Bronzed

I opened a new bottle of coconut syrup one day as I was working at a local coffee shop and the sweet smell wafted through the air.

My coworker, Laurie, smiled. “Umm! That smells just like that suntan lotion…um…what’s the name of it?”

I was clueless and I just looked at her waiting for it to come to her.
“You know that kind. Remember when you were a little kid and your mom put that suntan lotion on you, everybody used it…”

I just looked at her and I wasn’t going to say anything. She looked back at me for a few seconds.

“Oh!”

It had just dawned on her that Black folks didn’t use suntan lotion.