Into Hiding

I’d like to say I should’ve seen it coming but I really don’t think many people would have.

I was in my mid-twenties and had been seeing Jeremy for about three years when I lost my job as an office manager for a reputable chain pub, just a downturn in business was the reason they had given me. I was well prepared for the drudgery of the old job hunt when Jeremy talked me into a different course of action.

We had been living together for most of our relationship and we had no secrets so Jeremy knew that it was my lifelong dream to own my own little bakery specialising in cupcakes. I’d make them every weekend, everyone I knew loved them, I’d even had a stall at the farmers market for a couple of months last summer and done very well but I always worried about if I could make enough money doing this to pay my bills. This time Jeremy convinced me that I could.

I put all my efforts into setting up my new venture, I drew up a business plan, looked at premises I even began designing my logo “Steph’s Sweets” the name makes me feel sick now. You see it wasn’t meant to be. When I met with business advisers I was refused my start up loan, apparently it was just too high risk, the chances of an independent cake shop succeeding in the area were too low and I simply didn’t have enough collateral to secure the financing I needed.

I was heartbroken, I spent that evening crying into my wine and soaking through three of Jeremy’s shirts. I’d barely even registered when he told me that he’d fix this somehow.

When I woke up the next morning I noticed two things, I had a stinking headache and my business plan was gone, I thought it strange that Jeremy would take it with him but just put it down to him confusing it with some of his own papers. I spent the rest of the day alternating between eating ice cream and sorrowfully looking for admin jobs.

Jeremy arrived home a little late that night, I didn’t even realise I was so depressed but his news cheered me up beyond belief. He told me that he had taken my business proposal to work with him and met with some people in finance, he worked in sales so it was pretty believable when he told me he had pitched the cake shop to them and they’d decided to bankroll it.

I was elated, we were to be co-owners and I was going to realise my dream. The money would be in my account in the morning he said, and then we could set up a business account and transfer the money there. I couldn’t wait.

We did all the boring bank stuff the next day as planned, the business account was set up in both of our names and the money was transferred in from my account and I busily began arranging deals with suppliers and searching for a premises. Jeremy wouldn’t be as hands on in this part of the setup because he still had his job to hold down so it was my name on all the contracts with the suppliers and it was me who signed the lease for the new shop, it was understandable to me.

Things fell apart for me about a week after I picked up the keys for the shop. I had tried to use the company card to pay the sign writer and it had been declined. Thinking there must be a problem at the bank I called them. It was them that told me that there was no money in that account, I was incredibly flustered and was sure there was a mistake. I tried calling Jeremy to see if he could get to the bottom of this but his phone was turned off, nothing strange there seeing as he usually turned his phone off during the work day. I asked the sign writer to bill me and sent him on his way.

Perplexed I decided to ring the bank once more and asked them to recount the transactions on the account for me. I felt sick when she told me that Jeremy had been into our local branch that morning and emptied the account. Now I was frantic, I called Jeremy’s work and asked the switchboard to put me through to his office only it wasn’t Jeremy that answered, it was his boss. Apparently Jeremy hadn’t been into work in a number of weeks and they wanted to know where he was, I was shocked I couldn’t tell them anything. I raced home desperately hoping that I would find him there and he could explain what the hell was happening. What I found was that he had gone, taken his valuables and high-tailed it.

I spent the next couple of days ringing his friends and family, sending emails and Facebook messages just hoping that someone had a lead for me but no-one knew anything or if they did they weren’t telling me. I was a mess.

It was around this time that I was paid a visit by a man that terrified me. He was your exactly how you would imagine an east end gangster, physically imposing with a smooth bald head, head to toe in custom clothing and chomping on a fat cigar.

“Stephanie Myers I take it?” he said in a thick cockney accent

“Who wants to know?” I asked, uncertain about taking such a nonchalant attitude with the man. I shouldn’t have done.

“Your fucking business partner that’s who” he spat as he grabbed me by the throat and pushed me back into my flat. It was now apparent where Jeremy had gotten the money for the business from.

“Now that the introductions are out of the way let’s talk business shall we?”

“There’s nothing to talk about” I sobbed “Jeremy did a runner days ago and took everything”

“Oh dear, oh dear. That is bad news for you Steph. You see your repayments were supposed to start last week and surprise surprise I didn’t receive anything”

“I don’t have anything! He took it all” I said exasperated “Go after him if you want your money”

“Well the problem with that is he borrowed all that money in your name and besides I have no idea where Jeremy is. But I do know where you are”

I cringed at that remark

“I’ll give you a couple of days to come up with the cash” he said as he turned and walked through the front door “oh, and if you don’t have the money then I won’t be so nice about it”.

What was I going to do? I couldn’t believe this was happening to me, just last week I was living the dream and now, god knows what was going to happen to me. A quick phone call to mom was all I needed to get my head straight. She already knew what had happened with Jeremy but with this latest development her advice was clear and to the point.

