134th street, Harlem,
Manhattan, New York City.
Present Day.

Chapter Dedication: stapphy.

Song of recommendation for the chapter: Tenth Avenue North2010 - Healing Begins. 🎶 🎶

In the heart of West Harlem— surrounded by pockmarked brick facades, organic markets, boutique store and patch work graffiti—stood a little bakery.

It was a small thing, so narrow that it risked inconspicuousness and was almost swallowed up by the street.

However, the simple wooden shop front, painted white, held a large glass windows that framed bright display of desserts, inviting for those walking past not to stop and pause. Sugar- crusted galettes, glazed danishes and chocolate, and custard filled tarts so freshly baked that kept them coming back; kept them looking carefully for the quiet space between the quirk and the African- American of Harlem.

Inside, treading down the timber planks in front of the gleaming display counter, the shop opened up into an enclosed courtyard with a gable roof made of glass, letting in all the natural clouded light of Harlem.

Hanging plant orbs and pots of flowers and ferns were strung from the ceiling over wooden picnic benches, while strings of rattan ball lights and gray scale photographs lined the white walls. Along the middle of the benches sat Mason jars holding sandalwood and vanilla candles.

Lee thought, perhaps, that they might just be her favourite things about her little bakery. She thought that it was wonderful that such a thing could make a place feel like home. That was what the scent was for, wasn't it?

Memory and comfort and taste all rolled into one.

It was the end of the day now, just a little past seven, and the end of October had the skies dark and cold. The streets were filled with orange lights and the hurried steps of people trying to get to someplace, any place, warmer.

It had already rained twice today, trekked puddles along the floors of the shop it's testament, and there had there had been a sharpness to the chill, when Ledia had taken out the rubbish, hinting at more.

She tired not to dwell on it now, but her fingers hit the keyboard of her Mac a little too harshly as she input the daily sales and her jaw clenched along her back teeth like they were trying to grind steel.

The cold weather had always frayed her nerves a little.

Ruthie Dawson, lost in her own world, was just finishing sweeping the floor at the back. She was singing along loudly to the YouTube song video. She'd made Lee put on some of her favourite Blue's music she discovered while snooping around last week.

Dipping the broom and twirling around the floor like she hadn't already smacked her dodgy knee into every available surface and edge in the room, Ruthie began to sing along.

"I've found a love for or-or meeee, darling just dive right in, follow my lead," She crooned, swaying and shaking her hips softly as she made her towards Lee. She peered over the top of the laptop, broom end held to her lips. "I've found a girl. Beautiful and sweet, I never knew you were the someone waiting for meee."

"'Cause you have always been blind," Ledia said, not looking up from the screen. Since Emma had gotten off early after she claimed that she wasn't feeling too well, Lee was forced to work the bookkeeping record, which was very boring beyond all measure.

She really needed to find a proper accountant.

"More like like you've been hiding." Ruthie said, lifting the broom to croon out another verse of Ed-Sheeran's 'Perfect' song; face pain and all.

Lee closed the program, promising herself that it was in pause, not defeat, before stepping out from behind the counter. She scuffed her toe on the corner of the counter, and even though the bakery interior was still relatively new, there was already a little worn indent promising that she'll do it again and again.

"You're an idiot," Lee said, straightening easily after her pain subsided. "How can someone who has such a beautiful voice suck at singing?"

"It's not a microphone, it's a broom." Ruthie pointed out like Lee was the idiot in this situation. "So it's a broom microphone. And if I'm so shitty at it then show me what you've got, missy."

"The key is obviously having the right tune." Lee turned the laptop around, think for two seconds before changing the YouTube song to Sia's Chandelier.

"No song change is going to up your game sister," Ruthie said, crossing her arms, but as soon as the first line kicked in, Lee snatched the broom from Ruthie.

