Butter Honey Pig Bread

by Francesca Ekwuyasi

AFTER HER TIME IN MONTPELLIER, Taiye had a string of restaurant and bar jobs, from dishwasher to server to line cook. But the late nights, and the easy access to utter and blissful intoxication, proved too seductive and risky for her. So she polished her resumé, highlighting her chemistry degree, and found work as an analytical chemist in the quality control department at Green Key Pharmaceuticals, where she tested luxury cosmetics for allergens. The pay was decent enough for rent, food, transportation, and very meagre savings, but it did not suffice for weekly benders with seductive strangers because she insisted on living alone, drinking too much, was precious about the grade of weed she smoked, and liked organic butter.