Reunion Resolution (Part 1)
By ashes

Walter's 10 year high school reunion is going to be later this year, and he wants to lose weight, He resolves to do it by any means necessary, and when his methods don't work his friend's wife has a suggestion. Little does he know she also has an agenda.

Author's note: This is another one that's been fighting me, and despite that longer time frame allowed to finish this one, I just couldn't get it totally finished before the deadline, especially with some of the weekly challenges also resisting me. All monthly challenges are supposed to be submitted within one week before or after the end of the month. I'm about halfway finished with this story, but I need to get something up now and this seems like a decent place to give you a taste of what's ahead. Once again I believe this will be 3 parts, but that could change. Enjoy.

Here was the premise for this month's challenge:
January: The Resolution
Idea: Sometimes keeping a New Year's resolution can lead to bigger changes in one's life than one could ever imagine.
Length: Any
Limitations: The story starts on, shortly before, or shortly after, the celebration of the new year, with the catalyst for the character's change being somehow related to their new year's resolution -- or their resolution somehow related to their change.

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10!...9!...8!... The countdown started, everyone watching the ball drop from the multiple TVs in the corners of the bar. Everyone holding some sort of alcoholic beverage partially raised, poised for the toast. There were quite few couple ready to kiss at the end as well.

7!...6!... Walter Whitman, who preferred Walt as he thought Walter made him sound the an old geezer, was not among the couples. In fact lately he wasn't getting any female attention, and it was really starting to get him down. He had always thought of himself as a charmer, but that didn't matter anymore. He knew the cause of the recent lack of female company; it was his protruding gut that he had developed the past two years. After he got his M.B.A. from Stanford- which only added to his ego- he got a rather nice office job at a major corporation. This led to him eventually becoming complacent and lazy, which combined with his less than stellar diet of greasy burgers and pizza resulted in his new figure.

5!...4!...He had just received an invitation to his 10 year high school reunion, and was lost in thought about how he was going to look to his fellow classmates. He was successful in his career, but he was a fat, self-centered ass, who thought women should practically line up for him, and wouldn't have a date unless he paid someone. He wasn't going to stoop quite that low though. Lost in thought, he was the only one not watching the ball drop, he just didn't care.

3!...2!...1!... "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The patrons erupted with semi-drunken joy, raising their glasses, the couples kissing. A few took it a little far, but it was tolerated today due to the holiday and inebriation. Walt noticed one of these couples and felt a stinging in his eyes and a heaviness in his chest. He had been alone since just after last New year's celebration. He tried to make some moves on his date, who he had known for less than a week. She clearly wasn't interested in anything that serious and kept trying to fend him off. He didn't take the hint and kept at it until she slapped him and left. He had been lucky to even get her to go with him at the time, since he was already getting quite large in the stomach.

Remembering this fiasco, and seeing that couple just now, he felt his loneliness bubble into a sort of determination that perked him up a little. He sat up straighter and you could practically see the lightbulb over his head as his eyes widened and got a little brighter. He was going to make a resolution, for the first time in years. He resolved to lose that weight any way he could. He was going to make sure he wasn't revolting by the time that reunion came. It was set for late July, so he had plenty of time.

"Oh yeah. This will be easy enough," he thought to himself as he downed the last half of the beer he had been cradling.

*<*^*>*

It turned out not to be so easy after all. But let's start at the beginning.

Walt had a bit of an idea to help motivate him towards his resolution. He thought having a tangible goal would help him to think about what he was doing, to not let him forget and slip into old habits. He went into his garage where he kept not a car, but a few dozen boxes of things. Much of it was meant to be in his home being used, but about half of it was old things that he kept just because... well, he really didn't know why. However, it was actually going to come in handy today.

He found a box of clothes he had worn in high school, and dug out the largest pair of jeans he could find. He looked at the tag and saw they were a size 28 waist. He frowned. He was aware that he had never been very large, standing a mere 5 feet 5 inches. That just made his current 36 inch waist all the more revolting, especially as the fat hadn't accumulated much anywhere else. He thought it kind of made him look pregnant. It didn't help that he was just on the male side of being androgynous, with his 'dirty blonde' hair kept in a loose ponytail that came between his shoulder blades.

