Maame

At OTP, Maddie’s line manager, Kris, tells her that their last creative meeting didn’t go well because they’re running out of ideas. Maddie pitches her pairing cookbook, Cooking Combos. Kris promises to think about the pitch more.

Jo invites Cam and Maddie to Florence, Italy, where her friend’s parents have a holiday home they won’t be using. Maddie can’t afford it but wants to travel, so she agrees to go. She texts Ben about her trip, and he proposes a second date at his apartment where he’ll make her pasta. She spends a few hours washing her hair. Jo makes a joke about Maddie putting in her weave and then pulls at one of her tight curls. Cam reminds Jo not to touch a Black woman’s hair without permission, but Jo insists Maddie doesn’t mind because they’re roommates. Maddie does mind but forces herself to be pleasant to Jo.

Maddie goes to Ben’s apartment for their second date. After dinner, they watch a wildlife documentary and kiss passionately. Ben starts touching Maddie, and she tells him that she’s a virgin. Ben is respectful of this, and they decide not to pursue sex that night.

OTP approves Maddie’s cookbook proposal, but Kris takes credit for the idea and retitles the book Flavor Pairings. Maddie offers to take notes at the next creative meeting, but Kris says there’s already an assistant for this. In a meeting with Penny, Maddie makes another pitch: She found a food blogger on Instagram named Afra Yazden-Blake, whose husband is a well-known baker. Afra’s food blog exhibits Middle Eastern dishes, and Maddie suggests she would be a valuable food writer for OTP.

Maddie’s third date with Ben approaches. She wonders if, like some clichés about dating, she’s expected to have sex with him on the third date. After going to the movies, Ben invites her back to his place. They have sex, and Maddie is shocked by how painful it is. She realizes Ben didn’t use a condom but tries to brush it off by saying she’s been on birth control since she was 16. Ben smiles at this, but Maddie isn’t certain why. The next morning, he invites her to his company’s anniversary party. He gives her a box of macaroon cookies and pushes her to eat one. Ben taps her thigh and uses an unfamiliar voice, making Maddie feel uncomfortable as she eats.

Maddie’s friend Nia comes back into town, and the pair make plans. Maddie has to visit her father, whom she hasn’t seen since moving out. It’s his birthday, and she plans to bake him a cake. Jo convinces Maddie and Cam to have a night out. At a club, Maddie meets Jo’s friend Danny. They flirt a little, but she thinks of Ben. She wants to leave to finish preparing for her father’s birthday, but Jo convinces her to stay out. After the club, Danny offers Maddie brownies. She consumes a couple, not knowing they’re laced with weed. She gets high, which makes her feel enthusiastic about her new life.

Maddie wakes up the next day at noon, hungover and late for her father’s birthday. She falls back asleep and wakes up again in the afternoon. She’s awoken by a phone call from her mother. Maddie frantically tries to get ready, assuring her mother that she’ll be at the apartment soon. Her mother reveals her father is dead. Jo and Cam are ready to leave for the airport to go to Florence when Maddie tells them that her father is dead. Cam suggests that she and Jo stay, but Jo wants to go on the trip. Maddie accuses Jo of keeping her out late, making her miss her father’s birthday and her final chance to say goodbye to him. Her roommates leave for the airport, and Maddie’s mother calls with details of her father’s death. Maddie is sad that her father died alone and is consumed with grief and guilt. James calls her. Maddie tells him that she’s not ready to go home and face the death yet. James understands but encourages her to call a friend who can stay with her. Maddie thinks of calling Nia but receives a text from Ben, so she invites him over instead. They have sex, which continues to be painful for Maddie. Afterward, she cries and tells Ben about her father’s death.

The next day, Ben goes to work, and Nia comes over to stay with Maddie. Maddie emails OTP to let them know about her father’s death and her leave for a week. She tries to pray for her father’s soul but has a difficult time finding the words.

Maddie is concerned that she’s only cried once over her father. Nia comforts her, encouraging her to be more open about her feelings. She asks Maddie to tell her about her father. Maddie shares private childhood stories and cries again. She finally returns home to her mother and brother. Her mother cries openly, but Maddie doesn’t feel the urge to comfort her.

Maddie gets two weeks off work to deal with her family tragedy. Her friend Shu visits with blunts, and Shu is surprised that Maddie now enjoys getting high. She receives supportive messages from coworkers.

Nia leaves but assures Maddie that she can return at any moment. Maddie tries to read but receives a calendar reminder for Ben’s company’s anniversary party. She decides to go, but when Ben sees her, he doesn’t seem happy. She meets a white woman who is also dating Ben. According to this woman, Maddie’s relationship with Ben doesn’t compare to her having met Ben’s parents. Maddie leaves the party, and the woman convinces Ben not to go after her. She overhears the woman say she didn’t think Maddie was Ben’s type.

Maddie receives flowers and a note from Penny on behalf of OTP. Ben doesn’t reach out to her but sends flowers the next day. Nia and Shu come over to comfort Maddie. They look up Ben online and find pictures of him and the other woman, Sophie. They believe Ben is racist, sleeping with a Black woman for the “thrill” of it but dating a white woman publicly. Maddie wants to know what real love feels like and wishes she had known more about herself and the situation before giving her virginity to Ben. Nia points out that “[s]ome things you’re not meant to be saved from […] Some things have to be lessons” (168).

Ben arrives at the apartment. Nia and Shu don’t want him to come in, but Maddie agrees to speak with him. He claims to care about her, but she points out his racist use of her as a mistress. She admits their sex was painful and thinks he should have noticed and tried to make her feel better. Maddie finally figured out why he smiled when she told him about being on birth control: She started birth control in high school because of intense period pain but now knows Ben thought she lied about being a virgin. She tells him to leave. On her way to a dentist appointment, Maddie has a panic attack.

Jo and Cam return from their trip to Florence. Maddie apologizes to Jo for blaming her for keeping her out at night. Jo accepts the apology, but the group dynamic has changed; Jo and Cam now do things without Maddie.

Maddie joins her mother’s Ghanaian bereavement tradition. Family members from Ghana have arrived for the ceremony. The family explain how they found out about Maddie’s father’s death. Internally, Maddie blames her mother for not recognizing her father’s decay; she is certain that if she had been with her father, she would have known how to save him. The family discusses how to pay for the funeral. The carer, Dawoud, comes over to pay his condolences. He tells Maddie about missing her father, one of the only patients who talked to him. She is surprised because she always thought of her father as introverted.