have three years to arrive for a weigh in at 400 pounds or else the contract would expire. Vicki figured she might as well sign it, as it didn’t hold her to anything, and it made Pretorious give her tons of money, if she were to fulfill the bizarre conditions of the contract.

“Oh, but before you sign,” said the lawyer, “I want to call your attention to a clause in the contract.”

“A clause?” she asked.

“Yes. If you were to appear for a check in date weighing 100 pounds over the required weight, you would receive an extra $100,000. That continues for every 100 pounds you gain over 400 pounds.”

“Wait, okay, are you saying that if I ever show up weighing 500 pounds or more, I’d get 200 grand?”

“And,” the lawyer answered, “if you appear weighing 600 pounds or more, you would get $300,000, and so on.”

“Geez,” Vicki said, “this guy really has a thing for very big women, huh?”

“I wouldn’t think it professional to comment on such a matter,” he said.

Vicki was getting tired of this boring conversation, and she wanted to get the heck out of there. As she signed the contract, the lawyer said,

“There’s one more thing. My client likes to put prospective recipients of his patronage into communication with women already receiving his support. Before you make your final decision as to whether or not to gain the weight, Pretorious would like you to call this woman and arrange a meeting,” he said while handing Vicki a piece of paper. “She’ll be expecting you.”

Vicki unfolded the paper which read, “Jeanette Smith, 718-555-7218”


*CHAPTER 3*

Vicki waited at a table outdoors at a coffee shop on the Upper East Side, sipping a cappuccino. It had been a few days since her trip to see Pretorious, and she was glad to have a chance to talk with someone else about this unusual man and his even more unusual offer of patronage. She was pretty sure she knew what she was looking for. This Jeanette Smith must obviously have some meat on her bones. If Pretorious is her patron, Vicki assumed she must weigh at least 400 pounds, so she kept an eye out for corpulent women, and soon Vicki saw a person who she assumed to be Jeanette coming down the sidewalk.

Jeanette was clearly a big woman. She had a little waddle to her step and long, black hair, and big blue eyes. She was wearing a long, pink scarf wrapped around a tight, black turtleneck that hugged her fleshy body. The first thing Vicki noticed about Jeanette was her large belly, which divided into two sections, with the lower section hanging down about two-thirds of the way down to her knees. 

Her dark, denim skirt wrapped around her stomach, coming in-between the two belly sections. She was a very pretty woman, Vicki thought, but she was surprised that she wasn’t pear shaped like Vicki. She had assumed that Pretorious had a preferred shape, but Jeanette was obviously more of an apple. She guessed that Pretorious was more open-minded than she originally thought.

The big-bellied woman identified Vicki immediately, and she came up, shook her hand, and smiled broadly. The two fat women exchanged greetings. Jeanette went inside the coffee shop and returned with a large mocha with extra whip cream and a very large slice of chocolate chip banana bread.

“Ooo, yum. I thought about getting that banana bread,” said Vicki.

“You can have a taste, but you better get it fast, because this sucker won’t be around for long.” Jeanette replied as she eyed the banana bread.

“I’ve been here before,” said Vicki. “The baked goods are to die for.”

“Well, thank you for saying so,” said Jeanette, a comment that caused Vicki to give a confused look. 

“Oh, I run a bakery shop over on Amsterdam that distributes sweet breads, cakes, pastries, and muffins to little coffee shops like this.”

“Wow! That’s great,” said Vicki, noticeably impressed.

“Yeah, it’s a business I started a couple of years ago, thanks to the so-called patronage of our esteemed friend, Dr. Pretorious.”

“It sounds like you are putting his money to good use,” said Vicki.

“I sure have,” Jeanette explained. “I never could have started the business without the help of the good doctor. I know he’s a total weirdo, but he’s completely harmless. I’m really happy to have decided to accept his patronage. I haven’t regretted it a single day.”

Vicki squirmed a little in her seat, saying, “Uh, I don’t know how to ask this…but…how big are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Jeanette laughed a quiet, yet hearty laugh, “You aren’t embarrassing me, honey. I know you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t considering the offer of Pretorious, so we can talk turkey here, okay? So relax.” 

Jeanette continued, “I’m at about 440 pounds. This is my fourth year getting money from the doctor.”

“And how big were you when he first approached you,” said Vicki, feeling more comfortable asking what would otherwise be inappropriate questions to ask a complete stranger.

“Well, I’d say I was just a little smaller than you. How much do you weigh? About 250, I’d guess.” Vicki was secretly pleased that Jeannette had low balled her weight, but she didn’t correct her. 

Jeanette went on, “So I was about 230 when he saw me and asked me to the mansion. Believe me, at first, the idea of gaining 170 pounds seemed ridiculous to me. I’d always struggled and struggled to keep from getting bigger, and now I was considering not just gaining weight, but gaining a lot of weight. So I just thought I’d try to gain a little and see how it felt. And then a little became a little more, and a little more became a little more. And within a couple of years, I was knocking on the door of 400 pounds. Now it feels completely natural. Of course, I went into the wrong business to keep from gaining more weight. If I had started a vegetable distribution company, perhaps I would still be under 410. But I’ve sampled a lot of my own baked creations, and my weight has crept up a bit over the past few years. And, I should warn you, once you get used to gaining the weight to get to 400, you’ll find it difficult to stop, believe me, even if you don’t make cupcakes for a living.”

Vicki smiled at Jeanette’s little joke. She took an instant liking to her. At first, she had seemed quite large, but now, she looked at Jeanette, and she saw someone who wasn’t really that much bigger than she used to be. When Vicki was over 350 pounds, she was used to being a supersized woman. Would it be so bad to go back to that lifestyle for a few years so that she could get out of debt, she thought to herself? Maybe she could even start a cool business like Jeanette’s, or do something else exciting with the money.

Jeanette and Vicki chatted for a while longer. They joked about the strange quirks of Dr. Pretorious, and they compared notes on their favorite restaurants in the city. Vicki was sad to part with Jeanette, as she enjoyed her company. As she headed back to her dingy, Brooklyn apartment, she was feeling lonelier than ever. When she got home, she looked again at her bankruptcy materials, and she had to admit that she was seriously considering becoming a recipient of Dr. Pretorious's patronage.

(Continued in post 5 of this thread)


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## FooMan

this has great potential and I have enjoyed very much so far. I am not sure if it a function of the editor(s) or your own efforts but it is very readable thanks to fine punctuation and spelling.
Foo


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## Giraffes?Giraffes!

I'm actually into the plotline of this one. Sexier stories exist, but i'd really love to see where this goes. Pray, continue!


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## Kenster102.5

Please continue this is so wonderful.


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## Madeline Maple

*CHAPTER 4*

Vicki looked over at the clock while sitting on the living room couch. She was going to be late for work, but she had to finish transferring her credit card debt to another card, or else she was going to get hit with major fees. 

Feeling very sick and tired of working so hard and getting nowhere, she quickly finished her transfer paperwork and sealed the envelope. She worked her way to the edge of the seat. She put her right hand on the armrest, rocked back and forth and little bit, and then pushed herself up on her feet.

“Whew!” she said aloud, thinking that it was a little tougher to get out of her couch than she remembered. She looked down at her flowing dress, and she figured that she had probably packed on a few more pounds over the holidays. 

Vicki threw herself together and rushed to work. She had been working at a bar and grill in Williamsburg for the past couple of years. Dr. Pretorious’s offer was tempting, but she decided not to take it. She figured she could avoid bankruptcy by taking a waitressing job to help reduce her debt, and although the idea of getting free money appealed to her, she had worked too hard to avoid being supersized to give in to her temptations, even if it meant having a clear path to becoming debt free. 

The only problem is, even working full-time and keeping up the freelance web development was not enough to chip away at her debt. In fact, afterr six months she was even deeper in debt than she was a couple of years ago. When Vicki returned home from work one day she decided to face her old enemy, the scale. She could hardly bear to look as she peered down and saw it read 335 pounds. 

“Oh, no!” she thought. In the past six months her weight had slowly climbed, almost to where it was before she lost weight. It didn’t help that the place where she worked made those wonderful thick cut French fries and that she could eat all she wanted while she was at work. But she knew she couldn’t entirely blame the restaurant because she hadn’t been back to the gym since she met with Pretorious.

Vicki sat down, bringing with her a copy of the contract she signed with Pretorious. She still had half a year before it expired, and without even trying, she was only 65 pounds from being at the minimum weight to becoming the subject of his patronage. Before she had even finished reading the contract, she had suspected she would gain the weight. It was just too tempting. Now, although she'd initially thought otherwise, things were chasnging. She now she figured that even if she didn’t try, her weight might come close to 400 pounds, given that she wasn’t feeling very motivated to go back to the gym. If she was going to gain weight, she might as well get paid for it.

Sitting on the couch she tried to imagine what it would be like to weigh over 400 pounds. Her mind drifted to thoughts of Jeanette and how happy and confident she seemed. Her spirits lifted a little, and she said to herself, “Well, if I’m going to do this, I’ll need a better scale.” 

And with that she grabbed her laptop and browsed websites that sold scales. She wanted one with a digital readout, because she dreaded the idea of seeing her weight spin the dial all the way around. A harsh, cold, digital readout would be much better. She saw one scale for sale online called the Digiweigh. Vicki read some of the customer comments for the scale, and she saw one comment that intrigued her. It read,

“This scale is perfect for people like me who weigh over 400 pounds and want to keep tabs on their weight.”

“That’s perfect,” Vicki thought and pressed the checkout button. “And I’ll need to stock up the fridge!”​
Over the next six months, Vicki kept her job at the bar and grill, but her waitressing uniform became tighter and tighter. She approached her weight gain with gusto. She even surprised herself. When feeling uninhibited, Vicki could eat tremendous amounts of food. Vicki regularly ate an entire large pizza by herself. She would eat 5 egg omelets and a large helping of bacon and potatoes. She seemed to be eating all the time, and the Digiweigh showed her progress. 

By spring, she was over 400 pounds, and she didn’t waste any time calling for an appointment with Pretorious, as she needed the first installment from her patron to cut down her debt.

She remembered Pretorious’s mansion as if it had been yesterday. The limo pulled into the semicircle driveway, and the same attendant came out to greet Vicki. She was led to a large scale in a room by the front door. Vicki noted the 405 pounds on the scale. She had been sure to give herself a little wiggle room.

As Vicki entered the same tearoom, she noticed Pretorious in his fine suit, waiting for her.

“My dear, Victoria! You look stunning!” with his eyes practically bulging out of his head.

Vicki had gained over 130 pounds since she was last at the mansion, and it showed on her body. Her hips were much wider, carrying a lot of the weight. Although you couldn’t quite see it with the flowing skirt Vicki wore, her thighs were thicker, too. Her calves had a lovely rounded shape, which were barely visible underneath the skirt. Her face was a little bit pudgier, and her second chin now bulged into a third chin that creased a bit at its base as it blended with the shoulder and upper back which was bulging with some soft fat. She walked with a rather pronounced waddle now. She eased from one foot to the next, ambling along at an easy pace.

Pretorious took all this in, as he greeted Vicki by kissing her hand as usual.

“Thank you, my dear, for accepting my patronage! You are quite the artist. I knew you had it in you.”