“Get out of there, get out now”

Running seemed the only viable option but where would I go?

“Get yourself to grandma’s house and we can figure things out from there, I just need you to be somewhere safe”

She was right. I waited until nightfall and made my escape. I left all my belongings so it looked like I hadn’t gone anywhere and caught a bus into the city. I stopped off at an ATM and cleaned out what little money was in my hidden bank account, I then ditched my purse with all of my ID and my phone in a nearby trash can. I made my way to the coach station, I must have looked quite a sight with my hood pulled up and my sunglasses on at night but it was imperative that no-one recognise me.

I purchased a ticket and sat back in my seat, it was the first wave of relief that I’d had in days and I promptly fell asleep.

I woke up as my five hour coach journey was coming to an end, instinctively I checked my surroundings, paranoid that maybe I had been followed and was being watched but I was met with indifference from the other weary passengers on the coach who were ready for their journey’s to be over.  I got into a cab at the station and gave them my grandma’s address all the while making sure that no-one had a real glimpse of my face.

I arrived at grandma’s place and was greeted by a big hug despite it being in the early hours of the morning. She was in good shape for a woman her age. She had had my mom and my aunty about two years apart when she was in her early twenties after getting married to my grandad. My mom was the eldest and likewise had had me early on as well. Still at 65 she looked great for all that she had been through. My grandad passed away when I was only a child, my aunty had never left home, she always said that it was because she couldn’t bare to leave my grandmother alone but we all thought it was because she was scared of going into the world by herself. My Gran took on a job as a makeup artist at the local television station to provide for my aunty and her while my aunty worked part time at the local supermarket to help cover the bills. And that was the way it went until a couple of years ago when my aunty just vanished without explanation. The police didn’t treat it as suspicious and added her to their missing persons list. My gran was heartbroken but what could she do? She carried on with life as best she could.

Mom had given her the head’s up about what had happened but I naturally filled her in on all the little details over a mug of hot chocolate. My problems didn’t seem so bad now that I was at granny’s house. I was exhausted despite sleeping the entire way there, Grandma had prepared my aunt’s old room for me to sleep in and all of her old things were still in there so I borrowed a night dress to sleep in. I felt safe for the first time in days and fell asleep.

Grandma woke me around midday to ask me if I wanted any lunch, I freshened up while she prepared ham sandwiches and mugs of tea. Over lunch the inevitable came up producing knots in my stomach.

“What are you going to do next?”

“I don’t know granny, if I go back I could declare bankruptcy but that won’t stop the loan sharks from calling”

“Well I don’t wish to be insensitive dear but there’s only so far my pension will stretch, you can stay here as long as you like but there needs to be more money coming in somehow”

“I was thinking of maybe trying to get a cash-in-hand job at one of the local cafes”

“I’m afraid you’ll find that a bit hard at the moment, there was a crackdown a couple of months ago, several places got busted for employing undocumented immigrants and paying em next to nothing, it was a big thing in the papers. Not to mention them gangsters you’re running from aren’t as thick as they look you know, they’ll be looking for where you might’ve gone. Your poor mom can probably expect a visit and then they’ll go to your next nearest relative”

“Meaning they’ll come here” I finished her train of thought for her. “Oh granny I don’t want to be a burden on anyone, I guess I’ll just try my luck moving onto the next town, see if I can get anything there”

“Nonsense” she said matter-of-factly “what you need is a disguise”

“A disguise?” I asked incredulously.

“Exactly, a disguise that would hide you from your pursuers and allow you to get some money in until we can figure out what to do next and I think I’ve got the perfect plan if you’re willing to go through with it?”

“Sure, what do I have to lose?” I asked dejectedly “What will it involve?”

 “I don’t have time to go over the details dear, you trust me don’t you?”

“Of course granny, more than anyone”

Then if you’ll excuse me I have work to do, make yourself at home in the living room and help yourself to anything, you know where things are” and with that she retreated to her back room.

I spent most of the afternoon just watching daytime television save for when granny asked me to come through for a casting. Her back room was chocked full of props and equipment from her time as a makeup artist and she used her old supplies to make a cast of my face. It was incredibly uncomfortable but I trusted that gran knew best.

I barely saw her for the rest of the day save for when I cooked us dinner, It was the least I could do seeing as she was going to so much trouble for me. She ate it quickly and returned to her work leaving me alone to ponder just what had happened to me. How could Jeremy have done this to me?

I decided to have a bath to try and relax a little which only worked so much. After I dried off I once again donned my aunt’s nightshirt and readied myself for bed. It was a good couple of sizes larger than what I normally wore and it was at this point I cursed myself for not grabbing any clothes before I made my escape, there was only so many times I could wear the clothes I came in and that finished today. I’d have to see if granny would be able to pop out and grab me some things tomorrow.

