“Have we made any sales today?” I asked Toria—my best friend and cousin—who was staring blankly at the display case, lost in her thoughts. I tapped her shoulder firmly. “Toria! You need to stay focused, mama. We’ll lose customers, and it’d be a loss to us—the pastries would obviously get spoiled. No one’s going to buy spoiled things, duh. Get your ass up.”

“So easy for you to say,” she muttered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, her eyes narrowing. “ I’ve lost three fucking relationships in the space of seven months, and you expect me to stay focused in this damn bakery? Bro, I was the one feeding...