“Well, I didn’t want to disappoint you, kind sir,” replied Vicki. And she quickly loaded her plate with tasty little éclairs and other teatime snacks. Pretorious was in seventh heaven, sharing tea with Vicki. Patron and artist sat, enjoying their time together. But Vicki couldn’t wait to get the $100,000 check she received from the lawyer after the teatime. She took no time in cashing it. Now, her plan was to stay around 405 pounds and ride the easy train to economic solvency under the patronage of Pretorious.

*CHAPTER 5*

Her most recent annual visit to Pretorious was complete, and this time, the check that she received was enough to finally get rid of her debt. She had been under the patronage of Pretorious for the past three years. Each time, she used a chunk of the money to get rid of her debt. But she owed so much that it took three years of money from Pretorious to both cover her lifestyle expenses and become debt-free. But as Vicki went inside her house, it wasn’t her finances that was on her mind.

She couldn’t believe that she had gained 36 pounds in the past year. Ever since she reached 400 pounds, she had found it difficult to stop gaining weight. It was like a switch turned on, and she couldn’t turn it off. She had weighed 405 pounds to begin her time with Pretorious as the subject of his patronage. The next year, she appeared weighing 427 pounds. Last year, she weighed 456 pounds. And now, at this most recent visit, her weight had ballooned to 490 pounds. Her initial plan was to stay at just above 400 pounds, but she just couldn’t keep from gaining.

Now, with her most recent windfall, Vicki decided that she had earned a little bit of a break. After all, she finally pulled herself out of debt. She paid back her student loans and sent off a check to zero out her credit cards. In fact, only about one quarter of Pretorious’ most recent payment of 100 grand went toward eliminating the debt, and she could hardly believe it when she looked at her bank statement and saw that she was flush with cash. 

As a result, she was feeling pretty good about herself, enjoying being in the black for the first time in her life. Yet she still couldn’t keep the fear of being broke at bay. After living on the edge of ruin, the possibility of turning down another paycheck from Pretorious was out of the question. Instead, Vicki chose to go for one more year before any serious dieting.

Vicki remembered the terms of the contract, and that if she were to appear at the weigh-in at over 500 pounds, Pretorious would pay an additional 100 grand, making a total paycheck of $200,000. That would be more than enough to give her a little nest egg that would virtually guarantee that she never again faced the indignity of poverty. While the idea of weighing 500 pounds seemed unfathomable when Pretorious originally approached her, now she was only ten pounds away, and an additional ten pounds meant an additional 100 grand. It was just too tempting. She would take the next year to enjoy being debt-free and would visit Pretorious the following spring, weighing just a little over 500 pounds. After that she would finally return to her regular life, embark on an exercise routine, greatly reduce the amount of food she ate, lose the weight, and get back to web developing.

She would need to be careful, however. Without trying too hard, she gained 36 pounds over the previous year, and there is no way she was going to let that happen again. What she needed to do was cut back a little on her food to slow down her gain a little, but not so much that she didn’t make it to 500 pounds the next time she saw Pretorious. She would rely on her trusted Digiweigh to make sure she wasn’t gaining another 36 pounds in the year to come. 

It wouldn’t be easy to eat less, and she knew it, but she took comfort in knowing that she had another year before she had to lose weight. Plus, Vicki rationalized it by saying that it would make for a good transitional year, for her to slow down her gain a little before she had to really diet. But just because she had to eat a little less didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy a life of luxury. Having no mortgage payment to make and seeing all that money in her account meant that she could make some lifestyle changes. The first change she chose to make was to hire a housekeeper.

Vicki had spent the entire day doing interviews and was feeling exhausted, bored, and above all, hungry. She was already trying to curtail her gastronomical exploits, and her body was rebelling by telling her that it craved more. No one she had interviewed seemed quite right. Some of the potential housekeepers could only work certain days of the week or only mornings or afternoons. Some of them asked for far more money than she was willing to part with. 

In addition, many of the women were visibly shocked at the sight of Vicki’s zaftig figure when she answered the door to let them in. Most of the women got over it soon enough, but Vicki would catch the eyes of the applicants wandering down to her bulbous, 490 pound body crammed into her supersize frock, as if they couldn’t get their mind wrapped around her voluminous shape. There was no way she would give full-time employment to someone who visibly judged her so. Vicki was just about ready to give up and start from scratch, but she looked down at her legal pad and saw one more name listed on her legal pad, a woman by the name of Lidia Zielinska. Just then she heard the doorbell ring.

“Just a minute!” Vicki called out as she began the process of getting up from the couch. She slowly wriggled her rear forward to the edge of the seat, pressed down on the arm of the couch with all her might, pushed herself up on her unsteady feat, paused a moment or two to regain some breath and stability, and started for the door. As she lumbered along she mentally braced herself for the look of shock worn by the person outside. 

Vicki opened the door and saw a 40-something Polish woman with a round face. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore black sweatpants and a pale green shirt that Vicki could see covered a plus-size body. Instead of scornful surprise, the woman beamed a warm smile and outstretched her hand.

“Hello, my name is Lidia,” said the woman in a heavy, Polish accent. “You need housekeeper, yes?”

A bit taken aback by the pleasant greeting, and still winded by the trip from the couch to the door, Vicki stammered, “Y-yes…yes…I do….my name…is Vicki…please come in.”

The two women walked to the living room, and Vicki gestured to the chair next to the couch as she gradually lowered herself with one hand on the armrest and the other hand clutching the back of the couch for support. Lidia sat calmly with a pleasant smile on her face as she waited for Vicki to descend to the couch, regain her breath, and begin the interview. All the while, Vicki sized up her prospective employee. Lidia looked healthy and strong with kind eyes. In fact, nothing in her face betrayed a hidden judgment of Vicki’s weight. It helped that it looked like Lidia could stand to lose more than a few pounds herself as she estimated Lidia’s weight at about 250 pounds.

“Thank you for coming,” said Vicki finally. “As you know from the ad, I’m looking for a full-time housekeeper, but let me clarify what your duties would include. I want someone to clean up, take out the trash, go to the grocery store, you know, just help around the house.”

Lidia replied, “Yes, yes I can do that. I just finish full-time job as housekeeper and need new job.”

“Could you tell me more about your last job?”

“Oh, I work for busy business family in city,” explained Lidia. “I do everything. I clean, cook, shop, babysit. Whatever they need, I do. But they move to Los Angeles and no needing my work. So I look for new job.”

“So you wouldn’t mind cooking, too? But that would cost more money, I bet.”

“Oh, no,” replied Lidia. “I think that just part of job. I take comfort of employer very serious. And I cook very good.” Then Lidia’s face lit up, and she exclaimed, “You try my pierogi! I make best pierogi in all Greenpoint. My little sisters say this so, and they are very good judge. You let me make pierogi. You try, you like, you hire me?”

“Wait, what?!” as Vicki was taken aback by the sudden turn in the conversation.

“You let me make pierogi and you try,” said Lidia. “You know pierogi? It like little dumpling. Classic Polish food. What you like? Potato cheese? Beef? Spinach? Chicken?”

“Well I’ve never had a pierogi, but I guess I wouldn’t say no to a potato and cheese dumpling right about now.” As Vicki felt her stomach rumbling. “But I can’t just hire you based on your cooking…”

“…yes, yes, yes,” interrupted Lidia. “I know. I know. Don’t worry.” 

As she rose from her chair and started for the door. “Be right back!” And she exited the house leaving Vicki a little flustered and more than a little excited at the prospect of tasting a new Polish treat.

About twenty minutes later Lidia returned with an armful of groceries. She didn’t even knock as she came right through the front door which was left unlocked, as Vicki hadn’t yet taken the time to go and turn the bolt. Lidia came into the living room, looking animated with a bright smile. Vicki couldn’t help but notice that Lidia effortlessly carried four large paper grocery bags, two in each arm, and they appeared to be almost overflowing with food.

“I now make pierogi, yes?”

“Sure. Be my guest. But how long will this take?” inquired Vicki as she thought about her long day of interviews and her building hunger.

“No time. Be ready in no time. Don’t worry” responded Lidia.

As Lidia left for the kitchen, Vicki thought about how this was the second time her prospective housekeeper used the phrase “don’t worry.” 

She was certainly ready to enjoy her first debt-free year without worries. But she couldn’t help but worry a little bit, thinking that it must take quite a long time to make dumplings from scratch, and she feared she couldn’t wait. Furthermore, she was feeling a bit disconcerted by letting this total stranger run about in her home, especially in her kitchen, a special and personal place where she had so many wonderful memories. But she tried to relax and calmly wait for Lidia’s promised meal. She turned the television to CNN, but before she even made it to the first commercial break, Lidia returned smiling from the kitchen, holding one of Vicki’s large mixing bowls. She set it on the coffee table and Vicki peered over the side of the bowl which was full of a steaming, red soup.

“Oh! I almost forgot” exclaimed Lidia, and she left again for the kitchen. She returned with an eight ounce container of sour cream and a spoon. Lidia proceeded to scoop the entire contents of the sour cream into the soup. “You no have borscht with no sour cream!”

“Borscht?” said Vicki more than a little confused. “I thought you were making pierogi?”

“Yes, yes,” replied Lidia. “Don’t worry, pierogi come soon. But you look hungry so I give you borscht as you wait, yes? My little sisters say I make best borscht in Greenpoint. They are very good judge”

“Well…let me see,” said Vicki as she slowly leaned over and stirred the huge glob of cream into the soup, dipped her spoon into the pink swirl and took a taste. Vicki smacked her lips, nodded, and immediately began tasting the soup again and again.

“Ah, you like classic Polish dish!  And this not even best borscht. It needs to be on stove for few hours for good flavor,” said Lidia. Vicki could only nod as she continued her fervent attack on the gigantic bowl of creamy soup in front of her. She didn’t even notice that Lidia left for the kitchen to continue her work. About an hour or so later, Lidia returned with another large mixing bowl. This time, it was full of small, hot little dumplings that were clearly sautéed in grilled onions and more than enough oil.

“Here come my pierogi!” exclaimed Lidia.

For a moment, Vicki noticed the massive portion Lidia brought to her and remembered her pledge to limit her gain over the next year. But the wonderful smell of potato, onion, and cheese overwhelmed her, and she dove into the bowl with enthusiasm. She ate the first pierogi in one bite. She gave a brief smile and nodded, and then proceeded to work on completing the task of eating the big bowl full of dozens of little, greasy dumplings. 

Lidia went back to the kitchen and returned with a large, but comparatively modest portion of piergoi and started eating herself. Lidia ate pretty quickly, but she couldn’t match the speed with which Vicki downed her dumplings. In fact, Lidia and Vicki finished their pierogi simultaneously, even though Vicki had about six times more than Lidia. Both women then reclined a bit and smiled at each other as Vicki reached down to the bottom of her drooping belly and rubbed it a little.

“I see that you like. It makes me very happy to see person enjoy my food,” Lidia said. “You remind me of my little sisters, Vicki. You, too have lovely smile.”

“Thank you for the pierogi, Lidia. I see I could become a big fan of these Polish delicacies. And I always enjoy having my culinary horizons broadened. It’s been a while since someone made a home cooked meal for me, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it.”

“Well…I be happy to give you home cooked meal,” replied Lidia.

“I have a feeling that could be arranged,” said Vicki, as she smiled at Lidia, and thought about how she already felt comfortable with this woman, and knew she’d found her housekeeper.