I woke around 10 and made my way downstairs, I noticed the light creeping out from under granny’s back room door, had she been up all night? I knocked on the door to check.

“Good morning dear” I heard her shout “I shouldn’t be too much longer, why don’t you fix us some breakfast?”

Knowing grandma’s determination I knew better than to argue. I set about making us a simple breakfast of poached eggs on toast when granny finally emerged. She looked thoroughly exhausted.

“Have you been up all night gran?”

“Oh don’t worry about that darling, the important thing is I’ve made proper headway with my plan. I think I’m just about done so let’s hurry up with breakfast and we can see how it works”.

I ate my breakfast in a bewildered silence, what on earth was she up to? Granny finished first and went upstairs to freshen up, she came back down with an old shopping bag with what I assumed were clothes in it and gestured for me to join her in her back room.

Once inside she handed me a garment and ushered me behind her old Victorian dressing shade.

“Take off all your clothes and see if that fits dear”

I looked down at the item and was taken aback at what I was looking at. It appeared to be some form of shape wear, the main difference being that it had perfectly shaped foam rubber sections adhered to it.

“Granny what is this?” I asked getting a little alarmed

“It’s part of the plan dear now come along, we don’t have time to be wasting”

I’d never worn shape wear before seeing as I had managed to keep a slim figure despite my years of working in an office but I had seen films like Bridget Jones so I was aware of the struggle I was about to endure.

A struggle that was made so much harder by all of this foam but after about five minutes of pulling, pushing, prodding and poking I was finally in to the contraption. There was no mirror behind the screen so I just took in what I could see in front of me. This suit was obviously designed to make me look larger than I actually was. It ran from my knees fully covering everything above them, only stopping at my elbows. The foam rubber belly obscured my view of my thighs and I could barely see that over my enhanced knockers.

I didn’t get a chance to take anything else in before I was interrupted by granny who had obviously heard that my motion had come to an end.

“All in dearie?” she shouted from behind the screen.

“Ah yes, I think so”

“Well let’s get a look at you, oh yes, a work of art even if I do say so myself” she laughed “now come and sit”

With that granny led me to what appeared to be a vintage hairdresser’s chair, as I sat down I noticed that the mirror had some scraps of material hanging over it, it looked as though granny had been designing a dress for herself before I’d intruded. I felt bad that I was putting granny through all this upheaval however I was quickly roused from my thoughts by a quick sharp pain from my scalp.

“Ow! Granny, be careful!”

“Sorry dear, I’m a bit out of practice I imagine” she said as she continued to arrange my hair and fit me with a wig cap like the one we used yesterday while casting my face.

“You’re really going all out with this disguise idea aren’t you?” I asked

“Well you have to if it’s to be believed” she said as she cleaned my face and applied a layer of adhesive. She then turned and did the same to a prosthetic mask, she must have been up all night designing it. The mask was a perfect fit, it was obvious that granny had been very talented at her profession.

She then spent what felt like hours blending the mask in with my skin tone, applying makeup and securing any loose pieces, all the while shushing me whenever I tried to speak. When she was finally happy she produced a wig from one of the many stacked boxes and set about styling it, this part didn’t take long at all, who knew granny was an accomplished hairdresser too?

After this was done she handed me the bag of clothes that she had gotten from upstairs.

“Put these on so I can see if the illusion works”

First I pulled out a pair of white cotton panties, as basic as you could imagine. I pulled them over my rubber covered thighs and they rested snugly on my foam fat ass. The matching bra did its job of holstering my ridiculously enhanced boobs. As I looked down I noticed how the neck of the mask creased, the feeling felt totally foreign to me. I took a seat to put on a pair of plain white socks and noticed for the first time how comfortable this big ass was, I guess there were some perks to this disguise malarkey.

A high necked floral blouse was next, as I buttoned it I marvelled how it seemed to cling to my fake body in all the wrong places, it definitely wasn’t of this decade. Blue denim supermarket jeans rounded off the ensemble, skin tight around my thighs and ass, well they would have been if it had been my skin but you get the drift.

“One more thing” said granny as she plopped a pair of heavy frames on my nose, my vision immediately going blurry.  “I know they’re not your prescription but they’ll do until we can get down to Specsavers”.

As she pulled an old tarp off of a full length mirror I didn’t need 20-20 vision to see just what was staring back at me. I was a mirror image of my aunty Ann.

“Oh my god” was all I could manage as I stared into the mirror over the top of her ridiculously out-dated glasses. The wig was styled exactly the way her hair had been when I last saw her, short back and sides and poofy on top and dark brunette as opposed to my natural auburn. My face was now decorated by a number of lines and wrinkles bought on by aging about twenty years in a couple of hours, my slack-jawed expression highlighted the double chin that I had felt earlier.

