Curvy Girl Summer

Chapter 2

In the quiet moments before the house filled with people, I stared at the mocha-skinned beauty with the big almond-shaped eyes, full, plump lips, and perfectly placed, silk-pressed hair cascading to the middle of her back. She was shaped like a Coke bottle, and the angelic white dress that adorned her body looked flawless. Standing on our uncle’s yacht, she looked happy, carefree.

And alive.

My heart twinged, and I knew it was going to be a long day.

Every year since my sister died, my parents threw a small birthday party honoring Aniyah at their home. But with the fifth birthday since her death falling on a Saturday, my parents decided to make it a family affair. The grill was fired up and slow-cooking slabs of ribs. The backyard was full of tents, tables, and chairs in anticipation of the cousins, aunts, uncles, and family friends who were all en route for the cookout. It was a beautiful summer day, but ever since I arrived half an hour ago, I felt unsettled.

I hadn’t felt real peace since Aniyah died. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Losing my sister when she was only thirty was traumatizing—mainly because it was hard living in her shadow. But there was something different in the air that day. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off. I knew in my gut something wasn’t going to go as planned.

What’s up, sis?I silently asked my sister as I stared at her portrait.

“Aaliyah,” my mom called out in her “in front of company” tone of voice.

I turned around and was surprised to see her standing next to a woman who looked vaguely familiar and a man I’d never seen before in my life.

“Hello,” I replied suspiciously. Glancing at the others and then back at my mom, I lifted my eyebrows. “What’s going on?”

“You remember Liz, don’t you?”

I reached my hand out to shake hers. “Hi, Ms. Liz. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Hi, Aaliyah. Don’t you look lovely!” She released my hand and then gestured next to her. “This is my son Marcus. He’s in town visiting for the weekend.”

My mom’s friend from church always talked about her son Marcus and all his military travels and exploits. I’d never met him, but the few times I’d encountered Ms. Liz, she’d tell me she had a son around my age. But the baby-faced man in front of me looked more like a twenty-two-year-old than a twenty-nine-year-old.

“Hi, Marcus,” I said to him, shaking his hand as well.

“Hey. It’s nice to meet you, Aaliyah,” he responded in a husky tone.

I didn’t expect that voice to come out of the khaki-and-white-polo-shirt-wearing man in front of me.

“Nice to meet you as well.”

I looked back at my mother to find her staring at me expectantly.

“I need to get something for Liz that I left upstairs. Will you entertain Marcus for a few minutes?” my mom asked.

“Sure.”

My mom and Liz scurried off before I had the word all the way out of my mouth. I looked at Marcus, who looked just as bewildered as I did.

He met me in the middle of the room.

“Do you want something to drink? The food should be done, but I’m not certain. I know for a fact there’s plenty to drink though,” I offered.

“I’m okay. Thank you,” he replied, stepping closer to me. He lowered his voice and leaned forward a bit. “I really don’t need a babysitter. I’m not sure why they interrupted what you had going on to ask you to watch me.”

“I know, right?” Realizing how that came off, my eyes widened, and I put my hand to my chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you’re grown.”

He smiled.

He had a nice smile and kind eyes. He was a few inches taller than I was, maybe five feet, eleven inches. So, with my heels, we were pretty much eye to eye. For someone so young, he seemed to have wisdom behind those light brown eyes.

“That’s a nice boat,” he stated, gesturing toward the yacht in the picture.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s pretty great.”

“Is it your sister’s?”

I twisted my lips contemplatively. “It’s my uncle’s. He gave it to my sister right before her engagement, but after she passed away, he reclaimed it.”

He let out a low whistle. “That’s some gift.”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, it was.”

Aniyah and I loved that yacht. So many amazing memories took place on that thing. We were on it all the time growing up, and we had fun. But once Uncle Al gave it to her, it became more special to us. As adults, we’d drive to the ocean, where it was docked, and then spend the day catching up and discussing life. We left all our secrets out there on the water.

Those moments were the ones I’d miss most.

