Page 13 of Curvy Girl Summer

“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 dealto 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 ahusband.”

My jaw dropped.Wow.

I was too stunned to speak.

“All I’m saying is that you aren’t getting any younger,” shecontinued. “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.

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