The combination of the suit and my aunt’s clothes had done their job of totally concealing my body, a big fat looking belly dominated my form and was split in double by the tight waistband of my generic jeans, the tucked in blouse hiding what would be foam love handles. To anyone who looked I was a totally frumpy, forty-something woman.

It was my gran who broke the silence.

“It’s just that I thought how much you looked like your aunty when you turned up at my door the other day and with you needing a disguise as well as a way to earn money, why not assume the identity of your aunt?”

“Do you honestly think this will work?”

“Well you really look like her, it’s almost uncanny”

“Yes but to what ends?”

“Well now that the initial setup is done it should only take about an hour for you to get into the disguise each morning, it’ll have to do until we can think of something more permanent”

“Granny, just because I look like someone doesn’t mean I am them, I’m still going to need ID for a job”

“Well once we’ve reported that you’re found we’ll get your, I mean your aunt’s passport renewed and there you go, to anyone who asks, or needs proof you’ll be Ann Waverly”.

“I guess it makes the most sense”

“Also I think you should assume the role of your aunt full time for now, to avoid any slip ups you know?”

“Yeah probably a good idea”

At that my gran got a teary look in her eye.

“It’s so good to have you home Ann”

“It’s good to be home… mom”.

We spent the rest of the day fleshing out granny’s plan. A phone call to mom, sorry, my sister, was met with surprise but not shock. She knew gran, I mean mom, to be a little eccentric but knew if there was one person who could pull this off it would be her. She promised to come and see her newly found sister as soon as possible.

We contacted the police to inform them I was no longer missing, to be honest they didn’t really seem too bothered and removed me from the missing persons list. It turned out my passport still had a number of years on it so I didn’t need to worry about getting new ID.

We talked about job prospects, I bought up waitressing again but mom suggested that I call the manager of the store where I had worked when I disappeared. I thought this was a bad idea but mom convinced me that it was exactly what my aunt would do if she resurfaced. If anyone asked where I had been I would feign amnesia. We then spent hours going over my aunt’s accent and inflections, watching old home videos so I could mimic her speech patterns. I’d always been pretty good at doing impersonations so I picked it up quite easily, I spoke as her successfully for the rest of the evening.

The whole ordeal was thoroughly exhausting, I had no idea how my mom was still awake let alone cooking dinner. She called me to the table a little while later.

“I cooked your favourite, to celebrate you coming home” she said as she placed the plates down. On mine was spam fritters, chips and peas, a large portion at that.

“That’s a lot of food” I said instinctively

“It’s only what you normally have Ann” she said tucking into her own meal

It was a struggle but I managed to finish only for mom to plop pudding in front of me, three huge scoops of Neapolitan ice-cream, she must have kept a tub in at all times just in case my aunt ever showed up. I spent the rest of the night sat on the sofa next to mom watching soaps.

“Just like old times right love?”

“Yeah” I replied with a smile, if there was one good thing to come from this it was that my gran got her daughter back, at least for a little while.

In the morning mom helped me into the prosthetics before a large breakfast of bacon sandwiches, I could see how my aunt managed to obtain her figure eating like this, I’d have to start working out again soon unless I wanted my figure to match.

I then called the supermarket to speak to Mr Clarke, he seemed genuinely overjoyed to hear from me and we arranged for him to come round for tea that afternoon. Mom had gone out to get us lunch in the meantime, a great big serving of fish and chips. Again I struggled to finish but made it through for the sake of keeping up appearances. Soon after that Mr Clarke arrived and we discussed my employment possibilities. I explained that I was suffering from amnesia but thought it would help me to re-piece my past by returning to my old job. We agreed that I would start back next week.

After he left I offered to cook dinner in the hopes of getting something slightly healthy but mom would have none of it, she had always looked after my aunt it seemed and that was the way it was going to be. After another large meal of bangers and mash mom produced a box of three cream cakes to celebrate me getting my job back. I got two, just like old times. I was absolutely stuffed! I mentioned to mom that I was going to have to run miles to work that day’s food off but she was having none of it.

“Don’t be silly, could you imagine your aunt on a treadmill?” she laughed

“No I suppose not” and we settled in to watch that evenings soaps.

The weekend followed much in the same suit, big meals with little moving around, is this how my aunt and gran had lived all that time? I took to doing squats and sit-ups in my room in an effort to try and offset the onslaught of calories.

Monday morning came and I dressed in my prosthetics and my aunt’s old uniform, gran had gone to the opticians and procured a pair of glasses close to aunt’s but with my prescription. It was a testament to my gran’s skill as it was a perfect fit. I arrived at work and went through an orientation with Mr Clarke during which he informed me that the staff had been made aware of my amnesia and that they wouldn’t be expecting too much of me as of just yet. For now I’d simply be doing some shelf stacking until they could retrain me on till work. At least I’d be bringing in some money for mom, God knows how much more money she was spending on feeding me.

