As it happened, both Wendy’s obstetrician and Robert’s GP were in the same building, so when she went in for her 8 month appointment, he went in for a physical.

Robert hadn’t seen his doctor since his last physical the previous year. His diagnosis of ‘sympathetic pregnancy’ had come from Wendy’s OB. She’d seen it before, and instantly recognised the symptoms in him, and she had even made a quick check over him, just to make sure. Since Robert had always been fit, his doctor was quite surprised to see him when he came in.

“Robert, you’ve always been in great shape, swimming, eating well, everything, what’s happened?”

Robert wouldn’t meet the doctor’s eyes. He’d been afraid of this, but he really should keep up his annual physicals. “My wife’s pregnant, so… sympathetic pregnancy. Exercising makes me a little nauseous, I’m always hungry, I’ve got joint and back pain, it’s just weird.”

The doctor smiled. “Ah, I see. Well, that’s good then. Once the baby comes I’m sure you’ll get back to normal. Now, I don’t want you going on some crash diet. And don’t go right back to swimming like you used to. You need to readjust to your old habits. If you go to quick, you’ll hurt yourself. Just listen to your body, and you’ll do fine.”

“Thanks, that’s what I was hoping to hear!” Robert was relieved that he wasn’t getting a lecture about his bad habits, just a reminder of what he was already planning to do.

“So let’s weigh you. You were 170 pounds last time you were here, what do you figure you’re at now?”

“Oh, gee, about 200.” Robert hopped up on the scale and the doctor set the balance to 200. Then bumped it up to 210. 215. 220. The balance wavered. 220 pounds.

“Sorry Robert, just a wee bit more. But don’t worry, if you get right on it, that fat’ll melt right away.”

Wendy struggled to her feet after her name was called. She was looking forward to this visit. At her seven month appointment the doctor had admonished her to keep her eating down, she was getting to be a high risk for gestational diabetes. Wendy thought back over the last month, she had been much better, especially after the incident with her clothes becoming too small.

As Wendy waddled into the examination room her doctor looked her up and down. “Well, it’s good to see that you’ve kept your eating under control this last month! Your clothes seem to be fitting exactly how they were last time.”

Wendy was shocked. Her clothes!? She was wearing clothes 3 sizes larger, and they fit the same!? How was that possible?

She disrobed and stepped up on the scale. 201 pounds.

The doctor turned and glared at her. “16 pounds in one month? What about what we discussed? Let’s take a look at you.”

Wendy sulked as she was poked and prodded. 200 pounds, she was probably fatter than Robert was! Sure, he wasn’t 170 any more, but he couldn’t be bigger than she was now, could he?

“Well, we’re lucky here. You seem to be doing quite well across the board, and no sign of complications from your extra weight. But please try to keep it down for the last month. And, just to be safe, you’re off work now. Can’t have that extra stress. Oh, and buy a few bigger outfits. You’ll be much more comfortable.”

They ate their lunch in relative silence. Just a quick meal from McDonald’s, and one of the smallest meals they’ve had in a few months. Wendy was relieved that she was still smaller than Robert, but she couldn’t believe he was 220 pounds either! She was also upset about being ordered off of work. She would have to go in and give Marlene the satisfaction.

Robert found it difficult to accept that Wendy had gained 86 pounds in just 8 months! She looked big, sure, but not THAT big. Besides, it’s not like she was constantly eating or anything. A Big Mac with fries was a treat for her, she didn’t eat this bad all the time. It must just be the lack of exercise that really hit her. And him.

He couldn’t wait to get back in the pool and start swimming off the extra weight. He was acutely aware of it right now. He could feel how his stomach was folding over his waistband, how his shirt was rubbing against his love handles, and even his jowls quivering as he ate his lunch.

He looked again at Wendy, a little closer this time. She had developed a double chin, in fact, her whole face was becoming soft and round. How had he missed that? Her breasts, of course, were getting larger. Even through her blouse he could see the evidence of her bra straps digging into her flesh. Her stomach filled her entire lap, but that was to be expected with a pregnant woman. And yet, he thought back to other pregnant women he’d known. Not all of them had bellies quite that massive. He couldn’t see her legs or butt, but he knew they’d become rather thick. Maybe they were a little bigger than he’d thought, certainly compared to that belly, anything would seem small by comparison!

Marlene returned from a client lunch to find Wendy sitting at her desk.

“You’ll understand if I don’t get up,” Wendy said to her startled boss. “Your wish has been granted, I’m off work, doctor’s orders.”

“My wish? I’d love to have you here as long as possible. But I think for you, this is good, less stress, more time to focus on what’s coming up for you. I do wish you good luck, and hope you can come back soon. Do you mind going over some last minute details with Peter?” Marlene really did want her to stay, but the image of Wendy just wasn’t going to work out. This was for the best.

Wendy strained to get out Marlene’s chair. Marlene watched in amusement as Wendy tried to shift her weight without appearing too ungainly. She turned as Wendy left the room, surprised at how enormous she looked from behind. How could someone let that happen to themselves?

Peter was waiting for Wendy in her office. “I was wondering when you were going to show up. Long lunch? Donut run?”

“No,” Wendy completely missed the implied insult, “just taking care of business with Marlene. Today’s my last day, we need to iron out any details that are left.”

“Yeah, sure, just a few details really. Um… where do you keep your snacks?” he saw the quizzical look on Wendy’s face. “You know, your doughnuts, your chips, where are they?” her face started to darken. “Come on, you know you’ve been eating way to much Wendy. Let’s get all those goodies cleared out so I can make use of the space.”

“Let’s see you create a brand new human being Peter. Let’s see how much weight you gain. Or how about this? How about you do a decent job, constantly covering for your inept co-worker. See how you deal with that stress, see if maybe you have an extra muffin in the morning. Until then, you’ve got no right, no fucking right at all, to say what you’re saying.” She reached into the middle drawer of her filing cabinet and pulled out a bag of candy bars, a bag of cookies, and, as she reddened, a bag of chips, a box of doughnuts and a box of granola bars.

Peter couldn’t help but laugh as Wendy tried to storm out of her office. However, her ‘storming’ amounted to an exaggerated waddle that made her elephantine ass shake like an earthquake.

Wendy was holding back tears and didn’t notice the filing clerk come around the corner. She crashed heavily into the poor woman and they both fell to the floor. The woman tried to help Wendy to her feet, but she wasn’t strong enough. One of the VPs happened to be looking on, and he lent a hand to Wendy. But as she struggled to get up, she simultaneously popped a button on her blouse and tore a seam in her skirt.

She waddled out of the office as quickly as possible, leaving her food behind with co-workers struggling to contain their laughter.