My Cardboard Balcony

The Customer by Belinda Roddie The customer wanted a block of cheese, a loaf of bread, and some cider for a rather modest gathering. She wore green shorts, a blue T-shirt, and some tattered gray sneakers, as if she had gone out jogging. When she went up to pay, her face went red, the once bright light in her eyes now fogging up. "I don't have enough money," she said. "I should've known. My ex-wife took me for all that I had." An older man replied, "I'll pay for it. Don't worry anymore, and don't give me a cent back." As she cried, the woman thanked the stranger profusely, as faith was restored in humanity.

"Looks like you could use a trainer," Vanessa commented to the man in the corner, struggling to lift a twenty-pound dumbbell. "Screw off," the man grumbled, his scrawny arm visibly shaking as he tried to lift the weight. Vanessa reached over and took it away from him. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I once didn't have biceps, either." She readjusted the sleeves of her gym shirt and beckoned him to a set of dumbbells. "C'mon. I'll start you off easy."