Lidia contacted the family who previously employed Lidia to check her reference. She spoke with the mother who praised her up and down, saying that Vicki would be lucky to have her as a housekeeper. The woman said they even tried to get Lidia to move to Los Angeles with the family, but that Lidia said she couldn’t be away from her family. That was enough checking up for Vicki, who got such good vibes from Lidia, not to mention good food, that she was just looking for reasons to hire her.

The next few months went by rather quickly. Spring turned to summer. Summer turned to fall. All the while, Vicki took time to relax and enjoy her life without worrying about finances, and she loved having someone take care of the housework. But even more than that, she was having a great time having Lidia around. She didn’t realize how lonely she had been, and it brightened her spirits to have someone to talk to throughout the day. 

Lidia even got Vicki to watch a Polish soap opera, "Pierwsza Milosc," which was subtitled and broadcast on Polsat, a cable station Vicki didn’t even know she had until Lidia pointed it out to her. It became a ritual for the two women to watch Pierwsza Milosc, and everyday they tuned in and dined on pierogi while they watched. Vicki loved all the flavors Lidia concocted, and Lidia, buoyed by the encouragement, tried different spices and new flavors, continually trying to improve on her signature dish.

Lidia always served Vicki a large mixing bowl crammed full of pierogi, while Lidia had her relatively small plate. It was such a part of their ritual that Vicki soon learned to forget about the huge portions she was receiving. Lidia treated it like it was a normal amount to be eating, and Vicki, already accustomed to a lot of food, wasn’t complaining.

Lidia did all the cleaning and grocery shopping and most of the cooking, which gave Vicki a lot of extra free time. Often while Lidia was doing housework, or in the evening while Lidia was off the clock and spending time with her sisters, Vicki played around in the kitchen. She even started trying her hand at baking and worked to perfect her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, using ingredients Lidia would buy for her at the grocery store. 

Vicki ate more than her fair share of her baked treats, but she got to the point where she made so many that even she and Lidia couldn’t eat them all. Lidia enjoyed modest sampling of the cookies, but she noticed that some of the cookies were getting stale before they could be eaten. One day Lidia asked if she could take some of her cookies to her sisters to enjoy, saying that she thought they would welcome the gift, and of course Vicki was happy to share her concoctions and soon started baking even more to share with Lidia’s family.

Life felt pretty normal for Vicki during her six months with Lidia as her housekeeper. She enjoyed her time at home chatting with her friend, and she spent a lot of her time with movies from Netflix, cable television, and books she ordered on the internet. She took to learning about Polish culture and history, inspired by her newfound friendship. And she felt intellectually stimulated for the first time in a long while. 

Because Vicki was spending time in the kitchen, she bought a reinforced steel bar stool to sit on while she baked, as she figured her plump frame wouldn’t be supported by a wooden one. She had Lidia go to a local hardware store to get the special stool, and Vicki was having such a lovely time that she didn’t even think about the difficultly she was having standing up in the kitchen for long periods of time. Instead, she attributed the quick fatigue she was feeling to the hard work she put into her cookies.

One fall afternoon after “Pierwsza Milosc” and a standard helping of pierogi, Lidia and Vicki sat and discussed the latest drama as their dumplings digested. Soon the topic of conversation changed from the Polish soap opera.

“Oh, Vicki, I am so happy to have boss for friend,” said Lidia. “You are so kind. I wish you meet my little sisters.”

“Well, thank you, Lidia. And I’ve heard so much about Sophie and Maria that I feel like I already know them,” Vicki said.

“Next week we have birthday party for Maria at Sophie’s house. You come? They keep asking to meet you. They want to meet author of famous cookies. And my baby brother be there, too. He love to meet you, I know. You come?”

Vicki was suddenly struck with a feeling of anxiety that she couldn’t quite explain. Lidia’s invitation caught her by surprise, and she responded with a quick, “Oh…um…thank you, Lidia, but I don’t think I can make it. I wouldn’t want to intrude on a family occasion.”

“No intrude. No intrude. Sophie tell me invite you special. Please come.”

Still feeling anxious by the persistent invitation, Vicki said, “I just can’t make it, Lidia, I’m sorry. I just haven’t been feeling well, and I’m so busy here…with baking and all.”

Lidia looked at Vicki with a suspicious glare, and the two women sat in silence for what felt to Vicki like an interminably long time. Finally, Lidia said, “Why you no want to meet my little sisters. You make them cookies. You friend to me. Why you no want to meet my family. I see you. You no busy.”

Vicki sat for more than a minute while a feeling of sadness started to well up from the pit of her stomach and fill her heart and chest. Small tears started to trickle from her eyes, as she whimpered quietly. Lidia squeezed herself into the small sliver of couch not occupied by Vicki’s flowing hips, and leaned over and gently put her hand on Vicki’s soft shoulder.

Vicki cried for a while, getting in touch with what she felt and trying to put her feelings into words. Eventually she stopped crying and said, “I’m sorry, Lidia. I don’t mean to be rude. I’d love to meet your family. It’s just…it’s just that I’m scared. I haven’t even been out of the house for the past six months, and I’m just so heavy that the thought of going out and seeing new people terrifies me. I don’t want to have others stare at me and judge me. I had promised myself to stop eating so much, but I haven’t even tried. These past six months I’ve been happier than I’ve been in a long time. But I’ve been lying to myself, denying the fear I’ve felt for eating, throwing myself into baking cookies, which is exactly the opposite of what I should be doing! Oh, Lidia, I’d love to meet your family. I’m just so…I’m just so...ashamed…” as Vicki trailed off the tears came back as Lidia got off the couch and kneeled in front of Vicki grasping her hands.

“Now, now…it’s okay,” Lidia said tenderly. “It’s all okay. You relax, Vicki. Don’t worry. It’s okay.” 

As Vicki continued to cry quietly, Lidia held the hands of her dear friend, feeling sorry for her sadness.

Lidia came by the next morning with her regular four grocery bags looking bright and cheery. Vicki was seated in the living room as usual, but this morning she was recovering a bit from a sleepless night. She was finally confronting what she’d been denying the past six months, and she knew she had to finally make some changes.

“You know what, Lidia? I’m going to go to your sister’s birthday party next week, and I’ll bring my best batch of cookies yet!”

“Oh! That makes me happy, Vicki! You won’t regret.”

“Now, where does your sister live? Is it in Brooklyn?”

“Oh, she live just down street. Three blocks. No far. But you let baby brother help you. It much easier that way.”

“No,” said Vicki with her newly rediscovered resolve to take control of her life. “No, that won’t be necessary. Just tell me when and where to be, and I’ll be there.”

Lidia gave Vicki another one of her suspicious looks, but she said, “Okay. Fine. Have this your way. We meet at party.”

“It’s very nice of Sophie to host a birthday party for Maria,” commented Vicki.

“Oh…yes…very nice, but we have all parties at Sophie’s. She very good host.”

Over the next week, Vicki started sleeping better, now that she saw her trip to Maria’s party as a symbol of her need to make a change. She hadn’t yet stepped on her Digiweigh scale, dreading the results after six months of greasy Polish food and cookies galore. But at least she was going to step outside her comfort zone and start living in the real world, not just the four walls of her comfortable apartment.

(continued in post 8 of this thread)


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## mikael

i love this story...i cant wait for more!


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## Lardibutts

I'm hooked on this one too.
This makes me think I must start doing the lottery; I'd love to spread it around in my old age just like Dr Pretorious - though mebbes just a touch more hands on.


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## Madeline Maple

*CHAPTER 6*

Finally it was the morning of the party. Lidia had the day off to help her sister Sophie, and it was time for Vicki to get ready for her first outing. To begin with, she needed to visit the bedroom and take a long, hard look at herself in the full-length mirror. 

She hadn’t really looked at her own image for a while. Sure, she would see herself in the bathroom mirror, but she only took passing glances while she brushed her teeth or headed to the toilet or shower. While she didn’t consciously avert her eyes from her body, she secretly knew that to take a look at her body meant remembering her pledge to slow her weight gain and confront her failure to control herself once again.

It was easier for Vicki to avoid looking in the large mirror in the bedroom, as she hadn’t even been in that room for months. Recently, she felt more comfortable just sleeping on the sofa, propped up with a bunch of pillows to support her back while each of her legs rested on an individual ottoman. Today was the day for her to face some facts, which meant facing herself in a full-length mirror.

Vicki took a depth breath and braced herself for the trip across the apartment. She leaned her upper body forward as much as she could and slid her hands under the sides of her lower left thigh. She wormed her hands underneath as the flesh of the thigh pressed down. Once she felt as if she had a decent grip under the more substantial part of the leg, she pulled with all her might and carefully lifted the left leg off the ottoman. There was a soft thud as her foot landed on the living room carpet. Vicki did the same with her right leg, and then pushed the two ottomans aside a little bit with her feet to make some space for her to stand. The three pillows crammed between her lower back were removed so that Vicki could push with her hands against the back of the sofa for leverage as she wiggled her ample bottom near the edge of the seat. Vicki then paused for a couple of minutes to regain her breath.

Once she felt a little more composed, she put both hands on the top of the armrest and started to rock her body forward and backward. Building enough momentum, she leaned forward as much as she could while simultaneously pushing down on the armrest. The action moved her up on her wobbly feet, and Vicki had to quickly steady herself with her arms to keep her from falling forward. She took another deep breath and headed toward the bedroom. 

Determining the right speed for walking was a bit tricky for Vicki. Vicki had taken to using small steps to help her stability, so she would delicately swing one leg in a small arc in front of the other. At the same time, however, Vicki didn’t want to walk too slowly because the longer it took, the longer she remained standing, and it had become quite uncomfortable to stand for prolonged periods. Plus, she had a long afternoon ahead of her, and she knew she had to conserve her energy and not stand for too long. Yet the thought of falling terrified Vicki, so she erred on the side of caution, lumbering along and occasionally keeping her hand on the wall for steadiness.

Making her way through the bedroom doorway, the edges of Vicki’s bulbous calves gently brushed against the frame as she swung her legs from side to side. It was strange to be back in the bedroom. The room looked eerily familiar, like visiting a house where she used to live. Lidia had kept the room spotless, and it had a strange odor, smelling faintly of Pledge which created a scent that reminded Vicki of a hotel room. But she was a woman on a mission, and she quickly took her mind off the room and put it on the task at hand. Finally, she was in front of the mirror, and Vicki examined the person she saw looking back at her.

For the past six months, Vicki had alternated between two custom-made housedresses she ordered from pluswoman.com. Back in early summer, when the air conditioners labored to keep up with Vicki’s increasing demands for cooler air, she was feeling a bit constrained in the standard sizes available on the internet. Vicki just wanted a little more flexibility in her fabric, so her skin could breathe more easily in the heat. So she had Lidia help take the measurements, while Vicki declined to know her sizes. Lidia sent the figures off to the plus size clothing retailer. 

Since the outfits arrived, Vicki had been living in the two housedresses. She wore one while the other was being washed. As she looked at herself, the first thing she noticed was the faded pattern on a dress that clung too tightly to her curves. Remembering when she first put on the outfit it hung loosely, she thought of all the room in the dresses so she could easily move around in the summer heat. Now, in the cool, fall air, Vicki saw the dress pull, especially around her hips which made the fabric ride up on her inner thighs.