My colleagues all seemed so happy to see me, I sadly had to inform them that I didn’t remember anyone there but was looking forward to trying to figure out my past with them. This news seemed to sadden one guy more than the rest of my new/old colleagues. The work was mentally draining and by the end of the day I was exhausted. I returned home to a large meal and another evening of soaps. This was my life, for now at least.

It was about a week later when I was sat in the staff room on my lunch break, I couldn’t escape mom’s feeding tendencies even at work and I was tucking into my packed lunch of cheese sandwiches, a bottle of cola and a packet of Jaffa Cakes. The guy who I mentioned before spoke to me.

“You really don’t remember me?” he said

“I’m sorry” I said between bites “But I’d love to hear more about you, I’m having a little trouble remembering anything”

“Well I’m Jimmy” he said shaking my hand “And, well before you disappeared we were… we were kinda dating”

At this I oh so gracefully spluttered on my drink “Oh, oh really?” I managed to blurt out eventually.

Jimmy was unlike any man I had ever dated, around 6 foot tall and I estimated around 300 lbs, he was a mountain of a man with a totally bald head.

“Yeah we were going out for a couple of months before you disappeared, I would’ve said something earlier but I didn’t know when I should say something.”

“Oh erm yeah I could see why you would be uncomfortable raising that subject” I had no idea how this was going to play out, taking on my aunt’s ID was one thing but taking on her boyfriend was another.

“Do you think maybe you would like to get together after work one day and we could talk some about our relationship? It could help you remember your past”.

Oh damn, how could I turn this guy down? Why would I not want to piece together my past? Surely that would raise suspicion.

“Oh erm sure, that sounds great”

“Why don’t I pop round your mom’s tomorrow ey?”

“Err yeah that’ll be good”

He gave me a hug as he left the break room.

“Can’t wait Ann love”

When I got home that night I had words for mom.

“Did you not think it would be a good idea to tell me that Aunty Ann had a boyfriend?”

“Who Jimmy? Oh he’s a lovely boy, you two have been courting for a while now. I’ve high hopes for you two.”

“Granny! I’m not really Ann, what am I going to do about this?!”

“Now, now Ann you know you have to keep up appearances and if that means going on a few dates with a lovely man then that’s no hardship really is it?”

“Granny!”

“Ah, ah, ah” she cut me off

“Mom, sooner or later he’s going to want to be intimate with his girlfriend and then what?”

“You’re right, that does pose a problem. Maybe I could work on a full body prosthetic for you?”

“Mom! That’s not the point, I’m not really his girlfriend!”

“Now listen here Ann, for the foreseeable future you ARE that man’s girlfriend. Now you may have to be inventive in your ways to rebuff his advances for a while but it would raise too many questions if you were not friendly toward the man, so you better be friendly when he comes round for dinner tomorrow okay.”

“What?! How do you know he’s coming round tomorrow?”

“He gave me a text this afternoon, he’s quite excited to get reacquainted”.

I’d never felt more trapped in my life.

I spent the next day at work dreading what was coming later that evening, my gran must have lost her mind if she thought there was any way I was going to start dating this guy, a good twenty years my senior who I’d had one conversation with.

When I arrived home mom was busy in the kitchen

“I’ve laid some clothes out for you love, pop upstairs and change, it won’t be long until Jimmy arrives”

I didn’t really have any choice, I made my way to my room and changed out of my uniform and into the clothes mom had chosen for my ‘date’. A floral tunic dress that covered all of my padding, opaque tights and sensible flats. A chunky cardigan and a string of fake pearls completed the ensemble.

The doorbell rang just as I was coming downstairs.

“Get the door would you Ann?”

Jimmy looked very smart I had to admit, a checked short-sleeved shirt that did nothing to hide his girth paired with blue denim jeans and dress shoes. He handed me a bunch of flowers and kissed me on the cheek. I momentarily froze in terror, would he realise it was a mask I was wearing? If he did he didn’t say anything he just came in and gave my mom a hug.

The night wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, Jimmy was actually quite funny and spent the night recounting us with tales of my past and how we’d met. The meal was another jumbo portion that Jimmy put away easily and asked for seconds, I dutifully finished mine so as not to raise suspicion. We then retired to the living room where Jimmy shared some photos of nights out that we had been on while we half watched that day’s soaps holding hands. This bought a smile to mom’s face.

We arranged to go to the pub that Saturday night and then Jimmy headed off but not before giving me a long hug and a peck on the cheek.

“Oh I do like that Jimmy boy” sighed mom.

“You might do but no good can come of this, I’m going to wind up breaking that man’s heart and it’ll be your fault mother”

The rest of the week went as normal with the only exception being every time I’d see Jimmy at work he’d have a daft smile on his face and would always wave at me. He also began leaving treats in the staff room for me, sometimes flowers but mainly cream cakes, my favourites apparently.

