Curvy Girls Can’t Date Soldiers by Kelsie Stelting

Fifty

Apollo

Momand I had supper in the dining hall and sat with Josh and his parents. For the first time, the world I grew up in and the life I’d created collided, and it felt...right. Like I was exactly where I was meant to be.

Almost.

I missed Nadira like I’d miss my right hand if it disappeared. I couldn’t stop thinking that my mom would have liked her, had they had a chance to meet.

When we finished eating, I showed Mom the ice cream machine that had an unlimited supply of soft serve and cones.

She chuckled. “Hello, my old friend. This is how I gained my freshman fifteen.”

Of course she was familiar with the dining hall, having gone here. I put a sugar cone under the twist dispenser and twirled it high, and then she got her own, smaller version.

“Want to walk around campus?” I asked, wanting the day to last forever.

“Sure.” She took a lick of her ice cream and followed me toward the exit. We stepped into the warm evening air and began walking the sidewalks that wound about campus. She had a nostalgic look in her eyes. “Dad and I used to sit under that tree and study.” She nodded toward a tall sycamore, and I could almost picture the two of them, huddled with their books and a blanket.

“What else did you do for dates?” I asked.

“Since we didn’t have much money, we’d go do whatever was free with a student ID. Your dad’s favorite was basketball games. I always packed snacks in my purse.” She chuckled. “Life has certainly changed since then.”

“There’s a game tonight,” I said, then instantly regretted it, remembering that Nadira’s dad was the coach.

Mom’s face lit up, and it was clear she wanted to watch. “Can we go?” she asked. “Are you up for it?”

I hesitated for a moment before nodding, but Mom didn’t miss my reluctance.

“You don’t want to. Is it about that girl? Nadira?”

Hearing the name on Mom’s lips seemed so right and wrong at the same time. “Her dad’s the coach,” I explained. “We might see her there, but we can go. I’ll live.” I wasn’t going to let one person ruin an entire event for me. I still had three years left at this school.

“Are you sure?” She turned at the fork in the sidewalk, shifting direction toward the sports arena. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shrugged, eating the rest of my cone. “I don’t know what there is to be said that you didn’t hear me say to Aunt Tilly.”

With a frown, she replied, “So this girl sent you the wrong picture and then let someone else pretend to be her? Why would she do something like that?”

“She’s insecure,” I said.

“Why?”

I bit my lip. “Because she’s different.”

Mom’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”

“She has this skin condition, vitiligo, and it makes some of her skin lose color. And then she’s bigger than other girls.”

“Ah,” Mom said.

I nodded.

“Can you blame her for wanting to be someone different, though?” Mom asked, surprising me. I thought she was supposed to be on my side.

“I can blame her for lying. Absolutely.”

“No.” She put her hand on my arm for a moment before letting it fall. “You’ve never really been girl crazy, so you haven’t noticed the way girls look at you, honey.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She chuckled softly. “You’re an attractive young man with a good head on your shoulders. I could see how a girl would be intimidated by that, especially if she’s grown up being called less-than because of her size or her skin.”

A muscle in my jaw twitched. “So you’re on her side.”

“I’m on the side of a girl who would call me to tell me what an idiot I’ve been for ignoring my son.”

“What?” I stopped, unable to move any farther. Some people behind us walked around us, but I just kept staring at my mom, trying to comprehend what she’d just said.

Mom looked at me with gentle eyes. “She found your dad’s office number online and asked him how to contact me.” She chuckled softly, shaking her head. “I suppose he was sympathetic to her cause, because I got a call from a very determined young woman telling me how amazing you are and how stupid it was to waste what time I had to be your mom.”

Each beat of my heart came more painfully than the one before it, and my throat got tight. I swallowed, trying to shove the lump down, but after trying to control my emotions for so long, I couldn’t. They were bubbling to the surface, so strong they were undeniable now.

I let out a curse word and stepped off the sidewalk into the grass. “How could she do something like that? She acts like I’m just some paper figure on the other side of the computer screen and then...” gives me everything I’ve been longing for. I couldn’t even say the words with the lump growing in my throat and my eyes stinging like they were. “Damn it.” I raked my hands through my hair, then turned to my mom. “You’re a girl. Explain.”

She laughed now, but this wasn’t funny.

“Mom!” I half yelled, half begged.

“Oh, honey.” She stepped onto the grass with me, cupping my cheek with her hand. “She loves you. And I can tell you love her too. What else is there to understand?”