At first she was shocked to see the legs showing beneath her dress. Her lower thigh creased even more than before, hanging flesh almost over the knee. The knees were barely visible, as her barrel-like legs looked more like a mass of folded flesh. She didn’t remember the folds in her calves, which looked pronounced as she saw herself standing. Her legs were spread wide, partly to keep her steady and partly to allow room for the thickness of her thighs. 

Vicki moved a little to her right, so she was in a right degree angle from the mirror. Her dress was form fitted against her bottom, making it look like someone had spray painted the dull pattern. Her rear end protruded from the small of her back in a large semi-circle that blended with her massive thighs. The dress was tight such that one could see all the rolls of fat on her midsection. Her belly divided in two parts, with the lower belly descending to press a bit on the upper thighs. Her melon-like breasts hung pendulously and rested on either side of her upper belly.

Vicki turned back to face herself in the mirror. Her arms were down at her sides, but they hung at almost a 45 degree angle due to the girth of her upper arms. Her fingers even looked a bit pudgier, and her hands creased at the wrist, leading to a bulging forearm. The upper arms were especially surprising, as they rippled every time Vicki moved, and they were so full of fat that they hung over the upper forearm, obscuring the elbow almost entirely. The short sleeves of the dress pressed in a little bit on the top of the upper arm.

After inspecting every inch of the massive woman she saw in the mirror, Vicki looked in her own eyes. Thankfully, she recognized the reflection. Her face looked pretty much the same. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, as usual, with wisps of hair hanging a bit in front of the ears. She saw the same brown eyes, the same button nose, the same red lips, the same double and triple chins. 

Sure, she was very fat, but at least she wasn’t a completely different person. She looked down at herself and pinched a bit of the fabric, pulled it away from her body and let it snap back. Did Lidia always use hot water to wash and rinse her clothes? Lidia was always complaining about how dirty Vicki got her outfits, always spilling this or that on them.

Vicki started to get over the shock of seeing herself in the full-length mirror for the first time in months. Maybe her upper arms previously hung over the elbow? Maybe she did have those calf creases? Maybe her bum stuck out that much? Sure, she probably gained some weight, but she convinced herself that she didn’t look that different. Her dress must have shrunk to fit so poorly. Feeling a bit relieved, Vicki started to become aware of how long she had been standing in front of the mirror. She took a few steps back and gently sat down on the edge of her bed. Much to her pleasant surprise, it held her weight.

Vicki took a bit of time to rest on the bed before getting ready. As quickly as she could, she took a shower, using her soapy washcloth on a stick to clean the regions she couldn’t reach. Having no other outfits, she was forced to put on one of the tight dresses. As Vicki put on some lipstick and light eyeliner, she wondered what Maria’s birthday would be like. 

She trusted Lidia, and Vicki knew Lidia wouldn’t invite her if she thought Vicki would be unwelcome. Vicki forced down her anxiety at going out in public, recognizing that she needed to take a chance and have some new experiences. She headed to the front door and grabbed her purse for the first time in months, which felt strange and leathery to her unfamiliar grip. 

The car was parked right in front of the apartment where Lidia said it would be. Only Lidia had used it since she was hired, and although Sophie lived only a few blocks away, Vicki had already exerted herself much more than usual, so she decided to drive the short distance. Rummaging through the purse, she found her keys, put them in the lock and opened the car door. As usual, Vicki leaned forward and moved the car seat back as far as it would go. Next, she raised the steering wheel to it uppermost position. She was ready to get in the car. 

She turned around and slowly eased herself into the front seat. Actually she tried to ease herself into the seat, but her wide hips made that impossible. Her right hip kept hitting the steering wheel, while her left hip was hitting the car frame. Vicki tried to wedge her way into the car, twisting her body a little so that her left hip was into the car. Then she tried to squeeze her right hip past the steering wheel, but it was soon clear to Vicki that she had outgrown her car. Even if she squeezed herself into the front seat, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals.

Vicki was going to have to walk the three blocks to Sophie’s house. Now feeling more exhausted than in recent memory, she waddled and shuffled her way down the street. It was a cool day, but she still felt sweat trickling down the sides of her face before she reached the end of the first block. When she got to the end of the street, she was frustrated to see a “Don’t Walk” sign. 

Her legs were already shaking, yet all she could do was wait for the walk signal. As soon as the signal changed, she made her way across the street. Vicki tried not to think about the passengers in the car stopped at the intersection and what they might be thinking about the enormous woman slowly moving in front of them. She was walking very slowly now, concentrating on just putting one foot in front of the other.

Vicki was focusing such that she realized that the stoplight had turned before she could even cross the street. She walked so slowly that she couldn’t even cross the street in time before the light turned. Vicki did her best to ignore this most recent indignity, and instead thought about the wonderful sight in front of her: a bus stop with a strong, metal bench. For a while, Vicki was afraid she wouldn’t make it, but upon seeing that bench, she knew she would be okay. She rested for almost fifteen minutes before making her way the final one and half blocks until she saw the address that Lidia gave her for the party.

Vicki was more than a little frightened to see five steps between her and the front door. She hadn’t climbed stairs in months, and given her current fatigued state, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to handle them now. Her legs were shaking worse than ever, and she feared that she’d just have to sit down on the steps and call for help. But before Vicki could make her next move, she heard a voice behind her.

“You must be Ms. Berger.”

Vicki turned around and saw a tall, muscular man in his thirties with closely cropped black hair, a strong chin, and a warmhearted smile.

“I’m Jozef, Lidia’s brother,” said the man.

“You are…Lidia’s…&#8216;baby brother?’” inquired Vicki in-between breaths. “But you don’t…don’t have an accent. In fact…you speak perfect English!”

“I moved to the states when I was six years old, so time has worn away the Polish edge to my voice,” Jozef replied. “But we will have plenty of time to chat at the party. Now, may I be of service?”

“Yes…I could use a hand…with the stairs…I’m embarrassed to say. I’m a little out of shape…as you can see…”

As Vicki trailed off, Jozef just gave her an even warmer smile and extended his hand. Vicki put one hand on the metal railing alongside the front steps and used the other to grasp Jozef. He responded by gently pulling Vicki’s arm and ducking his head underneath the fleshy limb. Before Vicki could say a word, he put his left arm to support Vicki’s lower back while his right hand gripped Vicki’s.

“Does this feel comfortable to you, Ms. Berger?”

“Oh…yes…I think so”

“Well, let’s be off, shall we?”

With that, Jozef tenderly eased Vicki up on the first step. She couldn’t believe how much of her weight Jozef was able to support without even seeming to try. Quickly they had made it halfway.

“Hey, you’re pretty good at this, Jozef! It looks like you have some practice helping big ladies up stairs.”

Jozef only smiled, and they continued on their way to the top. He opened the front door and gestured Vicki to enter.

Lidia was the first to see Vicki, and she immediately noticed how flushed and weary she looked. Lidia rushed to her friend, saying,

“I tell you baby brother pick you up, no? You look like tired,” said Lidia with a concerned tone as she took Vicki’s arm and led her to a nearby metal folding chair. Before sitting down, Vicki noticed that the chair looked a bit wider and sturdier than the typical chair of this sort, and she lowered herself into the seat and took a look around.



*CHAPTER 7*

Having sat down at the birthday party, the first thing Vicki saw was an immense woman seated on what looked to be a customized loveseat across from her. Her body appeared to start at her head and just flow out in ripples around her, with fat spreading out on all sides. The woman’s head looked almost comically small compared to the mountainous body beneath it, but by looking at her features, she guessed that the large woman was probably around Vicki’s age, but she was clearly much heavier. It was hard to say, but Vicki guessed that the woman must weigh well over 600 pounds. She probably weighed closer to 700 pounds or maybe even more. 

The woman was clearly immobile, given her size and the way her body seemed to have grown such that it was adapted to its reclined position. She had black hair pulled back with lovely eyes and a delicate little mouth. Her pretty face was surrounded by a substantial second chin which eventually flowed into the curves and ridges at the base of her neck. She was wearing what looked like a couple of bed sheets sewn together.

The massive woman’s bed sheet dress had a blue-green flannel pattern, with no particular style or flair. It rested just below the shoulders, supported by two straps, one on either size of the small bulges of fat between the neck and shoulders. The dress covered her abdomen and thighs, leaving her entire arms exposed as well as her lower legs. Yet making these body part distinctions seemed almost arbitrary, as the woman’s shape looked like a mountain of cascading flesh, with hardly any definition from one region to the other. Her upper arms appeared to Vicki as extra large pillows with the occasional crease and fold that gently moved into a curvaceous forearm and tiny hands. Her lower legs were spread out a bit to make room for what Vicki assumed was a descended belly. Her calves had a number of fleshy folds that hung seemingly arbitrarily, yet somehow framing her small, bare feet.

Vicki had been transfixed by the sight of this remarkable woman, but she was pulled back to reality when the woman spoke.

“Hello, Vicki. Thank you for coming and welcome to my home. I’m Sophie, Lidia’s little sister.”

Vicki then realized how rude she was to stare, and she silently chastised herself for doing to this woman what so many others had done to her. She quickly recovered, however, and replied, “Thank you for the invitation. Lidia has told me so much about you.” 

Just then, a woman seated to Vicki’s left spoke.

“And I am Maria, Lidia’s other little sister.” She rose to her feet and walked over to Vicki, extending her hand and saying, “We finally get to meet the person who’s given us so many wonderful baked treats.”

Vicki shook Maria’s hand, smiled, and said, “Happy birthday, Maria. It’s been my pleasure to bake for you, and it’s wonderful to finally meet you all. In fact, I’ve brought my latest batch as a present to you on this special day.” 

Vicki then handed the two plastic bags loaded with chocolate chip cookies that she had brought with her on her perilous three block journey.

Vicki didn’t show it, but she was privately surprised to see the size of Lidia’s other “little” sister. Maria was also quite large, although not as heavy as Vicki, and certainly no where near the size of Sophie. Maria was a supersize woman, probably in the neighborhood of 350 pounds, with soft curves and a big belly covered by a sensible, yet stylish one piece, dark blue dress. 

Her black hair was styled to have a look similar to that of some Polish women Vicki would see around the neighborhood. It was like a subdued bouffant, with small curls and wisps for bangs. She wore noticeable eyeliner and deep red lipstick, her makeup accented her features, giving Maria a strong, almost commanding presence. 

The large woman smiled upon receiving the cookies, and she ambled back over to her seat, opened one of the bags. She started munching on a cookie as she gestured to the handsome man with European features and a slight build seated to her left, introducing him as her husband. She then pointed to another good-looking man seated in a folding chair next to Sophie who Maria introduced as Sophie’s husband. Both men smiled and waved hello to Vicki.

Vicki noted that both Sophie and Maria spoke with thick accents, but their English was much better than Lidia’s. That would make sense, she thought, since Lidia had spent the most time living in the old country, while the younger sisters lived more of their lives in the States such that they picked up more of the grammar without losing the accent. While Jozef, the baby of the family, sounded the most like someone born in New York.

Lidia, who had been standing next to Vicki, then gestured to Jozef, saying, “And I see you already meet baby brother. This birthday for Maria, but party too for say goodbye to Jozef.”

“You are leaving us, Jozef?” inquired Vicki. “Before we’ve even had a chance to get to know each other?” 

At that, Jozef smiled and blushed.

