It was a bad evening. It rained and thundered for the last three hours. The streets were slick, people were damp and grouchy. I was damp and grouchy myself, and pretty down.
I walked home from the subway, hands full of bags and a soaking wet umbrella. My pants wet from it, as it stopped raining finally. Depressing thoughts of work and general life were weighing on my head and I couldn’t find a smile anywhere within me.
I crossed the street to my side, comtemplating what I could buy to eat, due to my lack of food at home, grumpy because I could see nothing easy around.
And then I saw it. A fruit cart. A man in the dark, in the rain setup a fruit stand on the side of the street. Four apples for a dollar! Four plums for a dollar! I could eat something good tonight!
“How often are you here?” I asked as I paid 6 dollars for a weeks worth of fruit.
“Every night from now until you leave for work.”
“Long night.”
“Eh. Miss, taste a cherry. Go on, take one. Taste. See how juicy? Maybe next time you buy.”
And man was that cherry good. Nothing like a pushy old man with cherries to cheer you up.