Operation Sisterhood

Bo steps out to run some errands for her mother. She also plans to pick up some ingredients and test-bake the Sunshine Surprise Smilecake in secret. Bo’s neighbor, Dougie, whom Bo has been babysitting for the past year, asks if he can come along.

When Bo goes to ask his mother Dawn “Mrs. Dougie” Douglas about Dougie coming along, Mrs. Dougie launches into a conversation about Bill. She is impressed that Bill runs a bookstore and is neighbors with Sunflower Rogers, who is “Black culinary royalty” (10). Mrs. Dougie also complains to Bo about how she has been unsuccessful in getting their building association to meet. Bo suggests that Mrs. Dougie organize a “gathering” rather than a meeting, so people feel inclined to come.

Bo and Dougie finally set off to the grocery store. On their way back, they run into Celia, Bo’s “frenemy” from school, who is with Amber and Katrina, the popular girls. Amber throws her chocolate wrapper on the ground, and Dougie points out that this is littering, picking up the wrapper. The girls laugh meanly at Dougie, which angers Bo. She calls out Celia, who ignores her and discusses an upcoming holiday to Martha’s Vineyard with the other girls. Bo and Dougie walk back home, Bo fighting tears even as she reassures Dougie that all is well.

Bo, Lola, Bill, and his 11-year-old daughter, Sunday, visit Cathedral together, before eating at V&T, an Italian restaurant that is Bo and Lola’s weekly haunt. The adults discuss how both their daughters are musicians: Bo plays the drums and Sunday plays the keyboard. As they eat, Bo wonders what this meal together means, and whether she and Lola will ever come here alone again.

Bo tries a version of the Smilecake recipe when she is home alone. Dougie smells the baking from down the hall and asks to come over, but Bo declines this time, promising to make it up to him later. Lola returns just as Bo finishes up, but she puts the cake away, insisting she is just experimenting. Bo and Lola spend the evening together playing dominoes after dinner. Bo soaks in this quality time and looks forward to when they will be able to talk about the cake together after Lola finally surprises her with it.

Bo and Lola visit Bill’s brownstone in Harlem for the first time. He lives there with his “house family,” which includes him and Sunday, and another couple, Charlie and Hope Dwyer, along with their 11-year-old twin daughters, Lil and Lee. They share their home with a menagerie of animals as well.

Bo is nervous about how the visit will go. As they ring the bell, Lola and Bo are greeted by the three girls, a cat, and a turtle. The girls enthusiastically welcome Bo, Sunday drawing her into a hug. As they enter, Lola and Bo smell burning, and Sunday remembers in dismay that she had welcome muffins in the oven.

Bo meets the rest of the “house family”: Papa Charles, who is an actor, and Mama Hope, who is a mapmaker. Lola encourages Bo to go with the girls and look around while she joins the adults in conversation.

The girls go to Sunday’s room, which is fairly messy despite Sunday’s assertion that she cleaned it up for Bo’s visit. The girls chat about how they do “freeschooling,” which is their family’s name for homeschooling. It involves a lot of writing, numerous projects, and exploring New York City.

Bo hears thumping sounds and yelps from close by. The sisters initially pretend not to hear anything and try to distract Bo with a conversation about music instead. Lil and Lee are also musical: Lil plays the electric guitar and Lee sings and plays the bass.

The sounds eventually get impossible to ignore, and the group goes to the twins’ room, where Lee lets a small dog out of the closet. Bo thinks the sisters were playing a prank on her, but Lee reveals that she brought the dog home from the animal shelter she volunteers at without clearing it with the adults first.

The girls go downstairs, where Mama Hope is attempting to make a layered casserole. It has not cooked all the way through. As Lola inspects it, the small dog runs into the kitchen, and Lola drops the casserole. Lola is apologetic, but Mama Hope is relieved that she saved the group from having to eat it.

Bill heats up his backup chili and the group decides to order in some fried chicken, while Mama Hope and Papa Charles have a conversation with Lee about the dog. They are not pleased when they discover Lee told Dr. Coleman, who runs the shelter, that her parents signed off on it, and Lee is instructed to take the puppy back. Lee’s sisters comfort her before running to pull out board games to play together after dinner.

After dinner and games, everyone listens to music together in the living room. Lola and Bill go to fetch dessert from the kitchen. There is a shriek, and Sunday goes to investigate, returning excitedly with news that she walked in on Bill proposing to Lola.

Bill and Lola rush back, claiming they were not intending to announce it this way. Bo is stunned, but everyone around her is excited, and she joins them in congratulating Bill and Lola. Bo is thrown by how Lola did not have a conversation with her about this, as she would have expected, but her mother looks so happy that she resigns herself to the situation.

Three weeks after the announcement, Bill and Lola get married at City Hall. Bo and Lola move into the brownstone despite still having stuff to move out of their old apartment. Bo is forced to get used to the animals, as they all want to be around her: Rubia, the dog; Mr. Bultitude and Mrs. Pilkington, the cats; Urkel, the turtle; and Dwayne Wayne, the bearded dragon. Bo only likes Barbara and Shirley, the hens, because they live outside.

Lola seems lighter and happier here. The other girls have begun calling her “Mum,” but Bo is still having trouble calling Bill “Pop.” She is also adjusting to Sunday’s friendliness and eagerness to share everything, including the space on Bo’s side of their shared room: Sunday is as messy as Bo is orderly.

As weird and overwhelming as all the change feels, being part of this big, new family is also sometimes fun for Bo. She enjoys parts of freeschooling, such as how baking can be a math and science assignment. When the girls suggest a group instrumental warm-up one day, Bo is surprised to discover that they actually sound pretty good together.

Bo bakes alone one day, wondering why Lola still has not surprised her with the Smilecake yet. Sunday arrives, asking to join, but Bo steers her away and makes the cookies herself. As the cookies bake, the girls discuss how Bo learned all the baking she knows from Lola, whose parents owned a bakery.

Once the cookies are done, Sunday wants to taste some right away, but Bo heads upstairs to practice the drums alone, wanting to wait for Lola and eat with her. Sunday sadly says the girls will wait to have the cookies with Bo when she is ready.