“Where’re you working now?”  

“I don’t have a new job,” she grinned, “I’m sitting at home, doing whatever I want.” 

The speaker was middle aged, barely. Small-framed, dressed loose and casual. Her confidence and honesty caught my ear as I rolled past with my shopping cart. Not a trace of shame in her voice. It was as if she were sharing an unexpected revelation with this fresh-faced kid, a former coworker, still stocking shelves at Frys. Like she’d been to the mountain, at the foot of the guru, and had returned with a higher wisdom.  

“Sounds great,” the kid said dreamily, imagining for himself a new enlightened life of leisure.  

Before I rolled out of earshot, rushing to get the shopping done before the start of another hectic work week, I heard her reply.  

“It ain’t bad at all.” 

Alfred Fournier is an entomologist, writer and community volunteer living in Phoenix, Arizona. His poems and short prose have appeared in Drunk Monkeys, Quibble, The Indianapolis Review, Third Wednesday, Delmarva Review, Lunch Ticket, New Flash Fiction Review and elsewhere. His poetry chapbook, A Summons on the Wind (2023), is available from Kelsay Books and Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AlfredFournier4 or at alfredfournier.com.