He finally replied, “I run a small construction company here in Brooklyn, but I’m branching out and opening a division back in Warsaw. I leave tomorrow, and I’ll be back in Poland for the next six months arranging details.”

Vicki listened to Jozef, all the while not believing what she had just said to him. Was she flirting with Lidia’s brother? She hadn’t done anything like it in recent memory. It was so unlike her to flirt with a man. Especially these days. But it just came out of her before she could stop herself. Not only had it been a while since she last flirted. 

In fact, it had been years since she felt the touch of a man, and she began to realize that she could still feel Jozef’s arm on her lower back and the strength with which he gently heaved her up the stairs. She sighed a little to herself as she relished the memory of Jozef’s touch. In an instant, Vicki knew that she had feelings for him. Yet she doubted that he would return those feelings. Besides, for all she knew he was happily married with a bunch of kids, and he was going out of the country for a long while, so she figured she should just forget it. But as soon as she had decided to squelch her newfound feelings, she heard herself say,

“So you’ll be bringing your wife with you to Poland I assume?”

Again, Jozef blushed and showed a faint smile. Eventually saying, “Um…no…I’m not married.”

At that Vicki felt her heart lift a little, but at the same time she scolded herself for being so bold. As she asked her recent question to Jozef, Vicki could see Lidia’s eyes widen a bit. Seeing Jozef’s response, Lidia seemed to smile a bit, and Lidia interrupted Vicki and Jozef’s awkward exchange, and announced that she would be returning shortly with her famous pierogi in celebration of Maria’s birthday. At that, Lidia left for what Vicki assumed to be the kitchen, leaving Vicki with the siblings and the two husbands.

Sophie was the first again to speak.

“So Lidia tells us that you have a patron? A man who is paying you to gain weight?”

“Uh, yes, this is true,” replied Vicki who was still feeling embarrassed by her flirtation, and didn’t much like this new line of questioning.

Sophie then smiled and said, “Well, I wish I had met this strange man many years ago. We would be filthy rich!” 

Upon saying this, Sophie swung back her head and laughed, causing the other people in the room to do the same. Vicki instantly felt relieved at the break in the tension. And Vicki took the opportunity to join in the joking.

“It’s just too bad he doesn’t pay me to watch television,” she said.

At that, everyone laughed, and continued to poke fun at the bizarre beneficence of Dr. Pretorious. Vicki already felt comfortable with Lidia’s family. Conversation turned to discussion of the neighborhood, and Vicki listened to her new friends chat about everyday life for Polish immigrants. To be kind to Vicki, the family spoke English but the occasional Polish word or phrase snuck in.

Meanwhile, Vicki couldn’t help but sneak the occasional glance at Sophie and her sweeping body. She empathized with the large woman, being able to understand some of the challenges of being so heavy. At the same time, seeing Sophie formed a knot in the pit of Vicki’s stomach. She knew that if she didn’t curb her eating, she was on track to end up just like her: hardly able to move, depending on others for even little things like a drink of water, and spending all her time indoors. 

There was an astonishing permanence to Sophie’s body. She seemed fixed in place, like she was part of the architecture of the home. There was little movement in her body. It was more than just the evident difficulty she would have to rise from her reclined position. When Sophie spoke, only her upper body took part. Even when she laughed, which she did often, only Sophie’s upper body jiggled and shook. Her voluminous lower belly and legs didn’t move an inch.

Every once in a while, Sophie would wiggle her toes a little, particularly when she took delight in something another person said. But even this action didn’t cause movement in her legs and barely any activity in her feet. It was obvious to Vicki that Sophie had lived for a long time reclining in this position, and that her body was in the habit of maintaining its stillness. Vicki felt a little scared at what she was realizing, that she saw Sophie as a kindred spirit. That perhaps she had more in common with Sophie than she was willing to admit. She coped with the fear caused by this realization by silently recommitting herself, by resolving that her current outing marked a necessary change in her lifestyle.

No sooner had Vicki declared her private resolution, than Lidia returned from the kitchen with a heaping plate of pierogi.
 
“I make special for you, my dear. Strawberry and cheese!” Lidia said as she handed the plate to Maria who instantly dug her fork into the delicacies. Lidia then returned to the kitchen, and as soon as she disappeared from view, Sophie called out, “Does it have to be your birthday to get fed around here?”

No sooner had Sophie finished her sentence than Lidia returned from the kitchen with a large mixing bowl in each hand, loaded with strawberry and cheese pierogi. Lidia gave one bowl to Sophie and the other bowl to Vicki. The wonderful smell of the tasty dumplings sent shivers down Vicki’s spine, and she immediately attacked them with gusto, not stopping until they were completely gone. 

After finishing the pierogi, she looked up from her bowl and saw that Sophie finished her own mountain of pierogi at exactly the same time. The two women looked at each other, and Sophie smiled, nodded, and patted the top of her voluminous belly. Vicki just gave an uncomfortable smile, feeling a bit embarrassed that she had just eaten the same amount of food in the same amount of time as this gigantic woman.

The party continued throughout the afternoon. The pierogi was followed by more Polish delicacies, and Vicki tasted every one of them, forgetting their names almost as soon as they were explained to her. The women, Vicki included, talked about their love for the Polish soap Pierwsza Milosc, and they spent nearly an hour retelling past events of the show and predicting what might happen to the characters. 

The festivities were capped by a large birthday cake for Maria, which came with huge slices for everyone, especially for Lidia’s friend and “little” sisters. Vicki was in heaven with all the food, but even more so with the company. She felt at ease for the first time in a long time, having such happy people with whom she could spend the afternoon. Vicki seemed to lose herself in the company. It had been a long time since she felt so content.

But like all parties, this one eventually came to a close. Everyone said one last happy birthday to Maria, as Sophie bid farewell to her guests. Each family member thanked Vicki for coming, saying how much they enjoyed meeting her, and Vicki was equaling willing to say the same to them. She wished she didn’t have to go back to her home and be alone tonight. But at least she would have Lidia to keep her company the next morning.

First, however, was the little matter of Vicki’s trip back home. The thought of those three blocks terrified her. But Jozef, as if able to read the anxious expression on her face, put his hand on Vicki’s shoulder and in a calm voice said, “May I accompany you home, Ms. Berger?”

Vicki had been too embarrassed and nervous to say one word to Jozef after being so audacious before. And Jozef showed his quiet demeanor throughout the festivities. He would join in the laughter, occasionally chiming in on the conversation. And he spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen, presumably helping Lidia with the preparation and cleanup. Now, however, Jozef had approached Vicki with an invitation to which she replied.

“Vicki. My friends call me Vicki. And I would love it if you were to accompany me.”

Again Vicki felt the strong arm of Jozef as he helped her from her chair and guided her out the door as they waved goodbye to Sophie, Maria, and the others. Vicki was so excited by his touch that she didn’t even notice her tired legs as they cried out for more rest, still aching from the arduous journey to Sophie’s. 

Yet Vicki wasn’t going to have to take the trip home on her feet. Instead, Jozef had one of his construction company vans parked right out front. And Jozef helped Vicki into the van, which luckily had the seats removed, so that Vicki didn’t have to worry about squeezing into a seat. 

Normally, Vicki would have felt mortified travelling like a piece of cargo, but something in Jozef’s easygoing manner made her feel comfortable no matter what the circumstances. In fact, the trip home was far too short for Vicki, and before she knew it, Jozef was helping her back through the front door and into her all too familiar place on the couch. Jozef extended his hand, gave another one of his warm smiles and thanked her for your delightful company.

Vicki just gazed up at Jozef, forgetting herself with a big grin on her face. The two shook hands, but the handshake continued for a few more shakes than normal, as they looked into each other’s eyes. Finally, Jozef broke eye contact from Vicki and withdrew his hand, looking embarrassed. He muttered a quick goodbye and before Vicki could say a word he was out the door, leaving Vicki to feel herself melt into the couch as she thought of Jozef.

(Continued in post 10 of this thread)


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## braindeadhead

Excellent work. A fantastic story. I can't wait for the rest


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## Madeline Maple

*CHAPTER 8*

The next morning, Vicki awoke to hear Lidia come through the front door and yell hello as she heard the rustling of grocery bags. 

“I bring cake and pierogi from party!” she called out.

Vicki was still sitting in a dream-like haze, still having lovely thoughts of Jozef, staring absently at the soft light coming through the venetian blinds of the living room window. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time, and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Soon Lidia appeared from the kitchen, bringing one of her mixing bowls full of leftovers from the party.

“I made more pierogi than ever!” said Lidia. “I make sure no run out.”

“Lucky for me,” Vicki replied, as she licked her lips and stuck a fork into a strawberry and cheese pierogi. As usual she tore through the entire bowl while reveling in the intense flavor. She daintily patted the corners of her mouth after finishing, looking down at the now empty mixing bowl. 

Suddenly, Vicki remembered her decision to make some necessary lifestyle changes. She recalled her promise to herself to mark the occasion of Maria’s party as a sign of her resolve to slow her gain. It was difficult for Vicki to push aside the residual feelings of joy, and confront the fact that she needed to take control of her eating. She thought of Sophie and her mammoth body that imprisoned her in her home. Vicki looked down at herself, seeing her folds of fat and her own reclined body with flesh-laden legs carefully positioned on individual ottomans. Yet she also thought of Sophie’s animated laugh and bright eyes, and she simultaneously pitied and admired this exceptional woman.

Regretting her prodigious pierogi breakfast, Vicki was intent on recapturing her determination to make a change and stop feeling sorry for herself. She knew it was time for her to finally face the scale and see just how far she had slipped in the past six months. While Lidia busied herself in the kitchen, Vicki began the slow process of rising from the couch. 

Once she was on her feet, Vicki could tell things were different. She felt her legs rebel at having to support her weight. Her muscles were still fatigued by yesterday’s exertion, and for a moment, Vicki considered giving herself a day to recover. But something inside her told her that if she didn’t take action and weigh herself this very moment, she would lose the courage to change. Something had to happen to arrest the inertia of her weight gain under the patronage of Pretorious, so she started for the bathroom and the Digiweigh scale.

With each step, Vicki winced at the feeling of pain coming from her weary legs. After a seemingly interminable trip, Vicki finally made it to the bathroom. She hadn’t looked for the scale since last spring, and she didn’t see it in the normal place under the sink. Vicki was about to call out to Lidia to help her locate it when she noticed a corner of the scale protruding from the bottom of the bathroom cabinet. She again considered calling out to Lidia, asking her to pull out the scale for her, but if Vicki was going to take control of her circumstances, she shouldn’t start by asking for help. No. She needed to take this step all by herself.

And what a step it was. Retrieving the scale required Vicki to get down on her hands and knees, something she hadn’t done in quite a while. Vicki mentally and physically prepared herself for the maneuver. With one hand, she gripped the bar where she hung hand towels, and with the other, she held onto the edge of the sink for dear life. She slowly descended to one knee. But her overly fatigued leg couldn’t take the stress, and halfway during her descent, Vicki’s leg gave out, causing her to crash down on her knee, banging on the hard, tile floor. 

Vicki bit her lip as she felt the terrible agony shoot through the knee and up her leg. She stopped for a moment, trying to take stock of the situation as tears of pain streamed down her face. She wished she hadn’t been quite so stubborn and had asked for Lidia’s help. She could have easily retrieved the stupid scale and saved her all this trouble. But Vicki had gone this far, and now that she was down on one knee, it wasn’t too much trouble to lean over, grab the edge of the scale, and pull it out to the center of the bathroom. Using all her strength, Vicki pulled herself back up on her legs as she still felt the sharp pangs from her injury.

