Page 6 of Curvy Girl Summer

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.”

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