About two blocks from Rahkim’s I walk into a 7-11. Chemical Floor Cleaner.
I wander the aisles, debating between a Reese’s peanut butter cup or the Trix bar. It’s tough being me. I go with the cups, and grab a Mountain Dew from the fogged over drink cooler. The clerk eyes me suspiciously, scans my items,
“You want cigarettes?”
“Um. No just this.”
I think it makes him mad. Whatever. I take my caffeine and sugar outside. The sun is setting and the neon of the store starts to cast a shadowy glow on life outside.
I sit on a concrete parking barrier, and eat my chocolate. My wallet is empty, my debts are clear, and the air is crisp with a summer kick. I’m thinking that life should always be like this.
And then the blue Corvette pulls up. I see her instantly. Sparrow Sprite.
And I can’t breathe.
—–continued.