She was in such pain that it was almost all she could think about. Her eyes were watering, her legs shook and ached, and all she wanted to do was climb back to the couch and rest. Before she could do that, she had to complete her mission. With bleary eyes she faced the scale. She tried to wipe away the tears, but still she could barely make out the familiar word “Digiweigh” at the top. Still trying to ignore her agony, Vicki stepped on the scale, an action that unleashed another torrent of pain in her knee, causing even more tears. Vicki let go of the sink, letting her entire weight press down on the scale, and Vicki looked at the ceiling, feeling more miserable than she ever had in her life. 

Still sobbing, she looked down to read the results, which was no easy task since she had to lean far forward to look past her billowing body. The tears flowed and flowed, and her bleary eyes were barely able to make out the numbers on the screen. Vicki looked quickly, wanting to get back to the safety of her couch. The scale read “499.”

Vicki could hardly believe what she had just seen. She expected to be well into the 500s given how stationary she’d been and how many thousands of pierogi she’d eaten. But before she could really process the information, Vicki had to attend to her throbbing knee, which was no longer shooting pain through her leg, but was still quite hurtful. Vicki made it halfway back to the living room before she could no longer tolerate the discomfort. She cried out to Lidia, who rushed from the kitchen and saw Vicki, red in the face, with a trickle of blood from the edge of her mouth where she bit her lip.

“Oh, no!” cried Lidia, and she ran to her side, helping her back to the couch.

Vicki told Lidia what she had done and what happened. Lidia immediately wanted to rush Vicki to the emergency room, but Vicki talked her out of it and settled for a large ice bag on the knee and a couple of aspirin. After a while, the pain killer kicked in, and Vicki started to relax. Thoughts of Jozef brought a smile to her face as she fell asleep.

A few hours later, Vicki woke up to see Jozef standing before her with a small bouquet of flowers.

“I’m dreaming…but what a wonderful dream,” Vicki said as she turned her head to the side, closed her eyes, and began to doze off again.

“Vicki, wake up. Wake up! Jozef need plane to catch!”

At that, Vicki saw Lidia standing next to Jozef, and she knew she wasn’t dreaming. Turning to Jozef, she said, “Oh, hello.”

“Lidia told me that you injured yourself this morning. I wanted to stop by on my way to the airport to give you these.”

“They’re glorious,” inhaling the fragrances of the lovely hothouse flowers. 

“It’s wonderful to see you again. Won’t you have a seat?” as Vicki leaned over and patted the narrow seat on the couch next to her expanding hips.

“I would love to, Vicki, but I’m already running late for my flight to Poland.”

“Oh…” uttered Vicki, as she lowered her head with an obvious look of disappointment.

Jozef reached out his hand and touched Vicki gently under her face, brushing his finger against her double chin, and he slowly raised her head, saying “A woman as beautiful as you shouldn’t be sad.”

Vicki saw those same, loving eyes from the night before, and she immediately brightened, letting out a deep sigh. She finally said, “You go ahead and go. I’ll be okay. Would you send me a postcard from Warsaw?”

Jozef laughed at that, saying, “I’ll be thinking of you every day. How could I not?” 

And Jozef bent over and lightly kissed Vicki on her cheek. Time seemed to standstill for Vicki and she felt the warmth of his tender lips.

After the kiss Jozef rose, waved goodbye, and headed for the door, leaving Vicki with her heart aflutter.

Lidia smiled at Vicki, letting her enjoy the moment, sitting down in the very seat occupied by Jozef just a minute before.

Finally, she spoke, “I think my brother like you.”

“Really?” said Vicki, blushing. “He’s amazing….” 

Vicki trailed off, but then perked her head up, looking concerned. “He’s not seeing anyone, is he?”

“Jozef? Oh, no. He too busy with construction. He work as a dog. Day and night. No girlfriend in long time. I always say he need good woman.”

Vicki let out a sigh of relief and returned to her happy thoughts. The two women sat in silence for a minute, and then Vicki turned her head to Lidia, saying, “Were you ever married, Lidia?”

“No. No married. Many years while in Poland, I have man. He broke my heart. Soon then we move to America. In America I work hard and help family. No time for man.”

“But…don’t you miss having someone?”

“I have many!” said Lidia in a defensive voice. “I have Jozef. I have Maria. I have Sophie.” 

And after a brief pause, she continued, “And I have you, Vicki.”

Vicki reached her hand to the edge of her expansive hip and took Lidia’s hand. “Thank you, Lidia. You have a kind soul.”

The two women sat and enjoyed the moment of friendship until Lidia had to return to something in the kitchen. This left Vicki with a chance to reflect on the events of the morning. Her knee still ached, but she didn’t seem to mind as much, especially since she still basked in the warm glow of Jozef’s visit. Her mind wandered to her ordeal with the scale. She still couldn’t believe that she only weighed 499 pounds! 

Vicki had only gained nine pounds since her last visit to Dr. Pretorious, which was six months ago. And throughout that time, she had been eating and eating, consuming mounds of cookies and practically shoveling pierogi into her mouth on a daily basis. Vicki came to the conclusion that her body’s metabolism must finally be stabilizing. Yes, she’d been eating huge amounts of food, but she’s also very fat, and it must take a lot of calories to maintain her size. After all, she had gained nine pounds in six months, so it’s not like she was magically losing weight. Instead, she had achieved her goal of slowing her weight gain without even trying.

Vicki assumed that her recent mobility problems were a product of her inactivity, not a sign of a vast weight gain. She remembered her time in front of the full-length mirror from yesterday, and how, after a while, she wasn’t too surprised with her appearance. She was still the same person she knew. And now that she felt like she could count on a more stable metabolism, she wouldn’t have to work on slowing her gain. 

She could take the next six months and enjoy herself, taking delight in more cookies and more of Lidia’s Polish cuisine. She’d just have to make a point of getting some more activity, so that she didn’t get so fatigued just by walking short distances or simply standing for a while. It was good to know that she was just a little lazy, and that her weight gain was more under control than she feared. Vicki then looked down at her skin tight dress, and she again called out to Lidia, saying,

“We’ll need to order a couple more custom-made housedresses, Lidia!”

Lidia came back from the kitchen, carrying a mixing bowl full of steaming beef stroganoff. She placed it in Vicki’s lap and asked her to repeat what she just said.

In-between bites, Vicki replied, “Lidia, I’ll need you to measure me for new outfits tomorrow, okay? And you’ll have to wash them in cold water from now on, please. These cotton dresses shrink more than you would believe.”

Vicki savored every morsel of the noodle dish as she let her mind wander to thoughts of Jozef. She wished she could see him now. She thought of his kind face, his strong arms, his muscular chest, and the feeling of his lips on her cheek. And her heart ached a little to think that it will be six months before she could see him again. For the most part, however, Vicki was feeling happy. Happier, in fact, than she had felt for a long time. 

But what Vicki didn’t know is that her hasty, bleary-eyed vision had kept her from seeing everything on the Digiweigh readout. The scale showed “499,” that’s true, but that’s not all it showed. In the bottom corner of the screen there was a flashing capital “E.”



*CHAPTER 9*

Six months later, on a breezy, late April morning, Lidia let herself into Vicki’s apartment. She dropped off her groceries in the kitchen, and came into the living room to wake her friend.

“Good morning,” said Lidia as she turned the blinds to let in some of the spring morning light. “It smell like spring today.”

Vicki let out a big yawn, slowly opened her eyes, and let them adjust to the light. “Oh, yeah,” she finally said. “What does spring smell like today?”

“Like dirt. Grass. Flower. You know…spring.” Said Lidia, as she unlocked the window, and raised it a bit to let Vicki smell for herself. Lidia then turned to Vicki, and without a word, the two women began the process of getting Vicki to the bathroom.

There were some changes in Vicki’s routine since the fateful day of Maria’s birthday party. As it turned out, Vicki’s knee injury wasn’t very serious. In fact, Vicki stopped feeling any pain a day or two later. Yet the injury was a convenient excuse for Lidia to provide more assistance to Vicki. As was apparent from Vicki’s trouble with getting to the party, she had terrible difficulty walking without help. And Lidia, using the knee problem as a reason, had Vicki walk with a sturdy wooden cane, as she was worried that her friend might fall. 

In addition, Lidia could tell that it was getting harder and harder for Vicki to stand up for long periods of time, and it was getting very difficult even to stand up long enough to take a shower, not to mention the fact that Vicki’s large body barely fit into the small shower space. Lidia knew how to take care of a massively fat person like Vicki. Vicki stopped using the shower after the knee injury. Instead, Lidia took charge of bathing her, ostensibly because of the damage to her knee. But in reality, Vicki was barely able to shower by herself, regardless.

Lidia hating seeing her friend struggle to take care of herself, and she was happy to help her in any way she could. After all, she had done the same for her sister Sophie as she grew too large to be able to take care of herself, so it came naturally for Lidia to help Vicki in the same way. Vicki felt a bit embarrassed by the fact that she now walked with a cane and had to have her friend give her a bath. But she was able to convince herself that it was a result of her knee. Anyway, once she got another payday from Pretorious, she would be ready to finally start losing the weight and take control of her life once again.

So on this spring morning, Lidia helped Vicki to the bathroom as she now did every day.

Lidia first lifted each of Vicki’s legs by the ankle an inch at a time, slowly moving them to either side of the extra large hassock on which the bulk of Vicki’s legs rested. She then carefully picked up the left leg, and eased it off the hassock, lowering it such that Vicki’s left foot touched the carpet. Lidia did the same thing for the right leg. Now that both of Vicki’s legs were on the ground, Lidia moved back the hassock to clear space for Vicki. 

With the care and compassion of a well-trained nurse, Lidia slid one hand under Vicki’s right knee, while she gently pushed her lower leg back to the front of the couch such that it was close to a right angle, and she did the same for the left leg. Lidia then moved behind Vicki and started removing the numerous pillows positioned around Vicki. Some pillows supported her back, a couple of them were wedged at the edge of her voluminous thighs, and there was one pillow placed under each of Vicki’s upper arms.

Once the pillows were gone, Lidia stayed behind and pressed down on the back of the couch to keep it from moving as Vicki worked to lean forward and wiggle herself to the edge of the seat. The two women had done this every morning for several months, and Lidia was accustomed to seeing Vicki labor to move forward as her fleshy folds shook with the effort. Vicki was positioned on the seat, and Lidia sat on the hassock and waited for her to catch her breath. 

After a minute or two, Lidia rose and stood in front of Vicki, extending her arms. Vicki grabbed Lidia by her wrists, and Lidia grabbed Vicki’s wrists. The two women then moved to and fro, as Vicki picked up momentum until she had enough speed to push herself up on her legs while Lidia pulled with all her might. As Vicki was heaved up on her feet, both women heard a loud ripping sound. But now that Vicki was standing, there was no time to stop and investigate. Lidia quickly handed Vicki her cane.