Lee undid the bun atop her head, narrowed her eyebrows, and positioned the broom, angling for what she thought could be a microphone stand. "I'll fucking show you—"

It was the tinkling of the bell over the doorway of the bakery and the breath of cold air that followed, that stopped her mouth half-opened, preventing her from releasing the perfect pitch that would've convinced the devil to spare her soul.

Wide-eyed and frozen in place, Lee looked up to see her friends, equally wide-eyed and frozen in place, stare right back at her.

Ruthie took it upon herself to burst into a wild, raucous laughter.

"Hello?" Lark said, glancing at Ruthie's red-faced wheezing and then back at Lee, who was still holding the broom immobile. Sia vibrantly bemoaned swinging from chandeliers in the background. "Are we interrupting something?" She asked when neither of them responded.

Lee sheepishly dropped her stance and leaned the broom against the counter. "Um, no. . . you're right. We were just. . . Ah, you know. . ." She stammered with a vague hand wave that nearly sent the broom toppling. She caught it and righted it carefully, while Ruthie's laughter turned into hiccoughs.

"Broom singing competition," Lee finished while glaring at Ruthie, who was clutching her chest as she wiped tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Everyone should proceed upstairs. I'll finish here and lock up on my way out," Ruthie said.

Without a word or another glance in her friends direction, Lee lead the way to her apartment above the bakery.

Her friends sat down on the chairs in the parlour without speaking.

The Promise Sisterhood was founded back when they were in high school.

Lark, Rainy, Mille and Lee christened the tiny cottage at the back of Lee's parents property when they were growing up. It was their hideouts and sleep-over spots until they all left for college in different part of the world. Even as preteens, they were true romantics back then.

But where had that gotten them?

Rainy, too much of a romantic to go along with her father's insistence of a pre-nup agreement with her Knight-in-shinning-armour, was raising a son alone since Sir Likes-a-Lot (of Other women) left her for his secretary three years ago, taking half of Rainy's money with him.

And Millie?

The year before she turned thirty, she'd taken a hiatus from her thriving Doctor career in California to come to Harlem and help her Granny recuperate from a broken rib. When the local plumber swept her off her feet, she happily made the hiatus permanent so she could stay home and raise babies. Only— though they don't talk about it anymore—the nursery was still empty.

Lark came later in their group, but she was definitely a romantic, too. Romantic enough to believe that some guy who wanted sex really loved her. Her romantic nature was summarily crushed, though, when she turned up pregnant at sixteen and never heard from him again.

That was when they met her; the summer before Lee opened her bakery.

She gave the baby up for adoption to her older brother sister and brother in-law out of state and then went on with her life. But there was a haunted look in her eyes sometimes, and Lee was not sure she was ever completely healed.

And there was Lee— single, running a bakery on a really frayed shoestring, and living in the tiny apartment above the bakery. Oh, and of course, recently heartbroken.

How much romantic could one get?

Lee sat down and twiddled her thumbs before looking up at her three friends. Her eyes widened when she met their inquisitive gaze.

"What?" She reached for one of the throw pillow beside her and clutched it against her. "What are you doing here?"

"Bringing you to your senses, Shugah," said Lark.

She threw the pillow to the other end of the couch and glared at Lark. "I told you I was fine."

"You're not, honey." Raine Keaton, Rainy, said softly.

"How do you know that?" Lee snapped.

If they came here expecting her to just admit that she wasn't fine, then they were going to have to try harder.

Since Lark was a little out of view, she tried to give Rainy and Millie the 'cut' motion across her neck, but Lee saw her, alright.

While Lee appreciated that her friend's cared enough about her to venture out to see her on this very cold evening, the content of their words, however, wasn't appreciated.

"You need the same thing the rest of us do; A promise night out. We've been long overdue. Since we're already here and the weather is bad enough as it is, 'out' would have to be here." Lark spoke up.

"That works," Rainy drawled. "I'll make some coffee." She disappeared into the tiny kitchen.

Lee stood up and turned to face Millie. "Have you all lost your minds?"