“I’ll let you get back to… what you were doing,” Marcus stated, putting his arms behind his back. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

“What is it that you think I was doing?”

“Talking to your sister.”

My lips parted, and I froze. How did he know that?

I was shocked and couldn’t bring myself to ask. So, I just stared at him.

I heard the people coming into the house. I heard voices yelling out for my parents. I heard my father and then my mother, but all of it was background noise as I stared at Marcus.

“How?” That was the only part of the question I managed to get out.

“A friend of mine died overseas a few years ago,” he answered succinctly.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sorry for your loss.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry for yours, too.”

Nodding, I gave him a tight smile. “Thanks.”

“When I find myself thinking about him, I start having conversations with him in my head. So, when I saw you staring, and the way you were staring, I knew you were having a conversation or lost in a memory.”

“It was a conversation of sorts,” I admitted slowly, unsure of why I was sharing this with the stranger.

“Staring at a picture just makes me see missed opportunities and experiences we’d never get again.”

“I get that,” I told him. “I used to feel like that. I used to get really sad when I looked at her pictures. But I realized that as long as I have her in here”—I pointed to my heart—“Aniyah isn’t gone. She just isn’t here.”

“That’s deep.” He was quiet for at least a minute. “I never thought about it like that. But that’s deep.”

Therapy. Lots of therapy.

After another moment of silence, the doorbell almost drowned out his next question. “How did your sister die?”

Grimacing, I shook my head.

I hated that question. Partially because I hated thinking about it. Partially because the wounds within the family were still raw. But mostly because it didn’t acknowledge how she was still here. It made her physical demise seem like the end of her.

I knew people didn’t mean any harm when they asked, so I took a deep breath.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” he said gently. “I don’t like to talk about how Keyshawn died either. I was just curious because she looks so young.”

“She had a heart condition,” I answered. “How did Keyshawn die?”

He cleared his throat. “He was shot.”

“In the line of duty?”

He shook his head. “It was a non-combat-related death. He, uh… he was sleeping with a married woman, and her husband shot him.”

My eyebrows flew up. “Oh, wow.”

He eyed me for a moment before shaking his head. “I know.”

Lifting my hands in surrender, I took a step back. “I didn’t say a word.”

“I usually just say, ‘In combat,’ and leave it at that. It becomes a fallen-soldier hero story that way. The moment someone hears the details, they’re tuned out.”

“I’m not tuned out. I’m listening. Maybe a little more closely than before because that was an unexpected twist.”

“That’s dark.” He pointed at me. “I knew I liked you.”

“What’s not to like?” I tilted my head to the side. “Please let your mom know that your babysitter entertained you.”

He groaned. “They did say entertain, didn’t they?”

With pursed lips, I folded my arms over my chest. “Yep.”

“Well, if it helps, you didn’t just entertain me, you kept it real and shared with me. So, I felt like I should do the same with you.”

“That’s the only reason you told me the truth and didn’t let me think your friend was a war hero or something? Now that’s dark,” I scoffed.

He smiled, seemingly amused.

“Do you have a phone number that we can exchange?” he asked boldly.

I gave him a quizzical look.

I wasn’t interested, and I had my reasons.

He was cute, but way too young-looking for me. I was going to be thirty in a couple of months, and he looked like he was just able to buy drinks yesterday. He was forward and courageous, but his timing was off. He asked me how my sister died and then asked me for my number. He was employed, but I didn’t do long-distance relationships or date men in the military. I needed too much time and attention for that. Regardless of all that, his mom was my mom’s close friend. If anything were to go wrong between us, it would undoubtedly affect that relationship.

And if it’s hard to make new friends as a twenty-nine-year-old, I can’t imagine how hard it is to make friends as a sixty-year-old.

“You’re asking me for my number at a memorial party for my sister.” I pointed. “In front of a picture of my sister.” I twisted my face. “Really?”

“You’re right,” he agreed, frowning. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It was probably all the emotions of us sharing our feelings,” I guessed.

