Corner Stop

you see… i have this weird aura about me.
the clerks/​owners of bodegas have the habit of falling in love with me.
i know, it’s an outrageous accusation… but trust, these men are obsessed.
from the first day i stepped in here with my roommate– she introduced me to the owner. he was lovestoned. every time i came in to buy random snacks/​drinks and/​or Metrocards, he would fawn over me and ask when i’ll ever leave my current boyfriend (or whoever i was dating) and run away with him. it was quite uncomfortable when i would actually arrive in the bodega WITH a dude, but he had no shame.
he’s helped me out in situations where i didn’t bring enough cash/​change in my pocket and let me slide. sure, many bodegas do that. well– he even let my roommate and i keep a «tab». yeah, a TAB! i always paid him back within a week… but when i had fraudulent purchases on my credit card and i was without a bank card for a month, he let me grab whatever i wanted… whether it be beer or hot sandwiches. when i went to pay my tab, one of his employees told me the tab was varnished. WOW.
so– this may be your typical, not-​so-​special bodega on the corner of your block… but this particular bodega owner— out of all the others who have fallen deeply in love with me is my most favorite one of all.