chapter 3

Her final year was gym, gym, gym. Green juices. She ate salads at every meal. She told me she was ashamed, and “why didn’t I tell her she was getting so big?” 

“You were so happy,” was all I could say.

She stuck to it, and dropped back down to prolly about 200lbs. Sure, she could fit into her old wardrobe, but something disappeared in my girls eyes.

She graduated and crossed that stage in a dress that made her feel good and pretty. She was still ‘the big girl’ in her friend group, dwarfing her gal-pals in pictures at grad. But she felt better, I guess.

She moved to the city and left us. 

Then she came back every weekend for six months. Dani was having a hard time adjusting. She was working a job at a small start-up; perfect for teaching her the ropes that she needed. She made good money and could afford her rent, but I could tell that she didn’t have any fun-money. No more partying, no more weekend trips, no more bingeing. 

I told her to find a man! Solve her problems. Put it on someone else’s credit card.

But still she came home and ate her weight in home cooking on weekends. You could tell she was missing out during the week. I worried for my daughter. She was wasting away, and that wasn’t right.

I tried to feed her to the best of my abilities, but I knew that she needed to feel independent. Paulina even chipped in, giving her goodies whenever she came home. Marvin was appreciative. He had never seen so much food in his life!


A year went by and before we knew it, my little Black beauty had become a sad workaholic who’s clothes hung off her. It broke my heart. 

A friend of mine posed a solution - get a roommate. Bring down the cost of living.

Dani moved in with Sasha, a friend from her class. The two girls split the rent and divvied up the apartment. Now, my girl could have a friend and some fun once again. 

The light returned to Dani’s life, and the next year was great for her. Sasha and her made new friends in the city and were back out on the weekend. The woman I had met in her college years started to slowly reappear. 



Then, this man started coming up in conversation. A lot.