Good company

chapter 1

“Come on,” Carrie prodded, “thereʼs only one slice left. Go on!”

“Ugh! I can't!” Karina gasped as she leaned back in her chair, her hands placed on either side of her bloated tummy. “I'm so full! If I eat anymore they're gonna have to send a tow truck to pull me out of this chair.”

“Okay,” Carrie replied, “if you don't want it.” Then she grabbed the last slice of cheesecake with her bare hands and crammed it into her mouth all at once, practically swallowing it whole.

“Such a pig!” Karina teased, crinkling her nose as she grinned. “Honestly, I don't know where you put it all.”

“Are you kidding?” said Carrie as she slapped herself on her rounded gut. “Look at the size of this thing! I could eat nonstop for days on end and never get full. Plenty of room in here!”

It was a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon in early spring, and Carrie's dear old friend Karina had stopped by for a friendly visit. The two long time friends, once considered virtually inseparable, now were lucky if they could make time for a coffee date a couple of times a month, and yet every time they got together now it felt as if no time had passed, picking things up right where they left off.

“I remember when I used to be able to out-eat you,” Karina said as she held a napkin up to her lips, attempting to suppress a hiccup. “When we were kids I could eat you under the table — *hiccup!* — any day!”

“Yeah, what happened to you, fatty?” Carrie teased with a devious grin, her insanely long tongue falling out over her lower lip.

“I donʼt know, fatty — *hic!* — I guess you showed me who was the real pig-out queen!” Karina answered.

“Oink oink!”


The two young ladies laughed boisterously as they both sipped their coffee. Carrie and Karina grew up in the same neighborhood and the two of them have been best friends since they were in middle school. The only friend whom Carrie held equally as dear is her cousin Stephanie, and the three of them spent a lot of time together in their teens and early twenties. Since finishing college, Carrie felt she had to make an extra effort to keep her gang all together.

Carrie and Karina often used loving terms of endearments like “fatty” or “piggy” to address one another, purely in playful jest. Both of them have always been plump since childhood, and their love for eating copious amounts of junk food was a major bonding element for them in their youth.

“I was always the fat one,” Karina said through a toothy smile, “and you were the one with the big boobs.”

“I still have big boobs,” Carrie quipped, “but now my belly is even bigger.”

The two girls chuckled as they each took another sip of their coffee. Then Karina got a somewhat serious look on her face, as a thought came to her mind of something that she had meant to bring up to Carrie.

“That reminds me,” Karina said, “have you seen your cousin lately?” “Stephanie?”

“Yeah," said Carrie. “She was just here a couple weeks ago.”

“How did she look to you?”

“Fine, I guess. Why?”

“I ran into her at the grocery store the other day. Oh my goodness!”

“What?”

“She is getting really fat!”

“What?” Carrie balked incredulously. “Sheʼs never been fat. Maybe sheʼs put on a few pounds here and there.”

“More than a few,” Karina informed her. “Sheʼs gotta be pushing three hundred pounds!”

“No way!”

“Her cart was loaded with crazy amounts of junk food,” Karina went on, “chips, ice cream, all sorts of sweets.”

“Really?”

“I mean it's crazy,” said Karina, “because she was always the one who was super fit and in shape.”

“I know,” said Carrie, “she's always been so athletic. Back in high school she did track, basketball, volleyball, tennis — “

“Not to mention Dance Squad!” Karina interjected.

“Right!” Carrie said. “They wouldn't let our fat-asses onto Dance Squad. We were lucky we even made the cheerleading team.”

“I know,” Karen affirmed. “So what's going on with Stephanie? Do you think she's okay?”

“I guess her and Harold have been going through some hard times,” Carrie said. “She really didn't get into it too much. Come to think of it, I really spent more time talking to her about Elroy; I really didn't even ask her too much about her and Harold — poor thing!”



Carrie and Karina were both silent for a moment as they thought about their dear friend Stephanie. It had been so long since the three of them were able to get together and hang out, and they both started feeling like maybe it was time to do something about that. Carrie then asked whether or not she talked to Stephanie when she saw her, and what if anything she had to say about her weight gain.

“Well I didn't really ask her about it,” Karina said somewhat sardonically. “I mean how do you ask somebody why they got so fat, and in public no less?”

“True,” Carrie agreed. “Well I'll go talk to her. Iʼll call her tonight and see how she is doing. Make sure sheʼs alright.”

“Thatʼs a good idea,” said Karina, telling Carrie to let her know if there is anything that she could do and that the three of them really need to catch up soon.

“Oh! Speaking of which,” Carrie interjected excitedly, “have you seen Gina lately?”

“No,” Karina answered.

“Oh boy!” Carrie said. “You wanna talk about someone getting FAT? This girl is huge!”

“She’s always been big,” Karina responded. “Even back in high school. She had to have been pushing five hundred pounds by the time we were eighteen.”

