I stumbled on some uneven pavement, and I was embarrassed because there was a man watching.
He looked like his clothes were his only possessions, and further, he looked like he was okay with that.
When I regained my balance, he asked if I had a smoke.
I said sure, without thinking that I was down to my last one.
As I handed him the cigarette, a brand I don’t smoke but the brand I could afford, I wanted to ask How ya doing today? but this time my mouth stumbled and I said “What are you doing today?”
He let his head tilt, just slightly, away from me, then his mouth flickered a smile, like a single flap of a hummingbird’s wing, and he said:
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