Saturday came around pretty quickly and I didn’t have to do a lot to get ready for the pub by all accounts. Same old blue jeans and naff trainers coupled with a sweatshirt with two wolves on it howling at the moon, how tacky I thought.

We walked to the pub so we could both have a drink, I hadn’t had one since this whole ordeal began. We joined a group of people who were all pleased to see me, apparently this was a regular haunt of my aunt’s and everyone had missed her dearly. It felt nice to be made a fuss of, I don’t think I bought a drink all night. The night seemed to fly by with these people all telling tales of my past hoping that I’d remember something, they didn’t mind when I didn’t, even coming up with a new nickname for me ‘Amnesia Annie’. We shared lots of laughs and I felt safe the entire time sat next to this behemoth of a man. There was a point when we got a little close as if about to kiss but I made my excuses and Jimmy was fine with it. I don’t know if it was the drink but I was taking a bit of a shine to Jimmy.

The next week bought us some bad news, a phone call from my mom, sorry my sister informed us that she had been paid a little visit by some gentlemen looking for one Stephanie Myers. She hadn’t been hurt but she was a little shook up. She had been given a message to pass on if she saw Stephanie any time soon – The longer you make me wait, the more it’s going to cost you. My blood ran cold just hearing it. My mom had informed the police as she had been working with them trying to find her missing daughter. With all things considered it was decided it was probably for the best that she didn’t come and visit.

I was in a mope for about the next week worrying about my mom, it seemed as though the only time I smiled was when Jimmy would pay me a compliment or when we went out with the gang that Saturday, I was really starting to get used to the little rut my aunt had carved out for herself. I didn’t have to worry about a lot of the pressures I normally had to, keeping up with the latest fashions, exceeding expectations at my job, staying on a diet, maintaining a relationship with ‘Mr Right’, my Aunt’s life was becoming very comfortable to me. One thing I wasn’t as comfortable with though was the added weight I was now carrying around with me. I’d put on about 20 lbs since being at the mercy of my mom and my overweight boyfriend. I had to call him that now seeing as we barely spent an evening apart, be it at my house or his, trips to the cinema or to the pub I was starting to see what my aunt saw in him. I felt terrible having to keep rebuff him and knowing what I’d eventually have to tell him.

I was walking home from work about a week later when I had an odd feeling. It was a feeling I hadn’t had for a while – a feeling of being watched. Maybe I was being paranoid with what happened to my mom but I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being followed. I tried to put the thought out of my head as I got home, once I let myself in I went up to my room and changed out of my uniform and into a t-shirt and some sweats, Jimmy was coming over for dinner so when the doorbell rang I assumed it was him.

“Get the door love” shouted mom from the kitchen

I opened the door expecting to see my supposed boyfriend but I was greeted instead my a completely different, more terrifying bald man.

“Hello darling, just you in tonight?”

It was the same man that had been to my flat all those weeks ago, I was frozen to the spot in fear, they had found me.

“Are you thick love?” he asked menacingly “I asked you a question”

“N-no” I stuttered “My mom is in the kitchen”

“Is that right? And you wouldn’t be hiding any other relatives in there now would you?”

Was this working? Did he really not recognise me? Or was he playing some sort of game with me?

“No” I answered more assertively “I assume you’re talking about my missing niece and no doubt you’re the reason she’s on the run?”

I was going for broke now, maybe if I could make this brute truly believe that Stephanie hadn’t been seen or heard from he would leave my family alone.

“Who’s that dear?” asked my mom as she came to the front door.

“I’m a friend of your granddaughter, I’m just trying to find out where she is, I might have some way of helping her with her problems”

“Oh no you’re not” I said summoning courage from god-knows-where “you’re just a bully who has gotten my Stephy into some sort of trouble, I know your sort.”

“Listen here you fat old bitch” he rasped grabbing me by the throat just as he had done that time before “I’m going to find your niece and when I do she’ll wish she’d never have been fucking born”

It was at that time when Mr Scary Gangster fell to his knees.

“Get your fucking hands of my girlfriend you prick” came a shout, it was Jimmy, just in time. He pulled the lout in to the front yard and proceeded to beat the shit out of him.

“Don’t you ever let me catch you around this area again you wanker, if I do you’re not going to be able to bend over to pick your teeth up off the floor because I’ll rip your fucking spine out!”

I’d not seen this side of Jimmy, I’d always felt safe around him but here he was in action, my knight in shining armour. I knew he would never let anyone hurt me, or at least my aunt.

The lout stumbled out of the yard and into his car, speeding off just about as fast as he could.

“What the bloody hell was all that about?” asked Jimmy as he straightened his shirt and gave me a hug. “Are you alright?”

“Oh Jimmy, thank God you turned up” I cried reciprocating his hug

“Come on in Jimmy” called my gran “I think it’s about time we told you something.

Once inside I took the opportunity to remove my glasses, wig and mask. It was the first time anyone had seen my real face for weeks.

