The lights flicker at the corner of Alabazer Rd. and Hillturn Ave. One car has passed within the past 10 minutes, birds creeping up from out of nowhere.

She stands near the Garcia’s bodega with a cigarette caressing her left index finger awaiting the arrival of her 6’4 Dominican boo, aka the owner of the shop. Her daily morning cup of coffee the past month has been used as an excuse to spend some time with him in the wee hours of the morning.

Sasha stood tall and courageously as Gus greeted her. It wasn’t a surprise to see her in the morning anymore. I’m fact, it became a norm that brought peace into his world.

“Good morning, Ms. Sasha,” Gus smiles while tilting his fedora towards her.

Gus walks in first turning on all of the shimmering lights bringing new life to the dark alley of favorable snacks. The silhouette of 38-year old Sasha strutting in the store appears over the counter as the sun rises as if to greet only the two of them this morning.

Tilting the bag of natural coffee into the freshly washed machine, she asks, “It’s a beautiful morning, ain’t it Gus?”

“You’re right about that. How’s it going with Liz?”

“She ain’t doing too well, not gonna lie. Her right foot is swollen and the pain has become too intolerable for her to handle. That’s my little baby. She needs me a lot right now. I’m headed to the hospital at 11a.m. to see if she’ll need surgery to handle this.”

“Seriously? She was just healing of the ulcer in her stomach the other day. Do you think she’ll need surgery for this too?”

“I’m not so sure,” she burrows her brows. “Don’t let that bologna slip, boss.”

“Ha ha ha, don’t worry about me,” he laughs.

“Oh I ain’t worried about you,” she blushes.

“You’re smiling though,” he notices. “How do you keep your spirits high in times like this?”

“What is life but a series of trials and errors? We can’t control this shit. We can’t pick and choose what life will throw our way so guess what, I’m gonna choose to be happy. Fuck being depressed about this. Liz has lived a good 7 years running around with me from dog park to dog park, beach to beach, state to different state, man. I’ve been so blessed with her. She’s been so blessed with me. I ain’t gonna let this bit of pain keep us from spending the next few months or years together. Hell, I might leave first. Who knows? I’m not gonna let this affect me negatively. We’ll get through it some way or another.”