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah.”

His smile faded as he stared at the picture of Aniyah.

“You want to talk about it?” I asked.

He turned to me. “About what?”

“About him… Keyshawn.”

“There’s not really much to say. He met a woman and thought she was the truth. Asked her for her number on a whim. She gave it to him, and that was that. When he found out she was married, he was already in love with her. So, even though he should’ve stopped seeing her, he didn’t. They got reckless and sloppy, I guess. All I know is that the husband came home and found his Black ass on top of his wife.” Marcus shook his head. “Ended his life right there.”

Wide-eyed, I was uncertain of what to even say to that. “Wow. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

He was quiet.

We both were.

Staring at Aniyah’s photo, we were in our own little worlds.

“There you two are,” my mom said in a singsong tone. “I found them, Liz!” She turned back to us. “Glad to see you two getting along.”

“Mrs. James,” Marcus said politely. “You have an amazing daughter.” Looking and then signaling down the hall, he gave my mom another smile. “If you could let my mother know I’ll be waiting for her in the car, I would greatly appreciate it.”

My mother looked absolutely stunned. “Oh, what? You’re not staying? I thought… I think your mom thinks something different. Um, I’ll get her.”

She took off running down the hall.

Marcus turned to me. “It was nice to meet you, Aaliyah.”

“It was nice to meet you as well.”

“Maybe next time…” He let the sentence trail off.

I smirked. “Maybe.”

By the time my mom had returned with Liz, Marcus was already gone. Liz ran out the door to her son, and my mom gave me a look.

“What?” I replied in an exasperated whisper.

“Everyone, come quick!” one of my cousins yelled, causing a stampede into the backyard.

She shook her head before taking off toward the commotion. I made my way outside last.

Two hours later, I was fully stuffed from grilled meats and vegetables, delicious sides, and mouthwatering desserts. I’d come in to get away from the nosiness and constant nitpicking of my life. It never failed to happen at an event celebrating Aniyah. But I was genuinely surprised by how I always became the hot topic.

Staring at the beautiful picture of my older sister, I reflected over the last six months of my life. I knew what I wanted. I knew what I deserved. I knew the path I was on was the right one. But a few hours at my parents’ house with my dusty uncle and nosy aunts always managed to turn my life into a competition with my sister’s.

I was never going to be Aniyah. I never wanted to be Aniyah. And the only person in my family who ever fully encouraged that was Aniyah.

I missed her.

I missed our chats.

I missed our days on the water.

Seeing pictures of Aniyah always put me in a reflective mood, but seeing the picture of her on the yacht affected me differently.

“This one was always my favorite,” my grandmother said, startling me.

“Nana!” I gasped, putting my hand to my chest. “You scared me.”

She was catlike. Her petite frame made her light on her feet. I’d been in the living room alone for almost fifteen minutes and hadn’t heard her come in.

“What are you scared for, doll baby?” she teased, standing beside me. “You know that means you ain’t living right?”

I twisted my lips into a smile and lifted my shoulders. “I mean…”

She playfully swatted at my arm. “Aaliyah!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” With a sigh, I shifted my focus back to the large portrait I’d been staring at since I’d arrived. “This was my favorite, too.”

“She loved that boat. You both did. I don’t know how y’all could stand being in all that water.” She shook her head. “But ever since you were little, you loved it.”

My grandmother got seasick easily and never learned to swim. Needless to say, she was not a fan of boats. My mom didn’t swim, but she wanted her daughters to be comfortable with water. So, we had swim lessons, and we spent a lot of time on Uncle Al’s yacht.

“Remember when she wanted to get married on that thing?” Nana recalled, her eyes twinkling.

My lips spread into a smile. “You and Mom shut that down quickly.”

“It wasn’t going to hold all two hundred and fifty people! It barely holds eight!”

I laughed. “But I think doing a photo shoot on it for her bridal shower was a much better decision.”

