It was barely a week past the end of the Weight-Loss Competition that Claire sat at her desk. Her buttonless, floral-patterned blouse began to show signs of struggle with her renewed bulk that showed few signs of slacking as prior folds began to disappear into increasingly taut patches across her belly, and similar tightenings around her hips as she grew wider by the week.
Claire sipped at her yellow coffee mug - despite what one would expect, she wasn’t quite a fan of sugary coffee drinks compared to most. That was Dana - to be frank, Claire was somewhat surprised she was diabetic before Dana, though Dana had talked about a blood-sugar scare in the past. Most of Claire’s liquid calories came from alcohol instead, and far more calories came in her food.
She almost choked on a sip of the almond-colored drink as she read a headline. Not one of the passive aggressive ones she’d seen, even a few days after the competition stopped - “Top 10 Calorie Swaps - Get on it girlie!” (If Haley ever called her “girlie” to her face, she’d likely punch her lights out.) No, the headline read - “Office Reassignment Notification.”
She clicked in, her overtaxed heart doing cartwheels, mildly worrying the whale-sized woman. Yet she focused in, intensely on the text on the screen. “Dana O’Reilly - A205, Claire Spittz - A204, Hannah Boatwright - A203,” along with several other reassignments she couldn’t care less about, including Vanessa getting A164, her current office. The move would be official as of tomorrow.
Claire finished up her various computer-related tasks by 2:00, but by that time, Robyn and Dani had heard. Claire heard the crooning - “Awh, Claire, you’re leavin’ us?” She turned her head, and it was Dani. Claire smiled - of her new co-workers, Dani was the only one Claire actually thought she would miss. “Yeah. Comin’ down from up top. Thanks for everything though, Dani!” Dani pouted slightly. She would miss Claire, even if she feared for her future on account of her eating. “Stay in touch, will ya? I’d love to meet your new office-mates.” Claire smirked, “Oh, I’d love to, but our walks, uh..” As Claire plumbed for a way to say it, Dani finished, “..End up near buffets?” Dani quietly chastised herself - that was mean, she shouldn’t have said that.
Fortunately, Claire cackled at the joke, briefly, before speaking - “Yeah - yeah, that’s about it. I’ve rubbed off on you, huh?” Quietly, Claire hoped she wouldn’t rub off too much on Dani - while she had consigned herself to being a fatass, she quietly hoped Dani wouldn’t follow in her flabby footsteps. It was akin to her mother finding out Claire had tried a cigarette in middle school - although she smoked, she had told Claire, “Honey, smokin’s not fun. It’s a bad habit, and it’s nasty.” Though holding no hope for her own chances to hold herself back, she still hoped that Dani could stick to her guns.
Dani stepped forward as Claire began packing items into a white cardboard box. She grunted and huffed at the exertion of bending over, standing up, and moving items around. “I’ll help you pack, at least.” Claire nodded, and spoke a breathy “Thankyouh” amid breath-catching from the physical exertion that would have been physically taxing to almost no-one else in the office.
Dani assisted Claire in fitting various items into her boxes - Claire had seemingly gotten almost everything packed. Her computer was unplugged and ready for transport, her personal effects were squared away. Dani fitted a few paperweights, boxes of paperclips and staples, and a printer into boxes, speaking to the hulking hog now sweating in the corner, “Uh, this about cover it?” Claire took a breath and wagged her finger at her now-bare desk, “The drawers, last thing.”
Dani opened the desk drawers, happy that there was going to be a spare box. Then she discovered one of the main contributors to Claire’s weight gain.
The drawers were full of snacks! Bags of chips, pretzels, candy even - piled high, almost obstructing the rolling wheels that allowed these illicit smuggling holes for trans-fats to even open. Dani nodded, “Ahh, the snack drawer.” Claire gave a returning nod as Dani then began schlepping the bags into the box, before Claire stopped her and said, “Oh, uh, can you put the big ones in first?”
At first, Dani was confused before she looked in - true enough, buried under the individual bags were large, party-sized bags of the same treats she had just begun to dig out. She blinked, and then spoke quizzically - “Out of curiosity, why the party sized AND the individual bags? Why not just one or the other?” Claire shrugged, “The small ones are leftovers from those big share packs.” Dani shrugged and put them away in the box.
Finally, after the drawer on the left-hand side had been emptied of their fattening contents, Dani opened the other drawer, hoping to find less. Unfortunately, the drawer didn’t budge. Claire, having regained a bit of her breath, then spent some of it walking over, “Oh, lemme help,” waddling past Dani. The thin woman felt the mass of Claire squeeze past her - the soft, buttery fat rippling through her clothes against Dani’s exposed arms. Dani waddled over a bit, giving a mild, “Oop,” as Claire prized the shut drawer open.
Dani didn’t believe it, but the other drawer seemed to be even more full than the other! Obviously, this one was full enough to be actively interfering with the ability to open the container itself. “Yeah, these mechanisms are a bit rusty,” said Claire with a somewhat breathy chuckle. Even the exertion of walking a single-digit number of steps and pulling open a stuck drawer was now enough to lightly tax the cardiovascular system of the porcine woman. Dani quietly noted her concern - Claire’s skyrocketing weight would obviously do her organs no favors. However, Dani figured that was Claire’s problem now. She hoped, quietly, to see Claire get back on the wagon, but it seemed distant for her.
After this drawer, of course, was the mini-fridge and the twelve-packs of diet soda. And the spare cabinet holding Claire’s drinks. And Claire’s coffeemaker. And the coffee for said coffeemaker. Dani swore on her life that she was spending more time packing up Claire’s food than was spent packing Claire’s actual work implements.
All this managed, finally, to fit on a small handcart, about the size of a child’s little red wagon with some more professionalism and stainless steel. “I think that’s all. Thanks for everything, Claire,” Dani said, opening her arms to hug Claire, who returned the gesture. Of course, Dani could barely feel anything but fat, and her arms barely managed to get past Claire’s love handles, stopping just past them. “I’m gonna miss ya, Dani! Remember what I said about staying in touch!” Dani patted Claire’s fat side, nodding, “Will do.” She finally let go, though she was still committed as ever to her usual regimen, she had to admit there was a therapeutic quality to hugging someone so obese - Claire’s adipose served as a perfect human stress ball, a quality recognized all-too-late. She waved a goodbye as Claire began her great trek to the elevator.
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