“What’s going on here?! Who are you?!” Asked Jimmy obviously upset.

“I’m really sorry Jimmy, I wish I could’ve told you sooner, you’ve seen the danger I face, please let me tell you my story”

We sat up until the early hours, him just listening while I told him my past and what had happened with Jeremy. I could tell he was heartbroken and I felt awful for deceiving this charming, honest caring man. When he left I didn’t get a hug just a handshake and him telling me that he understood why I did what I did. I had a big old cry and went to bed.

I spent that weekend as me, it was quite a relief not to worry about who was going to knock at the door. I went into town to pick up some clothes in my size after it became apparent, much to my chagrin that I could no longer fit into the clothes I had arrived in. I had to make the trip in my aunt’s clothes with my belt being the only thing keeping her jeans up. I bought mainly underwear and some comfortable clothes, I still had to hold up the façade of being my aunt at work and wasn’t planning on going many places as myself. 

Even though our roles at home had reverted to that of granny and granddaughter, gran hadn’t adjusted my portions when it came to mealtime. I didn’t have the heart to say anything, she was obviously upset at her daughter disappearing again.

The week at work went by without any hitches, I was finally getting trained on tills now so my days wouldn’t be so boring. I saw Jimmy occasionally and we’d share smile, he’d promised that he wouldn’t tell anyone at work my big secret. He didn’t have to do that, he’d be well within his rights to expose my big scam but he didn’t, it was a testament to how nice a guy he was. I was starting to miss him being around.

It was on that Saturday evening that there was a knock at my gran’s door. For a moment my heart leapt into my mouth but I quickly regained my composure and got gran to open the door.

“It’s for you Stephanie”

For me? Who would want to see me? Maybe Mom had come up to surprise me? I’d called her in the week to tell her what had happened between Jimmy and the gangster and she said she would come and see me soon but it wasn’t her. It was Jimmy.

“Hi err Stephanie, I was wondering maybe you would like to come to the pub tonight?”

“Really? Wouldn’t that be a bit awkward?”

“Maybe, but I got talking to the gang about what happened last week and they said that you must care an awful lot about me to go to all that effort to spare my feelings. They said that they enjoyed the time they spent with you, even if you were pretending to be Ann, and that you were really nice and no-one is that good of an actor so they would like to see you too”

“I do care about you Jimmy, you are a wonderful man and I would love to come to the pub with you”

I gave him a big hug and ran upstairs to get changed, nothing special just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. We spent the evening with the gang in the pub, getting to know the real me and my story, everyone was really nice and accommodating, one of the girls even told me how she was still sad that Ann wasn’t back but they were really happy that they got to make a new friend in me which I thought was really nice.

Jimmy walked me home that night, I was on a high after a great night out and I was a little tipsy.

“I had a great time tonight” said Jimmy

“Yeah me too” I smiled “Everyone was so understanding”

“And you looked great too”

“Aw you’re so sweet Jimmy” and I gave him a hug

Maybe it was the drink or maybe it was the fact that this man was so kind-hearted but as I stared into his eyes after the hug I couldn’t help myself, I leaned into him and stood on my tip-toes and gave him a passionate kiss, a kiss he returned, I felt on top of the world.

My relationship with Jimmy proceeded as any normal relationship would, we went on dates to the cinema and to restaurants, I didn’t care that Jimmy wasn’t exactly my normal type, a man who was a fair bit heavier than I would normally go for and a good 20 years my senior. I felt safe with him and I had a genuinely good time when he was around. I couldn’t be happier.

What was strange was that gran and Jimmy hadn’t let up on the food, still serving me large portions and buying me cream cakes as if they were my favourite. I carried on putting it away as I’d become accustomed to it, to be honest and I was becoming rather fond of the cream cakes and chocolates that Jimmy would lavish on me. My figure continued to expand likewise.

Soon it was ready for mine and Jimmy’s relationship to step to the next level. I was staying at his house one Friday, we’d been to the cinema and were now cuddling on the sofa. I was feeling amorous so made my move.

I was a little shy of my flabby new physique but Jimmy put me at ease noting how he was almost double my weight and telling me how I would never be too big for him, I thought that was sweet. Sex with Jimmy was another world compared to my previous experiences, he was a little clumsy at first but we soon found our rhythm. I found new pleasure groping at his gigantic mass, I’d enjoyed pawing at him when we cuddled before but this was something else. When I rode him he made sure to make me feel like a goddess, kneading my ass and boobs, sometimes even my belly which made me giggle. It was obvious my expanded figure turned him on and that was good enough for me.

After that first night we were at it like rabbits, I’d never felt so desirable and Jimmy satisfied me like no man ever had, sometimes I barely got through the door from work and he’d already be gagging for it, not even waiting for me to ditch my disguise. It was during one of these times when he’d called me Ann.

