Crumbs of Change

Maya started her day just like she had any other day.. but on this day… this day was the day that everything changed, Forever

She went to her favorite bakery, Sprinkle & Crumble. She knew the owner on a first-name basis by now. Maya couldn’t resist the smell and the warm atmosphere. Hi Charlotte, I’ll have my usual.. Her usual was a lemon raspberry crumb bar covered with caramel drizzle and sugar cookie white hot chocolate. She usually got it to go, but this time she thought she would stay and sit down with her baked pastry. She didn’t have to be anywhere until 10am, a good 3hrs from now. How do you make this sugar cookie hot chocolate Maya said? It tastes just like a sugar cookie. Ah, Charlotte said.. now if I told you that, you’d likely stop coming and make it yourself and I can’t lose one of by best customers Charlotte said with a wink. No, you know by now I can’t stay away from this place, even though I always get the same thing; I have still been eyeing that giant cinna crumb bun with the cream cheese frosting Maya says. Do you want to try it?! Charlotte asks playfully. Don’t tempt me! Maya says. Getting back to the sugar cookie hot chocolate, how do you make it? I can taste the mmm-like, brown sugar buttery flavor of the sugar cookie. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I know butter when I taste it. You really have a thing for butter, don’t you Charlotte says, mmm yes, quite the love affair Maya said, but this must be a top secret recipe, huh? I've not seen you evade questions so stealthily before. Oh yeah, Charlotte says, not even my staff knows how I make it. Gosh! Maya says. Well, how is it made when you’re not here? It’s not made, Charlotte says. It’s only available on Monday’s Wednesdays and Fridays. Maya always came on Mondays, the beginning of the week. Charlotte knew to expect Maya on Mondays between 7 and 9am. So then you’re only here on Monday’s Wednesdays and Fridays? Charlotte laughed, I’m here most every day, but it’s a speciality drink. Oooooh.... Maya says, fancy!

Charlotte and Maya continued talking in between Charlotte’s customers, and when Charlotte got busy around 9am Maya had to head out to her next engagement. “Bye Charlotte, have a great rest of your week, and I will see you next Monday.” Bye Maya, see you soon.

Maya, on her way to her meeting at 10am with her boss, gets a text from him asking her to call.

Hey Marc, I was just on my way. What’s going on.. The meeting’s cancelled, haven’t you seen the email? Marc says. No, what email? Maya checked her phone and saw the email in her inbox saying 9 am; the email informed everyone to stay home because the building was closed. Usually, Maya heads into the office early to prepare for the meeting, prepare the room, get snacks for everyone, you know, set the tone for the meeting. Today she hadn’t done that because she was at the bakery with Charlotte. Why is the building shut down? There’s a safety hazard Marc says, After Sam became really sick last week, and has been out since, the maintenance crew noticing some illness as well, there was some testing done and they found mold in the walls. There are some structural issues that have led to water damage, which has led to the mold. The city has shut down the building for the foreseeable future.

Oh wow Maya, said, what now? Go home Marc said. Take the rest of the day off and do whatever you want. You need a break anyway Maya, you haven’t taken a vacation in the 10 years you’ve worked here. I’ve taken time off before Marc, what about that time... ok or what about when... Maya couldn’t think of a single time she took any time off, real time off, like not time off because of illness, or doctors appointments or for car repairs, just time off to just do nothing. Okay, Marc, I’ll go, but keep me posted on what happens. Take the day off and no checking email!! Marc says.

What am I going to do now? Maya thought to herself. Marc was right; work was really her whole life. Apart from going to the bakery once a week to see Charlotte, she didn’t have any social life or anything she did for herself.

She went back to the bakery.

Charlotte, what am I supposed to do now??!! What’s going on, Charlotte says. My boss just told me the meeting I had today was canceled because the building is shut down Maya says. Infested with mold, he told me to take the day off!! He said don’t check email, and that I hadn’t ever taken a vacation. Well.. Charlotte says, what do you like to do for fun? To be honest, Charlotte, I haven’t made time for fun. Coming here once a week on Mondays is the gist of my social interaction. Ah, Charlotte says.. well, I have a friend or two that can help you with that.. Charlotte calls up a few of her friends to see if they’re available to come down.

Jason, Leslie, this is Maya.

Nice to meet you, Maya Jason says, Hi Leslie says. I gave them the scoop over the phone Charlotte says. Take her out somewhere, guys, somewhere fun. Ok, Jason says, I know just the place.

A theater? Maya says. Yeah, theater is great! Jason says. The plays are so engaging, and I love a good story. Jason is a theater geek and loves a good play, Leslie says, I probably should have warned you we would end up here. What sort of play do you recommend? Maya says. What about Sunshine and the Feast of Nibbles? Jason says. It’s about a woman who finds community through the events she puts on and in the most unlikely of places. That sounds interesting Maya says..

Leslie, Jason and Maya see the play. Jason and Leslie take Maya to see the city, a city that she’s lived in her entire life, but never actually seen. She found friends in a place she wouldn’t have expected — at a bakery called Sprinkle & Crumble.

15 years later

Jess!!! Maya calls, coming Jess says! Where are the Lemon Raspberry Crumb bars? I picked them up at Sprinkle & Crumble. The guests will be here any minute. I put them out on the table just a minute ago Jess says. Maya- What’s a minute? Okay, like 10 minutes ago. And I may have already eaten 1. One Maya says. Yes, just one this time, Jess says, laughing.

Maya looks back on how her life had changed since that day she walked into Sprinkle and Crumble, It started out just like any other Monday, but that Monday was the Monday that changed everything, she quit her job, cashed out her vacation time, she took time off before taking a position at an event planning company planning community dinners and banquets for various clients. Life had indeed changed for Maya. She was more sociable, which comes with the territory, and she has more friends now… She stayed friends with Jason and Leslie, and of course Charlotte, but she had also made other friends along the way like Jess. If you had asked her 20 years ago where she’d be, she certainly wouldn’t have thought she’d be here, but she wouldn’t change a thing.