With one hand, Vicki relied on the cane, while with her other hand, she grabbed onto Lidia for balance. Slowly, the two women headed toward the hallway to the bathroom. Vicki moved as quickly as she could, shuffling her feet and barely lifting them off the ground as she took tiny steps. She was already breathing heavily when she was halfway down the hallway, and she tried to pick up the pace a little. Vicki made it to the bathroom and raised her arms so that Lidia could remove her housedress. 

With Lidia’s help, she eased herself onto the special metal toilet she purchased after her porcelain one cracked. Lidia then left Vicki in private to recuperate and have some private time. After a few minutes, she came back with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge, proceeding to wash Vicki as she sat. Lidia was careful to clean each crease and to painstakingly lift each fold of skin and wash underneath. Once Vicki was clean, rinsed, and dried, she spoke to Lidia,

“What happened to the dress?”

Lidia pulled out the dress and showed a huge tear down the side.

“Oh, no!” said, Vicki. “That only leaves me with one outfit I can wear!”

Lidia proceeded to take out the remaining dress, and put it over Vicki’s raised arms and head. Vicki started easing the dress past her breasts and chest. She noticed that the sleeves were very tight, and that she had to pull down on the dress with a little effort to get it over the flesh of her upper body.

“You’ve been washing these in cold water right?” inquired Vicki.

“Yes. Yes. Always cold.”

“Hmmm.” Vicki paused, lost in thought. She had these two dresses custom-made with her most recent measurements, and already one was ripped and the other looked too tight. She couldn’t blame it on Lidia’s washing. Vicki wondered why they fit so snugly when they billowed around her only six months ago. These thoughts were making Vicki anxious, and she really just wanted to go back to the living room and start her first breakfast course, but instead, Vicki asked Lidia to get out the scale.

“We need to visit Pretorious in a couple of days, and we need to make sure I made it over 500 pounds,” said Vicki, cautiously. “I want to make him cough up that extra 100 grand.”

Lidia retrieved the Digiweigh and placed it in the middle of the bathroom. She helped Vicki onto her feet, and helped her onto the scale. Vicki asked Lidia to read the numbers.

“4…9…9…E it say.”

“499 E?!” exclaimed Vicki.

“Yes. 4…9…9…E. And E go in go out.”

She wanted to get off the scale, as her thighs were killing her, not just because she was standing, but because it was hard for her to squeeze her legs together enough so that both feet would rest on the scale. But Vicki had to see the results for herself. So she carefully leaned forward as much as she could, and she was barely able to see the screen past her belly which, sure enough, said “499 E.” Vicki looked confused and a little scared as she turned around and asked Lidia to help her sit back down on the toilet.

“Lidia? Have you seen the box for this scale somewhere?”

“Yes. I think it in hallway closet.”

“Will you get it for me, please?”

Lidia left the bathroom and returned with a medium-sized cardboard box with the words “Digiweigh” on the side. Vicki opened the box and pulled out the black and white instructions. Feeling more and more anxious, she flipped madly through the pages, looking for signs of 499 E and what it might mean. Then, in the troubleshooting section, she saw an example screen that matched the one they were seeing. Vicki read aloud the words printed underneath, 

“This error message appears when the quantity placed on the Digiweigh exceeds the maximum load of 500 pounds or 227 kilograms.”​
Vicki felt the fear climb up from her stomach and lodge itself in the back of her throat. She leaned back, closed her eyes, and ran her pudgy fingers through her hair, and let out a deep sign.

“You okay, Vicki?”

She paused for a moment, slowly opened her eyes, and replied to Lidia, “I’m...I’m…such a fool.” Vicki now knew that she weighed over 500 pounds and that she was most likely well over that amount. She thought back to six months previous when she last weighed herself. She so wanted the weight to be 499 pounds that she didn’t let herself consider that there was no way it could be possible, given how much she had been eating. She felt like she was foolish for clinging to the hopes that somehow her metabolism had magically stabilized, or that hot water had caused her not to fit into her clothes. 

Since she last weighed herself, she had been eating even more, and her resolution to get more exercise was soon forgotten. In fact, she was less active than ever, spending all her time in the living room on her makeshift couch and hassock, only getting up for these trips with Lidia to the bathroom.

Seeing her friend in need, Lidia had stepped up to help, going far and beyond the expectations of any housekeeper. She now came every day, even on her day off, to attend to Vicki, who wasn’t even trying to stand up on her own. Now Vicki sat on her reinforced toilet, finally facing the reality of what the past year of indulgence and idleness had done to her body.

“You no fool,” said Lidia, trying to raise the spirits of her disheartened friend. 

Then she attempted her tried and true, “Don’t worry.” 

But she knew she needed something else to get her friend to smile again. Then she knew just how to do it, saying, “Pierwsza Milosc will show in 30 minutes. We get ready now.”

With that Vicki raised her face, feeling her spirits lift a bit. She had grown to love watching that show. Not so much for the silly antics of the soap opera characters as they go into and out of trouble with one another. But it had become a ritual with Vicki and Lidia, and both women looked forward to this time together. Plus, Vicki had been putting her web design skills to good use, creating and administering an English language fansite for Pierwsz Milosc. 

Vicki was amazed at how many fans there were in the United States, and she spent the vast majority of her time working on the site and writing synopses and essays about the show as well as maintaining the site. So there was no way Vicki was going to feel sorry for herself too long when there was a new show to catch.

Soon Lidia and Vicki were back in the living room, both with a plate of snacks as they watching the television show. Once it was over, Lidia took the laptop from one of Vicki’s side tables and put it in front of the women so they could both see, hear and be seen. They then opened the Skype connection and dialed Sophie and Maria. 

Lidia’s little sisters always watched the show together over at Sophie’s place, and it had become a part of the ritual to do a video chat so that all four women could share and discuss their impressions. So Vicki and Lidia chatted with Sophie and Maria, and their conversation was so lively that Vicki had temporarily forgotten the sad news from the scale. For although Vicki had grown such that her physical activity was severely limited, she still felt like she was having the time of her life. She was never alone now.

Although Lidia wasn’t always around, Vicki kept her laptop next to her, and she would constantly be instant messaging Sophie, who similarly enjoyed having a friend with whom she could always chat. Plus, she had been using Skype to video chat with Jozef, and although he was over in Northern Europe, they were closer than ever in their hearts. They would chat almost every day, as Jozef would tell Vicki of the trials and tribulations of his work. Over this time, they learned more and more about each other, and they grew to love each other. And now that Jozef was set to return to the States in a couple of days, Vicki’s sadness at her size was quickly forgotten.

The following morning, as Lidia and Vicki prepared for their morning trip to the bathroom, Vicki was excited about Jozef’s return.

“I can’t believe he gets back tomorrow! I feel like he’s been gone forever.”

“Yes, yes, he back soon. Happy to see baby brother again,” said Lidia with a slight tone of annoyance, for although Lidia was truly happy to see Jozef, she was starting to get sick of Vicki constantly talking about his imminent return.

The conversation had to stop, however, so that the two women could concentrate on the task at hand. Vicki’s legs were lowered, pillows removed, the couch was braced so that Vicki could inch forward. Then, as Lidia and Vicki worked together to stand, the same thing happened this morning as it did yesterday. A loud ripping sound was heard.

Once Vicki was seated in the bathroom, able to catch her breath, she exclaimed,

“I can’t believe it happened again! And just before I’m supposed to see Jozef! It will take a month to get new clothes delivered from the internet. What are we to do?”

“Don’t worry, Vicki. Don’t worry. I have something. You be fine with clothes. No rip.”

And later that afternoon, Lidia returned from running some errands, and started to pull something out of a bag.

“What’s that?” Vicki inquired, but as soon as she saw it, she knew what it was, as she instantly recognized the blue-green flannel pattern. It was the same bed sheet dress Sophie wore at Maria’s birthday.

“I borrow this from Sophie,” Lidia said as she unfolded the long lengths of fabric. “Feels tight for Sophie now, so I bring for you. You try, yes?”

Vicki didn’t love the idea of wearing such an obviously homemade hand-me-down for her first meeting with Jozef in months, but she didn’t have any other options. The way she looked at it, she could either wear the bed sheet dress, or she could wear a literal bed sheet. So the two women went through the arduous motions to get Vicki on her feet so that Lidia could slide on the dress.

“It look good!” cried Lidia. “Fit very well.” And Vicki had to admit that it did the job. There was still a fair amount of fabric that hung loose, especially around her abdomen, but it was the best she could hope for given the circumstances.

“Well…I guess it will do for now.” Said Vicki, feeling a bit sad, thinking about the cute little patterns available at pluswoman.com. In addition, she was more than a little embarrassed to see herself wearing an outfit that had belong to someone as mountainous as Sophie, even though Sophie was now her close friend and confidant.

But Vicki wasn’t sad for long, as she soon remembered Jozef’s return. Before she counted the days, now she counted the hours. First imagining him boarding the plane at Warsaw. Then imagining him sitting on the plane. Then getting off the plane. Then picking up his luggage. Oh, it was almost too much to bear, the anticipation Vicki felt for Jozef’s arrival.

Vicki lounged in the living room with Lidia working the kitchen as they heard a knock at the front door. Vicki’s heart skipped a beat. A few seconds later she heard Lidia cry out, followed by a flurry of Polish words of welcome. Then she heard the mellow tones of her beloved Jozef, speaking in Polish to her older sister. Vicki waited for him to enter the living room, but all of a sudden she felt afraid, remembering the problem with the scale, and the now apparent fact that she had most likely gained even more weight. Perhaps now, seeing her in the flesh, he would be horrified by her colossal form.

But no sooner did Vicki think these thoughts than she saw Jozef standing in front of her, holding several wrapped presents, with a beaming smile on his face. He practically dropped the gifts and sat down next to Vicki in the small sliver of sofa not occupied by her flowing hips. Without saying a word, Jozef leaned over Vicki’s side, wrapped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her close for a long, deep, kiss. 

Lidia stood next to the couch, waiting for them to stop so that she could hear of Jozef’s return trip and to catch up with her baby brother. But a minute went by, and the couple’s lips refused to part.

After six months being separated by an ocean, they had some catching up to do of their own. Lidia soon got the hint, and decided that she perhaps it would be best to give these two some time to themselves.

“Uh…I leave now, Vicki. Call me when you need, yes?”

Vicki just gave a little wave goodbye in the general direction of Lidia, still kissing Jozef.

Lidia didn’t get a call from Vicki until the next morning.

(Continued in post 18 of this thread)


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## Mr. Jigglesworth

It is very well written and really realistic as I know many woman's reluctance to gaining weight or open they're eyes to the obvious signs. But I also love the admiration all the fa men showed towards their beauties.


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## Frankhw

Hmm. She didn't forget her appointment with the Dr. did she?


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## braindeadhead

I hope not... I really want to read the next part but I already feel that 10 chapters is hardly enough to tell the rest of the story.. either way, well done.


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## tarquin

Wow, beautifully written, excellent emphasis on realism and Vicki's very real concerns about becoming super-sized. And GREAT description of Sophie's body and circumstances. Cannot wait for the next chapter, and more of your work in future. (You realize we're all hoping that with the good doctor's money, and Jozef to take care of her, Vicki decides to grow to three times Sophie's size.)


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## IrishBard

I really like this story...

partly because I know someone like Lidia. a Nice polish woman who helps out with in the uni library.


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## IszyStone

I love it


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## mdy73

Oh my, i'm glad, that i was able to read this story...


