Friday morning started off as an ordinary, usual day at Rosemount Retirement Facility. In the accounting department, numbers were crunched, meetings were held, and the copy machine was out of commission. The only thing that broke the monotony was the announcement of Miracelle Ruiz’s engagement. Instead of joining the exuberant celebration, Malaykah Malcolm sat in her cubicle and silently wept.

“I was with her the day she met Danny, six months ago. She was so nervous about being around such a sexy man that she begged me to attend most of their dates. Of course, I never had a date of my own to make it a double. Danny didn’t seem to mind in the beginning. When was it—-about two months ago, I stopped receiving invites. I guess Mir finally got herself together, and Danny was more than ready to cut the cord. Maybe I should stop sulking and go tell her congratulations,” she thought.

Malaykah dabbed her eyes with several Kleenex, then got up from her desk. A long line of eager coworkers waited to give well wishes. Malaykah waited patiently for her chance, though her heart wanted nothing more than to flee the scene. When she finally stood in front of Miracelle, they both broke into tears.

“Thank you so much for everything. None of this would be possible without you,” Miracelle sobbed as she threw her arms around Malaykah.

“Don’t mention it,” Malaykah said while she tried to wiggle herself free.

Miracelle chuckled and unclasped her hands. “It’s no hay problema,” she said.

The two women struggled when Miracelle’s giant sapphire engagement ring was caught in Malaykah’s afro puff. Miracelle’s screamed in panic for ten minutes until the ring was safely untangled. She tried to apologize for her erratic behavior, but no one was cheerful by the end of the party.

~Ch. 1, The Realm Beyond the Stars and Sea~