“Oh God, I’m sorry, I meant StephANNie, obviously!”

“Hey, it’s okay” I didn’t want my man to feel uncomfortable about his faux pas “It’s understandable, I mean I do look just like her right? A slip of the tongue doesn’t mean anything hun”

In future I’d always make sure I got out of my mask and wig before we started fooling around, we’d still do it with me in my shape wear though occasionally and when I told him that if I kept on eating the way I was then I soon wouldn’t need the shapewear, it would send him into a fervour.

Soon after that he’d started dropping hints like –

“Do you wear contact lenses? Have you ever tried glasses?” and “Have you ever thought about shorter hair? I think it would suit you”

My man obviously liked his women a certain way and I wanted my man to have the world. I’d do it slowly though, hive him a bit of a tease, like sometimes I’d be wearing the glasses from my disguise when he’d come round and I’d have to go and put in my contacts. Or sometimes I’d be wearing some of my aunt’s clothes when he’d come round because “they just feel more comfortable” it wasn’t a lie, the continued onslaught of calories on my figure were starting to show that me and my aunt would have very similar body types.

Finally, when I felt my body was almost in the same league as my aunt’s I booked some time off work, I told them I was going to a spa to have some anti-aging treatments done, I told Jimmy I was going to a health farm with Mom in an effort to try and lose some of this weight I’d put on. The disappointment in his face was worth it for the look on his face when I would finally reveal my surprise for him. In reality I was spending some time at my mom’s house, she hadn’t had any more visits after Jimmy put the fear of god in that gangster but I went disguised as my aunt just in case.

I’d told my mom about my relationship with Jimmy, she was a little alarmed at first that I was dating someone closer to her age than my own and even more so once she got a look at my new figure but she relented in the end, as long as I was happy, she was happy. I guess my gran isn’t the only eccentric one in the family.

I spent the time at my mom’s completely pigging out, I made sure any activities we did weren’t very strenuous, I couldn’t afford to lose any weight if my plan was to come to fruition – I’d bought nothing but my aunt’s old clothes with me and I wanted to fit into them without the shapewear, it was a plan I succeeded in.

The last night at my mom’s I stood in my childhood bedroom staring into the mirror, wearing my aunt’s perfectly fitting underwear, I marvelled at the transformation that my body had gone through since my world fell apart. My tan had all but vanished, slightly chubbier calfs led to greatly enhanced thunder thighs. I had flirted with a thigh gap once upon a time but that was a distant memory, hidden by creamy goodness. My panties cut in just enough to cause my love handles and belly to pour over the waistband, it was a belly that was soft, squishy and decorated with stretchmarks. I would’ve been mortified by stretchmarks a year ago but now I related them to fond memories with gran and Jimmy.

When I’d first worn the shapewear I’d thought the boobs were ridiculous but now here I stood with my own pair and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. The bigger they’d gotten, the more sensitive they’d gotten. They were now capped by much larger nipples that sent me into ecstasy anytime Jimmy groped at them. If I didn’t wear a bra they would slouch down on to my tummy and drive me to distraction. My upper arms were so soft now, I knew why Jimmy loved giving me hugs because I loved giving myself hugs when no-one else was around. Lastly I peered over my shoulder at my enlarged derriere, it would be my dominant feature if my belly wasn’t so large, I never knew that I’d enjoy sitting so much! My face was fuller but I wouldn’t call it fat, well maybe apart from when I looked down. Nowadays there was that familiar crease under my chin, I thought it made me look happier.

I didn’t have to wear the shapewear on the way home, I thought about binning it but reconsidered as maybe granny would want it back. I didn’t bother to wear my wig or mask either, I just wore my glasses because from that moment on that’s what they were MY glasses. I knew no-one would recognise me, I looked like a completely different person. I stopped by the chemist before arriving at gran’s house to pick up some hair dye, dark brunette.

When I walked through the door I got a big hug from my gran who complimented me on my glasses and wardrobe. I asked if she would dye and cut my hair, I didn’t need to tell her what style. When she was done I called Jimmy.

“Hey lover, fancy coming over and taking a look at all the effort I’ve put into my body?”

You ought to have seen his jaw drop once I opened the door to him.

“What do you think?” I asked him, letting him take in my transformation

“You look bloody beautiful Steph love”

“About that” I said pulling him into a hug “I was thinking about going by Annie from now on, it’s a more suitable name don’t you think?”

“I reckon so” he said with a smile and gave me a long hard kiss.

And so, that’s effectively how I became my own Aunt full time. The folks at work marvelled at the anti-aging treatment when I went in sans prosthesis, some even congratulated me on the bit of weight I’d lost but said nothing when I put it back on and then some. The gang at the pub thought my makeover was a fitting memory to my Aunt and said she would be happy that I was making Jimmy so happy. I didn’t ever go back to calling gran mom but she continued to feed me like a daughter.