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## Madeline Maple

*CHAPTER 10*

Jozef pulled his van to a stop in the semicircle driveway of Pretorious’s mansion. He exited the driver’s side and went around to slide open the side door, while Lidia went into the back of the van. Vicki had been lying on the floor of the van for the trip to Pretorious. She surprised herself to feel almost excited to see her patron again. His harmless, whimsical ways often made her smile when she thought about him.

Yet she wasn’t looking forward to the grueling task of exiting the van. Not to mention the indignity of being weighed, this time on a scale that can handle more than 500 pounds.

The van’s door slid open, and Vicki squinted her eyes in the bright, spring sun. Lidia raised Vicki as much as she could by pulling up under her bulky arms, while Jozef gently lifted each leg and moved it closer to the opening of the van. Working together, Jozef and Lidia managed to pivot Vicki so that her legs were dangling from the edge of the van’s opening. 

With help from the brother and sister, Vicki wiggled herself down so that her feet, clad in flip flops, touched the ground. With Jozef pulling from the front, and Lidia pushing from the back, they got Lidia to her feet. But they then noticed that while they were extracting Vicki, several muscular men appeared from the mansion, one of whom was pushing an extra wide, steel wheelchair. 

Vicki let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the chair, and with the help of the newly arrived attendants, she was eased into a seated position. Vicki was so relieved that she didn’t even register the embarrassment of traveling in a wheelchair.

Accompanied by Lidia and Jozef, Vicki was wheeled through a side door, to a part of the mansion where she had never been. She felt a bit nervous by the change in routine, but the presence of her friend and lover calmed her. She was pushed into a bare room with a large metal square on the floor and a small, metallic gray screen that showed a large zero, hanging on the wall. 

Everyone correctly assumed that it was an industrial scale. Vicki was wheeled onto the square, left there alone for the scale to compute. An attendant pressed a button next to the screen, and Vicki held her breath, waiting for the results. After what seemed like a century, the scale finally showed a number: 1,090.

Vicki was stunned. It was impossible. She couldn’t have gained that much weight in a year. She looked at the attendant who had pressed the button and said, “Is that thing telling me that I weigh 1,090 pounds?!”

“Oh, no. You have to subtract the weight of the chair,” he replied.

“And how much does the chair weigh?”

“450 pounds,” he said.

Vicki made a quick calculation, still feeling in shock. Then she said,

“Wait…is that thing telling me that I weigh 640 pounds?!”

The attendant thought for a moment, clearly doing the same calculation that Vicki had just made, and he said, “Yes, that’s right.”

Vicki could hardly believe it. In the past year, she had gone from 490 to 640 pounds. A year with hardly any physical activity, regular feeding, and huge portions of greasy, Polish food, had produced incredible results. And to think that not too long ago, she had actually believed the Digiweigh when it read 499 pounds. 

She was feeling pretty sorry for herself, as she was wheeled out of the room, back outside of the mansion through the side door. Lidia and Jozef came along, not knowing what to say to comfort Vicki. They were led to the back of mansion, into a beautiful back porch, surrounding by trellises interlaced with budding ivy. In one of the chairs sat Pretorious, looking just as Vicki remembered him from last year. He quickly rose and went to greet his guests.

“My dear! Such a pleasure to see you. And you’ve outdone yourself! You look radiant. Absolutely radiant!” He said as he leaned over, took Vicki by the hand and kissed it gently. 

“And who are these fine looking people you’ve brought with you?”

“These are my friends Lidia and Jozef,” answered Vicki as she gestured in their direction.

“Any friends of Victoria are friends of mine,” said Pretorious, bowing slightly to them both, and kissing Lidia on the hand and then shaking that of Jozef. He pointed to the table and chairs nearby, directing Jozef to a seat, while pulling out a chair for Lidia, being the consummate gentleman he was. The attendant wheeled Vicki up to the table and left the group in silence.

“Would you care for some tea?” Pretorious asked the table.

When the three responded with nodding heads, he waved to someone inside through glass doors. Instantly, a fleet of servants arrived with tea cups, place settings, dinnerware, a large teapot, and two three-tired serving trays loaded with sweets.

“May I serve you, my dear Victoria?” said Pretorious.

“Be my guest, doctor.” And Pretorious poured her a cup of tea, with plenty of cream and sugar. And he then filled her plate with one of each kind of sweet on the trays.

Lidia and Jozef helped themselves to the spread, while Pretorious had only tea.

“Thank you for the chair, doctor. I wasn’t in the mood for a long walk this afternoon,” Vicki said, attempting a half smile.

“When an artist calls to say she’s made her own transportation arrangements, I’ve learned to be prepared for this eventuality,” Then he continued, “Now, would you be so kind as to tell me your current figure, my dear.”

“Um…” said Vicki, feeling a bit awkward.

“Don’t be ashamed,” said Pretorious. “You’re among friends here.”

“640.” Vicki said finally.

“My…you HAVE been busy,” said Pretorious with his eyes opening wide. 

“Well,” he continued, “you have become the blossoming flower I knew you could be, my dear. You look lovelier than ever.”

At that, Jozef bristled a bit, and Pretorious noticed the reaction. Turning to Jozef, Pretorious smiled, “Ah, I see that you, too, are taken by the tender, flowing forms of sweet creatures like our dear Victoria. She is hard to resist, so I don’t blame you. We live in a wonderful world where angels live among us. Do we not? But let me assure you that I have no interest in challenging you for Victoria’s heart. At my age, I would certainly lose such a duel, and besides, my role as patron means that I admire from afar.” 

Before Jozef could respond, Pretorious turned to Lidia, saying, “And let me also say that you are looking gorgeous my dear. The yellow in your hair just sparkles in the spring sunshine.” 

He paused, and then said, “Oh…I’m so luckily to be surrounded by such bountiful beauties. I thank you so for nourishing my withered soul.”

Lidia blushed a little, and said, “Thank you, doctor. This sweet bread is good.”

“Hmm…can I place the accent?” Pretorious wondered aloud. 

Then his eyes opened wide, and he turned to Lidia. “Sa wy polerujecie, moj kwiat?”

And both Lidia and Jozef perked up, surprised to hear the language of the old country. And the three of them had a quick, lively exchange in Polish.

“I didn’t know you were Polish, doctor?” said Vicki, surprised.

“Oh, I’m not, my dear. But I’ve spent my fair share of time on the continent, and I’ve picked up a phrase or two.”

The four people spent the next hour chatting away, enjoying the lovely breeze and the delicious tea. Eventually, Pretorious said, “Well, I must bid adieu to you all.” 

And he rose, turning to Lidia, kissing her hand. He shook the hand of Jozef, and then he turned to Vicki. He gently raised her hand, and patted it sweetly. “Ah…I cannot wait until next spring, Victoria. You bring joy to an old man’s heart.” 

And with that, he turned around and walked through the glass doors between the porch and the mansion’s interior. Then the attendants returned, one of whom gave an envelope to Vicki, which she then opened to find a check for $300,000. She showed it to Lidia, who opened her eyes and let out a quiet whistle. The three of them left the back porch, alongside the mansion. The attendants helped Vicki back into the van, and the three of them drove back to Brooklyn.


*EPILOGUE*

Vicki never made another trip to the mansion of Pretorious. She stayed under his patronage, but her size limited her ability to travel, so Pretorious was only too happy to come to his dear Victoria, instead of making her come to him.

Thanks to the success of Jozef’s company and the patronage of Pretorious, Vicki and Jozef were able to afford a newly renovated brownstone in the expensive part of Greenpoint. After the wedding, the two of them moved into the new home, which Jozef’s construction company outfitted with special, reinforced furniture, bathroom facilities tailored for the supersize, support railings along the extra-wide hallways, and other accoutrements designed to make life easier for his new bride. Lidia, Sophie, and Sophie’s husband moved into the brownstone with Jozef and Vicki. And the five of them lived a happy life, enjoying Lidia’s wonderful Polish cooking.

Maria was a regular visitor, coming every day to watch Pierwsza Milosc with her sisters and sister-in-law. Vicki began taking Polish lessons from Sophie, and within a year, Vicki could manage some broken sentences, and within two years, her Polish matched Lidia’s command of English. Soon, Vicki even stopped paying attention to the subtitles for her favorite soap.

Pretorius would visit every spring, arriving with a rollout industrial scale, a portable tea set, and a fleet of attendants. He relished his role as patron, and looked forward to his yearly visit to chat with Victoria and her family. Of course he was particularly taken with Sophie, and he would go on and on about how lucky he was to spend time with such gorgeous creatures as Vicki and Sophie.

Vicki’s weight soon stabilized around 700 pounds, but her hunger for Lidia’s pierogi never abated. Vicki often spent her days in the living room alongside Sophie. The two tremendously large women would sit reclining in their bed sheet dresses, chatting, eating, and enjoying time together. Every night Vicki would retire with Josef to a lavish bedroom complete with a colossal, reinforced bed with silk sheets.

Vicki finally felt that she had come home with a little help from patronage and pierogi.

THE END


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## TheOwl

Got to say I am not usually a fan of this amount of weight gain in a story, if it becomes clear they are heading toward immobility, I normally stop reading. I am glad here I did not stop because it was a fine story that I enjoyed it to the end.

Does not really matter but at 640lbs the cheque would have been for three hundred thousand dollars and not two.

Hope you write some more stories in the future, I would look forward to reading them.


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## Observer

Hey, you're right! I should have caught that on edit. It will be corrected.


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## IrishBard

great story!

I hope you write more!


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## Madeline Maple

I just want to say thank you to the people who read my story and to those who posted such wonderful feedback. I so enjoyed writing it and sharing with you all. And thanks to Conrad and the Observer for creating a safe place where fat fiction writing can be nurtured and appreciated. And a big thanks to the incomparable Wilson Barbers because without his inspiring work I never would have picked up a pen!

MM


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## GordoNegro

Great work and attention to detail, just really able to picture everything; though living in the city first hand helps out too...lol.


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## Bluestreak

My dear, this is a terrific story! 
Thank you so much for writing it. While I have not traveled to Poland, I have spent time in Eastern Germany (Dresden) and I believe I have seen the same simple honesty, care and directness you showed in your characters in the people I met there.
Please continue to write!

the same


Madeline Maple said:


> I just want to say thank you to the people who read my story and to those who posted such wonderful feedback. I so enjoyed writing it and sharing with you all. And thanks to Conrad and the Observer for creating a safe place where fat fiction writing can be nurtured and appreciated. And a big thanks to the incomparable Wilson Barbers because without his inspiring work I never would have picked up a pen!
> 
> MM


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## Big Beautiful Dreamer

You know, I usually don't even open stories marked SSBBW or above, because my niche is usually the under-400 range, often under-300. And I'm not interested in mobility limitations. But your skill here kept me reading every installment. Well done!


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## lifelongpassion

Oh my goodness, what a great story. An all-time Great One. I do hope you continue to write other works of art.


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## surfjer

You continue to excell in the supersize fantasy realm, without becoming cartoonish. Your stories fulfill a supersize Fa's fantasies.

Thanks


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## Wilson Barbers

A wonderful descriptive WG romance that I kick myself for not having sooner. Glad I finally caught it, though!


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## bigbob10000

What a great story!

BigBob10000


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## ffju

I can't believe I missed these stories in all my years at Dims. Really great characters and writing!


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## John Smith

That's a delightful story.


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