“Yes, it was. Even from the dock, people stopped and watched. All eyes were on her, and she was the center of attention,” my grandma pointed out. “She was having her Cinderella moment.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Everyone deserves to have a few Cinderella moments. Not just on your wedding day either.”

“Aniyah definitely had plenty of those.” I pointed to the picture. “I’ve never seen this picture this big before.”

“Yeah. Your mama got it blown up for today. She didn’t tell you?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“I can’t get over how much you two look alike,” my grandma mused. “Like twins!”

I focused on the large portrait of my sister. “Twins is going a little far.”

“Twins is definitely going too far,” my uncle commented as he entered the living room. “Aaliyah and Aniyah ain’t no damn twins!”

My grandma whipped around, glaring at her oldest child. “We weren’t talking to you, Albert,” she admonished him.

“Unless you’re talking about that movie with, uh… what’s his name? Arnold? Arnold from the Terminated movies and, uh… the other one. The short one.” Uncle Al snapped his fingers. “Danny DeVine!”

Like usual, he was loud and wrong.

“You mind your manners,” she warned as he took a seat in the leather recliner in the corner.

“Aniyah knew what was important, and Aaliyah doesn’t,” he complained. “I’m just keeping it real. Aaliyah knows.”

“Mom!” my mother called my grandmother from the kitchen. “Mom!”

She started walking out of the room, her eyes fixated on her son. She wagged her finger at him. “You stop it right now!”

“Aw, don’t be so sensitive! I’m just playing around! Aaliyah knows I’m playing around,” he chuckled as she left the room. When he shifted his gaze to me, he leaned forward in the chair. “You know I like to joke. But I do want to get serious about something.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What?”

“What are you doing with your life?”

I made a face. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You two are completely different.” He pointed at the portrait of Aniyah. “Your sister had a plan. We weren’t worried about her. But you…” He shook his head. “You do have Aniyah’s same beautiful face; I’ll give you that. But your sister always watched her weight, and you are just…” He gestured to my size-twenty curves. “You’re heading down a dangerous path.”

My eyes bulged. “What?”

If I’m on a dangerous path, what path are you on?I asked him silently as I eyed his beer belly.

If I would’ve said what I was thinking, everyone would’ve said I was in the wrong. And while he always meant well, my sixty-five-year-old uncle never mastered the art of speaking to people. He didn’t have tact or kindness at the forefront of his mind when he spoke. He always offered up unsolicited advice under the guise of jokes and tough love, but if someone did the same to him in return, he’d be mad. And if I advised him with the same jokes and tough love about his love life, everyone would say I was disrespecting my elder.

“A dangerous path?” I scoffed. “I went to the doctor for a physical last month, and I’m healthy. Documented and on file, I’m healthy. When was your last appoint—”

“Ain’t no way,” he interrupted loudly. His gruff voice was full of amusement. “You’re a beautiful girl! But you’re a big girl. And you’ve just been getting bigger and bigger. That can’t be healthy!”

“That’s a lie,” I told him, putting my hands on my rounded hips. “I’ve maintained the same weight for the last few years.”

“Well, for the last few years you should’ve been working on losing the weight. It gets harder to get it off after thirty, and at the rate you’re going, you’re going to end up on that show, living that one-thousand-pound life.”

He had some nerve.

“Now, Uncle Al…”

“That was a joke. I don’t mean no harm!” He threw his hands up and sat back in the chair. “But now I’m being serious, Aaliyah. I’m serious.” He searched my face. “And I know you got something to say. So, say what’s on your mind, but just listen first. I’m worried about you.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Yes, there is, and I’m worried!” His voice boomed, carrying through the house. “You don’t have a husband or any prospects or anything. You don’t think we sit around worried about what’s going to become of you?”

“What?” My eyes widened because I couldn’t have heard what I thought I heard. “What’s going to become of me?”

He cocked his head to the side. “We’re going to find you somebody.”

“That’s the last thing I’d want.”

“Well, maybe it’s what you need. Because it’s looking like you’re not having any luck on your own. And you know what it is, don’t you?”

