Long's

Long lines of customers wait at every register as closing time nears. Moving the video rental to the Lotto counter has been a disaster. No one sees the drop box on the corner and most customers just toss their returns on the coutner. They'll blame her, of course, if they don't get checked back in and they get hit with late fees.

Worst of all, now she also has to mess with the Lotto tickets.The guy at the counter keeps fumbling to find seven cents so he won't have to break a dollar bill. She wishes she could just say "don't bother." What would it hurt if the register was short seven cents?

Her feet ache and her back hurts and all she can think about is getting home to her son and daughter. They'll already be asleep but she'll check in on them and maybe sit beside their bed for a while, listening to their shallow breathing. Maybe Rachel will wake up for a moment, turn over and open her eyes with a "hi mami" before dropping back into the sweet sleep of childhood.

She longs for the day when she can get a day job and be home for dinner. They can watch tv together and she'd read them a book at bedtime. And maybe, just maybe, she'd never have to watch another person dig for change.