He also looked for the largest T-shirt he could find, which was a Medium. He just sighed and brought the clothes into the house. He hung them on the inside of his bedroom door, where he would see them every day and remember his goal. He was going to lose enough weight to fit into those clothes. He seemed to remember noticing women sometimes talking about trying to fit into things years after they had worn them, especially wedding dresses. Oh well, he didn't care if what he was doing seemed girly, it had to be done.

He started by trying one of those home food delivery dieting systems. It couldn't get much easier than that right? Just pick out meals that sounded good, they send them to you, and you eat them. The meals were already calculated to be within the limits of the diet so there was no thinking on his part. The only problem with all of that was that the food wasn't very good. It was all supposedly things he liked, but they somehow made them all so bland, so he dropped that idea within a week.

He then tried to eat normal versions of the food he liked, but counted the calories himself. He found he was much more satisfied with the taste, but the portions left him feeling so hungry. He was a bit disappointed to discover that his will power was much more lacking than he thought, as he was unable to keep himself from eventually eating his fill. Even though he knew he didn't really need more food, he felt like he did, and gave in to the desires of his stomach over the logic of his brain.

Over the next two weeks he tried a few other home diet services, but ended with the same conclusions as the first; disappointed with the bland foods they offered. All too quickly February was upon him, and he hadn't made any progress despite the constant reminder of the clothes on the back of his door. He was rapidly becoming frustrated and depressed.

*<*^*>*

Walt was spending some time at the house of one of his only remaining friends, Dave, watching a football game. He wasn't really paying attention though, and Dave had noticed. Dave really was Walt's best friend, they had known each other too long and been too close for him to abandon Walt just because he had a somewhat abrasive, and often chauvinistic personality. He could see that something was bothering Walt, even if he was too proud to bring it up himself. Dave really did care, and wanted to help, as he had been trying to do for years.

Dave picked up the remote and muted the TV, so they could keep an ye on the game while and still be able to converse. "What's the matter Walt? I can tell when something's bothering you."

Walt, who had been watching the floor more than the game, looked at Dave with a pathetic look. "Man, look at me. I'm a fat slob. If I can't figure out a way to lose this I don't think I can face the people from our school. I almost look more like a pregnant chick than a fat dude."

Dave winced at the description of a woman as a 'chick', but Walt didn't see as he was staring at the floor again during his revelation to Dave. However, Dave was also unaware that his wife, Brenda, was coming to give them a new platter of dip when she noticed Dave mute the TV. She stopped in the doorway behind the men to see what was happening. She also winced at the term. She was upset that Walt was so insensitive, but bit her tongue, curious where the conversation was going. As much as she didn't like to eavesdrop, her dislike for Walt was greater.

Walt had tried to woo her once back in high school, but she wasn't interested. Walt got mad when she ignored his advances, showing his true colors as to his thoughts about women. Walt had stormed off, but Dave had been there and tried to console Brenda despite his friend's pigheadedness. She was impressed with Dave's caring nature, and they dated for a while, eventually getting married even though Walt and Dave were close.

Brenda still acted politely toward Walt, who mostly ignored her. She tolerated his presence because she loved Dave, and watching the games with Walt made him happy. They had talked over this, and compromised in the bedroom.

Dave wasn't sure what to say about Walt's little outburst. After an awkward silence, Walt sighed heavily a looked back at Dave. "You'll probably think I'm some kind of pansy for this, but I made a resolution to fit into some of my old high school clothes by any means before the reunion. God! I sound like some woman, trying to fit in an old dress or look good in a bikini for summer!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Still, I want to do this. Just diet food tastes like crap, and eating less regular food doesn't fill me. I'm at a loss for what else to even try that doesn't fall into the same problems."

Dave was a little shocked and perplexed at the tantrum, but calmly told him, "You're worrying too much Walt. I think it's an admirable goal for anyone to lose weight, whether they're male or female. If you can get past the face that you seem to think women are beneath you and that doing something that seems womanly is wrong, maybe you'll be able to better will yourself to get past the problems you're having." Dave wasn't really sure if he believed that would actually work, but if it could help Walt feel better about himself, as well as hopefully lessen some of his anti-feministic views, then it was the right thing to say.

Meanwhile, Brenda was combining Walt's comment about looking more like a woman than a man, with the complaints about his resolution. She quickly formulated a plan, and smiled to herself.

She continued into the den with the dip, set it on the table, but instead of leaving she took a seat in an empty recliner and faced Walt.