I sighed loudly and started to leave the room. “We’re not having this conversation.”

“If no one else is going to say it, I’m going to say it. It’s your weight. Your weight has something to do with it.”

I stopped in my tracks.

With family members joyously entertaining themselves outside, my uncle came into the house to tell me that I didn’t have a man because I was fat.

To say I was dumbfounded was an understatement.

Turning to face him, I was ready to tell him off.

He pointed at the picture of Aniyah. “At thirty, she was married and pregnant. They were living in that big ol’ house. She was running a successful business and making good money. That’s why I gave Aniyah the yacht. She was ready to handle something like that, and she had somebody. She had a man to help her and to help her take care of the yacht. You’ll be thirty in a couple months, and what do you have?”

I didn’t know if I was more irritated by the pity in his eyes or the audacity of his words.

My jaw dropped. “You’re not serious. You’re not serious!”

The sharpness of my tone seemed to trigger something in him. He slowly pushed himself up. “Now don’t get upset. I’m not saying this to hurt you.” He took a couple of steps toward me. “I’m just worried about you. We’re all just worried about you. That’s all.”

“What are we all worried about, Al?” Mom asked as she entered the room with my grandma in tow.

With a frown, he turned around and looked at my mother. “It’s time to be honest with her, Alicia. Instead of you and Darryl silently worrying about her and her future, you should’ve been talking to her—”

“Al, what is the meaning of this?” my mom snapped, interrupting him. Putting her hands on her hips, she shifted her gaze between me and my uncle before she glared at her older brother. “Why are you in here running your mouth? This isn’t your business!”

He poked his chest out. “Since you and Darryl haven’t done it, I decided to have the conversation with her. Especially since Marcus—”

“Albert, you need to mind your manners,” my grandma scolded him. “That’s not your place.”

“What is going on?” I questioned, looking around the room.

Everyone fell silent.

My uncle muttered under his breath and then turned to me. “It’s not just me concerned about your condition.”

“What condition?” I replied before turning to my mother. “What is he talking about?”

“Aaliyah, we’ll talk about it later,” she answered gently.

“You don’t solve problems by ignoring them,” Uncle Al said loudly.

“I said I’ll talk to her about it later,” Mom snapped at him.

The uneasy feeling settled over me. “No. I want to talk about it now. What’s going on? What condition?”

My mom shook her head. “It’s just something I wanted to wait until after the party is over to talk to you about.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “No, let’s talk now since all of you seem to know, and I’m the only one not privy to this ‘condition’ that I’m allegedly afflicted with.”

She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “Your uncle should’ve never brought it up. It wasn’t his place.” She took a breath. “We were having a conversation—”

“Who is ‘we’?” I wondered.

“Your father and I.” When I nodded, she continued, “And we were discussing how much we’re looking forward to the period of our lives when we get grandchildren. We started talking about the fact that it’s been a long time since you’ve mentioned dating anyone seriously—”

“Years!” Al chimed in unnecessarily.

“We questioned if that was in the cards for us if you aren’t with anyone.” She lifted her shoulders and looked around. “And then when your grandmother and uncle came into the kitchen, we got to talking about and reminiscing about Aniyah’s plans.”

“Ah. Okay.” I nodded, connecting the dots.

So that’s why Uncle Al was mentioning Aniyah being married and how they were planning for a baby.

My lip curled. “But I’m not Aniyah—”

“And that’s all I was trying to tell you!” My uncle jumped in, interrupting me. “You need to get yourself together so that you can be on track like your sister. Which is why Marcus—”

“Albert!” My mother glared at her brother before turning back to me. Her face softened. “He had no right to bring that up to you. Especially not today. Like this.”

“Why does he keep saying stuff at all? And what about Marcus?” I asked, my frown deepening as my mom and her brother bickered.

“Did either of you even ask the girl what she wants?” Nana looked between her children before looking at me. “Do you want a husband, Aaliyah? Is that what you want right now?”

All eyes were on me.