“Well if she was five hundred pounds ten years ago,” Carrie chided, “then she must weigh a ton now!”

“Seriously?”

“No lie. I stopped by her place the other day just to see how she was doing, because I hadn’t seen her in a while.”

“Yeah?”

“Karina, the girl can barely walk now.”

“For real?”

“I thought I was bad,” Carrie confessed. “You know sometimes when Elroy and I go for a walk someplace, I have to stop for a minute to catch my breath.”

“Yeah, me too.” Karina said.

“Elroy thinks it's cute, so he doesn’t mind. He’s very patient with me.”

“He’d better be!” Karina kidded. “He’s responsible for at least half of the flab you’re carrying around now.”

While Carrie had always been heavy and had a big appetite, there was no question that in the months since she’d started dating her new boyfriend Elroy, the pounds were beginning to stack on. The two of them had developed a feeder-feedee relationship, and it seemed to be working out just fine for them both.



“Anyway,” said Carrie, “Gina can’t take more than a few steps before she’s huffing and puffing, wobbling all over the place. Her belly is just so huge!”

“Poor girl,” Karina said sympathetically. “It’s too bad she’s having such a hard time getting around.”

“Yeah, it’s true,” said Carrie before pausing a moment, “but you know, if I’m being totally honest, part of me is a little jealous.”

“Jealous?” asked Karina.

“Yeah, I mean haven’t you ever wondered what it would feel like to be so big and round that you can’t even move? To be completely immobile, just laying in bed like a lump, eating more and more?”

“Honestly?” replied Karina. “No, I haven’t.”

“Really?” said Carrie. “Not ever?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Karina answered, “I like my body and I like being chubby, and I’m always down for a good pig-out session as much as anyone else – but there are certain things that I need to have in life, and my mobility and independence are included on that list.”

“Yeah, I hear that,” Carrie responded.



Karina had been through a lot in her young life, and Carrie had been there by her side to witness most of it. Her mother passed away when she was very young, and her dad was an abusive alcoholic. She had spent most of her life being scared and miserable, until she was sixteen years old and she moved in with Carrie to get away from her father’s abuse. It was a dark time in her life, and she’d go through a lot more dark times as life went on, but she never liked to be contained or held down; Karina’s freedom and independence was indeed very important to her.

“Still,” said Carrie, “I think I would like to know what it felt like – at least once in my life.”

“Kind of a hard thing to walk back from,” said Karina. “I mean once you get so fat you’re bed-bound, it’s not like you can go on a crash diet one weekend and then go to the club and start dancing. You’d be pretty much stuck.”

“That’s why I’d need to know that I was with someone who would really take care of me,” Carrie said. “Someone who’s always going to be there and who’ll always love me no matter how big I get.”

“Do you think Elroy is that someone?” Karina asked.

Carrie looked down and didn’t say anything at first. Her lips were smiling but her eyes looked pensive. “I don’t know,” she answered finally. “Maybe.”

“Gosh,” said Karina with a hearty chuckle, “what is it about us? Why is it that everyone we know seems to be getting fat?”

“Maybe it’s us,” Carrie giggled, “maybe we’ve been a bad influence on all of our friends, and now they’re all trying to get as big and sexy as us.”

“Ha! Maybe you’re right!” Karina laughed. “Well it’s good to know we’re in good company at least.”

“Very good company,” Carrie concurred, patting herself on her rounded tummy and making her flab jiggle.



Later that evening after Karina had gone home, Carrie was sitting alone in her living room watching television and eating a snack when she decided that maybe now would be a good time to call her cousin Stephanie and check up on her. She dialed the number and let the phone ring until it went to voicemail.

“Hey girl,” said Carrie as she left a message for Stephanie, “just wanted to see how you’re doing. I haven’t heard from you in a while, and I wanted to make sure everything is okay. Give me a call.” Then she hung up.

Not even ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Carrie struggled a bit to lift her heavy body up off the sofa, but once she did she wobbled her way over to the door. Upon opening it, she was surprised to see a rather distraught looking Stephanie standing before her. She was flanked on either side by some large suitcases.

“Stephanie!” Carrie exclaimed. “I was just trying to call you!” Then she thought to herself, “Damn, Karina was right: this girl is getting huge!”

“I’m leaving him,” she said, tears in her eyes. “I’m leaving, Harold! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Oh, honey!” Carrie cried as she reached out and threw her arms around her dear cousin.

Carrie invited her in and helped her move her bags. Since she was a teenager, Carrie’s house had always been a place where her friends could come and feel safe, and now was no exception. Stephanie asked if she could stay there for a while, and of course Carrie was all too happy to have her there. It felt like old times, having her cousin and best friend staying with her – but what Stephanie would tell her about what she’d been going through made Carrie realize just how much things had really changed.