Chapter 24

Day 230 Monday

Denise arrived home from work and stripped out of her clothes. Victoria was seated on a chair in the living room watching television. She looked like a beached whale and about as lively as road kill. Denise looked around the room and said, "The house is a mess. Did you do any cleaning today?"

"No," Victoria answered.

"Why not?" Denise asked getting angry. Victoria was fighting the program in ways that she had never considered. One of them was by doing absolutely none of the housework.

"Why should I?" Victoria answered.

"You might consider the fact that you live here and should contribute to keeping the house clean. You might consider the fact that you have nothing else to do while Dale and I have jobs to go to," Denise said. She knew that Victoria had a very light schedule at college and had nothing better to do.

"So," Victoria said.

Frustrated, Denise said, "For one, you don't want to piss me off. For another, you don't want to play that game with Dale because you'll lose big time."

"You're just his whore," Victoria said.

"I'm in the program just like you, but I've learned some things. Right now, I'm the only one you know who has gone through what you're going through. If you piss me off then I might not help you," Denise said.

"Big deal," Victoria said crossing her arms and turning her back to Denise.

"Do you want my help?" Denise asked.

"No. I'd prefer it if you would just fuck off," Victoria answered.

Denise looked at Victoria and came to a major decision. She said, "So be it."

Later that night, Dale told Victoria that he wanted her to come into his office for one of his long talks. He gave her ten minutes to prepare for the meeting. Victoria was drinking a large glass of iced tea and watching the television. Smiling, Denise asked, "Would you like a refill?"

"Sure," Victoria said as if addressing a servant.

Denise went to the kitchen and grabbed the pitcher of ice tea. She carried it into the living room and refilled Victoria's glass. Victoria didn't bother to thank her, but just took a sip of the tea.

Smiling, Denise asked, "Is that good?"

"It is okay," Victoria answered.

"I'm sorry it isn't up to your high standards," Denise said watching Victoria take another drink.

Denise went into Dale's office and whispered in his ear, "She hasn't gone to the bathroom and she's drinking iced tea."

"Thanks for the warning," Dale said. He said, "I'll send her there before we start."

"Don't," Denise said.

"Why?"

"Make her piss herself," Denise said.

"My carpet will get ruined," Dale said.

"Have her stand on a pile of towels rather than in the circle," Denise said.

Dale studied Denise for a minute trying to figure out her motivation. He asked, "Why?"

"She needs it," Denise answered. She looked Dale in the eye and said, "I want to watch."

"My meetings are private," Dale said.

"Okay," Denise said, "but call me in after she pisses herself."

"Why?"

"Just do it. She needs it," Denise answered. She could see that he wasn't convinced. She said, "Please."

"Okay," Dale said.

"Yell at me for not warning her," Denise said just before leaving the room.

Dale watched Denise go and smiled. She was growing. She was learning that what people often needed wasn't kindness, but a good kick in the ass. It was one of the hardest lessons to teach someone.

Denise came back to the office and handed him a stack of towels. She said, "We're out of clean towels except for what is in our bathrooms. Someone will have to do the laundry tomorrow."

"Yes," Dale said. He leaned out the door and shouted, "Victoria. Get in here now."

As Victoria walked past Denise, she said, "My empty glass is in the living room. You can take care of it now."

"I've taken care of everything," Denise replied.

"That's a good little servant whore," Victoria said. If she was going to be treated badly, then she was going to treat everyone even worse.

"Dale's waiting for you," Denise said with a smile.

"He can wait," Victoria said.

Rather than answer, Denise watched Victoria go into the study. The door closed and she went into the living room to wait. She glanced over at the empty glass and smiled. She didn't think she'd have to wait for long.

The wait was only twenty minutes before she heard Dale yell, "Get in here Denise!"

Denise ran to the study and entered. The towels under Victoria were soaked and the woman was crying rivers of tears. She asked, "What do you want Dale?"

"Why didn't you warn her about going to the bathroom before the meeting?" Dale asked crossing his arms and looking angry.

"She quite clearly said that she doesn't want my help," Denise answered.

"She doesn't?" Dale asked with a smile. He had figured that was the case.

"No, Sir. She doesn't. I told her that I could help her, but she told me that she didn't want it," Denise said.

"Bitch," Victoria said, "You knew this was going to happen."