Last month’s fiasco with Matthew flashed through my mind, sticking out like a sore thumb.

“Yes, I do,” I admitted. “And I would love to have met the right man to be my husband, but I haven’t. And I’m not willing to settle. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“There’s nothing at all wrong with that,” Nana confirmed with a nod. “And do you want kids?”

“Yeah, one day.” My biological clock ticked faintly in the background of my mind. “But again, I don’t want to have kids with just anyone. I’d like to do that with my husband, and I’m not going to marry just anyone. So, it goes back to what I said before—I’m not willing to settle.”

My grandma beamed at me. “That’s my girl!”

I flashed her a small smile, but before “thank you” could cross my lips, Uncle Al opened his big mouth again.

“Your grandma was married before thirty. Your mom was married before thirty. Your cousins Tamara and Jonelle were married before thirty. Your sister was married before thirty. My first wife wasn’t yet thirty when I married her,” my uncle pointed out. “And I’m telling you this because I love you. You need to get it together so you can get what it is that you say you want.”

“Albert, that’s enough!” Mom huffed, rolling her eyes.

“I’m just telling her the truth!” He threw his hands up in the air. “Sometimes we need a dose of reality. And her reality is that she’s getting up there.”

“She’s just going to be thirty on her birthday,” my grandma responded, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

My uncle looked at her incredulously. “I’m not just talking about her age. I’m talking about her weight! How is she going to get a man who can take care of her at her size?”

My mom and grandmother looked horrified.

“Do not talk about her like that!” Mom snapped.

“I used to talk to you like that”—he pointed to her slim thick frame—“and you got the weight off you. And you managed to keep it off! Then you found you a good husband and had two beautiful babies. I want the same thing for my niece.”

“Albert!” My grandma barked his name, and it wiped the expression off his face. Her body might have been small, but her voice was mighty. “Can I have a word with you in the kitchen?”

She turned on her heel and stormed out—slowly, but still.

“I’m grown now, Mama. You don’t have to be yelling at me like this,” he said as he followed her.

When it was just me and my mom, she shook her head. “If he weren’t my brother, I would wring his neck!”

“Yeah, Uncle Al can be an ass—tronomical jerk.” Remembering who I was talking to, I’d quickly changed my wording. “But why were you discussing my love life with everyone?”

“It wasn’t with everyone. It was just with family.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and exhaled. “Okay, that’s not the point. You were telling them my business when you know I hate people in my business.”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“To you. It’s not that big of a deal to you.”

“Well, I’m sorry,” she apologized with a tone that seemed like she was indeed not sorry. “But honestly, we weren’t talking about you. Your father and I were talking about how excited we were to become grandparents. And when we lost that, we were hoping to have that opportunity again. So, by default, you are the only person that can make that a reality for us. So it wasn’t that we were discussing you, per se. We were actually talking about us.” She tilted her head. “But now that we’re on the subject, how did you like Marcus?”

Confused as to what that had to do with anything, I balled my face up. “What?”

“Marcus will be back here in time for your birthday party. He’s ending his military career and then moving to Richland. And since he doesn’t know anyone in the area, I’ve extended an invitation to him.”

My eyes bulged. “You invited him to my birthday party? The one I’m throwing for myself?”

“Yes.”

“You invited him to the dinner or the party?”

“Both.”

Because she didn’t raise a fool, I didn’t say what I wanted to say. But my mom had some nerve.

Taking a deep breath, I attempted a different approach. “Why?”

“Why what?” she asked.

“Why did you invite Marcus, a man I don’t know, to my thirtieth birthday dinner, knowing it’s an intimate gathering of people I’m close with?”

“Because he doesn’t know anyone and”—she put her hands on her hips—“you could benefit from making a new friend. Especially one who is single and eligible…”

I stared at her for a second. “Was this supposed to be a setup?”

“Noooooo!”

My mother was always a terrible liar.

“Mom…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “At Aniyah’s celebration? I can’t. I don’t need your help finding a date.”

“But it looks like you could use some help finding a husband.”

