“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. “ ...