"Girls just wanna have fun?" Millie squeaked.

"Hey, look what I found." Rainy's voice was muffled. The closet door was open and she emerged with a pile of board games.

"Board games." Lee sounded like she'd just discovered a nest of snakes in the bathtub.

"You love board games." Lark glanced over at her.

"At. . ." she looked up at the clock hanging above the small TV at the far end of the room. ". . . Nine-forty at night?"

"Sure. We're all grown-ups. We don't have a bedtime." Mille grinned.

Lee shot her a glare. "I know what you all are trying to do."

Rainy appeared in the doorway with creamer, sugar, and four steaming mugs of coffee on a tray. Lee promised that woman was born able to hostess an impromptu party in her sleep, even at someone else's house.

"Coffee's here."

"Good. We're going to need caffeine." Lark ignored their looks of dismay.

"What happened to 'caffeine is a drug and sugar will kill you'?" Millie wanted to know.

Desperate times, Lee guessed.

She had the monopoly board almost completely set in her old scarred coffee table. "It might take me a while to buy everyone's property."

"Right. I'm the investment queen." Rainy bumped Lark to make room for her on the couch and sat down beside her. "You all are going down."

Millie pulled up one of her over stuffed rocker and plopped down in it. "Don't be so sure."

Lee just stood there.

"Sit down, Ledia," Lark said. "You might as well."

She didn't say anything, but she took a seat in the second rocker.

"We'll even let you be the dog." Rainy pushed their favourite piece toward her and she took it.

Lark sorted through the remaining tokens. "I call dibs on the wheelbarrow."

"Hmm. . . fitting." Rainy looked at Millie. "Fight you for the shoe."

Millie wrinkled her freckle covered nose. "You take it. You already have so many to go with it. I'll be the car tonight. That way I can just drive right by the rest of you."

An hour later, Rainy had the most of the property and Lark was in jail when Millie said, "Trust me," To Ledia about the percentage of tax she needed to pay on a property.

Lee's hand froze as she was drawing a card. "I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't even okay monopoly with you, much less allow you people in."

Rainy went ahead and rolled, but she casually said, "You're still hung up over him?"

"I can't forget him easily."

"It's been ten months." Millie's voice was soft as she counted off the spaces to move her little car around the board. Lee knew that her friend's were afraid to stop playing the game, afraid that she would stop talking.

Lee's laugh was mostly sob.

Lark snatched a tissue from the box beside her and pressed it into her hand.

"That's true. But you don't know how it feels to be serious about your relationship only to have it broken. I already made up my mind that I was going to get married to him. I was even planning a special dinner with my father as a surprise." She spat out the last word like a profanity.

No one spoke. As sisters, they talked about everything. But not Ledia's breakup with Oliver. That and Millie's lack of children was the only taboo topic amongst them.

"Do you still love him?" Lark finally asked.

Lee shrugged. "Oliver's been and will always be a part of my life. He had been there for me when I needed him the most. He was one of the people who gave me money for Lee's bakery." She jumped up and the game pieces scattered on the board. "I loved him so much, I was willing to close down the bakery when he asked me to. "

Lee turned away from them. "I can't stop thinking about him."

Millie's freckle stood out dark against her white face. "Why are you so hung up on him? He-whose-name- shall-forever-remain-unspoken, isn't worth it."

The gang made a gesture of sticking their fingers down their throat and pretended to vomit. Lee clenched her fingers and tired her best to ignore the urge to tell them off.

Not the time. Not the place.

"I understand how you feel. You have to move on though. He's currently engaged to Silver Del-Rosa." Rainy said what the others were afraid of saying.

Lee sat back down and rested her head against the back of the couch, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know. It's just. . . it hurts so much. I feel as if I am not good enough for anyone."

Lark sat down on the other side of her, tears filling her own eyes. "You're so worth every good thing life has to offer honey. You're enough. He-whose-name-shall-forever-remain- unspoken was just too blind to see it. He doesn't deserve you."

