Dinner at the counter of a 50’s style diner in Chelsea. A local homeless man pokes his head in, and the behind-the-counter cook, who knows him by name, tells him, “No raisin bagels today, but I can give you a poppy.” The cook toasts it and does it up with butter and cheese while the homeless man ducks back outside, then hesitantly sneaks back in to sit at the counter for a moment before the cook hands him his meal in a small brown paper bag, free of charge. He gets up to leave slowly, fidgeting with things like he’s trying to divert attention from the free meal he just got, but on his way out he neatly arranges the salt and pepper shakers on the counter, as if to offer some form of compensation.

I’ve already paid my bill and put my coat on to leave, but the cook invites me to sit as long as I’d like, so I stay while I write this post. He’s singing along to every single song on CBS fm.