An Alleyway in Providence

-

Smoking Newport's in an alleyway in Providence,

behind the grocery store where she works, Cindy

smirks at everyone who passes on the sidewalk beyond

the dumpster, because she's on a break, and they can't

find her here. Express Lane. Ten items or less, her

nametag reads, beside the hand written Cindy with a

smiley face to dot the i. And the bleekness of the black

asphalt shrouded in a morning fog causes her to think

of last night, and how Donte left her on the bleachers

to go drink with his friends in the parking lot at

the football game. She tried to shrug it off, but she

still hasn't banished it yet. He's always been a me-first

guy. A jerk really, she thinks. Stifling a stray tear,

as she stubs the remnants of her cigarette on the

ash stained cobblestones beneath her feet. A tiny spark

will linger for a few more seconds. Extinguishing only

when she walks away.

-