"Oh, God—" Lee stopped to get control of the sob. "—I loved him so much. I kept telling myself that it was a dream. That he was testing the extent of his love for me."

"Shugah, why in the world would you think that?" Rainy scooted the monopoly board over and perched on the coffee table. "He doesn't deserve you or he wouldn't ask you to shut down the bakery for him. Hebdidn't even let you go home for Christmas because he wants you to meet his uptown snobby parents."

"Let's not forget that he makes her take the train to SoHo almost everyday just to see him. He even made her stay away from us. The self absorbed SOB. " Millie rubbed Lee's shoulder. "You have to move on. Show him he made a mistake letting you go. I still can't believe that dick called you Fat!"

"You're my friends. You have to say that. But what if I really wasn't enough?"

Rainy put her hand under Lee's chin and forced her to look at her. "Think, Lee. We've been together since we hit puberty, why would we lie to you?"

"No reason."

They all sit quietly for a minute.

"What if—"

"Oh, Ledia." The frustration in Millie's voice had her twiddling her thumb in her lap.

"I'm scared." She swiped at her eyes with back of her hand. "What if I opened my heart again and the other guy dumps me like Oliver did?"

No one answered and Lee knew that there were no easy answers. Lark put her arm around her and Millie did the same on the other side. Rainy completed the circle hug in the front.

Lee was pretty sure there was not a dry eye in the bunch.

"Thank you, guys." Lee hugged each one of them separately. "I'm sorry for ignoring you guys when you tried to reach out to me. I feel better just knowing how much you all care."

"Never doubt it." Rainy said. "Lee, do you have any ice-cream?"

"Yeah. There's some moose tracks in the freezer." She sniffed. "There's also a hidden stash of fudgsicles behind a bag of broccoli."

Rainy stood again. "In that case, this meeting has been adjourned to the kitchen."

A few minutes later, Lee bit into a frozen chocolate bar and looked at her three best friends gathered around the kitchen table.

Rainy waved her fudge bar in the air. "Remember, truth or dare?"

"Oh, no," Millie groaned. "I was always terrible at that game."

"Me too. But I was trying to figure out a way to tactfully tell Lee that I have come up with a way for her to get over he-whose-name-shall-forever-remain-unspoken."

Lee snorted. Her face was red and splotchy, but at least she was back in that in the land of the living. "Millie, since when do you ever worry about tact? Just tell me."

"So, Lee," Millie crossed her legs and sat back in the chair. "The rest of the Promise sisterhood decided that the step one of getting over your ex is to have a One night stand with a stranger."

"Huh?" Lee gaped at all three of them. "Are you crazy? I can't just walk up to a stranger and say "hey, I'm trying to get over my ex, please screw me'".

Lark crossed her arms. "Which was why we came up with a solution." She placed an A4 booklet, Lee hadn't noticed she held, on the table. "We signed you up with Cupid Match Agency and since Rainy's friends with the boss' wife, she managed to slot you into the unmatchable category. You've been selected for the November challenge."

"But first things first," Rainy said. "You have to do the traditional breakup ritual, which is where this envelope comes in. We're crashing Logan's wedding reception tomorrow evening and there, you'll get your one night stand."

Millie reached for her hand. "It's time you start living for you. You don't have to worry about getting hurt. You'd never see the man again."

Lee pulled away. "What if it doesn't work out? What if all doesn't go well?"

"At some point, you have to trust God, Lee," Lark said. "You were the one who taught me that."

"Maybe you need a fresher course," Rainy muttered.

Lee's kitchen had never been so quiet. Lee stared at Rainy, while the latter squared her shoulders and held her breath as if waiting for her to explode.

But Lee just stated at her for a few minutes then lowered her eyes. "Maybe I do."

They were right. She'd let herself be lost in the grief of not being enough for Oliver that she didn't realise it. Maybe the post traditional breakup was what she needed to get things right again.

Yes, she was going to do it.

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