"Of course, I did. I could have warned you, but why should the servant whore help you? I can't think of a single reason," Denise said.

"You made me piss myself," Victoria shouted.

"No she didn't. You pissed yourself because you took a shit on the one person who can help you through the program," Dale said. His eyes narrowed and he said, "You have to live with the consequences of your actions. You can't blame others after you reject their offers of help. You can't blame others when you are the one that pisses on yourself."

"It's her fault," Victoria said knowing that she had no real defense.

Leaning forward and looking Victoria in the eye, Dale said, "Let me tell you what happens to fat women.

"Fat women don't live happy lives. They are miserable and they make everyone around them miserable. The good news is that they don't live long so their misery is of relatively short duration.

"You are a fat woman. You already know that your life is miserable. I've got a feeling that you're the type of fat woman who ends up at five or six hundred pounds. Twenty one years old and you are already sixty pounds overweight. At twenty-five, you'll be a hundred pounds overweight. It'll only get worse.

"You think you're miserable now. Just wait until you weigh in at four hundred pounds. You'll be unable to make your way to the bathroom, because you aren't strong enough to lift your body off the bed. You will end up pissing and shitting in a diaper that you might be able to change yourself. When you get sick, they're going to have to come in with special equipment to cut open a wider door so that they can get you out and to a hospital. It'll take six people to lift you out of your bed.

"You know that is the future that awaits you. You know that you'll end up the giant fat woman who gets news coverage because you're so fat that you have no life. You think that walking around here naked is embarrassing. I've got news for you. It is nothing compared to getting your picture pasted across the national news because you're a fat woman."

Victoria was sobbing. Dale had just described the future that she had nightmares about. She hadn't told him that she had been on a diet before this in which she had lost forty pounds and had already gained twenty of them back. She hadn't mentioned that her doctor had warned her that she was on the verge of getting diabetes.

Denise said, "Victoria, you are offensive because it is easier than being defensive. You strike out at people before they can say mean and nasty things to you. You are ashamed of yourself and use that shame to hurt others.

"You've grown up with schoolyard taunts about being a whale. I know what you have gone through. I've been there. I've listened to the boys say things like fucking me should count as fucking five girls because I'm as big as five girls. I've heard every insult there is that can be aimed at a fat woman because I was a fat woman for a lot longer than you have been one.

"Your problem is that you believed the insults. You accepted what they said and it turned you into a bitter angry person. It is time for you to put that past behind you."

Victoria hadn't stopped crying. She knew the insults. She knew the jokes made about her size. She recognized herself in everything that Denise was saying. She said, "I'm so tired of it all."

Dale said, "Then end it."

"How?" Victoria asked.

Dale answered, "Your only hope of salvation is this program. Look at the monitor on my desk. You'll see what will happen if you stay in the program."

Victoria looked at the monitor. Dale showed the time-lapse video he had created documenting the time Susan spent in the program. He let it loop while he turned back to talk to Victoria. He said, "That is the last woman who graduated the program after entering it as a fat woman. Look at her. She's gorgeous. She could grace the cover of a national magazine, yet at one time she was just a fat woman like you. Look at it. Imagine that is you. If you want to leave here fat, then go now. If you want to leave here looking like a model, then get with the program."

"I want to look like that," Victoria said unable to take her eyes off of the video.

Dale turned away and started a different video. This one was of Denise. He said, "She was a fat woman, but now she's not."

Victoria stared at the video unable to believe how Denise once looked. She looked over at her and said, "You were fat."

"Yes, I was," Denise said, "I'm not fat now."

Dale said, "You have a choice to make, Victoria. You can go through life as a fat woman or you can change. It is up to you. I'll guide you through the process. Denise will give you advice. If you don't want to listen to us, you might as well leave now."

"I want to be thin," Victoria said.

"What will you do to be thin?" Dale asked.

"Anything," Victoria answered.

"I'll tell you what you are going to do. You are going to take that stack of towels down to the basement and use them as your bed tonight. You pissed in your nest, now you need to sleep in it. In the morning, you are going to wash all of the dirty towels, you are going to clean the house, and you are going to cook dinner," Dale said.

"Yes, sir," Victoria said crying.

Dale noticed that Victoria was already rocking in place. He could tell that the woman already needed to use the toilet again. Shaking his head, he said, "You might as well squat and empty the rest of your bladder. We've got a lot to discuss."