ALT Emma laid naked in her cot, her belly too sensitive to have a nightgown brushing against it. Mr. Downing was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, she didn鈥檛 need to buy any food. On the other, this was the fourth night in a row that she lay in bed with a boulder in her stomach, wondering why she鈥檇 let him keep inserting more bread into her maw an hour prior. It was obvious that he had started overbaking just so that he could give her snacks throughout the day, and then whatever was leftover at closing time was also ending up in her belly. For some reason, he seemed to love giving her food more than anything else in the world. In the moment, it always felt like it was in her best interest to humor him, and accept the food, but hours later? She often had some serious regrets. Emma had become quite frail recently, and was always a bit thinner than might have been best for her, so she was happy to have so much to eat. It felt great to have erased her deficit in food so quickly. It was just