My jaw dropped. Wow.

I was too stunned to speak.

“All I’m saying is that you aren’t getting any younger,” she continued. “Tomorrow isn’t promised, Aaliyah. If you want the husband and the kids, you may need to look outside of your comfort zone. And from everything Liz has told me over the years, Marcus sounds like a good man. And I wouldn’t be doing my job as your mother if I didn’t at least try to make the introduction. He’s looking to settle down. You’re looking to settle down. So…” She gestured with her hands as if she wanted me to fill in the blanks.

I felt like my head was about to pop from my neck.

Closing my eyes, I exhaled roughly. “This is unbelievable,” I muttered under my breath.

“What was that?”

My eyes flew open at the sound of my mother’s stern voice. “Huh?” I played dumb.

She pursed her lips. “Young lady, you are not too old for me to get in your ass for that tone, so watch it.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, backtracking. “I’m just frustrated.”

She made a face. “Frustrated that I’m looking out for you and your well-being?”

“Frustrated that you’re trying to set me up by inviting a man I don’t know to my birthday party without asking me about it. Frustrated that you tried to set me up on a blind date during Aniyah’s celebration. Frustrated that we’re even having this conversation! And you know what… how do you know I don’t have someone?”

“She don’t got nobody!” my uncle commented from the doorway with a hearty chuckle.

Mom and I both startled as we whipped around to face him.

“If she did, she would’ve said something,” he continued. “Now she’s just talking out the side of her neck.”

“And you’re talking out the side of your ass,” I retorted, sneering at my uncle.

“Aaliyah!” my mom snapped. “Both of you need to stop this!”

He lifted his hands. “Listen, if you have somebody, prove it. Better yet, if you have somebody, I’ll give you the yacht for your birthday.”

My stomach lurched.

“Albert, enough is enough!” Mom yelled before I had a chance to respond.

“What? I gave it to Aniyah because she had a husband, and I’d be willing to give it to Aaliyah if she can give us hope that she can get a man.”

Pointing and with narrowed eyes, she yelled, “Shut your mouth and get out!”

“Albert, you said you were going to help Darryl on the grill!” my grandma called from somewhere else in the house. “Go outside and help him! Stop being nosy!”

“She better hope that Marcus boy like ’em thick so we can get her married off,” he muttered as he shuffled away.

I turned back to my mother.

Pointing in the direction of the door, I hissed, “To make matters worse, instead of talking to me and asking me if I was interested, you talked to Dad, Nana, and Uncle Al.”

“Again, the topic wasn’t about you, per se. But okay!” She sighed. “It all happened fast, but I can understand why you would feel that way.”

It wasn’t an apology, but it felt like an acknowledgment of some sort.

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“But I’ve already invited him, so he is coming.”

Closing my eyes for a second, I sighed. “My main issue isn’t with him coming to the party,” I relented. “My issue is with you inviting him to the dinner. It’s with the setup in general and the fact that you’re trying to marry me off as if I’m a burden on the family. So, I really hope you just told Marcus and Liz that this is an invitation from you and nothing more.”

“You don’t want to date him? Fine!” She tossed her hands up flippantly. “You said you were inviting a lot of people to the party—”

“A lot of people that I know,” I interjected. “That’s the difference!”

“Well, when you see him again, if it’s not a love match, there may be someone else there for him. Either way, I think the party will be a nice way to welcome him to the area. What’s the harm in that?”

“There’s no harm in that.”

“So why wouldn’t you be open to giving him a chance? Why would you let someone at your party get first dibs on an eligible bachelor when Liz and I think Marcus could be a good fit for you?”

So, shehas talked to Liz about it. What the fuck?

“Because there’s someone else,” I blurted out.

My mother’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Who?”

“You’ll see at my party.”

My mother opened her mouth to speak, but the doorbell rang.

Rolling her shoulders back, she plastered a smile on her face. “We’re celebrating your sister today. Let’s focus on that.”

“Gladly,” I mumbled as she went to open the front door.