"Okay, you and I haven't got along very well, and that's fine. But if you'll accept it, I think I can help you. I don't think you'll like it much, but it'll solve your problems. If you can come back in two days, I need to get some things. I'll also need your measurements, I can get them after the game if you want."
She was really struggling to be nice to Walt. He had been awful to her personally, she hated the terms he used when talking about women, and she had seen the way he treats other women at the bar. She really had to be nice to him though, otherwise she would scare him off her plan before it even started.

"Spectacular," he grumbled sarcastically.

Brenda gave him a fake smile, while actually clenching her teeth in anger. She was caring enough to try to help despite her hate for the man, but he still acted like an ass. If he noticed, he certainly didn't say anything about it. "Let me know when it's over, then," she said as she left the room.

She heard the volume come back on so the men could hear the rest of the game, as she went to her studio/office. It was technically the second bedroom, but they had made it her workspace due to the large area she needed. She worked in fashion, and had a couple of drafting boards for sketching, as well as several mannequins wearing outfits in various stages of completion.

She started flipping through some catalogs. She wanted something that came in larger sizes, but was still quite feminine. She had an idea of Walt's current waist size, so she could tentatively pick something out for him. She found one that was perfect for her needs, and called around to find out where she could get them in the sizes she wanted. She had a pretty good idea of where to go, and was successful on her second attempt.

It was too late to go out today, so she asked the shop to hold her things for her. She would go out tomorrow to get them. Now she had one more call to make; it was to a doctor friend. Lindsay also knew Walt's reputation, and said she'd be happy to help as long as they were careful. She didn't want to lose her license over petty revenge. Brenda assured her that she wasn't planning on permanent changes, just enough to emasculate him into a little reality check.

She went out the next day and got the garments from the shop she had called the day before. She went to Lindsay's office next and was given a prescription for two months worth of estrogen pills. She stopped at a pharmacy on the way home to get the prescription filled, and picked up a bottle of diet pills.

When she got home she put the clothes away, then proceeded to dump out the diet pills. She didn't actually want the pills, just the bottle claiming what pills were inside. She put a months worth of the estrogen pills in there instead. Now she felt ready to put her plan in motion for Walt tomorrow, but she had to do some smooth talking if she was going to persuade him to go along with it.

*<*^*>*

Walt showed at Dave and Brenda's the next day, a little hesitant since she wouldn't tell him exactly what she had planned. Dave let him in and offered him a beer, which he uncharacteristically declined; he was a little nervous and his stomach wasn't feeling like having anything in it would be a good idea right now, even if it was just beer.

Brenda greeted him warmly, though her true emotions were rather cold, and led him up to her studio. Walt felt a bit uncomfortable about the feminine garb that adorned the room, and combined with everything else he was feeling in addition to being kept in the dark about the plan, he was starting to get irritable. Granted, it wasn't difficult to make Walt irritable.

Finally he got fed up, "Will you just tell me what your supposed solution is? I don't like not knowing, and your cryptic statement about not liking it much isn't helping," he groused.

Brenda turned to him and simply said, "Fine, but first I want you to promise me that you'll try this for one day. I know you'll be skeptical and resistant, but if you just try it you'll see that it really will work."

Walt frowned at this. He wasn't in the habit of jumping into deep water without knowing which way the shore was. "You aren't exactly inspiring confidence here Brenda, but I'll admit that for some reason your intentions to help seem genuine. Though based on our history I can't imagine why." He paused for a moment, looking uncertain. Just as Brenda was about to speak up again, he finally said, "Alright, I agree to give your mystery solution a chance, for one day. Do you think we can discuss it somewhere else though? Mannequins creep me out, and I'm not a fan of the decor in this room."

"Okay, we'll go to the master bedroom. It will suit our needs just as well. I'll meet you there I just need to grab some things," she told him as he quickly made his way from the room. He took a seat on the bed and waited, and before too long she was there carrying some black cloth and a pill bottle. The bottle wasn't the kind that you would get for prescriptions though, more like what vitamins come in.

"What is that?" He asked, a little worried about the cloth. They had just come from her studio and as far as he knew she didn't design any male clothing.

She held one up with the slightest smile and replied, "Corsets."

Another note: Some of you may be concerned about the forced feminization elements portrayed in the first part here. I assure you that by the end of the story there will be a more satisfying outcome. I know that this isn't going to be your cup of tea for you until then. Some realizations will be made in the next part, and by the end the two main players in this game will be the better for it.